Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

As any simple day in TPOT’s game parameters, the contestants were outside playing merrily and enjoying being outside. The sun shining high with a clear sky in this warm, spring afternoon already was a good reason to happily stay outside, and what better than to have fun with friends! The new teams had so many new bonds to offer, but they could always hang out with their friends from the first teams.

Despite what this perfect day could offer, someone still stayed inside the hotel since the day started, yearning to enjoy mindlessly as everyone else: Gaty.

She was inside her room with the curtains closed as she nervously took out a huge amount of clothes from her wardrobe. Standing in front of a mirror, she tried to visualize many outfits and find the perfect one, to no avail. She groaned when finally sitting on her bed, and rested her head on both hands. She hated this.

Lately, she felt awfully uncomfortable with her own body. She assumed most of the girls left in the competition had this same issue, but how could she know? Besides, they most likely had this problem resolved and if that was the case, Gaty was the only one falling behind. And the worst part, she had no one on her team to open up and confide this problem to. Fanny hated practically everything and based on what she knew, she probably won’t say anything positive. Tree, Marker and Black Hole were boys, what could they know? She had only one actually good option left…

“Gaty, are you here?” Pin’s voice could be recognized everywhere, as well as her sharpness and confidence with it.

She entered Gaty’s room and saw her distressed teammate with a lot of clothes thrown across the room.

“There you are! Oh, are you okay?”

“Well, not entirely. Do you mind if I take some stuff out of my chest?” Gaty requested, patting a spot on the bed next to her.

“Sure! Go ahead.”

“Okay, firstly, do you know what gender dysphoria is? You know, feeling uncomfortable with some parts of your body because your body doesn’t- doesn’t reflect… you.”

“Hm, I’ve heard of it, yeah,” Pin conceded, taking the seat.

“Well, I’ve been struggling a lot with that these last few days. I- And I don’t know what to do about it. I want people to look at me and truly see a girl. I’ve been doing some voice training, but I feel like it’s not enough.”

“Well, It’s not that difficult, really. I can help with that if you want to.”

“You really will?” Gaty queried, a smile tugging the corner of her lips.

“Yeah!”

A short silence filled the room. A feeling of anticipation remained inside Gaty.

“And… how do you plan to do that?”

“I’ll give you a tour over femininity, and we’ll see if any of that helps you feel better!” Pin explained. “And we’ll do it along these days, so it doesn’t overwhelm you to not instantly see changes after shoving everything to you at once.”

“Okay, that sounds good, actually.”

“First of all, I see you’re struggling with what to wear, am I right?”

“Does it look like it?” Gaty said with irony, but chuckling.

“I can help you with that first. So, let’s see what you got.”

After that, Pin took a look at what Gaty’s clothes had to offer. Everything that laid on the bed had periwinkle and yellow in a way or another, which didn’t leave her with much options. All of these had a problem: there was no definite style or fashion, it would be almost impossible to combine them together despite being pretty.

“I think I see your problem here,” Pin stated. “You have too many things, but you can’t combine them because you don’t have a definite style!”

“Ohh, that makes sense.”

“Exactly. We need to get a look at the many fashion trends that coexist, and let you decide!” she proposed.

After nodding, Gaty saw herself sinking into the blessings of Pinterest as Pin mindlessly scrolled over the precious and well elaborated outfits. Every now and then, she would look over different stuff and show them to Gaty, practically scanning at the outfits that apparently fitted in an alternative style.

“Those don’t quite convince me,” Gaty confessed. “Why don’t we go over something more… I don’t know, more casual but still feminine?”

“Oh, like downtown, things like that?”

“Uh yeah I guess. Let me have a look.”

After Pin searched it for her, she found the right thing she was looking for. She envied these girls that managed to make such pretty outfits and have eventful lives. As she was scrolling down, she found something else, something more ethereal and naturesque.

“What about this one?” Gaty asked, pointing at the post of a person with a mojoyce skirt.

“Oh, that? I’m pretty sure it’s fairycore.”

“Looks cool, can we see more of that?” She requested.

Pin agreed. She tapped over the picture and kept scrolling down from there. Gaty could swear she had a similar skirt getting dust inside her wardrobe, but couldn’t recall. She observed the graceful and exquisite clothing, and how it perfectly hugged their connatural girl bodies. Great

She’s just like them, just in a different body. She doesn’t need to feel bad because she can achieve that-

If only she could be enough of a girl.

