Astoria lay down on her bed, listening to some music. The afternoon with Felix had been fun. The lunch was fantastic and the two of them had a lot of fun at the arcade. She had never thought of him as a Street Fighter kind of guy, and it had been funny to watch him play. The two-player games had been especially fun.

There was a knock on her door. "Come in," she said, taking her headphones off. Sebastian opened the door and smiled at her. "Good evening, Astoria," he said. "I came to check if you were ready for the dinner tonight. The dress code is formal wear."

Stunned, Astoria began rummaging through her suitcase, looking for something to wear. Sebastian stood behind her. "Is there anything I can help you with?" he asked. Astoria let out a small groan and turned to him.

"I- I had no idea there was a dress code," she explained. "I don't have anything fancy to wear for tonight, what the heck do I do? ARGH! I knew I should have researched a little bit before coming here. Then at least I would have known there was something called a 'formal night'." She pounded her fist on the floor and looked back at Sebastian, who had cleared his throat to get her attention.

"May I suggest something?" he asked, smiling. "You and Master Newman could go and buy something from one of the stores on the ship. I believe they are still open now, and they will be for another hour. You have enough time to buy a dress and get ready for dinner." Astoria considered it.

"If I have to go shopping, I will not go with Felix," she said, shaking her head vigorously. "I cannot let him know that I came to a cruise without any formal clothing." She shuddered at the thought and then looked at Sebastian. "Say, you could help me out. Could you come with me instead?" Sebastian looked surprised at that, and then he smiled. "It would be my pleasure, Astoria." Astoria was pleased.

She followed Sebastian to a store that he suggested and walked in. And then she shook her head.

"Nope," she said. "I cannot do this. I don't wear things like these, it's against my... EVERYTHING!" All the dresses in the store were the kind she'd only seen models wear, and never wanted to wear. Sebastian chuckled next to her.

"Don't worry," he said. "I am sure we can find something that will suit your taste and conform to tonight's norms. Now, let's see..." He began to look around the store, Astoria following him. "What can we get a tomboy who has to attend a formal dinner?" Sebastian thought out loud. A store attendant also joined in the hunt for a good dress for Astoria.

Finally they stopped and looked at a dress. Astoria looked at it and nodded slowly. It wasn't bad. The attendant turned to Astoria. "Why don't you try this on, miss?" she asked. Astoria turned to Sebastian, who gave her an encouraging nod.

"O-kayy..." Astoria was not sure about it at all. She took the dress anyway and tried it on. When she came out, the attendant gushed over her.

"You look so pretty!" she squealed and pushed Astoria in front of a mirror. She had to admit, it wasn't too bad.

"Awesome," Astoria said. "I'll take this." She smiled and got her card out. The attendant smiled.

"Oh, and do you have shoes to go with that?" she asked. Astoria's jaw dropped. The attendant laughed a bit at her expression. "It's okay, we can rent you the shoes if you want. We have the perfect shoes for that dress." Astoria sighed, relieved that she didn't have to shop any further. She took the shoes and went back to her suite with Sebastian.

"Today, I finally realized what people really mean when they say, "Shop till you drop,"" she told Sebastian and collapsed on her bed. There was still half an hour to go before the dinner. She rested for five minutes and then went in to get ready.


----------------------------------------------------------------------

Felix looked at his watch. It was almost time to get ready for the formal dinner. He heard a knock on his door. "Yes?" he asked, and saw Sebastian come in.

"I just wanted to remind you that it is almost time for the dinner, Master Newman," he said.

"Yes, I was just going. Thanks." He smiled at Sebastian, who then closed the door. Getting up from his seat, he got his tuxedo out of the cupboard and went to get changed.

Once done, he walked out of his room and knocked on Astoria's door. "Astoria?" he called. Astoria's voice came from within, telling him to wait for two minutes. He stood out, looking at his watch.

When Astoria came out, though, he had to do everything in his power to keep from gaping at what he saw. This couldn't be the rough tomboy who had beaten him at Street Fighter that very afternoon, could it?

"Whoa, you look... different," he said, smiling. Astoria smiled back. "I'm gonna take that as a good different," she said. Felix laughed.

"It is a good different," he said and held out his arm. "Shall we go, my lady?" he asked in a jovial tone and smiled. Astoria accepted it and walked with him.

"You look great too," she said.