After the whole adventure at my parents' place, Rimar and I managed to get a few weeks of calm. I still met with Marie a few times to learn some more in-depth makeup tricks, but I ended up spending most of my days at home playing games, watching TV, or reading books. Rimar kept up with his normal work routine, sometimes joining me on evenings or during weekends for games and movies.

We're now well into summer, with the temperatures that come with it. Thankfully, our apartment is equipped with air conditioning, but the clothes I bought in spring are starting to feel a little stuffy. I also hadn't realized how much warmer longer hair could get, forcing me to consider getting a haircut now instead of waiting to have a few more options to pick from.

It is late in the afternoon, and Rimar should be coming back home any time now. I'm sitting at the dining table, holding my phone, my heart beating so loud I can hear it. I told myself I'd call Ariciel today, leading to me being more-or-less in this state all day. I really need to get this done, otherwise the situation is going to keep getting worse.

I'm staring at her name in my contacts list. The phones goes in sleep mode. I wake it up again and resume my staring. It goes to sleep again.

I sigh as I let my head fall on the table. I can't do it! What if she laughs when she sees me... or worse, when she hears me? Is she going to tease me? Criticize me? No, if Rimar is right, she seemed fine with the transformation, but... I don't know what I'm scared of, I just know I am!

I get back up and wake my phone again. I stare at the name, press on it, then keep on staring at her contact details until the phone falls asleep.

Why am I like this?

I get up, go around the apartment three times, get a glass of water, down it, then go around the apartment three more times, and finally sit back down at the table.

I take a few deep breaths and, while thinking about what I'm doing as little as possible, wake my phone up, access my contacts, press my sister's name, and hit the "call" button. I then bring the phone to me ear, only then realizing that I finally managed to call her.

I'm very tempted to just hit the large red button on the screen and throw my phone all the way to the other side of the apartment, but a few more deep breaths allow me to stay in control long enough for Ariciel to pick the call up:

"Izei! I was wondering how long you were going to keep me waiting. How are you doing?"

Alright, she's here. I don't have to push my voice down since she already knows, and all I have to do is check with her to know when she's available to come visit. This is easy, Izei, you don't have to panic, stay calm, everything will work out.

"Hey, sorry for the wait, I was just uh... really scared."

I can feel my voice tremble, but at least I can get my words out. I hear Ariciel gasp, then ask:

"Is that your new voice!?"

"Um... yeah."

"It sounds so cute!"

"Ah? Uh, thanks I guess..."

I wasn't expecting a compliment first thing from her, but it does make me feel a bit more at ease.

"... so anyways, putting my voice aside, I was wondering when you'd be free to come visit?"

"Let me check..."

I hear her shuffle a bit in the background, followed by some typing on a keyboard.

"... How about Painter's Day? It's coming up soon, and I assume Rimar has that day off, too?"

"Well, yes... but aren't you going to be spending the day with your family?"

"Of course! But I can include you two this year, since I suspect you don't usually celebrate that holiday."

She's not wrong about that, but...

"Wait, you mean that your husband and kids would see me too!?"

"Yes! I think it's a great way to slowly get you to be more comfortable with people who already know you."

Now I'm panicking again.

"But aren't your kids just going to tell their cousins, who will then tell their parents?"

"They've been very good so far at keeping secrets. Remember when we did that big thing for mom's birthday? They knew all along and kept quiet."

"Ugh, I guess, but that's still... I really don't think I can do it. It already took everything I had just to let you hear my new voice, please don't do this to me!"

"You don't have to accept if you don't want to, I just really think it's what's best for you. My husband and your niece and nephew aren't going to think any less of you because this whole thing fell on you by accident."

"I know, it's just... I can't even tell you why I'm so scared, I just am. It feels like I'm..."

I'm interrupted by the front door opening. Seeing that I'm on the phone, Rimar gives me a silent smile before carefully putting his bag down and untying his shoes.

"... Um, I lost my train of thought, Rimar just came back from work. Anyways, I... I think you're right. I'll do it."

"Great! We were planning on going to the beach, so make sure to go get yourself a swimsuit! Love you, bye!"

"Wait, a swim...?"

She already hung up. I let out the deepest sigh I can while dropping my phone on the table. She knew what she was doing, springing that on me right before running away.