But she already is

Then why doesn’t she see it when looking at herself?

Pin noticed that her friend zoned out, staring at the screen with her brows slightly frowned. “So, do you like them?”

“Oh, uh, yeah. They’re nice, but I don’t have anything like those with me.”

“I get it,” Pin said while taking her hand to her chin. “Now that we know what we’re aiming for, we can see what we need from your wardrobe and what we don’t, so we can make space for the things we truly need!” Pin explained.

“Sounds nice. But where do we start?”

“First we need to see what we got,” Pin disclosed. She took a white tank top and showed it. “Do we really need this?”

“Mhh, it’s too tight, I’m not sure if I’ll use it.”

“Okay, we’ll pile these things on this side-” she laid it on the feet of Gaty’s bed- “and the rest on the head of the bed, okay?”

“Yeah, it’s fine.”

“Good. What about this one?” She queried while showing a yellow skirt.

“Yeah, I actually use that one.”

“There we go!” Pin exclaimed, laying it on the head of the bed.

As a matter of fact, Gaty had many clothes, Far too many for being the simple girl she was, which showed at the struggle of finishing this apparently easy task. Some things like flared skirts could be fixed and reused, while others inevitably had to go, like a bunch of low waisted jeans she kept around “just in case”.

“Okay, we’re almost done,” Pin sighed in utter relief. “Do you use this skirt? it’s kinda like the fairycore thingies we just saw-”

“That’s exactly like them!” Gaty celebrated, having found the skirt she was thinking about.

“Off you go!” Pin said loudly while laying the skirt on a now moderate pile.

“Wait wait wait I’m not so sure about that one,” Gaty confessed. She started fidgeting with the ruffle of the periwinkle skirt she was wearing.

“Why not?”

“I… It kinda makes me feel uncomfortable with how it looks, y’know, down there.”

“Huh? …Oh, right! Well, is there something you can use to flatten it?”

“I’ve heard jean shorts help with that. I’m not sure if I have any- Pin? Pin, are you listening?”

She saw how Pin took a short made of a rather thick cloth that she didn’t see before.

“Right here!”

“Oh thank goodness. I didn’t want to throw away that one.”

“Yeah. Let’s keep going, we’re almost done!”

˚₊‧꒰ა ☆ ໒꒱ ‧₊˚

After they finished tidying up the wardrobe and trying on some new combinations, which was at the end of midday, Pin dismissed Gaty and left the apartment. Now, Gaty had to do things by herself and pick a cool outfit for today. She and Two planned to have a therapy session at night, which meant she could use any of the outfits she tried out with the help of Pin. A thin purple shirt hugged her figure with a white skirt and black sandals that enhanced the look. The reflection in the mirror showed how calm and confident she felt right now.

“Okay, there we go,” Gaty said to her reflection in the mirror, “If Two or anyone doesn’t like it, we don’t care. Well, if it’s Two we do care, but we won’t let it hurt us, okay? Good.”

Those affirming words were more than enough to pull herself out of the apartment. She closed the door behind her, went upstairs and crossed the corridor. The prime number painted on the door revealed she had the right door in front of her.

After knocking on the door, she waited for a few seconds. The door opened, showing the host of the game with their usual suit outfit and their pink tutu skirt over it, which didn’t even cover over their knees.

“Oh, hi, Gaty!” Two greeted with great gladness, waving their arms at her. “You can come on in.”

Two let her in. This damned room was the one where Two spent the whole challenge, and where one of the bugs her team had to eliminate entered and caused their elimination. Well, she couldn’t hold grudges against a room.

“That’s a nice fit! It’s far more than usual, is there a special occasion I’m missing?”

She got too distracted.

“Uhh, Gaty?”

“Huh? Wait, what did you say?"

“Nothing, I just said you came with a more elegant outfit than usual and wondered if I was missing anything.”

“Oh, no, no. I-” she chuckled- “I just wanted to come better, that’s all. Let’s start, shall we?”

“Sure!”

Chapter Text

Such a tiring therapy session took her directly from Two’s room to her bed and into a nice night of deep slumber. As the sun shone through her window, she woke up and checked on her phone to see what time it was. 9:30 A.M. And not only that, she also had way too many messages from Pin.

