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giantroboticplatypusbutt218 · 2 years ago

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Oversight

This is Part 3 of the Magnetic Attraction series.

Rating: Teen and Up Audiences

Content Warnings: Fantastic Racism, Internalized Homophobia, Suggestive Content, Mild Language, Canon-Typical Violence.

Summary: Rev receives some friendly advice from Tech after a mistake of his is brought to attention. Desperate to prove that he took Tech’s words to heart, he seeks the aid of his other friends to improve himself before the evening is over.

Unfortunately, he missed the most crucial piece of advice that Tech tried to convey.

Word Count: 27,277

Chapters: (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (Link to Chapter on Ao3)

Chapter 3

Word Count: 8229

Notes: Okay, this chapter is long as heck and that's after axing 1000 words from the first draft. If I didn't cut out those 1000 words, it would literally (not figuratively in the slightest) be as long as the last two chapters combined. So like, be prepared for that.

As soon as the door closed behind him, Rev heard a crash in the hall. Sighing in defeat, he finally decided to take note of his surroundings. He knew where they were, especially since Tech’s lab was right across the hall, but he still had some questions.

“Why… did you bring me to the virtual trainer? I thought you were giving me a makeover.”

“I am. All the stuff we need is already in here.”

As Ace pulled him into the control room, Rev noticed against the wall a half dozen plastic bins and a rolling clothes rack with a comforter draped on top.

“How long has all of that been in here?”

“Don’t worry about it. Anyway! Let's crack open a few tubs and pick out some clothes!” Ace rushed ahead, seemingly having a specific bin in mind. As he bent down, he pointed toward a different bin. “How about you get started by picking something out from that one right there? Practically anything in it will give you a fresh look!”

Hesitantly, Rev opened the specific tub as he was instructed.

“Uh…” He grabbed a large handful of garments and lifted them, looking underneath and finding much of the same. “Are… these all women’s clothes?”

“Some of them,” Ace said, putting a few tops on the lid he set aside. “There’s a fair mix in there.”

Rev grabbed another handful, tilting his head at the content beneath. “These are all dresses.”

“So?”

“Dresses… are women’s clothes?”

Ace looked up at him, a funny look on his face. “What century are you living in, pal?”

“Well- I mean- Isn’t it a… little weird?”

“You’re telling me you haven’t seen a single guy wearing a dress walking around? Say, back when you went to grade school?”

“I was enrolled in a series of boys-only private schools that had standardized uniforms.”

“Of course you were.” Ace sighed, wiping his face. “What about college?”

“We had uniforms there too.”

“In college?! Where’d you go? Military school?!”

“The Institute of Business Synergy.”

“Please tell me you made that up.”

“Wha- Of course I didn’t make that up! Why would I make that up?”

“The acronym is literally IBS.”

“Yes, it had an unfortunate acronym but that doesn’t mean it’s made up! It’s a private institute in Arizona which sets out to prepare budding entrepreneurs for their various business endeavors by creating an environment that facilitates cooperation and inventive strategies as are the best practices to gain traction in any potential marketplace-”

“I hate all of the words you just said.”

“-and to simulate such real-world environments everyone was required to wear professional attire as if in a business setting where our specific lessons in workplace cooperation would be most applicable, and so we all were required to purchase our pre-approved uniforms which did not include dresses for either men or women.”

“Or nonbinary people I’m assuming.”

“What does nonbinary mean?”

Ace just paused, staring at him for a moment. “Er, moving on,” he said, “what about seeing people just out and about? Surely, in all the years you’ve been out of school, you’ve seen at least a few guys in dresses at some point.”

“Well, yeah, but a few guys being a little confused or uh… into women’s clothes doesn’t change the fact that dresses aren’t made for them.”

Ace went quiet again, giving him a strange look for a few very long seconds before pulling out his phone.

“Uh… Ace?” Rev asked. “What are you doing?”

“Sending Lexi a text,” he said, typing.

“Why?” Rev quirked his head as he heard a tone denoting a message being sent. “Is something wrong?”

Ace scrambled briefly as the phone rang in his hands.

“Uh… hold on.” He tapped the screen, wincing as he put it to his ear. “It’s not a bad idea!” he defended immediately. “And for having sensitive ears you sure talk pretty loud.”

Rev stood awkwardly as he listened to half of the conversation, wondering if he spurred on this call by saying something he shouldn’t have.

“Maybe it’ll help him understand everything better! He might even like it!”

Cowering slightly, Rev felt he was getting a better clue at what Ace was planning.

“Well obviously they had some sort of breakthrough last week, so who’s to say he can’t have another one right now?”

Were they talking about him and Tech?

“It’ll all be fine!”

“…”

“Fair enough.”

“…”

“Wait, why? I asked you because you would be better at talking to him. Why do I need to be there?”

Ace was making Lexi talk to him about something? Rev got a sinking feeling, now knowing that he did in fact say something he shouldn’t have.

“Ugh, fine.”

It sounded like whatever it was, it was really bad.

“…”

“It’s not terrible. You just have some very narrow taste.”

“…”

“Ugh. Later, Lex.” He tapped the screen and pocketed the phone.

“So uh… what was that about?”

“Nothing. Just don’t be surprised if Lexi and I call you in for a little chat sometime.”

“About what?”

