InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Purity 4: Justification ❯ Big Girls Don't Cry ( Chapter 19 )

Cain knocked on Gin's apartment door and stepped back to wait.

She opened it and greeted him with a wide smile before jerking her head to invite him in, as she headed back to the basket of laundry sitting on the small dining table.

Closing the door, he followed her inside and slipped her cake platter on the counter.  "Laundry day?"

Gin shrugged.  "Sure . . . Not very exciting, but what can you do?  Seems kind of sad, doesn't it?  Friday night, and I'm home folding clothes."

"It isn't that sad," he assured her as he stuffed his hands into his pockets and rocked back on his heels.  "I've spent my fair share of Friday nights doing stuff like that . . . Anyway, I bought your plate back."

"I'll start your cake in a little bit."

He didn't argue with her since he never won, anyway.  Besides, he liked her cakes.  A lot.  "You . . . uh . . . want to get something to eat?"

Gin smiled.  "Okay!  Just let me finish folding this stuff or I'll leave it set until I forget whether it's clean or not."  She shook out a little pair of white cotton bikini cut panties sprigged with tiny blue flowers, and Cain coughed quickly to cover his amusement.  Gin glanced at him, eyes narrowing as she slowly shook her head.  "What's so funny?"

"Nothing, nothing . . . just that those—" he gestured at the panties in her hand, "—remind me of the panties I used to buy for Bellaniece . . ."

"You used to buy her panties?"

Cain rolled his eyes.  "Well, yeah, when she was, like . . . ten.  Do those have the days of the week printed on the back?"

Gin wrinkled her nose and turned the panties, examining them like she hadn't bothered to check for herself before.  "No."

He coughed again.  "You sure?"

She snorted.  "I think I'd know if my panties had days of the week printed on the . . . heinie."

Cain choked.  "Heinie?"

She blushed.  "Yes, heinie."

How he managed not to laugh was completely beyond him, but considering how irritated Gin looked, he wasn't about to press his luck.  Searching wildly for something—anything—to divert his attention away from Gin's use of the word 'heinie', Cain's gaze fell on the nasty looking weapon lying on the table that seemed sorely out of place amongst the soft laundry that was neatly stacked around it.  The shining blade of the scythe gleamed in the yellow light of the fluorescent bulb overhead, and the ivory handle was polished and bright.  Hooked to the end of the six inch handle was a long, thick chain, and mounted to the other end of the chain was a mean-looking lead ball that would easily fit into one of Gin's hands.  "What is that?" he asked, nodding at the weapon.

Gin glanced at him before following his gaze.  "Oh, this?" she questioned, lifting the weapon and carelessly swinging the scythe by the chain.  "It's my Kusarigama."

Cain frowned and caught the handle, shooting Gin a look that told her just what he thought of her playing with such a dangerous 'toy'.  "Stop that before you hurt yourself," he scolded.

She rolled her eyes and held out her hand for the deadly-looking weapon.  Cain grudgingly handed it over.  "Hurt myself?  With this?  Oh, please!"

"You're not really going to try to tell me that you know how to use that, are you?"

She giggled.  "Of course I do!  Why else would I have it?  It's really strong.  It was forged from Papa and Uncle Sesshoumaru's fangs.  It was one of the first weapons Master Bunza made.  My brothers' weapons were forged by Master Totosai, but he died before he could forge mine, and Master Bunza and Papa go way back . . ."

"Totosai . . . I met him once.  He repaired my sword. . . reinforced it, but only after pointing out that the Efu Tachi design was more flash than might."  He shrugged.  "I was showing off, anyway.  I rarely used the damn thing . . ."

"He didn't forge your sword?" Gin asked, apparently surprised at the very idea that someone else might've made it.

Cain shook his head then shrugged.  "Nope.  My father asked an old swordsmith in North America to make it.  I've never actually met him, though."  Catching the look of confusion on her features, Cain flicking a hand in blatant dismissal.  "It was my father's sword," he clarified.

"You can fight?" she asked dubiously then waved her hand at his raised-eyebrow look.  "Well, I mean, I figured you could, being tai-youkai and all. . . and you have a sword?"

"Of course . . . It's back in Maine, though."