Pin: GATY
Pin: GATY
Pin: GATY
Pin: GATYYYYYY
Pin: WAEK UO
Pin: UP*
Pin: WAKE UP GIRL!!!
Pin: WAKE UP GIRL WE’RE GOING SHOPPING‼️‼️
Pin: PLEASEE

She didn’t like to answer the phone before getting up, but if she kept her on read, Pin would probably keep spamming, and that wouldn’t be the most pleasant of experiences.

Gaty: what
Gaty: wdym “going shopping”?
Gaty: we didn’t agree to go shopping did we?

Pin: Uhh… no? But I thought today was a nice day.
Pin: Look, it’s exactly 21 centigrades!

Gay stared at the phone for a few seconds before typing again and sighed.

Gaty: fine.
Gaty: where r u

Pin: In my room. Why?

Gaty: so ur telling me ur in your room and still chose to text.

Pin: …yes?
Pin:😁

Gaty left her phone on the bed and stormed into Pin’s room. Once inside, she saw her comfortably laying on bed, phone in hand and wearing a big wide grin.

“Seriously, Pin? Come on,” Gaty complained. “Anyways, shouldn’t you get ready?”

“Yeah… just give me five more minutes”

“Fine, I’ll see what I’ll be wearing,” Gaty disclosed.

She headed back to her room and effortlessly took some clothes: a beige sundress with a brown yarn belt, translucent socks and mary janes. She put everything on and took a glance at the mirror.

“This will do,” she convinced herself.

The sound of a blender machine snapped her from her thoughts. Apparently her and Pin weren’t the only people in the house. Who could it be out of everyone? Definitely not Pin, she surely was still in bed.

Gaty went to the kitchen and saw Fanny serving a fresh-looking drink in a cup.

“Good morning, Fanny!” Gaty greeted.

She only grumbled something back

“What’s that? Can I try some?”

“No,” she replied sharply. “But, uhh, it’s a recipe Lightning gave me for a nice drink. He once complained about how he wanted to lend some to Black Hole and lost it all.”

“:.. Okay, so if you won’t give me some, how can I make it?”

“Just add some grape, lemon, blend it and done,” Fanny explained.

“Oh, cool.”

It sounded easy, but she couldn’t find any more grapes. Oh well. Nothing some chocolate drink can’t resolve. She served milk in her cup, a good amount of chocolate and put it in the microwave.

“Where are you going like that?” Fanny demanded, finally showing interest in something.

“Oh, I’ll go shopping with Pin some- uhh- some things we both need.”

Technically, she wasn’t lying. At least one of them needed something, so she hoped it sounded convincing enough to avoid questions from the fan.

“Well, Black Hole and I wanted to go shopping too. He needs things for the dumb of Tree and their little anniversary month, which I hate!”

“Oh, well that’s nice,” she said stiffly.

That was not nice. That was absolutely awful and inconvenient! What if they suggested to go together? She didn’t want them to see what was going on with her. Not like they would think bad of her nor like she really cared, but this is her private struggle which no one knew about –except for Pin–, and she preferred to keep it like that.

“Well, you don’t mind if we go our separate ways, right?” Fanny inquired.

“No, don’t worry, I don’t mind,” Gaty assured with a weak yet relieved smile.

“Good.”

They shared a moment of silence together until the microwave beeped and Gaty took the cup with her, sitting next to Fanny.

“So… is everyone else sleeping?” Gaty asked.

“Not that I know. But Robot Flower went to hang out with Basketball,” Fanny disclosed.

“Oh, well that’s nice.”

Right on time, Pin joined them with a zipped red jacket, along with black cargo pants and sneakers. She carried the apartment keys with her and waved her hand at Fanny.

“Hi, Fanny! We’re going shopping in Yoyle City using the bracelets Two gave us from episode 4. Be right back!”

She handed a bracelet to Gaty, and both placed it right on their wrists. In a second, their environment suddenly became a field of purple grass and some occasional bushes with yoyleberries.

“Ah, here we are. Yoyleland!” Pin cheered. “Ready to enjoy a nice day in the city?”

“Not really,” Gaty admitted.

“Don’t worry, I’ll be right by your side. Now let’s go!”

Yoyle City and the place they appeared on had a huge distance in between, so they had to walk a huge distance only to arrive. In the meantime, they talked about the team they were stuck in, or brainstorming of all the things they could do. Once both arrived, they had to hurry a little to find at least one place with the stuff they needed.