“We’ll get to that later. But for now…” Ace peered at the bin of dresses that Rev was standing over. “See that yellow dress with the blue and red accents?”

“This gaudy one?” Rev asked, picking up the overly saturated dress.

“It’s not gaudy, it’s bold,” Ace stated firmly. “And yes. Do me a favor, read out the tag for me.”

“Uh, okay.” It took some maneuvering, but he eventually wrangled the tag into sight. “Let’s see here, hand wash only- I coulda told ya that- all natural materials -I couldn’t have told ya that- size medium… masculine build…” Rev looked up. “Wait…” He looked back down.

“So, wanna retract that statement you made earlier?”

“Did you get this custom made… or…?”

“Do you think a custom dress would come with a generic tag?”

“I…” Rev dropped the dress and started searching through other ones. Just as Ace said, there was a mix of men’s and women’s in there, as well as unisex dresses which were equally as baffling to him. Not just that, but the men’s dresses were from quite a few different brands, meaning it wasn’t just one company making all of them. And now that he saw many examples, he could actually see how the men’s dresses were specifically made with men’s dimensions in mind. “I…” he set down the dresses, “I… don’t understand.”

“What’s there to understand? There are dresses made for men; There have been for a while.”

“So… it’s not weird for men to wear dresses…”

“No, Rev. Frankly, I’m shocked this is a revelation for you at all.”

“But my dad-” Rev paused, then let out a sigh and looked away. “So you want me to wear one of these?”

“Of course! A bold new outfit is a great way to feel more confident.” Ace rummaged deeper into the bin nearest to him. “Most of the stuff here is more on the feminine side, which is obviously not what you’re used to, but getting you out of your comfort zone is just what you need!”

“Um… okay.”

Ace looked up at him. “Well, go ahead! Find something you like! Unless you’d rather I picked for you.”

“No. I’ll… try to find something.”

By now, Rev had probably seen every dress in the bin twice, though never through the lens of actually finding one to wear. But, Ace had offered him confidence help, and he had accepted it. Plus, there was still the fear that if he didn’t improve whatsoever by the end of the day, Tech would be disappointed. So…

One by one, Rev picked up dress after dress, partly expecting one to just stand out against the rest as something he could wear. However, once he had held each dress twice more, he figured he needed a new plan.

Okay… he had zero knowledge when it came to fashion, but he did have some knowledge of what colors went well together. Orange would be the complement to his feathers, but most of the orange dresses were really bright and saturated, which would clash. Red was his next go-to. It was a color he liked anyway.

Alright… in terms of red dresses, there were a few. One was covered in cobalt and lime stripes… so that was an immediate no. The next had a simple white base with an amateur red dye job done to it. Rev held it up and inspected it.

Ace noticed the movement and looked up. “Are you really going with that?”

“Just looking right now. Why? Is something wrong with it?”

“I mean… it wouldn’t be my first pick.”

“Is it bad? I think it looks okay.”

“You don’t see anything wrong with the red splotches all over a clean white dress?”

“Well, according to color theory, red has many positive connotations such as warmth, passion, strength, power, love, determi-”

“It looks like it got drenched in blood, Rev,” Ace stated. “I bought the dress cheap and splattered dye all over it for a Halloween party.”

“Ah…” Rev looked over the dress again, smiling nervously. “I mean, the red substance on the dress could be one of any number of non-murdery substances such as hot sauce, tomato soup, cocktail sauce, ketch- uhhh actually I’m just realizing now that none of these options are particularly flattering either so I’m just going to put down this dress and find another one now…”

Ace chuckled, getting back to his own search.

Well, the last red dress he had was covered in sequins, but at least it was a solid color and didn’t clash too hard with his feathers. However, it didn’t take a keen eye to notice that it was clearly made for women, not to mention how… revealing… it was.

“Ooh~ That’s a nice one,” Ace said.

“It uh… wasn’t made for… men.”

“Who cares? Do you think the fashion police are gonna bust in because you decided to wear a dress with a few more curves?”

“Uhhhhhhhhhh… No?”

Sighing, Ace pinched the bridge of his nose. “You took way too long to answer that, pal, which is pretty ironic.”

Rev looked away, cheeks red as the dress he was holding as he cleared his throat. “Uh, anyway, it’s a bit revealing and the dimensions are probably off and the uh… chest area… wasn’t made for someone like me…”

“Actually, that’s one of the better women’s dresses you’ve got there. Here, let me show ya.” Ace got up and walked over. Once Rev handed over the dress, he turned it around in his hands and held it by the waist.

“Alright, you notice how the torso of the dress stays up even when I hold it at the base?”

“Yeah?”

“That’s because it’s got a really strong wire and some thick fabric that keeps it in place. If you just…” Ace bent the top around, flattening it somewhat into a shape Rev could see would fit a little better. “…And there. See? It should stay in place no matter how much you move around, especially considering that it was made to contain some pretty huge breasts.”

Covering his face, Rev blushed more. “Anyway… Um…” He glanced back at the dress, specifically the long slit that ran all the way from the bottom to the upper thigh. Not to mention it had an entirely exposed back, giving barely enough fabric to support a tail hole. “Don’t you think it’s a little… lacking in coverage?”

“That just means it’ll show off more of your manly physique!”

That seemed like it’d be a better selling point if Rev wasn’t aware of how lean he was, practically a twig in his own opinion. To be fair, being thin did make him more aerodynamic.