Rimar stops in front of his bedroom door, looking at me with eyes that ask his question.

"I was talking to Ariciel. She invited us to go spend Painter's Day with her family and I... Well she managed to convince me that it would help me to have a few more people see me like this. I just didn't expect her to invite us to the beach of all places."

"The beach!? Are you going to be fine?"

"I... I'll try. I can probably get a swimsuit that covers me enough to still be comfortable. At least... I hope..."

He smiles at me before responding:

"I'll help you out, I'm sure it'll be fine."

He then enters his bedroom to get changed, leaving me alone with my whirling thoughts.

The bell attached to the door rings as I push the hair salon's door open. This isn't where I usually come, but this place is a lot closer to the apartment and, now that my body is like this, isn't as embarrassing to enter anymore.

One of the hairdressers waves to me from behind the counter while another client pays.

"Welcome! I'll be with you in a second, miss!"

I try to hide my stress as best I can, but I'm not completely sure of what to expect. I decide to take a look around while I wait.

The walls are decorated with a few local prizes the salon must have won over the years, as well as with photos of models with beautifully done hair. Only two people seem to be working right now, but there are 4 chairs. It's the middle of the day in the middle of the week, so it makes sense that the place isn't at full capacity.

Soon enough, the girl who was behind the counter comes to me:

"Thank you for your patience. Here for a haircut?"

"Yes, please."

"Very well. Please follow me to the back for the shampoo."

A shampoo? What goes on in women's salons? Still, I follow her to a small room with a single chair next to a large sink. She invites me to sit down before pulling the chair back and placing my head above the sink.

"Let me know if the water's too hot, okay?"

I try to nod, but my movement is limited by the position I find myself in. A few seconds later, warm water is going through my hair.

I close my eyes and try to relax a bit. This is actually a pretty nice feeling. The hairdresser rubs some shampoo into my hair before rinsing it, followed by some conditioners. I could get used to this.

However, the process doesn't take very long, and she soon wraps my hair in a towel.

"Please follow me."

We walk back to the main room, where I sit on one of the free chairs. The hairdresser puts a large black cape over me, then lets my hair fall out of the towel and down the sides of my face. Since it's still very short, a few strands at the back barely reach my shoulders.

"So, what style are we going for?"

"Well, my hair's a bit messy, so I'd like to get it cleaned up at least. I also want to keep it short, that summer heat is getting to me."

"I see. It is too short for you to tie it up right now... I think I can work with that. I'll lighten your hair for this summer but make sure you can let it grow longer if you want in fall."

I don't have the courage to tell her that I don't plan on letting my hair grow out much longer than this, so I just let her get to work. As she goes around my head, snipping the tips of my hair here and there in small bits, she asks:

"Why did you decide to go with short hair? It's so pretty, I'm sure you'd look gorgeous with a longer hairstyle."

"Yeah, a friend told me that too, but... I guess I just never really thought about it. I always kept it short and that was that."

"I see. That's fairly unusual for a woman, parents often have their daughters grow their hair out at first."

I can't really tell her that I was a man until a few months ago, so I try to answer as best I can:

"I don't really remember what my parents picked for me as a kid, but as far as I can tell I always preferred short hair."

"Well, it's not too late to try something new!"

The small talk continues until she's done cutting my hair. I close my eyes as she combs and dries it up, and am stunned when I open them again. She fixed my bangs and gave them a slight curve to the side, and cut the rest in such a way that I still look extremely feminine despite the short length. With the strands around my face now being properly styled, I look... really pretty.

The hairdresser notices my reaction and asks:

"Everything to your taste?"

This drags me back to reality.

"Ah... yes, it is."

"Glad to hear it. Please, follow me."

I jump a bit when I see the price, but I guess I did get a more complete service than what I'm used to. Additionally, if I let my hair grow out, I won't have to come quite as often... Yes, money is definitely the only reason I'm thinking about going for something longer!

Who am I kidding? I'm just as curious as anyone else to know what it'd look like. There's no point in hiding from it anymore.

As I walk outside, a nice breeze flows through my hair. This is a lot more comfortable than before, and much better-looking to boot! My anxiety about this place also seems to have attenuated a lot, so... I don't think I'll have any issues coming back. At least until I go back to normal.