“So, what are we exactly looking for?” Gaty queried.

“What we aren’t looking for, is the real question,” Pin joked.

“We actually need a list of things to buy. Anything in mind?”

“I’ve been doing some research, and makeup helps tons with the looks. Maybe we should aim there.”

Gaty winced when hearing her proposal. Makeup wasn’t her strength; she definitely tried it at least five times with tons of methods, but her hands didn’t comply with her wish.

“Are you sure? ‘Cause I’m not sure, I really doubt it.”

“We can buy the basics and see how it goes,” Pin explained. “Besides, I can help you with that.”

“Oh, well, that sounds better then,” Gaty agreed.

“Yeah. So, first things first: the basics. As far as I know, we first need foundation, highlighter, contour and blush.”

“And where do we get those in all of Yoyle City?”

“Maybe a mall, or a makeup store will do. These things usually are expensive.”

As they walked across the crowded streets, many things caught Gaty’s eyes: wonderfully styled clothing, many things that she never thought could form a fancy outfit. White shirts, silk pants with flower patterns, everything seemed colorful and gaudy, but it wouldn’t be productive to buy things she wouldn’t wear.

Pin pointing at a big and bright beauty shop dragged her back to earth.

“What if we try with this one?” Pin suggested.

“Looks nice, we can give it a try.”

The lights of the interior gave the place an even brighter and cleaner atmosphere. A lot of kids were rushing around, taking some beauty products for themselves, as the parents, usually mothers, talked on the phone or with fellow mother friends. The shopping music played loudly on speakers hanging from the roof.

Gaty felt out of place here. Some kids with very elaborated outfits that fitted in neutral colors side-eyed her, analyzing her outfit from up to down. Their judgeful staring made Gaty weak at the knees, her breath getting slightly stuck on her throat.

“Do you like this one?” Pin asked, showing her something Gaty didn’t notice. She noted her distress. “Are you okay?”

“I- N-no, can we go somewhere else, please? Anywhere less crowded, I don’t care.”

“Sure.”

Quickly, she took her by the hand to the back of another shelf, taking her away from the kids’ gaze. “Better?”

Gaty took her hand to her chest, feeling her heartbeat pump profusely in her hand. “Damn, yeah.”

“What happened?”

“I don’t know, I- I saw some kids staring daggers at me, and got kinda nervous.”

“Hmm, do you want to go somewhere else?

“No, we have to get this thing done.”

“But-”

“I’ll get over it, I promise.”

“Okay… So, what do you think of this one?” And she shook the jar, showing it again.

“Hm, looks like my skin tone. Yeah, we can buy it.”

“Good, now let’s see what else we can get.”

To Gaty’s surprise, Pin hurried to a shelf with eyeliners, under eye concealer, eyeshadow, mascara, things for the eyes in general. This could give her time to inspect the things for the skin, like bronzer. Unluckily, she couldn’t test these things, it would be a lot easier if she could. Not only that, but some skin-care or makeup products claimed to be “for dry skin” or “combined skin”. What was that supposed to mean? She could ask Pin for some guidance, if only she could find her…

She wandered around other shelves, many were occupied by women of all ages, and something crept from the inside of her gut to all of her body.

Jealousy.

She wanted to be in their shoes, have the privilege of being in their bodies, she wanted to live what they lived, and not whatever this is.

“I’m back!” Pin exclaimed, holding many cosmetics with both hands.

“Woah, that looks like a lot of stuff!” Gaty chuckled. “Are you sure we need all of that?”

“Absolutely! Now, let’s just pay for this, shall we?”

“Yeah, but hey, I found some products that say they are good for dry skin or stuff like that, any idea what that’s about?”

“Oh, yeah. Depending on your skin type, some things can be better or worse for your skin. I can explain that to you later. I think the store might be about to close.”

“How do you know?”

“Overheard it from an old lady. Now let’s go!”

They hurried their step to an uncrowded checkout line, where they smoothly paid for the expensive products and happily ran outside. Then, they took their bracelets out of their wrists and found themselves back in their apartment, empty as promised. Tree and Marker must have gone outside too, since the only sound in the room came from the two girls.

“Oh, I forgot something,” Pin lamented, deadpan.

“What is it?”

“We need a thingy to take it out too, it’s not healthy for the skin to sleep with makeup on.”