“I don’t know…” he said simply.

“You’ll look great!”

“I… really don’t think I could dress up in just… this…”

Rev was already feeling exposed just thinking about it, and couldn’t help but shrink a little despite still being fully garbed in his hero suit.

After a moment of awkward silence, Ace let out a hum.

“Well,” he muttered quietly, “I do need you to dress up at all for this to work…” He let out another thoughtful hum. “Okay, so, I might have a couple ideas that might help.”

“Like?”

Ace handed Rev the dress and opened another bucket, moving things around inside. “If you can’t go through with wearing the dress because too much is exposed, maybe un-exposing a little bit might help. Like… Ah!” He pulled out what he was apparently looking for. “These gloves actually go with the dress, and they cover a bit of your arms.”

Rev took the gloves offered to him, noting the smooth texture and purple color that almost exactly matched his crest and tail.

“I… guess that’s a little better…”

“It’s the leg’s you’re worried about, huh? Well, look in that bin right there,” he said pointing at one close to Rev. “There’s a long pair of boots that you might like, a little dull but I think you’ll appreciate them.”

“Alright…”

Rev carefully laid the dress and gloves over the edge of the dress bin and got to work popping the lid off the one Ace pointed to. Sure enough, it was filled with many different kinds of shoes, many of them heels. Thankfully, the boots Ace was referring to were easy to find, as they were long as he said and purple like the gloves. Unfortunately, they also happened to be heeled boots.

“…These ones?” Rev asked, despite knowing the answer.

Ace looked up from a new bin he was going through, that one appearing to be filled with shorts and skirts. “Yep!”

“They’re…”

“Heels. But don’t worry. If Duck can walk in them, you surely can.”

“Duck wore these?”

“He loves them, since it’s so rare to find heels that are nice to his webbed feet. Actually, they might even be more comfortable for you than him, considering that you’re a bit taller.”

“If you say so.”

Rev retrieved the boots, setting them up next to the dress and gloves. At the very least, the colors didn’t clash and the designs were pretty simple. He could feasibly look not terrible in this selection of clothes.

Taking his eyes off his ensemble, he watched as Ace continued to gather his own assortment of clothes.

“So… you said Duck liked these boots. Are all these clothes yours and you just loan them sometimes?”

“Oh, we’ve pooled together our snazzier stuff so it’d be easy to just grab what we need when we’re in the mood to dress fancy. Before then, Duck would borrow from me, and then I’d borrow from him, and eventually, neither of us could remember who had what, so this is just an easier solution.”

“And when do you guys ‘dress fancy’? I don’t think I’ve seen either of you in any of these clothes before.”

“Well, you already know none of us get much free time, so we only get to wear this stuff when we’ve got a spare moment. And we only really started dressing up last year.” Ace closed his current bin and hopped over to the one filled with shoes. “As for why you haven’t seen us, I couldn’t tell ya. My guess is that you just go to bed a bit too early or something, since the best chances Duck and I get to dress up usually happen after dark.”

“You’re probably right.”

Rev resisted the temptation to explain why he goes to bed early… Ace probably didn’t need to know that he wakes up on the floor multiple times each night due to tossing and turning.

Closing his current bin, Ace pulled another one over, this one seemingly filled with hats. Rev continued to watch, feet shifting awkwardly beneath him.

“Come on,” Ace said, startling Rev out of his thoughts. “You can pick out more to wear than just that, right?”

“Well… it’s not like I have much experience in dressing like… this… so I guess I’m just standing here trying to remember any information I may or may not have on the subject which is most likely minimal at best if I do any information which means that these are the best clothes I can gather with my minimal information.”

“Jeesh. This ain’t a test, Rev. Grab some jewelry out of that bin right there,” he said, pointing to the one he got the gloves out of earlier. “Just take what you like! I promise this isn’t a big deal.”

“Right. Okay… I’ll do that.”

“And you can stop being so awkward already.”

“Don’t be awkward. Okay.” Rev stepped over to grab the jewelry, muttering, “Don’t be awkward. Don’t be awkward. Don’t be awkward.”

“You’re still being awkward.”

Clearing his throat, he stopped talking and started looking.

Rev learned what the clothes rack with a comforter on top was for once it was time to actually change into the clothes he gathered. Turns out, it was a makeshift privacy screen. It also turned out that he was up first to change, something Ace proposed so he’d have a little more time to get used to his outfit while Ace was busy changing after him.

Despite having finished getting dressed, Rev was having a hard time actually stepping out from behind the blanket. Obviously, his nerves had something to do with it; His suit was draped over the blanket and he was strongly feeling the urge to snatch it down and put it back on. But, there were also physical difficulties in walking out, mostly attributed to the ridiculously high heels he was wearing. Then, there was the fact that he was very much still feeling very weird in these clothes. Overall, Rev wasn’t feeling very motivated to do this.

“Are ya done yet?! You only really need the privacy for the dress!”

“I’m done! Just give me a second, okay?”

Ace sighed.

Rev took a deep breath, assuring himself that this wasn’t weird, and he’d look okay.

The boots made a few deep taps on the hard floor. To Rev’s dismay, he couldn’t use his arms to cover himself up, as they were already in use keeping him balanced. When he managed to stop looking at the floor, he saw that Ace seemed to be having a not-negative reaction to how he looked.