Gin sighed as she looped the chain around her hand and elbow.  "I learned how to use a sword—mostly just bokuto since the real ones are pretty heavy.  Papa showed me some of Tetsusaiga's techniques, but he said swords were too big for me to lug around."  She made a face.  "I think he was just afraid I'd be better at it than Ryo-nii . . . Anyway, that's why he taught me how to use that, instead."

Cain snorted.  "You're really trying to convince me you know how to use that insignificant toy?"

Gin scowled and shook her head.  "It's not a toy!  I could . . . I could kick your . . . heinie with it."

Coughing furiously once more to cover his amusement, Cain made a face and crossed his arms over his chest.  "Right, baby girl.  Sure you can."

Eyes flaring wide in indignation before narrowing in what Cain recognized to be acute irritation, Gin quickly flipped the ball toward him.  He reached out to grab it, only to find the chain wrapped securely around his forearm.  Gin smiled grimly and tugged.  "If that had been the sharp end, you'd be missing an arm—or part of one."  With another jerking motion, the chain unwrapped as the iron ball whipped neatly back into her hand.

"Hmm, then I stand corrected," he agreed.

"Are you humoring me?" she demanded.

"God, no!  Would I really do such a thing?"

"I don't know . . . I think you would," she accused.

Cain grinned.  "Of course not!  I absolutely believe you could kick my . . . heinie . . . with that . . ."

Gin sighed and slowly shook her head, ears flattening as she rewrapped the chain and laid the weapon on the table.  "I thought you were different, but you're just like them."

Cain frowned at Gin's sudden mood swing and he shoved his hands into his pockets again.  "What do you mean?"

The tiny hanyou ears flattened, her shoulders slumped in obvious defeat, and she wouldn't look at him as she folded the rest of her laundry.  "You're just like Papa and my brothers.  You're just like Sesshoumaru-oji-san and Toga-kun, too.  You all think I'm still just a little girl; that I don't think, and I can't protect myself . . . It's not true, you know.  It's not true, at all."

Cain winced and stepped toward her but stopped when she retreated.  "Gin, I don't—"

"You do.  You followed me on my date, remember?  You scoffed at my weapon . . . You made fun of my panties . . . You think I'm just a pup, right?  I'll have you know I'm not.  I'm . . . I'm a big girl!"

Before he could think about whether or not he was about to make her even angrier, Cain barked out a terse chuckle.  He wasn't sure why Gin's claim of being a 'big girl' caught him so far off guard, but it did, and before he could think about the ramifications of showing his amusement, he laughed.

Gin's expression clouded over, eyes igniting in unmasked outrage.  "I think you should leave now," she said in a clipped, tight little voice.

"I'm sorry," he said between chuckles.  "Really, I am . . . You're absolutely a—" he snorted as he tried to repress a chortle, "—big girl—" It didn't work, and he laughed even harder despite the mounting anger apparent on Gin's face.

Gin stomped toward him, placing her hands in the center of his chest, and pushed him back.  The angrier she got, the harder he laughed, and in the end, she growled as she jerked open the door and shoved him out into the hallway.  "Good night, Cain," she said brusquely, "and goodbye."

He finally managed to get his laughter under control as he stared at the closed door in mild shock.

'Nice, dog . . . She's really mad at you.'

Cain sighed but chuckled as he raised his fist to knock.  'Oh, shut up . . . it was . . . cute.'

'Cute, nothing!  You did exactly what she accused you of doing.  Now instead of finding a reason to spend time with her, we're stuck alone with what?  A TV dinner?  Ugh.'

Cain let his hand drop as he slowly shook his head and sighed as he trudged over to his apartment.  'Yeah, yeah . . . rub it in.  I couldn't help it . . . She said 'heinie', for God's sake!'

'But you did scoff at her when she said she knew how to use that weapon of hers . . .'

'Okay,' Cain agreed as he flopped down on the sofa.  'That might have been a little stupid.'

'You're a moron, Cain; a complete and utter moron.  Sometimes I swear I hate being your youkai.'

Cain sighed, wondering just how long Gin could carry a grudge as he glanced over at the refrigerator.  'No TV dinner . . . I didn't buy any,' he thought with a wry grimace.  'You think she'll still make me a cake?'

His youkai snorted but didn't answer.