“Wait, so you don’t sleep with it?” Gaty inquired, disappointment taking over her.

“Yeah, sometimes it turns out so good that I don’t want to take it out either.”

“Aw man,” Gaty grumbled, but changed the topic of the talk. “Well, can we try it out?”

“Sure!”

Laying the things they bought and opening them felt like those captivating unboxing videos where people show cool stuff they bought or got. Gaty really hoped this great purchase was really worth it, or else she would smash her head in a wall —as a joke of course—, but she still brushed that thought out of her mind.

˚₊‧꒰ა ☆ ໒꒱ ‧₊˚

“I’m done,” Pin huffed in relief. “What do you think?”

She left the products on the table and showed Gaty a small mirror. She stared at her reflection and could only see a better and completely different version of herself. She loved it!

“Wow…” That was the only thing she could utter, barely louder than a whisper.

“I’ll take that as a ten out of ten!”

“You’re officially my personal stylist,” Gaty blurted out with a weak yet grateful smile.

“Thanks! I’ll send you the video I used so you can do it too.”

“Sure!”

A knocking noise on the door alarmed Gaty, so she hurried in hiding the cosmetics in her room. She sighed once she got out of her room and saw Pin open the door. She felt a weight leave her back when seeing Fanny and Black Hole.

“I hate paying for stuff that’s not mine!” Fanny snarled. Both laid the bags on the table and Black Hole grumbled something under his breath before entering his room.

“How was it?” Pin asked curiously.

“Awful. Black Hole is a pain in the ass, being all indecisive and compliant, and I hate it.”

“We all are sometimes,” Gaty chuckled, getting a snicker from Pin.

“Compliant? I doubt it.”

“Well, want some makeup?” Pin inquired with a wide grin.

“How is that related to-”

“You definitely want some makeup,” Pin playfully imposed.

“No! I hate makeup!” Fanny barked.

Unluckily, her opposition to Pin’s proposal didn’t stop the latter from going to her room and taking all the makeup she would cover her in. So much noise filled the apartment that none of them noticed someone left the living room.

Gaty stared at the reflection in the bathroom mirror, the warm light setting alight her features. Her jaw looked soft, as well as the blush Pin applied. Her eyes were decorated with an eyeshadow that made justice to the overall look. The result of Pin’s efforts filled her with joy. But something lingered in the back of her mind: this wasn’t how she actually looked. Her face didn’t look as feminine as the makeup showed her. She took a deep breath to soothe herself, but no relief came from that action.

She was thankful of all the effort and time Pin took to help her, but the dread inside her body for herself needed a bit more to be kept at bay and fully erased.

She just wanted to be like any other girl.

Chapter Text

Today, Two requested Gaty to take care of some plants they put on the front door of the hotel a while ago, so Gaty put her makeup on and went downstairs.

This would be a nice and calming task to be part of, keeping in mind how awful she felt at night. She didn’t want to think much about that moment, it was only a bad thought, the exception of the rule. This reasoning worked to make her feel slightly better as she tidied the materials she needed for the thriving flowers. She watered them carefully, depending on how dry the dirt below them felt. Some of them were getting dry, so she thought this water came right on time, while others barely needed some droplets.

She walked around the other side of the hotel to find a few more pots with abundant healthy flowers. After bringing them all to the garden she was taking care of, she took a small shovel and one by one, located them in new spots on the ground.

Many people would occasionally interrupt her activity to start a short talk with her, mostly contestants from her previous teams. As the midday passed, she remembered Lollipop and Taco, her friends and former teammates. She still chatted with them and as far as she knew, they were competing with Four for a BFB, but eventually lost contact with them after it ended ーmostly from her part, since they now had tons of free time while she was still competingー.

After finishing, she stood up and calmly walked over to her apartment. Once there, the silence revealed everyone on her team was enjoying the outside. She entered her room and saw her diary laying on the bed. Now that she had time, this would be a great opportunity to write something today. She took a pencil from nearby and began writing.

11/12

Dear Diary: Today, Two assigned me to take care of some flowers, so I’ve been outside taking care of them all day. Sorry I haven’t been writing much these days, I’ve been feeling awful with gender dysphoria again, but Pin helped me a lot these days! I’m so glad to have a supportive team again!! Isn’t it soo cool? Just like Saw! Speaking of which, I miss her a lot. Again. Anyways, today I remembered Lollipop and Taco. They’re nice girls, I should talk to them today if my team stays outside a little longer. Idk where they went, but I hope they’re okay y’know. I’ll write some more later, bye!