While I'm out, I might as well grab a few packs of beer to refill the fridge.

As we're eating dinner, Rimar comments:

"Finally decided to get a haircut?"

I finish chewing and swallow before responding:

"Yeah, it was getting hot, looked really messy, and I figured I might as well get it fixed before meeting with my sister's family."

"Yeah, good idea. It... really suits you, by the way."

I can tell that he's blushing despite him looking away immediately, but it's my heart speeding up that surprises me the most. Stop it, heart! There's no reason to be this happy about a simple compliment!

Trying to stay in control of my emotions, I only manage to stammer:

"Th... thanks."

And now I have to look away too if I want to at least somewhat hide my own blushing. My emotions have been so much harder to control since my transformation, and Rimar adds fuel to the fire by just... maintaining normal interactions. What's wrong with me?

As I drink water in an attempt to cool off, Rimar says:

"Speaking of your sister, Painter's Day is next week. Should we go buy everything we'll need this weekend?"

Changing the conversation subject helps me calm down, and I manage to respond:

"Yeah, that seems like the best time to go about it. We're going to need sunscreen, some beach towels, probably a parasol and some sunglasses, maybe a cooler to keep some drinks in... Am I forgetting anything?"

"A beach ball, maybe? We don't have to worry about transportation since your sister has that covered, so I think that's about it..."

He suddenly looks up, then turns towards me before continuing:

"A swimsuit!"

I let my head fall down on the table. A small bit of it is out of despair, but most of it is because I want to hide how embarrassed I am as I respond:

"Please... don't remind me..."

We're at the mall, sitting on a bench near a large swimsuit store. I'm fidgeting so much that most people passing by turn towards us, but thankfully, no one stopped and made things worse.

Rimar is managing to stay calm, but that's not much of a surprise considering that he's not the one we're here for. After a bit, he asks:

"So... What are we waiting for, exactly?"

"Marie said she'd come too."

"Are you sure? Isn't that going to make things even harder for you?"

I shake my head.

"She helped me get clothes, underwear, makeup... At this point, she's involved enough in my... I don't know how to call it... 'exploration of femininity'? Anyway, it feels more comfortable to have her around when I try new things."

"It's just getting a swimsuit that also hides your chest. Does it really count as a 'new thing'?"

I completely turn towards him, even getting one of my legs on the bench. Then, while looking at him directly in the eyes, I respond:

"Of course it does! It's a massive step out of my comfort zone, you know? This is going to be the one most revealing thing I'll ever wear in public with my body transformed like this. How would you feel if you were in my shoes?"

He opens his mouth a few times, only to close it immediately after. I can tell he's thinking about what to say, and he eventually looks away and sighs before saying:

"You're right, I have absolutely no idea how you feel. I... can't even begin to imagine it. I'm sorry for assuming that this wasn't as big a deal as it is."

I grab his hand with both of mine to get his attention back, and say:

"It's okay, I know you didn't mean to hurt me. And you understand a bit better now."

"Yeah, I..."

We're interrupted by Marie who shouts from a distance:

"There you are! I thought you were at the other entrance!"

I jump back in surprise, letting go of Rimar's hand before getting up.

"Ah, sorry! I guess I should have specified, but I didn't even know the store had multiple doors."

"No worries, no worries. I assumed when I saw you weren't there."

She stops in front of us, then takes a few seconds to look at Rimar.

"Izei's roommate, I assume? Rimar, right?"

"That's right. I take it he told you about me?"

"Small details here and there, but he left out just how handsome you are. Pleasure meeting you."

"Same here. You're looking very pretty yourself, I can see why Izei chose you as his teacher."

"Thank you, but I'm the one who roped him into all of this. I didn't want..."

She stops upon turning towards me and seeing that I'm pouting. Even I wasn't aware of it up to this point, so I quickly go back to a more neutral expression, but it's too late: Marie is grinning at me. Thankfully, Rimar hasn't noticed, and she decides to drop the subject:

"That's enough about that, let's go get our favorite injured delver a swimsuit, shall we?"

We both nod before making our way to the nearby store.

Thanks to Marie and Rimar being with me, I manage to not lose my composure while inside the shop. The former is acting as a bit of a guide, taking me to different parts of the store and grabbing swimsuits she thinks will look good one me, while the latter follows around, unsure of where to look.

