The Things We Do For Love

“Miss Relena, are you sure that this is a good idea?” Dorothy asked uncertainly. She still couldn’t quite believe the fact that her best friend had had the gall to set her up on a date. Not only that, but she was currently shopping with said best friend, about to throw away perfectly good money on some useless outfit or other.

“Dorothy, all my ideas are good ones,” Relena assured her, pulling her into a nearby department store. “Besides, we have so much work to do today! We have to find you something good to wear and after that you’re going to go to a salon and get a completely new look.”

“A new look?” Dorothy squawked angrily.

“Yes, Dorothy, a new look,” Relena said, stating the last two words with such vehemence that Dorothy fell silent. “The hair has got to go.”

“No way!” Dorothy cried indignantly. “I haven’t had it cut for years and I ‘m not about to cut it anytime soon!”

“Yes you are,” Relena insisted. “You want a good length of it chopped off…maybe if you had it cut to just below your shoulders?”

“Not a chance!” Dorothy snapped. “I’ve had hair long enough to sit on since I was a small child, Miss Relena. Besides, I don’t even like short hair.”

“But it won’t be short,” said Relena reassuringly. “It’ll still be quite long, just not as long as you’ve been used to having it. Admit it, you must get tired of caring for it sometimes. It’ll be so much easier to manage if it’s shorter, I promise.”

Dorothy paused for a moment, looking thoughtful. Miss Relena did have a point. In spite of how much she loved her hair, taking care of it was a pain. She went through conditioner like crazy and it always took forever to dry. Maybe it wouldn’t be such a bad idea after all…

“All right then,” she announced. “But I decide exactly how much gets cut off.”

“Of course,” Relena said agreeably. “You know, I think you should have something done to your eyebrows too while we’re here.”

Dorothy didn’t reply to that comment. She’d been meaning to have something done about them for quite some time now, but out of sheer laziness (and, not that she’d admit to it, a little fear) she had never done anything about it. “Perhaps you’re right,” she said hesitantly.

Relena positively beamed at her. “That’s the spirit! As soon as we’ve got the clothing sorted out, we’re going to find the best salon and beautician’s parlour they have to offer here! But first thing’s first…we have to find you some clothes.”

Dorothy sighed as she followed her enthusiastic friend. All this effort just to look good for a guy? Dorothy had never bothered to dress up in her entire life. Well, not for a boy anyway. Formal meetings didn’t count.

It wasn’t just any guy either; it was Quatre’s friend, Trowa Barton. Dorothy had met him a couple of times after the incident on Libra, but they’d never really had the chance to talk. Not that Trowa ever talked much anyway.

Sure, he was cute and all, Dorothy mused. All right, he was more than cute, he was hot…but damned if she’d ever admit that! Dorothy Catalonia did not simper over the opposite sex. She would go out on this date, not expecting anything at all. If she didn’t get her hopes up, she wouldn’t be disappointed.

“Dorothy, stop day dreaming!” Relena’s voice snapped Dorothy from her thoughts. “I’ve found a skirt that will look positively wonderful on you!”

Dorothy sighed and walked over to Relena, her eyes widening when she saw what her friend was holding. “It looks a little short,” she said bluntly.

“Yes, I suppose it does,” Relena said mildly. “And blue is definitely your colour so I think this would look great on you!”

“I’d look like a whore if I wore that,” Dorothy protested with a glare. “I am going on a date with Trowa Barton, Miss Relena, not trying to attract kerb crawlers to show them a ‘good time’.”

“Oh, Dorothy, you’re so silly,” Relena said with a giggle. “Here, try it on.”

Grumbling to herself, Dorothy headed off to change, if only to make Relena shut up. Honestly, the girl never seemed to accept no for an answer.

Relena “oooh-ed” in appreciation when Dorothy stepped out again, tugging on the hem of the skirt self-consciously.

“It looks marvellous on you,” Relena told her happily. “Just don’t bend down or anything when you were it out tonight. After all, you don’t want to be flashing your panties at Trowa on the first date now, do you?” she added cheekily.

Dorothy sputtered angrily, her cheeks turning crimson. “Fine, I’ll buy the stupid skirt,” she snapped, whirling round and going back into the changing rooms.

“Trowa will appreciate it, trust me!” Relena called loudly. Dorothy cringed inwardly. Damn that girl! Why did she have to be so embarrassing? And why did she have to get dressed up like this anyway, just to please someone else?

“Hurry up, Dorothy, we don’t have all day! We still need to find you a top to wear with the skirt! And shoes to match!”

“Coming, Miss Relena,” Dorothy muttered to herself, putting on the pants that she’d come in with and making her way back out into the store to find Relena waiting for her, tapping her foot impatiently.

“There you are! Come on, we have to hunt for a top and a pair of shoes. Let’ s go!”

Half an hour later, the two girls finally left the store, Dorothy clutching her new purchases in fancy bags as she tried to keep up with her ever-cheerful best friend. Stopping for a moment to shift the bags to her other arm, Dorothy almost didn’t notice where they’d ended up.

“Oh, Miss Relena, no! I am not going in there!”

“Don’t be such a baby,” Relena chided, grabbing her free arm. “After all, you do need new underwear, do you not? And besides, we have to find you something to completely knock Trowa’s socks off.”

“I thought I wasn’t supposed to flash him my panties at the first date,” Dorothy muttered, embarrassed, but tagging along behind Relena anyway. The smaller girl completely ignored her, instead heading straight to the nearest display of brassieres. She glanced over at Dorothy with a critical gaze before selecting a lacy black push-up bra.

Dorothy didn’t even take it from her, just stood there with her mouth wide open in shock.

“What’s the matter, Dorothy. Don’t you like it?” Relena asked teasingly. “You want to knock his socks off, right? Well you should go ahead and give him an eyeful too.”

“Miss Relena, I don’t need anything to enhance my natural figure, thank you very much,” Dorothy hissed.

“I never said that there was anything wrong with your figure,” Relena replied calmly. “But there’s nothing wrong with a little extra help, right?”

“You really are trying to dress me up like a hooker, aren’t you?” Dorothy asked wearily.

“Of course I’m not!” said Relena, sounding offended. “Remember, you’re doing this for Trowa.”

“Of course,” said Dorothy with a glare. “Like I do everything else for Trowa. Like I take my vitamins for Trowa, I get eight hours sleep a night for Trowa and I even make sure I brush my teeth twice a day for Trowa. Because when it all comes down to it…I do it all for him!”

“Now now, Dorothy, there’s no need to be sarcastic,” Relena admonished. “Seriously though, you want to look good for your date, right?”

“I suppose,” Dorothy sighed. “Still, I don’t think that he’ll be making such an effort to look good for me.”

“You don’t know that,” Relena told her with a smile. “But I do know that Trowa is a gentleman and that he wouldn’t turn up looking a mess now. Stop being so pessimistic and think about how much you’re going to enjoy yourself tonight. Now that we’ve picked out a bra for you, it’s time to find panties that match. How do you feel about thongs?”

“Thongs?! Absolutely not!”

Dorothy hung her head and sighed. This was going to be a long day…