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Bastion had actually arrived at Sophie's dorm a half an hour ago.

But he hadn't knocked. In fact, he'd been working on something in particular that he'd come up with after a night spent out next to his shrub, for the first time in days. So when he'd arrived, his work had only just begun. But a half an hour later, he'd finished his preparations, and was ready to knock on the door.

He didn't feel nervous. Should he feel nervous? He stopped and thought about it for a moment. Yes.. he knew there was so very much that could go wrong today. Then why didn't he feel the butterflies of insecurity fluttering in his stomach? It was unnerving, how comfortable - how happy he was to be doing this. It made little sense, so he simply decided not to try to decipher his emotions.

Instead, he knocked on the door. He was wearing nothing but a simple pair of black pants and his best set of boots. She'd requested the boots, and he knew the rest of his outfit was here, so he brought little else - except that which he'd used to prepare for this moment.

Should she open the door, Bastion would be standing there, empty handed. There was no bouquet, no more glass roses, just him, standing there waiting to be let in. But he was framed quite pretty in red - as her entire doorframe was now covered in perfect blooming red roses, on all four sides.

"They requested it." Bastion stated simply, gesturing to the roses. "Truly, they did. I walked by the bush, and they asked me if I could reunite them with the loveliest of their kind. The Queen of Roses. So I merely did them the service." He bowed, with an exceptional flourish, but when he rose up, he was tackled and hugged with a force that he wasn't expecting. His lungs constricted and his vision swam.

"Sophieee." He whined. "That's.. quite.. a grip.."

He took several sharp breaths when she let him go, before walking inside. He expected the outfit to be complete, but when she moved away to show him it, his breath left him once more in a gush of surprise. He hadn't expected it to be so well-suited to him. In fact, if he were to be honest.. he wanted to wear it all the time. It was perfect.

"Sophie.." He whispered out breathlessly, reaching one hand out to run across the feathers of the back. "It's.. it's.."

He turned to look at her, his eyes wide and glassy. "I don't think I'm ever going to want to take it off."

Bastion would have answered in the affirmative - in fact he lifted his finger to do just that - but she was already upon him, hands holding cloth against his skin, fastening them together, flattening them out against him. He went rigid, trying his very best to remain still and immobile while she put clothes on him. He was as unmoving as the dress model, but his expression was getting darker by the minute. He just waited, letting her work, and tried not to think about - about all of the things he was trying not to think about.

But each moment was more difficult than the last.

When she tied the sash around him, and rested there against his chest, he closed his eyes. "Sophie," He whispered, very carefully. She was gone before he said anything further, and he let out a breath he didn't know he was holding.

He pressed his hand to his chest, where the feeling of her remained.

His eyes blinked opened when she pulled him to the mirror, and he saw a man standing there. He almost made to say something, but it was only a fraction of a second before he realized it was his reflection he was seeing.

A strong, well dressed man. Not the man he usually saw in the mirror. But each second that passed let the image return to what he normally saw, hindered only by how exquisite her creation looked on his body.

"You are a miracle worker." Bastion breathed out in awe.

The air around them felt heavier, for a moment. Bastion couldn't tell if that was actually possible, but it was harder to breathe it in when he felt her hand resting on his chest. Everything felt heavier, and slower, and more important. When she pulled away, his eyes followed her, watching. Carefully.

And then he registered what she was doing, and he snapped out of the heavy daze he was under.

"Sophie, no." He flushed with color, startled at the very implication. "I cannot be here when you change. It would be an insult to your honor, one I would never be able to bear." He was already at the door, opening it, and refusing to look her way. "Take your time, my rose." He said, while staring pointedly up at the ceiling. "I will be here when you are ready."

He closed the door in his own face, and then took several staggering breaths, slamming his back against the wall and clutching his racing heart.

The time it took for Sophie to get dressed was just enough time for Bastion to collect himself, and calm down. Certainly he'd been put in an awkward situation there, and he knew he'd made the right decision, but there was no deciding what his thoughts flew off into when she'd started to undress. That was unfair, to ask of him to keep his thoughts pure at a time like that. It was for the best that he'd immediately left.

But when she opened the door to present herself to him, all his worries flew away. She was dressed thematically, with such flair and life that it brought a helpless grin to his face. Even her face was painted to match the look, making her nothing less than a work of art in his eyes. She immediately started to doubt herself, and he stepped in, ready to make himself useful.

"Don't you dare." He whispered down at her, still grinning. "You're the loveliest work of art I have ever seen. If you changed out of this charming outfit you've poured yourself into making, it will irresponsibly break my heart." He bent down, and kissed her forehead carefully.

"Please don't change. For me? You look gorgeous." He would have told her exactly which features looked specifically gorgeous, but he'd already pep talked himself out of being inappropriate, and was truly holding to his gentlemanly standards tonight.

"A present?" Bastion stared at the band in her arms, his eyes wide with surprise. "For me?"

It wasn't a typical reaction, for a man to be excited about jewelry and accessories. But Bastion made these things for a living. He appreciated them like no man could. And he appreciated Sophie's gift like no man should. He let out a high pitched sound, and nodded as if she'd just asked him to marry her.

"It's.. it's wonderful. I adore it!" His arm shot out, vibrating with excitement. "Put it on me, let us see how it looks!"

He turned his arm over and over, just to get a glimpse of every angle. "Just exquisite. You have wonderful taste, my.. rose." She'd come closer, and his words had faltered when her hands rested against the skin of his chest. A sharp breath had his ribcage rising, inhaling in surprise. The way she was looking at him made his heart stop.

"Sophie." He whispered breathlessly, lips parted as if beckoning her with them. He wanted to kiss her. He wanted.. many things. It was so easy to forget all of the things that kept him from carrying her back into that room-

"We'll be late." He managed. He always managed. He had to manage. Even if his words sounded more like please, he kept himself from leaning in and taking advantage of her beautiful, desirable offer. He wouldn't - couldn't do that to her.

But he knew he also couldn't pull away.