Bellaniece slipped out of the apartment and closed the door before dropping the keys into her purse and slipping on her sunglasses.  When she'd asked Cain if she could go shopping, he had barely grunted in reply without looking up from the newspaper.  She'd wisely kept her own council on the conspicuous lack of cake, but after the abysmal date she'd gone on the night before, she had to wonder if she really had had a worse time than her father, after all.  Her curiosity was nearly killing her, but she couldn't bring herself to ask questions.  He looked irritated enough, and she could tell from the dark circles under his eyes that he hadn't slept well, if at all.

'Maybe I should stop and see if something happened between Gin and him . . .'

'Why do you figure it has anything to do with Gin?'

Bellaniece made a face.  'No cake, remember?  Gin always makes a cake for Daddy, but she didn't last night . . . No, something definitely happened . . .'

'Don't you dare,' her youkai warned.  'Your father would kill you.  Best you stay out of it, don't you think?'

Bellaniece sighed and started down the hallway toward the stairwell at the other end.  'Okay, I will.  Maybe Daddy will talk about it when I get back . . .'

She was almost past Gin's door when the rattle of a chain and the 'snick' of the turning deadbolt stopped her.  Bellaniece slowly pulled off her sunglasses and frowned as Gin quickly pulled open the door and stuck her head through the narrow opening.  "Psst!  Belle!"

Bellaniece's eyes widened at Gin's hissed whisper, and she shifted her eyes back and forth to see if the two of them were being watched.  "Why are we whispering?" she whispered back.

Gin waved her hand to invite Bellaniece inside, peering further into the hallway before closing the door and leaning against it.  "I need your help," she stated bluntly, her features masked by a determined scowl.

After dropping her purse and glasses on the counter, Bellaniece rubbed her upper arms and nodded.  "Okay . . . with what?"

With a heavy sigh, Gin pushed away from the door as she rubbed her forehead and paced the floor.  "Cain and I . . . we . . . Well, I got sort of mad at him and . . . and I pushed him out of my apartment last night."

"Ah, so that's why there was no cake this morning."

Gin made a face.  "Sorry about that.  I was too irritated, and . . . I made a cake.  I just . . . I ate the whole thing."

Bellaniece's eyebrows arched in surprise.  "You ate a whole cake?  By yourself?"

Gin winced.  "Yes."

"Where did you put it?" she couldn't help but ask since she was staring at Gin's tiny form.  Still wearing her nightclothes of a tiny mint green tank top and gray shorts, Bellaniece couldn't imagine her being able to eat much of anything, let alone an entire cake.

"I . . . When I am upset, I eat . . . a lot, and . . . Well, I was pretty upset with Cain last night."

"Can I ask . . . why?"

Biting her lower lip, Gin sighed again as her ears flattened momentarily before springing back into place.  "He's just like everyone else, you know?  He treats me like a pup, and I'm not a pup.  He laughed at me, and he . . ." she trailed off, shaking her head as she made a disgusted face and shrugged.  "Anyway, I want to be a big girl, and I can't really ask my sister-in-law because she's not really girly, and Sierra-chan . . . She might tell Toga-kkun, and he would feel obligated to tell Papa . . . Bellaniece, you have to help me!"

Bellaniece grimaced, pressing her lips together in a tight line until she trusted herself to speak.  She had a good idea what had happened between her father and Gin, and . . . well . . . she couldn't really blame Cain for laughing if Gin had said the same things to him that she just had to her.  "Gin, out of curiosity . . . Did you use the phrase, 'big girl'?"

Gin frowned.  "Yeah."

Bellaniece cleared her throat and tried not to laugh since Gin looked like she was already on guard over it.  "Uh . . . let's look at your closet," she prompted.

Gin clapped her hands and hopped up and down just a little before wheeling around and leading the way to her bedroom where she gestured at her closet before flopping across her bed and kicking her feet in the air.

'Oh, my . . .' Bellaniece thought as she slowly shuffled through Gin's clothes.  Mostly all dresses, and very cute ones at that, she sighed inwardly before casting Gin a quick glance over her shoulder.  "Gin, what, exactly, did you have in mind?"

Gin's brow furrowed as she propped her chin on her clasped hands.  "Well, I don't know . . . I want to look like a big girl, not just a pup—I want to be . . . sexy."

