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It is not often that a tattoo artist and her kids get dragged to things like galas or fancy events. But Ixxie's kids – namely Phineas, Cornelius and Patton – had entered a very large robotics fair for children that was held locally. All of the best child builders from Aekea – where the family lived – got to go to a huge event held in Durem where the winning models were shown off and compared to the ones from each town. As it was just for children, their building didn't have to be great or world changing, just show a good understanding of mechanics on a children's level and the thing had to actually work.

The trio had worked hard on their separate bits, helping each other out and coming out with a neat little three part machine that would roll over, take someone's cup, fill it with a drink and take it carefully back to them, all on remote control. They'd even programmed part to let them change drinks and mix in other things. It partly relied on them changing switches and levers, but as it was toddlers and children, that was completely allowed. So when they made it into the group who were allowed to be shown at the “gala” - theirs actually worked as intended – it meant the kids got to get dressed up for a fancy party. Or, well, as fancy as a bunch of little kids will really get.

Ixxie had taken them out to get outfits for the event, as she couldn't make “going out” clothes on such short notice. Julie and Pogo had immediately dragged Patton off to try and find the little girl something she could wear to such an event – as girls were required to wear dresses even if Patton didn't really want to wear one. Since the whole family was going, they all had to get nice things – Ixxie included – but the three kids in the limelight had to especially. While Phineas and Cornelius merely had to look for suit outfits that would fit them, the girls had to find dresses, and finding ones that weren't too flashy or were just flashy enough was hard.

Pogo was the easiest to find an outfit for – she was rainbow so they found something that was mostly in black for her to wear. A large hat and a dark red dress were deemed suitable – since she was bald – and the toddler even took off her wings so she could wear the dress without altering it. Julie decided to go with something pink and gold that'd be cute, since she was neither super plain nor super fancy. That just left Patton.

The brown haired girl was dragged through things as her sisters tried to find outfits they deemed “suitable”. She was the star, with her brothers, and they were going to keep her from going grimy and covered in oil stains! Patton was a pretty girl, even if she didn't care much for dressing up, she could for this night. They eventually found her a cute little dress and the boys had found vests and button ups with good ties to wear, so everyone was set.

The night of the gala, Julie and Pogo had brushed their sister's hair and made her wear a brand new pair of shiny goggles their mom had help her make to match the accents on her dress. She was uncomfortable without wearing goggles at all, so they were up in her hair holding it like a headband so her eyes could be seen but she could pull them down when discussing work or nervous – as that was a habit Patton'd developed: keeping her goggles down and adjusting them when she was nervous or confused. She clung to her sisters a bunch to avoid doing that too much, and tried to talk a bit. She was still nervous and didn't completely get through the night without being nervous and pulling down her goggles, but for the most part, the girl proved herself very well with this new company.

Afterwards, in celebration, Ixxie even took them out to eat – something that rarely, if ever happened. She usually cooked or home baked all of their food but tonight was special. Tonight, her kids had won prizes and broken out of shyness shells, and that was enough of a reason to give them a treat. And Patton felt proud of herself. It was different from when she was proud or confident over a successful creation – tonight, she was proud of herself for being herself. And that was better than any invention she could make.

Ixxie Mizerlou watched her family slowly over her morning cup of tea. She tended to use this time to just see most during their much less active and awake states – well, except for Patton and Julie, they always seemed to be awake bright and early. However, today was...different. Actually, the last few days had been different. Taking a look around her table, she watched the usually very lethargic (at least before ten am) Pogo trying to color a picture in her coloring book and gulping soda. Patton, on the other hand – who was usually already scribbling notes and working on things at the table – was quietly sipping her tea and rubbed her eyes now and then.

That's one of the main things that alerted the woman that something was up above all else – Patton was rubbing her eye, not her goggles. Her hair was brushed neatly already – a sign that try as she might, the girl was still a morning person – but her goggles weren't on and she was attempting to look very daintily sleepy in a little pink nightdress. Pogo, meanwhile, had donned a pair of big fake glasses and was loudly humming some song she'd turned on from the radio, which Julie joined her in after a bit, though hesitantly.

If she was going to start picking on what was up with the twins, the woman knew she'd best pinpoint when it'd started. She wasn't the type to just demand things of her daughters (or sons even) without any idea going into it what was going on or when things had started funny. Taking another quiet sip of her tea, the woman closed her eyes, attempting to remember.

It'd been very recently when Patton'd started acting more nervous and shy. First, it'd been when she got home from a small supply run with her brothers – she'd just gone to a hardware store nearby, but came home nervously playing with her hair and adjusting her goggles – a habit that showed when she was uneasy or didn't know what to do (which was rare, she often always had some sort of plan). A week or two later, the odd behavior had started up again, after they'd come home from the Gala. Apparently, on her way home from it, she'd run into a boy she met – a boy who'd grown a tad since she last saw him – and he'd congratulated Patton on the event.

Now usually, someone congratulating Patton on anything would be met with polite thanks and a quick goodbye, but the girl had seemed...nervous. The boy in question – Pilot, Ixxe was sure his name had been? - was rather intelligent sounding. They'd talked quickly for a few moments about something he was building and discussed what she'd made with her brothers – the technical lingo flying was ridiculously complicated – but she had to stop rather quickly when she started to get flustered and bid quick goodbyes before rushing home.