She left everything on her bed and took her phone out of the pocket of her overalls. After finding Taco's number, she pressed the call button and waited for a few seconds.

“Hello?”

“Hey Taco! How is it going?”

“It’s fine, I guess. We had a cool hangout with all the former BFB contestants. How about you?”

“Oh, it’s fine. I just wanted to check on you. Sorry I haven’t been calling a lot these days, I’ve been too busy with a team swap Two wanted to make, and things like that-”

“Don’t worry, girl!” Taco assured her. “I didn’t talk much when I was competing either, not a big deal.”

“Yeah,” Gaty sighed. “Do you mind if I take some things out of my chest?”

“Sure! Tell me everything. I’m all ears.”

“I’m not feeling pretty these days, like nothing fits me,” she explained.

“Aw man, that’s not good. Did you make any changes to you recently? Redesigns leave one feeling insecure.”

“No, not reall- I mean, yeah I did, but nothing too huge. Just a little clothing advice from Pin and things like that.”

“Yeah… Oh, right! I forgot you’re on Team8’s now. My bad”

“Yeah, now I’m on Death P.A.C.T yet Again. All of them are cool, and I’m with Pin now.”

“Ah, cool. You rock, Gaty. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. And if they do tell me, I’ll kick their butts!”

“Thanks, Taco,” Gaty said, relieved. “I gotta go, I wanna talk to Lollipop too.”

“Cool, tell her I say hi. Bye, Gaty!”

“Bye!”

And she hung off, feeling a weight leave her body. A lot more confident, she dialed Lollipop’s number and waited a few seconds before hearing her voice from the other side of the phone.

“Hello?”

“Hey Lollipop, what’s up?”

“Oh, not much. BFB is pretty much over, so all we do is hang out with each other,” Lollipop commented.

“Well that’s cool,” Gaty replied in a breathy tone.

“Sounds like something’s bugging you. Is everything okay there?”

“Ehhh, just a bunch of things going on.”

“Yeah? Well, you can tell me, y’know.”

“Yeah. I’ve been feeling really dysphoric lately. I’m trying many things and I’m thankful with pin because she’s helping me-”

“Oh right, you’re on a different team now.”

“Hm-hmm. So, I’m thankful for her efforts, even though things are still bad. But everything’s a lot better than before, y’know.”

“Well that’s nice. Don’t let that bother you, everyone likes how you look.”

“How can you be so sure about that?”

“Trust me, I know. You just gotta keep moving forward, you’re feminine and beautiful the way you are. No need to exert yourself.”

“You’re right. Thanks, Lolly!”

“No problem. Listen, I have to go, you don’t mind right?”

“Nah, not at all. We can chat anytime.”

“Good, good.”

“Alright then. Bye!”

This time, it was Lollipop who hung off. Although Gaty was expecting more sentimental comfort this time, she knew her friends showed affection in a less touchy way. In that case, nothing better that a warm drink to help her lift her mood more.

She got up and went to the kitchen, and saw Pin leaving the apartment. She must have not seen her, Pin is always polite at least with her teammates, and greets her. Yeah, not a big deal. She poured milk on her square cup and served some powder chocolate on it. She mixed it with a spoon and gave it a large sip. Delicious as always. Gaty enjoyed the simplicity of the now empty apartment and fresh cocoa milk, and once she finished the abundant cup, she left everything on the sink and went back to her room, proposing herself to surf the internet and call today an awesome day.

Chapter Text

Gaty made a mental note to not stay on the internet all night. She already normally struggled with oversleeping, so today she woke up after 1 pm. Marker bothered in waking her up to tell her that lunch was ready. She only complained under her breath, followed her teammate and took a seat between Pin and Fanny. Everything looked like usual: happy chatter, wacky duos and tasty meals prepared by Tree and Black Hole. Except this time she felt too tired to even care, barely touching the plate with fettuccine a la Parisienne that waited to be eaten. Despite the pity she felt for not eating it, her tiredness won this time. She got up and saved the dish for later before going back to her room and closing the door, the creaking of the bed revealing she planned to sleep for longer.

“What’s wrong with her?” Marker whispered to the team once Gaty closed the door from her bedroom.