Bellaniece nearly choked at that.  'Oh, lord, she just said 'big girl' and 'sexy' in one sentence . . . Oh, Daddy . . .'

'You realize your father can barely handle 'Cute Gin'.  Do you really think he could handle 'Sexy Gin'?'

She sighed.  'Good point.  Besides that, I think he likes 'Cute Gin'.'

'What are you going to do?'

Bellaniece pondered that as she pushed a few more dresses aside.  Almost all of her dresses were white, pastel, or very, very light with a couple navy blue skirts but nothing really sophisticated.  'Well, maybe we can find something sort of between 'cute' and 'sexy' . . . something that suits Gin better.'

Bellaniece turned to face Gin with a bright smile but frowned when she noticed the pensive look on her face.  "Gin?  Is something else wrong?"

Gin shrugged.  "Can I ask you something?"

"Okay . . ." Bellaniece agreed.

"What kind of panties do you wear?"

Bellaniece blinked.  "Panties?  Why?"

Gin sighed.  "I was folding mine when Cain came over, and he said they looked like your panties when you were ten, so I was wondering what sort of panties you wear now."

Bellaniece grimaced.  "That doesn't matter, Gin.  Get dressed.  I was just going shopping, anyway."

Gin rolled off the bed and took the dress Bellaniece shoved at her.  Bellaniece sashayed back into the living room to wait.

'Interesting . . . very interesting . . . Daddy saw her panties?  Wow . . . Wonder what he thought of that . . .?'

'You should have told Gin about your panties, Belle.'

Bellaniece wrinkled her nose and sighed.  'Oh, I don't think that's a good idea . . . Daddy might not notice that I don't wear them since I haven't worn them for years, but something tells me he'd absolutely notice if Gin didn't . . .'

'You mean you're actually being rational, Belle?  Hmm . . . you feeling all right?'

'Of course I am!  Besides, Daddy seems to really like Gin just the way she is.  I don't think he'd be happy if I helped her change too drastically.'

'I'm impressed!  You actually sound like a big girl.'

Bellaniece giggled.  'Oh, right . . . but I do need to make sure Gin stops saying that, don't you think?  I mean, if I want to laugh over it, I'm pretty sure Daddy did, too . . .'

Bellaniece's youkai sighed then chuckled.  'Absolutely.'

"Balls, Kich, are you still in bed?"

Kichiro groaned and rolled over, dragging the pillow over his head as he tried in vain to ignore his brother's droning voice.

Ryomaru stomped over and jerked the pillow away from Kichiro.  "Get up, baka.  You ain't staying in bed all day."

"What do you want?" Kichiro grumbled.  Swinging his arm around in a futile attempt to regain the pillow, he growled furiously when Ryomaru tossed the blanket back, too.

"Kami, how can you stand those?" he demanded, wrinkling his nose at Kichiro's black silk boxer shorts.

"Go to hell, Ryo; it's Saturday, and I'm still tired."

"Just get up, will you?  I'm fucking bored."

Kichiro grumbled something unintelligible and gave up with a disgusted sigh.  "Sometimes I hate you," he remarked as he sat up and rolled out of bed.

Ryomaru chuckled as Kichiro stumbled to his feet and shuffled toward the kitchen.  "Just sometimes?"

"Sure.  The rest of the time I despise you.  Why are you here at the crack of dawn, anyway?"

"It's well past the crack of dawn, baka."

"Incidentals," Kichiro scoffed as he grabbed a soda from the refrigerator popped it open.  "What do you want?"

Ryomaru shrugged and wrinkled his nose.  "I got home, and Nez was out with Sierra . . . Figured I'd come over and drag your lazy ass out of bed."

Kichiro digested that as he drank some soda.  "Did you have to work?"

"Nah . . . I had class."

Blinking in surprise while the soda bottle paused in front of his mouth, Kichiro regarded his brother carefully.  "Class?  Wait . . . Are you still taking those cooking classes?"

"Yeah.  So?"

Kichiro cleared his throat and tried not to laugh.  "No reason . . . But why are you learning how to cook?"

"Because I wanted to," Ryomaru growled.  "Ain't nothing else to it, you got that?"

"Whatever," Kichiro replied.  "At least then, you can offer the ones you hunt a final meal before you kill them."

