"Mmhmm, it definitely would. Now come, you should try one of these out, you can't be a proper magical girl without a magical girl outfit."

"Hah, no. I'm not a dresses kind of guy."

"Come ooon, you'd look hot in a pink frilly dress with wings!"

"I really don't think I would."

"Well I would."

"I'm not stopping you from wearing a dress."

He giggles and walks around the mannequin. "I know. And I reiterate that you look really cute when you feel your masculinity's threatened," he says, and starts walking out of the shop.

Theo just ignores that. He follows Sadde out of the shop.

Sadde looks over his shoulder and waits for Theo to catch up, then starts leading them to another shop (apparently) as he says, "You know, I think I know what I want as my prize."

"Your prize?"

"For successfully nettling you!"

Is he walking a bit closer to Theo than before? ...nah, must be just an impression.

"... Um, okay?"

Theo doesn't notice anything amiss.

They're walking fairly close to a wall, aren't they. Yes, they are. So it's not that hard for Sadde to suddenly push Theo against it and say, "You," leaning close to him, his face only centimetres away...

Theo drops his bag when he's shoved into the wall.

Okay. Wait, what? Sadde... wants him as the prize? When did that happen? Have there been any signs? Of course there haven't. Or maybe there have. Theo wouldn't notice them! He had no idea!

He looks at Sadde's face, then into his eyes, then to his lips, and has a little freak out. He feels like everything's moving a million miles a minute, but also like everything's moving in slow-mo. Sadde? Really? Does he pull away? Does he try to slip out of the way? Does he turn his head? Does he headbutt Sadde or maybe shout in surprise? Just... what the hell?

He thinks about it. Kissing Sadde. He's... not actually as scared of the idea as he thought? Okay, sure, it's Sadde, but... it's Sadde. He notices something. His expression softens a little.

... How hasn't he noticed before that it's Sadde?

He starts to lean in.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Sadde breathes, keeping just out of Theo's reach. "I forgot how much your image matters to you. I'd hate to ruin it." And he pulls away, laughing.

Oh.

Giggle. "Come on, there's more shopping to not be done." And he resumes walking.

Is Theo a little broken over here? It seems like he might be.

It takes a couple of seconds, but he seems to eventually start back up. He blinks a couple of times, not crying, dammit, no matter what anyone says, and then walks away, in the opposite direction.

Sadde looks over his shoulder and—

"Hey, wait, where are you going," he calls, going after him and grabbing the bag he's forgotten on the floor for him.

Why did it have to be teenagers. Clow has a twisted sense of humour.

He keeps going. It doesn't look like he even heard Sadde.

The weird jerky movements from after he found out about his speed have returned, but they're not as obvious as they were before.

Still not crying, for god's sake! Stupid eyes.

Sadde eventually reaches him, though, since he's actually sprinting. "Hey. You okay? Sorry, I didn't mean to embarrass you so much."

Theo still isn't responding. It seems like his face is permanently frozen in an expression of shock, with the only change when he blinks.

Still not crying. It was obviously a joke. What the hell else would it have been?

"Hey, Theo? I'm really sorry," he repeats, putting a hand on his shoulder.

When Theo finally notices how close Sadde is, he reacts. He spins around ridiculously quickly, knocks Sadde's hand away, and then growls out, "Get. Away."

He continues moving away from Sadde, this time much quicker than before. He looks like he's walking with purpose, but not in the direction of anything important.