Colors of Remnant

Grayson was enthralled by this shop's selection of suits. It boasted some in various colors, but he always gravitated towards the classic black and white suits. One could take a single look in his closet and find no variation in his outfits. To any criticism sent his way about his fashion choices, Grayson would always reply...

You cannot improve upon that which is already perfect. Grayson mused as he eyed one of the monochrome suits in his size. He took one look at the price tag and winced reflexively. If there was one thing he had not gotten used to, it was carrying a light wallet. Having lived in luxurious conditions his whole life, he was beginning to realize how privileged he was growing up.

One of the store's associates came up to Grayson, asking if he required assistance with anything.

"I'm alright, just browsing for now." Grayson replied. It was a smooth, refined, and sophisticated tone of voice. He stressed every syllable equally, the final product of such a voice almost sounded musical upon its delivery. The store associate walked off, likely searching for another customer to assist.

This is the worst.
Ela never felt as much humiliation and shame as she did during clothes shopping.
She had just ripped her favorite blouse last week during the celebration of her dad's friend's marriage. She had apparently outgrown the blouse since the last time she wore it, as she had ripped it clean down the back when she bowed down.
And now she was in dire need of a replacement, as another celebration was coming up soon, and she had to look presentable, but she also had a career to learn for, so the only day she'd have time to go shopping was now...and she was hopeless.

Ela had picked up a few blouses; the ones she liked the most, yet none of them even closely fit her.
Ela turned around, maybe she should just try the men's section...again.
Maybe she should ask the store worker for help?
N-no, way to embarrassing.

She'd just keep looking, surely one of these aisles would have a blouse that fit someone just slightly larger.

Grayson continued perusing the suits in his aisle. Checking his wallet, he ensured the amount of Lien he was carrying. It was not nearly enough to purchase anything he wanted. The cheap style of living grated on him. He was surprised that Denver was able to live like this. He eventually decided to wander off to another aisle of the store, one that was more suited to the amount of money in his wallet.

Looking at another aisle, Grayson realized he had stumbled into the big and tall aisle. Although he could tell by looking at these clothes that they would be far too big on him. He was tall, sure, but this aisle was definitely meant for people of even greater stature and size. While he was window-shopping, Grayson sensed an exceptionally large presence passing behind him. Without even looking up from the clothes he was observing, he called out to the large person.

"This is probably the best aisle for you, sir." Grayson spoke, unaware of the mistake he just made.

Ela's hope was running thin, her search had resulted in no matches so far.
She could try and go to a different store in hopes of finding a fitting blouse there, right, Vale didn't only have a single clothing store, maybe a new one had appeared since the last time she went to buy clothes?

A voice from behind her reminded Ela of the other option: men's clothes. This way, she would probably find something that she could physically wear, but was there going to be anything that fit her style?
Men's clothes did tend to be somewhat neutral, even boring, in matters of design.
Not that she had much choice.

With a sigh, Ela turned around and walked towards the isle the kind customer had pointed out to her.
"Thank you, I was hoping to find a cute blouse, but I guess a plain shirt will have to do for now."
Ela offered the younger man a polite, yet obviously downtrodden, smile.
On second glance, he seemed to be a Beacon student, a new one at that, Ela would have liked to chat, but it seemed they were both busy browsing, so she simply refocused her attention on finding a shirt that wasn't too boring.

Grayson practically froze in place upon hearing her voice. Comically, he blinked twice upon realizing what he just did, all without taking his eyes off the merchandise.

FUCK! Grayson mentally rebuked himself, realizing he accidentally misgendered the other person in the aisle. Given her reaction, she did not seem to be offended. Despite that, Grayson turned to her before apologizing.

"My apologies, I did not mean to misgender you. I shouldn't have made the assumption based on stature alone." Grayson spoke. He practically had to crane his neck to make eye contact with the absolute unit that stood before him. She looked like she could toss a train car with ease with the muscle she had on her frame, yet she displayed no outward signs of aggression or rage, quite the opposite actually.

And I thought my mother was physically strong... She completely blows my mother out of the water in that department. Best to stay on her good side... Grayson mused.