"I've told Mother and the old man many times: they should have left you under Goshinboku as a hanyou sacrifice to . . . hell, whoever wanted you."

"All right, fat ass," Kichiro shot back.  "I hear you."

"You know, Kich, if I have a fat ass, you have a fat ass, too."

"Nope, yours is fatter . . . since you're all ass."

"Oh, you're funny, baka . . . really, really funny."

"Thanks, fat ass."

"I might be all ass, as you said, but at least my ears are softer."  To emphasize his point, Ryomaru twitched the aforementioned ears.

Kichiro growled.  "They are not.  We're identical twins.  Identical.  That means identical ears."

"Identical ears," Ryomaru agreed.  "They look the same.  Mine are just softer."

"Bastard."

"Bastard with much softer ears."

Kichiro pushed past his brother and rolled his eyes as he headed for the living room.  Pausing long enough to check the numbers on the caller ID and finding nothing important enough to warrant a return phone call, he grabbed the remote control and flipped on the television.  "If they're softer—and I doubt they are—they're not softer by much."

"Well, since they're softer—Nezumi said so—then you're just jealous because that means I'm your older, faster, bigger, badder, tougher, awesomer brother . . . with much softer ears."

"'Awesomer' isn't a word, stupid . . . and Nezumi's human.  Her sense of feel isn't nearly as refined as hanyou or youkai."

"Yeah, well . . . she feels just fine to me."

"Oh, kami . . ."

Ryomaru shook his head.  "You need to loosen up, Kich.  You need to have 'The Sex'."

Kichiro spit out the soda that he'd been trying to drink.  Ryomaru made a face and jumped back to avoid the spray.  "'The Sex'?"

"Yes, 'The Sex'."

"Oh, mother of—"

"Unless it's true, and you really are gay."

"I'm—not—fucking—gay."

"You're not fucking gay," Ryomaru echoed.  "When's the last time you've gotten yourself—"

"Shut up, Ryo."

"All right, all right . . . For the record, though, Nez and I have 'The Sex' a lot, which is why I'm in such a great mood."

"You're in a great mood because you're an idiot."

"Hmm, an idiot who gets to have 'The Sex'."

Kichiro shook his head.

"And an idiot who has softer ears than his baka baby brother."

Kichiro pinned Ryomaru with a mutinous glower and growled yet again.

"Wanna feel 'em, Kich?  See what I've got that you don't?" Ryomaru teased, flicking his ears to taunt Kichiro.

"Of course I . . ." Kichiro trailed off and snorted.  "Yeah, hold still, baka."

"What?  Fuck, no!" Ryomaru blustered when Kichiro stepped toward him.

"You offered," Kichiro pointed out as he set his soda on a table and swiped at his brother's ears.

"Balls, no, Kich!  Get the hell away from me or I'll shred you!" Ryomaru growled as he knocked Kichiro's hand away.

"Just hold still!  I swear it'll only take a minute!"

"You really are gay!  Damn it, I said no!"

"Stop being a pussy!"

"No means no, baka!  Ear rape!"

"Shut the fuck up and stand still, will you?  I'm telling you, if you'd just stand still and take it like a man!  Not like it'll hurt or anything—" Kichiro said as he tried to grab Ryomaru's ears again.

"Get the hell off me!"

"Just for a minute!"

Ryomaru heaved a sigh and rolled his eyes.  "All right, damn it!  If I let you, will you leave me the fuck alone?"

Kichiro nodded.  "Yeah, whatever."

Ryomaru made a face.  "Oh, balls . . . just do it fast, okay?"

Grasping one of his own ears in one hand and one of Ryomaru's ears in the other, Kichiro scowled as he tried to compare them.  Ryomaru heaved another sigh and snorted before mimicking Kichiro's stance with one hand on his ear and Kichiro's free ear.

"I  . . . don't feel any difference," Ryomaru finally said.

"You know . . . I don't, either," Kichiro agreed thoughtfully.

"Oh, for the love of kami," another voice choked out.  "This is . . . Oh, this is goo-o-ood."

The twins both twisted their heads to stare at the intruder who was trying his hardest not to howl in laughter.  Kichiro winced since Ryomaru hadn't let go of his ear.  Toga sniggered as he lowered the digital camcorder and collapsed against the wall.  "What the hell are you two doing?" he managed to ask between guffaws.