“Wow. You look great! A little dull, but pretty great anyway!”

“Thanks? I guess.”

“Don’t be like that. I mean it! You should dress like this more often!”

“I’ll… think about it.”

“Alright. My turn! You just get used to walking around and stuff while you wait.”

“Will do.”

“You’re being awkward again.”

“…”

Ace patted his shoulder as he walked by. “I promise. You look amazing.”

Rev simply nodded, staying still as Ace picked up his things and brought them behind the makeshift curtain.

Clothes shuffling filled the air, but not heels tapping on the floor.

It was hard not to feel stuck in place, everything that was happening was new to him. Still, he couldn’t just stand there looking at nothing.

His eyes wandered around, before getting caught on the window separating the control room from the virtual trainer on the other side. The opposite room was pitch black, making Rev’s reflection in the glass crystal clear.

Rev wanted to say he didn’t recognize himself, but that would just be a lie. It just looked like him… but dressed femininely. Not like him as a woman, or him as another person. Just him. In some clothes.

And he looked nice.

All the colors went well together, which Rev was still shocked he managed to pull off given the selection of clothes he had to choose from. The gloves and boots did manage to cover some of him up… and he kinda liked how they left just a little uncovered; It was like they led the eye to the small amount of thigh and bicep that could be seen. He doubted Ace when he said the dress would show off his manly physique, but exposing a little lean muscle seemed to complement everything pretty well.

Rev turned in place to the best of his ability while still in heels, looking himself over.

The jewelry he chose was nice and subtle. A thin bracelet studded with fake diamonds on his right wrist and a silver ring set with a fake red ‘gemstone’ on his left hand. Stepping closer to his reflection, Rev looked at the necklace he chose; A red pendant matching the fake gem on the ring, set in presumably fake silver and attached to a thin ‘silver’ chain. The necklace brought attention to his collarbone, and his shoulders by extension. They weren’t very muscular, but Rev thought that what muscle was there looked nice, and felt it was possibly okay to have it on display like this.

Briefly, he wondered if Tech would like how he looked, then shoved that thought into a corner.

He was never, ever, showing this to Tech.

…Maybe that thought was a little extreme.

He was never, ever, showing this to Tech… anytime soon.

That was better.

Since dressing like this was normal, and he looked good dressed like this, Tech probably- definitely wouldn’t judge him for it. So… maybe if Rev ever felt up to dressing femininely again, and Tech wasn’t busy… maybe he’d like to see?

But not now. Right now, Ace was the only one who had to know.

Speaking of Ace.

“I’m doooooone~”

Rev’s face scrunched at the high-pitched tone Ace employed, and found it difficult to will himself into looking at what he decided to wear.

He turned his head… and…

Well…

At least Rev could sort of make out a… theme? Motif? The outfit was certainly flashy, and covered in glitter, but most of the things Ace decided to wear had a sort of oceanic vibe. Somewhat.

It appeared that Ace also decided to wear heeled boots, but his were a very shiny pink and tied with bright green laces. Said boots didn’t go as high as his own did, so Rev could see that he wore blue thigh-high socks covered in thin, wavy, neon red and green stripes. Even from a glance, Rev could make a fair guess the stripes were put there through the use of glitter glue.

Rather than a dress, Ace was wearing shorts and a shirt. Said shorts were white and highly reflective, with a pearlescent sheen to them. Around his waist were two belts; One a baby blue and made of pleather, covered in what Rev hoped to be fake pearls. The other, a bright yellow braided rope/belt that was simply looped around his waist rather than threaded into the shorts’ belt loops.

For a top, he had on a white, long-sleeved shirt that was covered in many hues of blue overlapping polka dots and failed to conceal most of his shoulders. Over it… he was wearing a starfish bra. Painted pink. And covered in glitter. His wrists and fingers were adorned with a myriad of bracelets and rings respectively, most shades of blue, pink, and green, which admittedly sort of went well together, but were too numerous to even get an estimate of. Around his neck was a shell necklace, multicolored and covered in glitter.

So much glitter.

And his face… was covered in makeup. Maybe ‘covered’ wasn’t the right term, but he had on some sparkly blue lipstick and green eyeshadow… and he did not skimp on either. Since his lashes were a bit… fuller than usual, Rev could assume he had applied some false lashes as well. Attached to his ears were dangling pearl earrings, which may have been subtle if not for the fact he decided to wear multiple pairs of them.

He struck a pose, showing off the sparkle of his outfit as well as his glittery multicolored nails that Rev had just now noticed. “So… how do I look?”

Flashy? Eye straining? Tacky?

“…Bold.”

“Aww! I knew you’d come around!” Ace twirled in place, failing to notice Rev’s concerned expression. “I was going for a sort of fairytale-esque mermaid vibe, and I think I really outdid myself!”

Since he wasn’t off on the theme, Rev had to admit Ace succeeded.

“And now,” Ace said, walking over to the console, “it’s showtime!” He turned on the virtual trainer’s console, navigating through a selection of scenarios seemingly with a goal in mind. “Ah ha!”

The room opposite of them came to life, a runway surrounded by a virtual crowd lighting up.

Rev quirked his head. “Are these the assets you requested me to make when we first moved here? Is this what you’ve been using them for?”

“Yep! You did some great work too!”