“Nothing that can’t be fixed with more sleep I guess?”

“Black Hole, she’s been there since, I don’t know, all day!” Tree complained.

“She spent the whole day outside yesterday, of course she’s tired,” Fanny defended.

“And then she stayed in her room, not getting out except for dinner or to get a drink.”

“And she’s still tired,” Robot Flower argued.

“Let’s give her some more time and then we wake her up, alright?” Black Hole proposed. Everyone agreed.

Tree helped everyone clean the table and wash the dishes, while Fanny only got up and locked herself into her room. Pin, on the other hand, stayed sat, debating herself about many topics. Doing what was best for Gaty became her number one priority, but she didn’t know if she was doing the best things. So, telling the rest of the team wouldn’t be a bad idea, right?

“Do you know if something happened to Gaty?” Robot Flower, who didn’t get up either, demanded to Pin.

“I don’t know,” she lamented. “Promise not to tell anyone, but she’s been struggling with gender dysphoria lately, maybe that’s why.”

“Really?” Tree inquired before drying a just washed dish.

“That sucks,” Robot Flower commented.

“What if we buy some stuff for her? We could see it if we find something cool and buy it,” Marker proposed.

“That could work!” Robot Flower agreed. “My shop has many things we can give her!”

“That’s nice. Do you think we can see something now?” Black Hole requested.

“Sure thing!”

After saying that, she took all of them in her hands and practically rushed downstairs until she arrived at her Stuff for Yourself. There, she laid them down and prepared everything to sell, putting the products on the counter. Out of all the products displayed, a bunch of things caught their attention, like a set of rings with different ornaments.

“What about these? How much are these?” Tree asked, inspecting them.

“18 dollars for the whole set,” Robot Flower replied, getting a nod from the evergreen.

“Two of these could come in handy,” Tree said for himself, giving the sets to the robot

“And how much for this plaid shirt?” Black Hole queried, showing her a red and black plaid shirt.

“Nice choice,” Tree complimented.

“Ah, that one’s 40 dollars. If you get another one, you get it with a 50% discount.”

“Sure, we’ll be taking them. Do you have any other colors?”

“Sure! Stay here,” she requested before rushing to her storage.

“Do you think she would like another hair clip?” Marker whispered to Fanny, getting a shrug from her.

“I’m back!” Robot Flower announced, bringing a pastel blue plaid shirt and another one with warm tones. Black Hole asked for both instead of the first one, to which she gladly accepted.

“What about this one, Robot Flower?” Marker asked.

“Those are a dollar each.”

“We’ll take two.”

As they kept searching for other cool items, Robot Flower began typing numbers into the cash register. She winced a little at the result. But hey, this is for Gaty, it’s worth it.

“Look at these pins!” Marker exclaimed in amazement, holding two metallic pins: a female symbol and a trans flag.

“I hate metallic pins!” Fanny complained

“Those are five dollars each,” Robot Flower disclosed, more nervously this time.

“This will be enough, right?” Tree said for himself, checking if he brought his wallet.

“Okay…” she typed some more numbers until getting the total price. “It’ll be 108 dollars,” she disclosed.

…Oops

“Does… anyone have money guys?” Tree asked.

“I hate lacking money!”

“I’ve got some, but it’s not enough to pay for everything,” The evergreen lamented.

“Don’t worry, Tree, I’ll pay a part of it too,” Robot Flower announced. “You’ll have to pay 54 dollars if we divide it in half.”

“It’s still-” he counted all his money and frowned- “not enough.”

“How broke are you?” Fanny grumbled for herself.

“Less than you apparently,” Tree spat.

“Do you have something, Black Hole?” Marker requested.

“I think I have something, let me check.”

Black Hole searched on the pockets from his sweatshirt and cargo pants, not finding more than ten dollars.

“I’ve got some more,” Pin finally spoke, laying 20 dollars on the table

“Right what we need,” Tree sighed, laying his 25 dollars and Black Hole’s money next to Pin’s.

After that, Robot Flower packed everything in a shopping bag, took the money and put it inside the cash register. Then, she took out one dollar and offered it to Tree.

“No no, keep it.”

“Thank you.”

She put the one dollar back and got out before carrying everyone again and dashing back to their apartment. Once they entered they saw Gaty in an oversized t-shirt and black shorts. Based on her shuffling and barely open eyes, they assumed she just got up

“Oh hey guys, didn’t know you went shopping” Gaty greeted groggily. “What did you get?”