Kichiro was the first to jerk his hands down.  Ryomaru grunted since Kichiro had tugged his ear, and he rounded on his cousin.  "Tell me you don't fucking have tape in that thing," he growled.

"Okay," Toga chortled, "I don't have fucking tape in this thing."

"Thank—"

"It's digital."

"Oh, hell," Kichiro grumbled as he lunged at his cousin who neatly sidestepped the hanyou.

"Get him, damn it!" Ryomaru yelled as he stalked Toga, too.

Kichiro snorted.  "Yeah, I'm trying, baka!"

"Not that I didn't wonder about the two of you before—always trying to pants each other," Toga remarked as he backed out of the room.  "Do me a favor and stay away from Coral and Cassidy.  The last thing they need is you two bakas trying to feel their ears, too."

Kichiro snarled as he leapt forward again.  Toga was too quick.  Jerking the door open and sprinting outside, his laughter lingered long after Toga had run off.  Ryomaru smacked Kichiro on the back of the head as he chased after their cousin.

Kichiro shook his head and closed the door.  He knew from experience that Toga was faster.  The chances of Ryomaru catching up to him were slim to none.

Snorting in abject disgust, Kichiro closed the door.  'Damn, I need to put an anti-baka alarm on this house,' he thought as he strode away to take a shower.

'Sure, but look on the bright side.'

'There's a bright side?  Toga's going to lord that damn video over my head; I just know it.'

'There's always a bright side, Kich.'

'All right, then, what is it?'

'At least you know that Belle was lying.'

'Keh!  I don't even want to think about her!  She's the one who caused all this trouble!'

'Sure, she said a few things, but you're the one who was stupid enough to let her get to you.'

'I did not let her get to me.'

'Uh huh . . . Denial again?'

'Shut up.'

'You going to tell her you checked?'

'No!'

'Yeah, I didn't think so . . .'

Kichiro groaned and slammed the bathroom door.

Gin frowned as she eyed the dress that Bellaniece held up for her consideration.  "Every girl needs at least one little black dress, Gin.  What do you think?"

"I don't know . . . I like the design, I think . . ." she said as she shook her head.  "It's just so . . . dark."

Bellaniece giggled.  "It's black.  It's supposed to be dark.  It's nice, though.  It's classy and sophisticated without being too showy, and the back is lovely . . . Why don't you try it on?"

Gin hesitantly took the hanger and glanced toward the changing rooms.  "Do you think so?  Wouldn't my hair cover  that up?"

With a careless shrug, Bellaniece nodded.  "Sure, but if you're wearing a dress like this, you should wear your hair up.  It's not like you need to dress in something like this every day, but there are times when a girl needs one of these."

"For when, exactly?" Gin asked as she slipped into one of the small changing rooms to try on the dress.

Bellaniece's voice was muffled by the door.  "Well . . . say you get invited to a cocktail party or some sort of semi-fancy thing like that."

"I see," Gin said as she slipped off her sundress and carefully pulled the black dress on.

"Hold on, Gin . . . I just saw something . . ."

"Okay," she answered as she zipped up the dress and turned to look over her shoulder.  Pulling her hair out of the way, Gin winced at the amount of skin showing.  Two thin straps crossed in the middle of her back to hold the dress in place but that was it, as far as actual coverage.  The skirt touched her waist and fell to just below mid thigh, and while Gin felt completely vulnerable in the dress, she had to admit that the design was flattering.

'Oh, I don't know . . .' she thought as she slowly shook her head.  'Papa would have a fit about this dress . . .'

'Maybe, but your mother would think it's lovely.'

Gin bit her lip.  'You . . . You think so?'

'Well, if you don't want to be thought of as a little girl anymore, I suppose this dress might do that for you . . .'

'Yeah . . . I'd like it better if it weren't black.'

'Sure, you would, but it really is lovely.'

'. . . I suppose.'

'Belle has really good taste.'

Gin turned from side to side as she examined her reflection.  'She does, doesn't she?  I really like her.'

Bellaniece knocked on the door.  "Gin, I found something else for you to try on."

Gin opened the door and winced as she stepped back for Bellaniece to slip into the tiny room, too.  Bellaniece sat on the little bench and twirled her finger.  Gin turned around slowly.  "What do you think?"