“While I can’t say I’ve only used the virtual trainer solely for its intended purpose, as is the case with the rest of the team, a fashion show is still a highly abnormal scenario to load into a state-of-the-art virtual reality device designed to help train us for potential combat situations.”

“Stop being such a stick in the mud,” Ace said playfully. “Now, let’s go in and strut our stuff!”

“Wait what? WAH!”

Before he knew it, Rev was being pulled by the arm away from the console and into the training room, wobbling on his much too high heels as he desperately tried to maintain balance. On the way to their destination, Rev accidentally shoulder-checked quite a few virtual audience members thanks to Ace’s enthusiasm.

“Alright!” Ace said, stopping Rev near the end of the runway. “I’ll show you how it’s done, and then it’s your turn!”

“But I’ve never walked in heels before today! Much less paraded around on a stage in front of a million people!”

“You made all these people, Rev.”

“That doesn’t stop me from feeling uncomfortable with the idea of having a sea of virtual eyes on me!”

“Well, once you’re up, just imagine them all in their virtual underwear!”

“How is that supposed to-” Rev reached out as Ace easily trotted away. “Ace!”

“Just pay attention!” Ace called, his voice barely audible over the roar of the virtual crowd and electronic music. “You’ll be confident in no time!”

“But-!” It was pointless at this point, so Rev simply sighed. Besides… maybe after getting a little instruction, he really could follow Ace’s lead and become more confident. He had to try, right? For Tech.

Spotlights shined down on Ace at the back of the runway, leading Rev’s eyes to him. It was at this point that he noticed why Ace might have preferred all the glitter: He was practically shimmering under the concentrated lights. While it did make more sense in that context, Rev still found it to be overkill… at least as far as his own taste was concerned.

After a few more seconds of soaking in the reactions of the pre-programmed audience, Ace began to strut down the runway to the defined beat of the music. His form was flawless, walking in his heeled boots as if he’d never walked in anything else. Not only that, but he was also waving and blowing kisses as he walked, somewhat similarly to Lexi’s victory dance earlier that evening.

It didn’t take long before Ace reached the end of the runway where Rev was watching. After striking a flashy pose, he kneeled down and grinned at him.

“Learning anything?”

“Uhhh…” Quickly, he tried to think of something he learned. “Uh, glitter, is, really sparkly in spotlights?”

“That college education seems to have done wonders for you,” Ace remarked sarcastically.

“And uh.” He tried thinking of something else, replaying Ace’s short strut in his head. “I, should, keep my back straight while walking?”

“There you go! And while you’re at it, focus more of your weight on your toes; It’ll help you keep balance.” He stood up. “Keep your eyes on me, because there’s still more to show ya!”

Rev nodded, and Ace stylishly turned around to strut back up the runway.

The strong steps Ace took really affirmed that while he wasn’t Rev’s first choice, he was still a decent choice in getting confidence advice. Given that Ace was the leader of their team, he’d obviously have confidence to spare. But Rev never would have imagined him in a situation like this acting just as confident as always, and maybe even more so. Whether or not Ace can instill something resembling that level of confidence into himself… has yet to be seen.

At this point, though, Rev had to wonder: Is this the confidence Tech was asking for? Was Tech trying to bring out a more feminine side to him? Get him to dress in a ‘bold’ way? Maybe there was some sort of relevance that Rev just couldn’t see? Regardless, this was the only idea Rev had at this point, so he had to stick with it.

By now, Ace had reached the start of the runway and was circling back. Realizing he was lost in thought, Rev decided to pay extra close attention this time.

Every few steps he posed, his arms and legs held in positions that made Rev wonder how he managed to balance like that. Sure, he always knew Ace was strong and flexible, but how he could do a one-legged twirl in heels was beyond him. Though, now that he thought about it, maybe the weird arm stuff was the thing keeping him balanced. After a few more steps, Rev watched Ace do another balanced pose, and the way Ace slowly moved his arms into position confirmed his hypothesis.

Ace reached the end of the runway once again, this time cutting to kneeling down to better speak with Rev.

“So, learned anything else?”

“If I want to do any fancier poses I’ll have to pay attention to where my weight is distributed to prevent toppling over due to the low surface area of my shoes?”

“That’s a pretty complicated way of putting it, but sure! You’re a natural, Rev!”

“Oh, uh, thanks!”

“Now it’s your turn!”

He went still. “What?”

“It’ll be fine,” Ace said, sliding off the runway and beginning to nudge Rev along. “The best way to learn is to practice!”

Stumbling and stammering, Rev tried in vain to prevent being whisked to the stairs. “But- But- But-”

“You’re a smart guy! You’ll do great!”

They reached the stairs and Rev shot his arms out, grabbing the railings and holding on for dear life.

“NO!”

Ace halted, taking his hands off.

“Er… What’s the matter? By all means, it seems like you know enough to give it a try.”

Seeing as Ace wasn’t forcing him along anymore, he unclamped his hands from the railing. “I…” Around him, Rev heard more automated cheers. “It’s… There’s so many people here. I know they’re fake but… this is… a lot.”

“Hmm…” After tapping his chin a few times Ace gasped. “Hey, I’ve got an idea. Stay here.”

“Okay?”

Ace took off and quickly disappeared into the crowd.