“We bought you gifts!” Marker proclaimed.

Gaty’s eyes widened in surprise. “W-wait, really? And what did you guys get?”

“That’s up to you to find out!” The capped one giggled.

She raised her brows before being handed the bag to be inspected. Then, she laid everything on the table and thanked them for all the products individually. All she could do was laugh in excitement and wonder.

“Everything is great, thank you guys! I really liked the pins too.”

“No worries. Pin told us you had some struggles with gender dysphoria, so we wanted to give you some gifts. Good thing you liked them.”

And he had to say that.

Something shattered inside Gaty when those words left Black Hole’s mouth.

“Ahhh, thank you,” she gritted her teeth. “Pin we need to talk. Right now.”

A knot formed inside Pin’s stomach. The nervousness crept over her once Gaty uttered those words full of resentment. Everyone’s concerned gaze piercing the two of them made it worse. Gaty stormed to her room and dragged her friend as well. After closing the door, the former sighed loudly and turned around to see Pin sitting on the bed.

“Why did you tell them?”

Tense silence filled the room. Pin felt miserable as the guilt filled her body. She looked down, not daring to face her fate.

“It’s not a hard question. Why, did you tell them?” She reiterated.

“I just wanted to help you and make it easier for you!” Pin blurted out.

"Pin you need to be careful who you tell this to. It's a personal thing, you know that, right? It’s very important for me that you know that."

"I didn't mean to make you mad! I saw you talking with someone else about it, I thought you were okay with it!"

"But it was my choice to tell Lollipop and Taco, if that's what you're saying. I chose to tell them. I knew they were trustworthy, the same way I told you,” Gaty argued. “Listen, I know you mean well, but that doesn't mean you have to spill with everyone what I'm going through."

Pin sighed and nodded. "You're right. I'm sorry."

Gaty pressed her lips together and "It's okay I guess. From now on, DON'T, tell anyone else, okay? Unless I give you explicit permission to, you cannot tell people about my struggle. Get it?"

“Yeah, sorry.”

"I should have told you to not tell anyone to begin with, I'll give you that. But the good part is, now you know."

“You’re right.”

“Okay, let’s go.”

After both got out of the room, they couldn’t believe how they didn’t hear the mayhem that unleashed while both were gone. Everyone kept yelling their own arguments without letting room for what the other had to say.

“We shouldn’t have bought all of that. They’re as faulty as I thought,” Tree concluded with disappointment.

“You guys chose the products, it’s your fault she didn’t like them!” Robot Flower disagreed

“I hate it when acts of kindness turn into a misunderstanding and lead to bad situations!” Fanny complained.

“No, guys, wait!” Gaty tried calming the waters.

“GUUUUYS!” Only Marker’s shrill voice managed to stop the bickering from the remaining Death P.A.C.T Again members. “She’s trying to talk!”

The passing of chaos to absolute silence deafened Gaty, while Pin seemed kinda used to it.

“Guys, it’s not your fault. It was just a small misunderstanding between me and Pin, nothing to argue about,” she explained. “Now, if you give entirely honest reviews, I think I should try on everythi-”

“See, Tree? She liked them,” Robot Flower taunted

“That’s because I chose them,” the botanist contempted

“It was a team effort, you moron!” Fanny reminded them with anger.

“Can you guys just calm down?!” Pin demanded.

“Thanks, Pin.” Gaty sighed. “Okay, what should I try first?”

Everyone echoed their answers with excitement at the same time.

“The hair clips!”

“The shirts!”

“Everything at once!” Robot Flower suggested, raising her arms.

“Sounds cool,” Gaty accepted. “Though, I don’t think I can wear two plaid shirts at once.”

“No big deal,” the robot dismissed.

In a matter of seconds and with a huge eagerness, she put on all the rings, the hair clips and both shirts altogether before posing on a nearby mirror. After giving a graceful spin, everyone clapped and cheered how everything looked on her. Despite it only being for a moment because everyone had to help with dinner, it left a nice atmosphere in the apartment. However, Gaty posed a little longer in the mirror, feeling delighted by what she saw in her reflection.

“You can take them out if you want now,” Robot Flower offered before sitting on the table.

Gaty nodded. “I think I’ll keep everything for a little longer.”