Bellaniece broke into a grin and giggled.  "Wow, Gin . . . That dress is really nice."

"You think so?  Do I look like a big girl?"

Bellaniece bit her lip and sighed.  "Yeah . . . But do me a favor?"

"What's that?"

Bellaniece made a face.  "Don't say 'big girl'."

"Why?"

"It doesn't sound right."

"Oh . . . Okay."

Bellaniece straightened up suddenly and held up the dress in her hands.  "Here!  Try this one!"

Gin titled her head as she stared at the thin gossamer dress.  "You can . . . see through this," she said dubiously.

Bellaniece shrugged.  "Just a little.  Anyway, it reminded me of the wings Daddy made for you.  I just thought maybe it'd be pretty.  Besides, you could always wear a simple little dress under it, too, if you wanted.  Just layer them."

"Where would I wear it?"

"You wouldn't have to wear it, if you didn't want to, Gin.  You don't even have to buy it, really.  I thought you'd look so good in it, though . . . Just . . . try it on?"

Gin eyed the dress another moment then sighed.  "Okay."

She carefully slipped the black dress off and handed it to Bellaniece before stepping into the other dress.  Bellaniece straightened the black dress on the hanger while Gin fussed with the billowing fabric of the gauzy dress.  The cap sleeves spilled over her shoulders in soft waves as the simplistic lines melted together in an elegant yet flirty statement.  Entirely feminine and delicate, Gin blinked as she stared at herself in the full length mirror.  The dress barely rested on her shoulders and flared out around her without seeming bulky.  It was loose and flowing, and Bellaniece sighed softly.

"That is beautiful," Bellaniece whispered.  "It reminds me of the fairy princesses in the books that Daddy used to buy me."

"Fairy princesses?"

Bellaniece giggled.  "Yeah . . . I figured you'd look good in that.  You look like . . . You look like one of Daddy's paintings."

Gin wondered why Bellaniece seemed so sad but couldn't bring herself to ask.  Biting her lip as she gazed at her reflection for another moment, Gin couldn't help but think about how the dress would look with Cain's wings.

"I sort of feel like a princess in this dress," she ventured, "but isn't it a waste of money to buy something I'll never wear in public?"

Bellaniece shrugged and pondered Gin's question.  "Well, you could if you wear something under it.  Still, it might be a waste of money, but isn't it worth it?"

"Isn't what worth it?"

"To feel like a princess, just for a moment?"

Gin pondered that as she turned to face her reflection once more.  'Belle's right . . . It is worth it, isn't it?'

Bellaniece's melancholy spoke to her.  Gin wished she understood what troubled her new friend.  Pretending to look at herself, she watched Bellaniece instead, frowning as Bellaniece stared at her hands, surrounded by sadness that only she truly understood.

"Bellaniece?  Are you okay?" Gin asked cautiously.

Bellaniece blinked as her gaze cleared, and she smiled as her eyes met Gin's in the mirror.  "Sure!  I'm fine . . . maybe a little homesick."

"Aww . . . Is there anything I can do to help?"

Bellaniece shook her head.  "It's not that . . . Just at home, I normally met up with my friends on Saturday nights, and we'd go dancing or just hang out . . . I miss it sometimes."

Gin shrugged.  "I . . . I could do that with you.  I mean, I don't know how to dance, but maybe I could learn . . .?"

"Really?"

Gin smiled tentatively.  "Can you teach me?"

Bellaniece laughed, eyes sparkling again as the shadows receded.  "Oh, sure!  It's not hard!  I bet you'd pick it up fast enough."  Bellaniece's expression clouded over and she shook her head.  "You sure?  I mean, you weren't going to spend time with Daddy, were you?  Because if you were—"

Gin wrinkled her nose.  "I think it sounds like fun," she insisted.  "Cain's probably mad at me for kicking him out last night, anyway."

"Well, I don't think he is," Bellaniece said slowly.  "But if you're positive . . ."

Gin giggled as she took off the dress and pulled her sundress back on.  "I'm positive.  It sounds like fun, and I've always wanted to learn how to dance."

"Okay," Bellaniece agreed as she yanked the dressing room door open.  "Come on!  Let's find something for you to wear tonight!"