As seconds passed, Rev began shifting in place. What was Ace going to do? Would it really help? How late was it getting? Since his suit and by extension his communicator were currently in the control room, he couldn’t exactly look at the time. It had to be getting late, though. At least, that’s what Rev thought given that exhaustion was beginning to creep in. But at the same time, Rev wondered if his exhaustion was actually due to all the lessons he’d been taking.

Seeing Ace jogging back, Rev fought between letting out a sigh of relief and a worried moan. What came out was a soft whine.

“I’m back! And I’ve got just the thing to help your stage fright! Ta-da!” He presented Rev with a purple masquerade mask with silver embellishments. “Just cover your face and all these digital people won’t have a clue who you are.” Ace leaned in to whisper cheekily, “digital people aren’t very bright.”

“Thanks?” Rev let Ace hand him the mask, and out of obligation, he put it on.

“Woah! Where’d Rev go?”

“Please stop.”

Ace chuckled. “But seriously, feel different?”

“It feels like I have a mask on my face.”

“And?” Ace raised up a handheld mirror, letting Rev see his reflection.

Upon seeing himself, Rev was pleasantly surprised at how well the mask went with the rest of his outfit. Still, he’d be lying if he said he was completely unrecognizable in it. Sure there were other roadrunners who looked like him, but not that many, and especially not on Blanc. If anyone were to see him like this, they’d know who it was immediately. Especially Tech and his other friends.

Still… At the moment, it was just him and Ace in there. The mask covered up a bit of his face, and oddly, it did feel like he could hide a little more with it on. While the thought of getting on the runway was still scary… it was a little less so. As embarrassed as he was to admit it…

“I… do feel a little better with this on…”

“See! What’d I tell ya.” Ace put away the mirror and pat Rev’s shoulder. “Think you can go up, now? I’ll stay right next to you just in case you need help.”

“I don’t know…”

“Well, why don’t you try anyway? This is what gaining confidence is all about; Doing things you’re unsure of and learning it’s not as bad as you thought!”

Well… he had a point…

Rev took a deep breath. “Alright.”

“That’s the spirit!”

Ace raced ahead, within seconds waiting for Rev at the top of the small set of stairs.

Rev’s entire focus was on his feet as he stepped up, his grip nearly iron on the railing.

“First order of business,” Ace said, “is to get you walking. You can’t strut if you can’t walk.”

“So first I’m gonna just show off my ability to walk? That doesn’t seem like something hordes of people would pay to see.”

“This is a free fashion show,” Ace continued, nudging Rev more lightly toward the runway. “Trust me, all these people will be cheering you on the whole time.”

“I would hope so considering that’s what I programmed them to do.”

“Exactly!” Once they reached the start, Ace fully took his hands off of Rev. “Just follow my advice, and you’ll be all set.”

“Okay,” Rev replied uneasily.

“Now, let’s get walking!”

Ace proceeded to take a step forward beside Rev, hinting at him to do the same. Once followed, Ace repeated with another, and another. Sure enough, they were walking. If Rev was honest, he thought it would be harder, but maybe having Ace dragging him everywhere was just a bad way to start learning. At the very least, he was managing to not screw up when it was most important.

While it was quite nerve-wracking to have all those eyes on him, the mask did help, oddly enough. While he knew it was entirely illogical to be nervous around what were essentially fancy cardboard cutouts, he began to understand that what he was really afraid of, was who could be hiding inside the virtual crowd. Still, the effort it took to learn how to walk in heels was distracting enough to keep his mind off of it for now.

They did a circuit before Ace nodded at Rev’s progress.

“Good. Now; To the beat of the music!”

There was no room for hesitation as Ace called out a “Four! Three! Two! One!” and got him stepping to the beat. It was a pretty quick beat too. Rev could feel the imbalance as he forced himself to keep in step with Ace. Any stumbles had to be prevented though. He couldn’t fail now. Not when he might be so close to getting the confidence Tech wanted him to have.

Another circuit completed.

“Again! Try to really feel the music this time.” Ace nudged him playfully. “It’ll help you relax.”

Ace could tell he wasn’t relaxed?! Wait, he could just become relaxed, and everything will be better again. Alright.

On Ace’s count, they stepped onto the runway again.

Rev tried to relax this time. He tried to make his breathing more even, forget about the crowd, and pretend like this wasn’t his first time in women’s attire. Like the boots he was wearing. Which were hard to walk in.

“Ahem.”

Rev startled slightly as Ace tapped his shoulder, getting his attention.

He nodded his head to the beat, and pointed vaguely upwards, most likely gesturing to the hidden speakers.

Right. Ace told him to ‘feel the music’ to calm down. Maybe he should do that. That’s kind of like what happened when he was learning from Lexi, but that… didn’t go well. Though, that music was embarrassing and of a genre he didn’t like. This music was specifically of a genre he did like and contained no embarrassing lyrics. This was more doable.

As they continued along the runway, Rev tried keeping up the steps while listening to the music the same way he would during a research binge. Just having a fun time listening to regular music. Enjoying the beat. Feeling the rhythm.

Rev barely noticed as they completed the circuit. All things considered… that wasn’t too bad!

“Nice!” Ace said. “Ready to try some poses?”

“I think this might be a strange thing for me to say but, sure!”

“Okay then; Follow my lead!”

