"This is what you Earthens call clothing?" scoffed Jacin.

"Well, I guess if you're in the water, then not many people can see you..." Cress mused, looking at the scanty bikini in front of her. Thorne smirked and winked at her. There were no words needed for her to blush. Cinder rolled her eyes and lightly punched him in the shoulder. With her metal hand.

"Ow!" Thorne yelped. "That hurt!"

"You deserved it," Kai muttered. Thorne opened his mouth to make a smart remark when Winter cut in with a giggle.

"I like this swimsuit! What do you all think?" She displayed the swimsuit on the rack to everyone.

"It's really pretty!" cried Iko. "But are you sure you don't want a bikini instead, Winter? It would look really good on you!" Winter pressed her lips together in thought, not seeing Jacin's ever-increasingly rosy face. She then shook her head.

"I don't really feel comfortable in those." Jacin let out a sigh of relief. Winter glanced back down at the chosen bathing suit. "I like this one! I'm going to try it on," she announced as she skipped towards the changing room.

While they were waiting, Thorne attempted to get every girl to wear a bikini, causing every male their to flush at the prospect of their girlfriends showing more skin than they were used to. When Scarlet accepted a choice that Thorne had offered to her, tomatoes became jealous of the color on Ze'ev's face.

Scarlet showed a bejeweled, exposing bikini to Ze'ev, smirking a little. "What do you think, Ze'ev?" she asked innocently, knowing exactly what he was thinking. If possible, Ze'ev turned even redder.

"I... uh, I guess- Um. If you- ah..."

Thorne joined Scarlet in her devilish grinning. "Hey, Scarlet, why don't you try it on?" Kai, Scarlet, and Thorne were trying hard not to laugh, but Jacin and Cinder looked indifferent. Cress nudged Thorne.

"Captain, that's not very ni-"

"Sure I will!" Scarlet interrupted. "I'll wait until Winter comes out first, though. I want to see what she looks like."

When Winter came out, she, unsurprisingly, looked beautiful. She had made a good selection - a cerulean one piece that wasn't too revealing, but since she was already curvy, it was enough to make Jacin turn a dark shade of pink. (He tried to shrink to the back of the group, but Kai, smirking, caught his wrist and dragged him to the front.)

"What do you think, Jacin?" Kai mocked. Jacin scowled, but when he saw Winter's hopeful expression, faltered a little.

"It... It looks good on you, my Princess." The "my Princess" comment caused Winter to avert her gaze nervously, a small smile playing on her lips while happiness sparked in her eyes. It also made Cress and Iko giggle like crazy in the back of the group. Scarlet clasped her hands together.

"It looks so pretty, Winter!" Winter beamed some more.

"Thank you! I'll change back. Will you try on a swimsuit, Scarlet?" Winter asked. Scarlet smiled, borderline flirtatiously, shooting Ze'ev a wink.

"Don't worry. I will." She paraded off to the changing rooms with Winter. Thorne cackled.

"This should be fun."

Cinder groaned. "That's what you said when you suggesting we go swimsuit shopping. And this is anything but fun."

"Well," Cress began brightly, "when you're queen of the Eastern Commonwealth, you won't have to worry about shopping too much." Cinder's eyes widened and Kai's ears were as pink as a strawberry. Cress's brow creased. Winter came out in her normal clothes that exact minute.

"You were planning on marrying her, right, Kai?" Winter questioned. Iko looked at him expectantly.

"We have a couple years left..." Kai attempted.

"So that's a yes?" Iko pressed.

"I..." Kai stammered.

Everyone was silenced (in shock or surprise) as Scarlet came out of the changing room. Everyone knew Scarlet was curvy, but this particular swimsuit did a good job accentuating and revealing those curves. Ze'ev's eyes widened as he scanned her figure and he looked away, his restless feet tapping even more quickly.

Thorne looked at everyone with a 'ha!' expression. "See? I do make good fashion choices." Cinder rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, yeah, okay. You look good, Scarlet!" The flushed crew mumbled in agreement, except for Ze'ev.

"What do you think, Wolf?" Thorne asked, looking innocent. Ze'ev's eyes were wide as he looked at Thorne.

"I- I, um. I think she... Er..." Ze'ev's voice dropped into a whisper. "She's beautiful no matter what she wears."

Scarlet's whole face split in a happy, loving smile. She kissed Ze'ev. He attempted to pull her to him, forgetting that she was wearing a two-piece swimsuit. So when he made contact with skin, he jumped an entire three feet away in surprise.