Ela was a bit confused at first, simply looking at Grayson, until she realized what he had said and was so worried about.
Putting her hand in front of her face, Ela simply giggled, which sounded much girlier than expected given her stature she knew it was rude, but what better way to calm down Grayson than with some lighthearted laughter, she calmed herself quickly, clearing her throat.
"I'm very sorry about that, you have no reason to worry, this is not the first time someone has made this mistake, which is to say I'm used to it."
Ela offered him a kind and calm smile, yet upon looking at him, Grayson looked VERY fashionable, he seemed to have a good eye for fashion, so maybe he could her with her issue.
"But, since I already have your attention, could you help me out? I was looking for a blouse for a wedding, but I...can't find any in my size."
Ela frowned a little, yet quickly regained her composure.
"You seem to know a thing or two about male fashion, could you perhaps help me find something that could fit the occasion but isn't too dull?"
She asked, a bit nervous, it was strange asking fashion advice from anyone, let alone someone she had just met...not that she knew anyone who shared her fashion sense or had a fashion sense in the first place.

A chance to show his skills? How could he resist this opportunity? Grayson nodded in affirmation, taking a step back. He took a moment to size up the towering, gentle giant that stood before him. Although he did pick up that she was a bit nervous, Grayson was mainly concerned with solving her current plight.

"I'm Grayson, by the way." Grayson quipped briefly.

She's certainly quite large, I'm not sure if any nearby store will have a size large enough to accommodate her sheer size... We could consider alterations, but it's easier to take away material than to add it... Grayson held his chin and tapped his foot rhythmically as his noggin began churning in thought.

"Wait here a second. I'm going to grab something." Grayson proclaimed before walking briskly over to the shirts section of the store. He rapidly grabbed the largest shirt he saw on the rack before hastening back to where he was before. He held out the shirt to her.

"There's fitting rooms in the corner of the store. Try it on and we'll figure things out from there." Grayson stated, pointing in the direction of the fitting rooms.

Ela was more than happy that Grayson had accepted to help her, though his methods were a bit strange in her eyes?
What did a shirt have to do with her wanting to find a blouse or suit, she did not show her confusion, however, she chooses to play along, with a nod, walking over to the fitting rooms, luckily there was an empty cabin.
Ela quickly changed, or as quickly as she could, these cabins were always incredibly cramped, even the top of her head was peaking out.

Ela left, now in the new shirt, it fit well enough, but the design was definitely not of her choice, a simple gray shirt with the logo of some band written on it like spray paint on a wall.
"I have to say, I really do not like this one, I don't even recognize the band."
Ela said, grabbing the shirt and pulling it up to where she could read the text a bit better, revealing her abs as she did.
Then dropping it back down, looking at Grayson again, the confusion now obvious in her face.

Grayson was also a bit confused. He could have sworn that he had grabbed a dress shirt. He blinked. Nope, it wasn't a mirage. It was the genuine article; he had grabbed her a t-shirt accidentally. He pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration and took a deep breath.

"They rearranged their inventory... Again... Sorry, I thought I had grabbed a more appropriate piece of attire. One moment, please..." Grayson hissed, clearly exasperated at the store for foiling his plan to help someone before walking off towards the blouses. In retrospect, he really should have checked to see if he was in the right aisle. Now he looked like a dullard, an ignoramus, a nincompoop!

Fucking imbeciles! There's a reason why we pay you donkeys minimum wage! Grayson mused, smoldering as he picked the largest blouse available on the rack before walking back to Ela.

Ela didn't mind, Grayson was doing his best to help her, and she more than appreciated it, a mistake here or there wasn't an issue.
She took the band shirt off, placing it neatly back in the changing room, so she could put it back later.

Grayson was back soon, and Ela simply reached out of the changing room with her hand from between the curtains and grabbed...a blouse.
Right, she was just going to try, maybe she had missed this one and Grayson found her much-wanted solution.
But, no luck, when Ela tried to button up the blouse, she couldn't do so without feeling the material suffer.
Ela walked out of the changing room with her blouse only buttoned up over her belly button, for emphasis she tried to close the buttons over her chest, letting Grayson see how this just did not work.
"This is my main issue, even the "large" section in the female clothing selection looks well, like this."
Ela said, shrugging with a small smile and a defeated sigh, before crossing her arms over her chest.

Grayson patiently waited on the other side of the curtain for Ela to finish changing. He heard the curtain open sooner than he anticipated. He turned around to Ela.