Back onto the runway. A few steps in, Ace struck a pose, a hand on his hip and a finger pointed into the distance, then nodded at Rev. He copied his pose, a little unsure at first but quickly holding the stance firm. Ace gave him a thumbs up, and then they continued.

A little later, another pose. Then again. And again. Each time, Rev felt like he had a better grasp on it all. And better planted feet. More and more, he was getting that feeling he had when he first saw his reflection in the glass. Despite being new and different, the clothes, the poses, he felt great! The crowd might be fake, but he felt like he was really showing off how amazing he looked and they were eating it up!

Ace and Rev didn’t pause when they completed the loop. Instead, they immediately began the next one.

With the added experience, Rev no longer felt the need to copy Ace’s actions. He tried out his own pose unprompted, and received a cheer from Ace. From there, Ace took a few more steps ahead which allowed Rev more room to work. With the added space, Rev tried out more poses, showing off his improved balance, lean physique, and gorgeous clothes. With how amazing it was going, who wouldn’t love to see this kind of performance? Maybe he would give his other friends a chance to see him like this soon!

They circled back again, but this time, Rev grinned. He made one step onto the runway, and with a flourish, tossed his mask behind him. A thrill bloomed in his chest, heightened by Ace’s jaw hitting the floor. With no more need for a shield to hide behind, Rev continued forward with pride in each step.

The form of each pose was flawless. His attire shimmered under the spotlight. The look on his face was entirely assured. At this point, Rev was wondering how much better he’d look in makeup like Ace. He judged it earlier, but he had to admit; The longer they were dressed like this, the more it felt like they looked great! Maybe Lexi was being dramatic. After all, it wasn’t like Ace was hurting anyone.

No prompting was needed once again as Rev took to the runway upon completing the last pass. Somehow, it was like the spotlight was calling for him. This little show was somehow both freeing and invigorating, like releasing his chains and being filled with… confidence. Ace was right! This is what he needed! Everything was going perfectly and there was no feasible way to screw up now! He wasn’t going to let Tech down!

Rev’s heel slipped off of the runway.

He flailed back to avoid falling off.

“OOF!”

And his butt hit the floor.

…

It happened again! He screwed up! How could he screw up again?!

Rev scrambled to get back up, wobbling as he looked to see if Ace saw him.

“You alright, Rev?”

Oh no. He saw him.

“Haha! Yep! Just trying a new pose!”

“It’s alright, Rev. No need to-”

“I didn’t screw up! Just watch! See! I’m-! WAH!”

This time, his entire body lurched as he failed to pay attention to his footing, causing him to topple onto and knock over multiple crowd members with a cataclysmic THUD!

“Rev!”

As his vision swam back into focus, Rev’s heart started to race. This was entirely humiliating and if anyone were here to see him like this… who knows how disappointed they’d be?! Dressing in these clothes was weird and prancing around in them was even worse! Nobody could see him like this! Much less his friends! Much less Tech!

“Rev?”

Pathetically, Rev scrambled through the crowd, heaving and tripping as he made it to the stairs.

“Are you hurt? Rev, what are-”

He practically crawled across the back of the runway, snatching his mask and putting it on.

“Come on! These people aren’t real and it was just a small mistake! Rev!”

As he launched toward the stairs, Ace put a firm hand on his shoulder.

“What are you doing?! Everything’s alright! You can’t be calling it quits due to one little mistake, right?”

“Let go of me!”

Rev sharply rolled his shoulders, throwing off Ace’s hand and making a mad dash for the control room

Unfortunately, his mad dash wasn’t exactly fast. He teetered and smacked shoulders with multiple virtual crowd members. The control room was just within reach when he tripped over his own feet and cataclysmically hit the floor once again.

A groan rolled out of Rev’s beak as he rubbed the side of his head, his surroundings blurry when he tried to open his eyes.

“Rev! Are you- Woah.”

Wait… When did Ace get back into his suit? And why were the accents pink? And when did he start sounding like Lexi?

Gasping, Rev threw himself back and immediately regretted the decision as his head pounded.

“Here, let me help you up.”

He didn’t have much of a choice as she took his hand, pulling him to his feet.

Rev’s vision finally cleared, and not only was Lexi there, Slam was only a few steps behind her!

“Uh… This… Uh…” Rev could feel his face flushing as embarrassment consumed him.

“Oh my gosh!” Lexi said as she looked him up and down.

Rev folded his arms, trying in vain to cover himself. “I… uh…”

“You look amazing!”

“…What?”

Slam nodded profusely, giving a thumbs up.

“See,” Ace said, walking up to them. “I told ya, Rev.”

“Ugh,” Lexi sneered at him. “You definitely had nothing to do with that.”

“Hey!”

Lexi continued to inspect his outfit, bringing out more red in Rev’s cheeks. “I heard a huge noise and thought I’d walk in on a disaster and- I just can’t believe how great your outfit turned out! You should be proud!”

She did walk in on a disaster! He didn’t plan for a single person other than Ace to see him like this, let alone two people!

“Look I-” Rev tried moving past them but continued to stumble. “I need to-” He tripped and hit the wall behind him, feeling cold metal sliding across his back for a split second before he realized what had happened. He tried to scramble away, but he was already falling backward.

“AHH!”

“Woah!”

The cold hard smack of the ground didn’t come. Instead, Rev felt a firm pressure under his arms.

