Chapter One Hundred and Forty-One - Meeting of the Ladies

"I'm here, I'm queer, and-- ohh, guns!"

Jane and I looked at each other for just a moment before turning towards the front of the store where Becky was making her entrance.

She walked in like she owned the place, arms swinging and head on a swivel as she took in Jane's shop. Then she spotted us and grinned. "Yo!"

"Hey," I called back. "Glad to see you finally made it."

She was a solid twenty minutes late. Fortunately, I didn't have anything planned for the evening except for a few practice loops, but still, that was time loss that I wouldn't get back. Not that I expected punctuality from Becky.

"I'm not that late, am I?" Becky asked She looked innocent enough saying it that I almost believed her.

"You're right on time, Baby Blues," Jane said. "Oh, come on over here and let me see what I'm working with."

Jane walked over to Becky who... froze up for a moment? I wasn't expecting the temporary deer-in-headlights moment, but there it was, and then there it wasn't as Becky grinned and strutted a bit closer. "Y-yeah! You're the fashion lady?"

"Damn right," Jane said. "Not-So-Plain Jane, best designer you've ever met, though you're not so bad yourself. You put this look together yourself?"

Becky looked down at herself. "Huh? Nah, this was what smelled best off the floor."

She was in a loose black t-shirt that was torn up and looked a little singed and plaid-pattern pants with more rips than was strictly fashionable. That, and a faux-leather jacket that had been a bright yellow once, but was now stained darker by wear and tear and... well, stains.

Becky had enough chains on her, dangling from her coat and from pockets, to start her own biker club.

It was... effortless? The coat's sleeves suggested that it was probably a size XXL before Becky folded up the sleeves and cut the coat in half just under the lapels. The remainder was a torn up mess that exposed all of her stomach and sides and back and... and I was pretty sure she wasn't wearing a bra under that burnt up tee.

"Ohhh, I've got some good materials to work with here," Jane said. She grinned as she came to stop before Becky. "How do you like it when a lady gets handsy with you? I've been told that I'm a little too forward sometimes, so I'm trying this thing called 'asking permission.'"

"What kinda touching we talking about?" Becky asked.

Jane stared at Becky. Really stared. To the point where I was starting to feel a little uncomfortable. "Hmm," she finally said. "Don't worry. I won't take your first time from you. Not unless you ask nice. What I will do is make you look badass. Now, get out of that coat--which is a phenomenal statement piece, by the way, nice contrasting colour, and I love what it does for your silhouette."

"Uh," Becky said.

Had... had Jane just stunlocked Becky. Was that even possible? Damn, I had to take notes. Jane was getting better grades in Girls than me.

Jane stepped back and away from Becky for a moment, then returned after disappearing in some racks of clothing with a couple of items folded over her arm. "Here, put these on? It'll make it easier to fit everything later."

Becky blinked and took the items, stretching them out. A sports bra and some spandex shorts, the sort I might've worn to the gym. "These'll fit?"

"They will," Jane said. "Room's right there. Leave your stuff on the chair."

I waited until Becky was in the changing room before I siddled up next to Jane. "You have her figured out?" I asked.

"Oh yeah," Jane said. "I know two things, Beanstalk. Fashion, and ladies, and there's one hell of a lot of intersection between the two."

"Okay? And what's my fashion say?" I asked.

"Insecure wanna-be punk with the weight of the world on her shoulders, wants to trust others but can't bring herself to, bit lazy, bit dumb, very gay, always horny, and slowly growing more confident and comfortable with herself."

I stared. There was a long, long pause between us, one that very clearly stretched on into uncomfortableness. I wasn't even sure how to process the first quarter of that, let alone the rest.

"And Becky?" I finally asked.

Jane snorted, either at the poor change of topic or because she just found it funny that she was somewhat, slightly, a little-bit right.

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"Becky is a simple girl. Does things her way. Knows what she likes. Hell, I like her already. Becky's also got no

experience with the ladies."

"Really?" I asked. "I figured..."

"What, because she shows off some tummy and doesn't wear a bra means that she puts out?" Jane asked. She shook her head. "She's nice. And nice girls don't get banged."

"I feel like that probably says a lot about you, more than Becky," I said.

Jane shook her head. "Don't try to read me, Beanstalk, I'm not-so-plain for a reason. Though, if you want to see a whole lot more of me, you just got to ask." She winked.

I really didn't want to blush, but my body betrayed me and made my cheeks warm up anyway. Jane saw, because she was smiling like she'd scored a point. Which she had.

"Alright!" Becky said as she stomped out of the changing room. She was a lot less dressed and had her stuff in a big bundle that she dropped casually onto the floor. "Super-hero me up!"

"Oh, I will, Baby Blues," Jane said.

"Why do you call me that?" Becky asked.

"I call every pretty lady by their best feature," Jane said. "That right there's Beanstalk, cause her legs go on for a while. And you? I could get lost in your eyes, love. We're not hiding those."

"Might be best to, no? For her id?"

"Nah," Jane said. "We'll work something out. Leave it to me! Now, what are we looking for?"

I crossed my arms and shifted my weight onto one hip. "Same as what me and Fran have, more or less."

Jane nodded along. "I thought so. Stand there, Baby Blues, while I give you a turn... yeah, I can work with this. BB, how do you feel about shorts?"

"Uh, shorts are alright, I guess," Becky said.

"And armour?"

Becky shrugged. "Never wore much of that."

"But you fight with your hands."

"I do? I mean, yeah, I do. How'd you know?" Becky asked.

"Scarred knuckles," Jane said. "And when you were looking at my guns by the entrance, you didn't stare down the good ones."

I glanced by the entrance, and yeah, there were guns on display, but my eye gravitated to a rifle hanging up and over the counter. A gorgeous Model 1887 with some pretty golden filigree. And there were a few other stand-outs mixed in with the more ordinary guns. Jane had noticed Becky not staring at the rarer pieces? Crap, she was kind of scary.

"Hey, if I get one of those cool hats, can mine have rat ears?" Becky asked.

"I don't think that's--" I started.

"Sure," Jane said.

"Really?" I asked.

"It'll be cute," Jane replied.

I shook my head, but what did I know?

Jane got to work. She had Becky try on a few things, some of them right there in the middle of the showroom. It looked like Jane was focused on getting Becky geared up in some some light armour. The sort of synthetic, slick fabric that some corpo security wore. It was more of a sleeveless shirt than anything else, but it was padded and had large laminate 'plates' built into it, designed to be puncture-proof.

Then plain shorts, with the hems rolled up a little, and then boots. Big boots. With a million laces and inch-thick soles.

They looked good on Becky, though,even if they were a bit much. Finally, a mask for her lower face, fingerless gloves with padding over the knuckles, and elbow and knee armour.

Becky looked like a ninja. A ninja who shopped at Hot Topic in 2004, but still, a ninja.

Jane left for a solid twenty minutes, and when she returned it was with a black cloak and a hat, one similar to the ones Fran and I had, but with two folded pieces of cloth hastily sewn into the side.

Becky gasped. "Yo! That's perfect!"

"Mhm," Jane said. "It's temporary, just to give you the look. Give me half an hour and I'll have something proper put together, but for now, it'll do to see how things come together."

They came together well. Becky looked like some sort of...

"Holy shit, I look like a gacha character," Becky said as she looked at herself in the mirror. She turned to us, and even if I couldn't see her mouth with the mask on, I knew she was grinning ear to ear. "I look awesome!"

"That's what I like to hear," Jane said. Then her smile turned a little sultry. "So, were you paying in cash, or experience?"

***