off limits ✧ zb1 applyfic

✧ sixty six

What was so wrong with being a clothes thief? Lilah often asked herself that, whenever Matthew would come down to her room with a frown on his face, whining about not being able to find one of his favorite hoodies in his closet. Sharing was caring, was it not? When you loved someone, your possessions became theirs too, didn't they? Because she loved her brother, Lilah wouldn’t mind it if he stole from her closet, too — nevermind the fact that he would never be able to fit in any of her clothes without ripping them in half. How unfair, that he would get mad...

Long story short, Lilah had once again been sent shopping, to buy herself some clothes of her own. Only this time, Matthew did not come with her, citing work as the reason he'd been away so often these days. Lilah suspected there was something, or rather, someone else, behind his prolonged absences, but of course, she wouldn’t just mention it out loud. Chances were, Matthew would get embarrassed and deny it anyway. That being said, going shopping alone was out of the question. And Narae hadn’t been able to come today, so...

Yup. Once again, Lilah found herself out with Gyuvin, to absolutely no one's surprise. This morning, he'd texted her saying he'd finally gotten better and shook off this stubborn cold, and felt like going out. Accompanying her to clothing stores was probably not the kind of outing he had in mind, but when she'd offered to take him with her, he'd agreed immediately.

"You know, this is kinda like the second time we met," he said with a timid smile, just as they entered their first store of the day. "You remember, right?"

"Well, obviously!"

It wasn't like she had the memory of a goldfish. Lilah had to admit, though, a lot of things had changed since then. Back then, he'd been nothing more than a stranger, an awkward one whose dog she'd rudely insulted at what was supposed to be a classy party. The Lilah of that time could never have expected that the two of them would become so close. That Gyuvin would come to take up so much room in her heart.

Flustered by her own thoughts, Lilah busied herself with looking through the racks overflowing with clothes. Though it was still the middle of summer, Lilah's essentials weren't hard to find: large cardigans, baggy jeans, comfortable sweaters, anything she could hide herself in. She had a bit of the taste for the oversized, so much so that, if she were to push it even a little bit, Matthew might very well end up being able to steal from her closet. She shoved whatever she found cute enough in her shopping basket, as Gyuvin followed her through the aisles.

But then, Gyuvin stopped following her. Lilah only realized once she was halfway through the shop, her basket threatening to overflow. He stood almost frozen in the middle of the dress aisle, staring wordlessly. Confused, Lilah caught up to him, her eyes drifting to what he was looking at. Up on a hanger was a sky blue dress decorated with a subtle flowery pattern. Its straps tied into adorable bows, and the frilly layer at its bottom gave it a distinctively girly feel. Very cute, Lilah thought, but she felt like she would never be able to pull it off. She liked her clothes... Well, bigger. Better at hiding her, that is. Gyuvin, though, seemed to like that dress, considering how long he'd been staring at it.

Hoping to pull him out of his thoughts, Lilah spoke up hesitantly. "Uh... Are you buying that dress for yourself?"

He chuckled lightly, shaking his head. "No, no, though I'm sure I could make it work. I was just thinking..."

Finally, his focus broke away from the dress, and he turned to face Lilah. His eyes on her were so heavy, so intentional, that it stole her breath away entirely. The silence went on for a bit too long, and Lilah felt a familiar tickle in her chest, an overwhelming warmth seeping its way through her limbs.

"You would look really beautiful in that dress."

His words, heartfelt and sincere and a little bit shameless, ripped her tongue right out of her throat. Her eyes widened, as she tried to decipher whether she'd imagined him saying them, or if he really did. The warmth had now reached her face, and her gaze darted between Gyuvin and the dress, her heart racing so fast and unsteadily that she worried everyone in the store could hear it.