Fixating on that incident, Ixxie noticed a few things. Patton hadn't been wearing her signature goggles then – well, not on her eyes anyway - and was cleaned up and nice for that. Pogo, meanwhile, was doing her best to be demure so as to give her twin the spotlight for the evening – this included when they met someone the rainbow twin didn't know. After they'd talked to the boy – which was the first time Ixxie'd ever heard her one daughter stammer – the toddler had had a blush on her cheeks and was biting her lip. Patton may be too young and too level headed for a crazy high school crush, but puppy love? That the woman could see.

Thinking on it more, Patton really had been trying lately to brush people off less and be more open and friendly. As the day progressed, the pink haired mother could see the lines in her daughter's face while she tried to laugh and play the way Pogo did. This was practice of course – she didn't need to impress her family, but she would need to impress strangers, supposedly – but it still pained the little girl. The toddler's eyes were always darting away and she kept wanting to give answers and speak in jargon, but had to restrain herself, act normal.
Pogo too was pained by all of this. The colorful girl was practically tailor made (or literally tailor made if you think about it) to be the wild talk of the town. She liked to laugh and sing and dance and be the center of attention, particularly when Patton didn't. It was what she was good at and doing anything but hurt her a lot. Under the big novelty sunglasses she wore to seem more “enclosed” like Patton did in her goggles, the toddler had sleepy eyes and a little pout that didn't look as real without her large colorful eyes. The fuzzy tot hurt practicing being quieter – she almost seemed ashamed if she fired out a comment or started giggling during afternoon play, something she'd normally do anyway.

The twins had a very special bond – it was hard to notice at times, but it was there and very strong. Patton was, in a sense, the weaker twin. She was level headed, she was mature, and she was smarter in many cases (or better at understanding, rather) than Pogo, but she was in essence much weaker when it came to people and the outside world. In her own bubble, Patton was queen – with the people she was closest to, she could be safe and not worry about being judged or people not liking her. Pogo, she was strong willed, friendly and made friends easily (or perceived herself to make friends). Other people couldn't break through that warm and fuzzy exterior to hurt her, even if she did feel dumb sometimes when she was with her sister, it was an admiration sort – she thought her sister was great and awesome and wished she could be cool like that. So when it was time for people to notice Patton, her sister took a very important task of making the weaker girl seem stronger and making herself less noticeable in the process. She protected Patton, but she also tried to help her out of her bubble.

At the gala night, Ixxie'd seen Pogo able to quietly stay in the background, not talking to anyone unless they asked her something (and even then it was short simple answers) that wasn't about how wonderful Patton was. The toddler hadn't had too hard a time – most people there were talking about technical things she didn't know, but the little girl happily tried to stay out of the way to give Patton spotlight on her big night. Now, it was like that but to the extreme – each girl attempting to be everything she wasn't.

After a while, the woman carefully pulled her daughters aside. Julie, Phineas and Cornelius had all come to her at points in the day, expressing worry about their sisters, and now it was time to do something on the matter. Crouching down, the woman smiled softly. “Hey girls.” she said, reaching out to carefully take off Pogo's sunglasses to get a good look at her – Mommy had the special priveledge of getting to see either of her daughters' eyes whenever she wanted, because Mommy was safe. They were so cute, looking both nervous and ashamed, their matching red eyes darting around away from Ixxie as if they knew they were caught doing something wrong. It was one of the rare moments when it was obvious that they were twins, no matter how different they were.

“Yes Mommy?” Pogo said at last, speaking first but with hesitation.

“Y-yes Mother?” Patton echoed, nervously taking hold of Pogo's furry hand for support.

“Is there something you want to tell me?” Ixxie added, her face soft, not judging them, not trying to pry. She loved her girls, children by blood or not, they were her daughters and she loved them for who they were and knew the rest of the family did too.

Patton bit her lip and looked to Pogo for help. It was so rare she couldn't come up with a quick and confident answer for a question, but her mother knew why she couldn't this time.

“Mommy...Patton likes a boyyyy. And she wanted'ta ta make him like her.” Pogo explained quietly, nervously toeing the floor with one brightly colored foot.
“And?” their mother prompted quietly, knowing she'd get them to admit it sooner or later.

“A-and w-w-we thought that if she p-p-practiced being more – well, yanno, like me? - he might like her better?” Pogo explained, squeezing Patton's hand lightly.

“Honeys,” Ixxie said with an understanding tone, reaching out to pull the girls to her for a hug. “Boys aren't more important than being who you are or being comfortable with yourself. And I'm sure any boy worth Patton's time will like her for who she is. You like him for how he is don't you?” she added, smiling at the brunette.

“Yes.” a quiet answer but a little nod to her shoulder, the more human child clutching her mother's shirt. “He's smart and cool.”

“Maybe he likes that you're smart too, hm?” Ixxie suggested, ruffling her daughter's hair. “It's okay to be smart or to be loud and funny. Anyway, you don't need to worry about boys yet anyway, you've still got growing to do.” she laughed at the end, hugging them again before letting go.

“You aren't...angry with us?” Patton asked, cocking her head to the side, voice sounding more like it's confident plain sense.

“Yeah, you're not mad?” Pogo asked, with wide eyes.

“Angry, Pogo, the word's angry.” her sister chided quietly, but with a little smile.

“Nah. Now go play.” she laughed, “I have to make dinner.”

“K!” they squeaked in unison, hugging her around the middle as she stood up and darting off. This had been a learning experience for the girls – one they might never forget – but she was sure that even if they went back to normal, a few of the behaviors learned in acting like the other would prove useful.