"Well, god-damn! Smell those pies! V's putting on a feast today!" Garnet chuckled heartily, his nose sniffing the air in an almost cartoonish manner. Seeth was sure that any moment now, Garnet would take off and float towards the kitchen, nose first.
The Fixer Den was busy today, the sound of chatter and laughter echoing around the station as Garnet and Seeth finished up their plans for the rest of the week. The sound was far from a distraction or an annoyance though; this new warmth in the Den was a welcome change from the seemingly endless months of cold anticipation and worry that had permeated the Den prior to Seeth's arrival. Her hard work was paying off, and she was seeing the results. All those tiresome days of cleaving through Baron after Baron, liberating this small sector of space, had lifted the spirits of the local nomads tenfold.
"Stay focused, Garnet, let's just hammer out the last of these details, and then I can get started on the next contract." Seeth stifled a smile as the otter's belly growled loudly. There was a small part of her that was holding onto the hope that she could get out of this meeting without anything... out of the ordinary happening today, but as she cast a glance towards the back of the room, at the rack of suspiciously strider-sized outfits that Garnet was trying to conceal behind a folding screen, she couldn't help but think that that was wishful thinking.
The otter had made a rather audacious attempt to dress smartly today. He was wearing a slightly too small but still endearing suit, complete with tartan patches and an absurdly coloured tie. He fidgeted with the collar uncomfortably, and pulled the jacket down over his belly for the umpteenth time that afternoon as he looked over in Seeth's general direction with a smile.
"Well, that's the thing, Seeth! With the latest set of barges you took out this week, the Baron's have all but disappeared from the local sector! Their mothership was seen retreating out of the sector yesterday! There are, o'course, a few stragglers still left behind - we're workin' on locating 'em, but in all honesty, we ain't all that worried! You've done it, Seeth!"
"I've... Y-You mean... I've actually..." Seeth stumbled over her words in shock, unsure of exactly how to feel.
"You've driven them back! I don't have any Vora Baron work for you today!"
"Nothing?!"
"Nope! Nothin'! We'll get some more soon no doubt, they're relentless bastards, but it'll be nothing compared to what you've been doing, such as mopping up them stragglers I mentioned. The locals have been repairing and rearming, too. Them Baron attacks have become weaker and few and far between. You've broken the bastards!"
Not for the first time, Seeth felt a wave of relief that Garnet couldn't see her, or her facial expressions. While the otter wore a large, genuine smile - he was practically beaming ear to ear as he bubbled with a giddy excitement - Seeth did not quite share his sense of relief. She couldn't help the small, shy smile that was creeping over her lips though.
So this is what it feels like...
"And so..." Garnet pulled at his tie as he continued. "Me an' V an' some of the others got to thinking, and we decided that, well, perhaps a celebration would be in order!"
"Garnet!" Seeth immediately started to protest, but the otter interrupted her.
"V did say you might have some trepidations about us throwing you a party, but Seeth, you deserve it! All the nomads 'round here have been wanting to show you their appreciation, and it's only a small party!"
"Oh yeah? How small, because it doesn't sound small out there!"
"Only like, fifty people -"
"GARNET!"
"Including your friends! And Tora's here, me and V will be here! Don't you go blowing this out of proportion now, we're throwing you a party and that's that."
"And you saved that small bit of news until the end of our meeting so you could keep me here for the party, didn't you?" Seeth shook her head in quiet defeat, looking over at the rack of dresses again.
"Yep!" Garnet replied with a grin. "I was wondering if you'd notice something was up or not! Apparently, old Garnet's still got it." He added, somewhat smugly.
"Bah, you fucker!" Seeth laughed. "Fine! I guess I can stay for a bit. But I'm not really dressed for it though..." As she looked over at the rack of dresses, properly now, she couldn't help but feel a slight twinge of anxiety regarding the... colourful variety on display.
"V thought you might say something like that, so we put the word out, got you a nice selection of clothes. Now I should warn y'all, it was a bit of a challenge trying to find outfits that would fit your, uh... dimensions..." Garnet blushed slightly, but continued in his confident stride. "So there's a bit of a mix of styles and sizes goin' on. Got you a mirror though too, is just there, stacked up against the wall." Garnet gestured towards the back of the room. "So try some stuff out, see what you like! Feel free to get changed in here if you want. I'll leave ya in peace, I'm sure there's something else for me to do around here -"
"- DARLIN'!" V's voice suddenly echoed through the office, her tone somehow soft as dough but still loud enough to fill every room. "I NEED YOU IN THE KITCHEN! THIS TIVY GIRL GON BE MAKING SOUP IN THE SINK UNLESS YOU WASH UP SOME OF THESE POTS 'N PAAAANS!"
"There it is! Duty calls! Say, that friend of yours, Tivy, she's a sweet lil' pea, ain't she? She been the one keeping y'all fed at home?"
"Tiv's here? Yeah, she cooks for us when we're all out working. She looks after us..." Seeth murmured thoughtfully as she made her way over to the clothes rack. "Why?"
"I thought as much! She's been zipping all about the den, practically V's partner in crime today! Kinda reminded me of you, only she cooks instead of pulling Baron's apart... Hah! We invited the rest of your crew too, y'all seem close..." For a second, the otter's face softened into something... sad, longing... but it quickly snapped back to that happy grin. "Well, I'll leave you to it!" And with that, Garnet stood from his chair and waddled out of the room, closing the door behind him, and leaving Seeth alone.
Seeth sighed softly as she ran her fingers along her assortment of clothes. V really had wrangled up quite the... selection for her. There was a wide range of colours, fabrics, sizes and styles in front of her, and while it was obvious that most of them were second-hand and had been donated, they all looked like they had been cleaned and looked after.
No trousers, V? No suits? Just dresses, wonderful. It's like high school prom all over again...
She pulled a cocktail dress off the rack with a soft clink. She pressed it up against herself, and looked across at her reflection in the mirror. The dress had been made with a more busty clientele in mind, to give credit to V, but not this busty.
"Mhm. Yeah... No. That's not quite going to fit my... dimensions." Seeth smirked and laughed lightly as she returned the dress to the rack, and pulled out another.
Despite her initial apprehension, there was something quite exciting about trying on all these outfits. It had been a very long time since Seeth had had the opportunity to do something as normal as dress up and go to a party, and a part of her was actually feeling excited. Most of the dresses on display, however, unfortunately just weren't suitable, most falling short of her ample figure - except for one hideous exception, a deep emerald green dress that, while it fitted over her curves, did anything but compliment them. She pulled it over her head and took a step back, eyeing herself in the mirror. It was absolutely massive. Honestly, she'd look better if she rocked up to the party wrapped up in a shower curtain.
She was left with only two real options; a tight, revealing black satin piece that glittered and glistened in the light, and a more modest (but still flattering) lacey white dress. As she lifted the black dress up though, she couldn't help but imagine how it would hug and squeeze over her curves, and just how much of her frame it would display. She would be the centre of attention in a piece like that, more than she already was.