After a few minutes, we enter an aisle filled with bikinis on both sides. I hope that we're simply passing through, but Marie stops, looks around for a bit, and grabs a few articles. I sign to stop with my arms while saying:

"What are you doing? I can't wear these!"

"Why not? I know you said you'd rather go with a one-piece, but you have to at least try these out, even if you don't buy them. It'd be a waste not to!"

"But, I... We're in public!"

She laughs before responding:

"I won't force you to get out of the changing room. Just try them, okay?"

There really is no point in arguing with her, and if nobody's going to see me...

"Ugh, fine. Let's just be done with this."

She beams before going back to checking the swimsuits out. Rimar walks forward to me and asks:

"Are you... really going to try them?"

"I guess? If no one sees me, It's not any worse than wearing underwear."

"Mmmh, yeah, that makes sense."

A quick look at him tells me that he's curious and maybe a bit disappointed. I'm sorry Rimar, but even if it's for you, I won't show myself in a bikini!

When we finally reach the changing rooms, Marie has her arms full of swimsuits. I carefully approach, worried:

"Do I really have to try all of these?"

"No, a few of them are duplicates in different sizes, and you can skip the ones you don't like, obviously. Just try at least one bikini, okay?"

"Yeah yeah, alright."

I grab that impressive pile of swimsuits, walk in an empty cabin, and draw the curtain behind me. I then go over everything in the pile, putting aside the articles I'm definitely not going to be trying, and organizing the rest in an order that makes some sense to me.

Marie had the good sense to grab one-piece suits that fully cover my butt and chest, making me feel more confident about potentially wearing one in public. One of them even has an integrated skirt for extra coverage of my upper thighs, but I don't know if that's a good thing since it makes the part between my legs more like underwear instead of a normal part of the swimsuit. But the coverage isn't any less, so... Women's swimsuits are so confusing!

Still, I end up picking a favorite before turning towards the bikinis. I just need to try one of them to get Marie off my back, and I don't even have to show it to anyone.

However, all of these are a lot more revealing. There's the obvious fact that they'd expose my belly and back, but some also seem to be made to push my breasts together and form a cleavage.

Still, I'm... pretty curious to see what they'd look like on me. I grab one and manage to put the bottom on without much issues, but the top seems to need to be tied in some way. Unsure of how to handle that, I pass my head through the curtain.

"Marie, could you help me with something?"

"Oh, sure. Coming!"

Of course, I don't want her to see me either, so I turn towards a corner as she gets in to make sure that my chest isn't visible. I point at the strings hanging on my back and say:

"I need help tying these up."

"Oh, it's a bikini! Give me a sec, I'll take care of it."

As she works, I ask:

"So how do you normally put these things on?"

"Personally, I leave the knot on the back as a permanent fixture and just tie the one around my neck since that's a lot easier. Some bikinis don't require any tying, so they're also an option."

Mmmmh... I'm pretty sure everything she picked for me to try had to be tied at the back... I have a bad feeling about this.

After a few more seconds, she says:

"There you go, all done! Now, let me see!"

"No! You get out of here, I won't turn around until I'm alone."

"Awww, you're no fun! But since that's what you want..."

I hear her walk outside. I'm looking back to make sure that she properly closes the curtain when she trips and shouts "Whoops!", causing me to start turning around without thinking.

As she falls, she pulls on the curtain, drawing it fully open, and causing my eyes to lock with Rimar's. We stay paralyzed like this for a few seconds, both turning redder by the instant. I don't dare move or say anything, my mind being filled with a tornado of thoughts and emotions I can't even begin to interpret. I'm pulled out of this state when Marie starts laughing, causing Rimar to turn around and me to grab the curtain and close it back.

I catch my reflection in the mirror. My face and ears are completely red but, aside from that, I do look really good. This isn't a body I have to be ashamed of. And Rimar looking at me like that... maybe it wasn't such a bad feeling...

Why am I thinking like this? My emotions are all over the place lately! I thought they had calmed down a bit, but I feel like I'm back to being a teenager. Well, considering what the transformation did to my body, that might not be too far off from the truth...

I sigh and start getting changed. With a bit of luck, the rest of the day won't be nearly as eventful.