Slowly, he opened his eyes.

His chest tightened. The very first thing he saw was a lightbulb, then the furry brown hand that held onto it. The next thing he saw, barely out of the corner of his eye and blocked by part of his mask, was a black nose and tan snout.

“Here, uh, I’ll try to help you up.”

The pressure under his arms slowly shifted to push him up and ahead, leveling him out and onto his own feet.

Rev didn’t want to turn around. He didn’t want to face him. Didn’t want to be seen like… this.

In the doorway, Lexi was looking past him, snickering. Behind her, Slam and Ace leaned over to watch.

“Um…” Tech cleared his throat. “Are you… alright? You nearly got hurt.”

Rev laughed nervously, frozen in place. “I… Yep!”

“Um… could you… turn around?”

Ace whispered something into Slam’s ear. More snickering followed.

“Uh… why… do I uh… need to do that?”

“Rev…”

He gulped, forcing his limbs to unlock. Slowly, he turned in place, refusing to look at Tech even once he was facing right toward him.

The air went completely silent. The silence was killing him. He couldn’t stand it! Anything was better!

“Haha!” Rev choked out, nerves on fire. “I don’t suppose this is the attire you’d want at your congrats party. Right?”

A bright flash caught Rev’s attention, immediately followed by a sharp POP!

Despite the distraction, Rev saw that Tech’s gaze was trained on him instead of the bulb.

“Uh…”

Their eyes met, and Rev noticed how flushed Tech’s face was.

Tech quickly looked away. “Ah-! You can-! Wear what you want! But I mean-! I-! Uh, anyway! I need to-” He glanced around. His eyes met the burnt bulb. “Get a new bulb! Bye!”

Then, he turned and dashed down the hall.

“Wait! That was a joke and also I got the bulb from-”

A thud sounded at the end of the hall as Tech ran into the courtyard door before throwing it open and barreling out of sight.

“…the garage.”

Duck walked into view from around the corner, his attention toward the courtyard as he made his way over.

“Jeez. What’s got him acting all- Woof!”

Rev simply groaned and covered his face as the last of his friends saw his attire.

“Well no wonder why he was running off! You’re gonna kill him if you go around dressing like that! Though,” he nudged Rev’s arm with his elbow, smirking, “he might thank you for it.”

“W-What?”

The snickering behind Rev grew louder.

“I’m saying you’re laying it on pretty thick, pal. Tech’s already into you, so you don’t need to go out like that to get his attention.”

“I wasn’t dressing like this for Tech!” Though, technically speaking, he kinda was in a tangential way. But, nobody needed to know that.

“Well, it sure seems like he’d want you to.”

“Okay, that’s enough, Duck,” Ace said.

“Hey! I’m just stating the obvious! You were all thinking it!”

Ace opened his mouth, but a retort didn’t come.

Lexi and Slam looked away.

“Hmph!” Duck breathed triumphantly. “So Rev, if you weren’t trying to dress to impress, what were you doing anyway?”

Ace stepped in. “That ain’t any of your business.”

“Just getting help with my confidence.”

“Confidence? Oh, I know exactly how to get you some confidence!”

“Now hold on!” Ace jutted in again, this time pulling Rev back toward the others. Leaning in and lowering his volume, he asked, “are you really going to take advice from Duck?”

Lexi nodded. “Yeah. I mean, come on. Surely, whatever it is you’re doing, it’s not worth it.”

“Uh huh,” Slam agreed alongside them.

Maybe they had a point? Duck was definitely last on his list of people he’d take advice from, especially personal advice. His strong suit was definitely more in physical conflicts rather than emotional ones.

Still… It was getting late, and Rev was getting tired. Tech just ran off, but the next time they saw each other… he might want to know that Rev had some kind of improvement. Any kind of improvement. And with the last two attempts being a complete failure… he had to do something.

“Maybe… I could give him a chance?” he said, nerves alight with nervous energy. “He might have something to teach me,” he continued, every fiber of his being disagreeing with the words coming out of his mouth. He let out an anxious laugh. “I mean, what could possibly go wrong?”

“That’s the spirit!” Duck said, suddenly behind him.

“Wait!” Rev yelped as Duck clapped his shoulder. “I was exaggerating!”

And before he knew it he was teleported away.

Ace hummed uneasily, crossing his arms. “Duck’s bound to do something sketchy. Keep an ear out, Lex. ”

“Was already planning to.” She paused briefly, tilting her head. “Though, in the meantime, I’m gonna go make sure Tech’s okay.”

“What’s up with him?”

“He just threw himself into the walk-in freezer.”

Ace and Slam snickered.

“Alright. Slam, keep hanging with Lexi until we know where Duck took Rev.”

Slam nodded, and he and Lexi took off for the other side of the base.

“Meanwhile… I guess I’ll change back into my suit in case of an emergency…”

He sighed, walking back into the virtual trainer.

Link to Oversight Chapter 4 ->

#Loonatics Unleashed #Rev X Tech #Tech X Rev #Rev Runner #Tech E. Coyote #Ace Bunny #Lexi Bunny #Slam Tasmanian #Danger Duck #Shipping #My Fanfiction #LU Fanfic Series Magnetic Attraction #LU Fanfic Oversight #Don't mind me just posting a fic at freaking 4 AM because I was consumed by Youtube shorts until well past midnight.

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