"So, how does this one f-" Grayson could hardly finish his sentence when he saw Ela, wearing the blouse, but not fully buttoned up. Color rushed to his cheeks as he could hardly process the picture in front of him. It was like a binary hiccup had occurred in a computer.

"I-I see." Grayson said, barely able to look at Ela before clearing his throat and getting a hold of himself.

I believe that's called "suffering from success" Grayson thought.

"In that case, I don't think you'll find anything bigger in this store. That was the biggest one I could find." he added.

Ela smirked as she saw Grayson reaction, as shameful as it was she did always enjoy the reactions she got out of people with her looks.
Ela retreated back behind the curtain and put on her previous clothes again, giving Grayson some space.

She returned, yet could only sigh at his comment, shaking her head a little.
"I'm well aware Grayson, I did not ask for your help to peruse the women's section of this store, I was hoping the men's section, which I am unfamiliar with, could have something that fit me better, given that well..
Ela paused, looking down at Grayson, she didn't know how to say this nicely, she really hoped he wasn't self-conscious about his own height.
"...some men are more my size."
This still felt mean, she was kicking herself for not taking a second longer to think over her reply.

Grayson patiently waited as Ela retreated behind the counter once again. Once she came back out again, he was expecting a thank you, but he ended up getting an unexpected result... Upon hearing her comment about his size, he crossed his arms and looked away for a brief moment, seemingly puffing up his chest just a bit.

"I'm still a... respectable size." Grayson replied coyly, wondering how she would receive this type of response.

Ela had to sigh, that was rude of her.
"I apologize, I forget that my size is not really all that normal."
She looked apologetic, eyes looking to the side.

She yet regained her composure, clapping her hands together.
"Regardless, let's give it one more try in the men's section, then...well, how about ice cream on me afterward?"
Ela asked, offering ice cream sounded like a fair compensation for his help.

"No worries, I'm not offended that easily." Grayson said, accepting her apology.

"Sure. I don't think I caught your name yet." he added, realizing that she had yet to introduce herself to him.

Ela managed a smile again, which immediately cracked again as she realized she had not even told Grayson her name.
"Ah..."
Her smile stayed, but it was visibly strained, with a light blush on her cheeks and Ela looking away for just a second.
"i-it's Ela, Ela Motley, I'm sorry I was just...stressed, this wedding is very important and I've been worried sick over not looking good for it, the stress must have taken my manners, I apologize, again."

Ela, took another deep breath, as she gathered herself once more.
"Right then! Let's find me a nice shirt!"
Ela took the lead toward the men's section, this time plenty of options were found, plenty of which she and Grayson sorted through for the next half an hour, with plenty of going in and out of the changing room for Ela and Grayson judging the selection with scrutiny yet also constructive feedback, until finally the selection was narrowed down to 3 shirts.
All form fitting and fancy just as much Ela liked, she had them all stuffed into a bag looking unusually happy, a big smile on her face.
"Thank you so for your help, Grayson, I couldn't have done it without your insight."
Ela said, showing him a warm smile, as she stepped out the store.
"Now then, how about some ice cream, I could really go for some chocolate right about now."
Ela motioned to a cozy looking ice cream store just down the street.

"Sounds like a plan, Ela." Grayson replied.

I suppose free ice cream will do as a reward for now... Perhaps I can gain something better out of an eventual friendship with her in the future... Grayson mused as he followed Ela towards the establishment. Come to think of it, Grayson had yet to come to this one in particular. Either that or he was still getting accustomed to this city.

Ela made her way to the store quickly, as she got to the front she quickly ordered herself a chocolate, cookie dough and chocolate chip and caramel sauce cup.
She knew this wasn't good for her health, but she deserved a little treat after that ordeal.
As her cup was being made she turned to Grayson.
"Your turn, I'm paying, so feel free to grab whatever you want."
She offered with a kind smile.

Once they both had their orders, Ela took a seat a little further off under one of the umbrellas around the store.
The plastic chair squeaking for mercy under Ela's weight, something she blissfully ignored as she dug into her ice cream.
"So Grayson, what brings you to Vale and I assume Beacon? You look like a Beacon student to me, even though we just met."
Ela asked, mixing some more ice cream in her cup.