"What-" He was interrupted by everyone's howling laughter.

"You might wanna get that gun out, Wolf," Thorne joked. "You might need it soon." Ze'ev and Scarlet both flushed at his crude joke. Kai and Cress were blushing when they realized what he had meant.

"Shut up, Thorne," Jacin and Cinder said simultaneously. Thorne shrugged, his smile not fading.

"I'm just saying..."

"I'm going to find another bikini," Scarlet announced. "I feel weird in this one." Cinder snorted.

"Turns out you don't have such good taste after all, Captain Thorne."

"Shut up." Thorne cleared his throat.

"So! Cinder, you're next!"

"I'm choosing my own swimsuit."

"Sele- um, Cinder!" Winter called out. "I found a bathing suit you may like!" Winter held up a black one-piece with a neon green outline. It was practical but unusually pretty. Not unlike Cinder herself.

Cinder took the swimsuit from Winter and examined it before nodding. "Yes. I like this one. But how will I swim without my metal parts rusting?" She suddenly looked worried. Kai rolled his eyes.

"Cinder. We can do cybernetic operations on people. We can also make waterproof gloves or coatings for your leg. It's not that big of a deal."

Cinder argued back that she didn't want to be a burden.

Several minutes and a kiss later, Cinder decided she would try on the swimsuit.

Cinder came out and Scarlet, dressed in her normal clothes, clapped. (Scarlet had decided on a red-and-white striped bikini - still a little revealing but not as flashy.)

The sleek black and green swimsuit Cinder was wearing suited her.

"Oh, Cinder! You look great!" Iko squealed. "I wish I could get a swimsuit..."

"Um... Yeah. You look great, Cinder," Kai coughed. Cress giggled.

"What?" Kai asked.

"Nothing. Just you were the first of the guys to comment on their girlfriend's swimsuit without prompting."

Kai ran his fingers through his hair, his ears turning pink. "Yeah, well..."

"Not a bad choice, Cinder," Thorne relented. "I approve." Cinder snorted.

"Yeah, because that's the reason I like it. But thanks anyway. I'm going to change back." Cinder quickly turned and headed back into the stall.

Thorne faced Cress. "I have a good swimsuit for you!"

Cress looked terrified. "I'm not sure I want you to-"

"Hey! What's that supposed to mean? C'mon, see. You said you wanted to experience Earthen life? This is part of it."

Cress hesitated.

"Okay, at least see what I chose, okay? I won't make you wear it," Thorne compromised. Everybody looked surprised. When Thorne was suggesting bathing suits to everyone else, he had pestered them to no ends. Well, they shouldn't have been surprised. They all knew the so-called captain had a soft spot for Cress.

Cress nodded. "Okay."

Thorne grinned. "Let me get it."

While Thorne was gone, Cinder came out of the changing rooms. She smirked when she saw everyone's worried expression. She turned to Cress.

"Is Thorne forcing you to wear something, too?" Cress smiled and shook her head.

"He said he wouldn't. He's getting the swimsuit right now." Right on cue, Thorne came back with a light pink bathing suit in his hand.

"Here!" he said triumphantly. He handed Cress a light pink two-piece with ruffles decorating the top part. It didn't reveal anything at all, except her stomach, of course. It was very pretty, in a delicate sort of way.

Cress ogled at it, blushing slightly. She looked up at Thorne with a wide smile. "I love it!" She flung her arms around her Captain, who chuckled, but looked pleased nonetheless.

"I thought of you immediately when I saw it." Cue Iko squealing. Cress pulled away from Thorne, still beaming.

"I'm going to try this on!" Thorne smiled down at her like he was the happiest person alive. Cress practically ran into the changing rooms.

Cress stepped out of the changing rooms, biting her lip slightly.

"What do you guys think?"

"You look wonderful, Cress!" Kai said, smiling.

"You look adorable," Scarlet stated matter-of-factly. Iko, Winter, and Cinder agreed.

"What do you think, Jacin?" Winter asked excitedly, hopping up on the balls of her feet to peck him on the cheek. He shrugged.

"She looks nice."

Cress gave him a wide smile before turning to Thorne. "What do you think, Captain?"

Thorne's eyes, which were fixated on her face, widened slightly and there may have been a light blush on his cheeks. "Uh... Er..."

Kai snickered. Thorne shot him a glare, though he seemed relieved to have a distraction. He returned his attention to his petite love.

"You look wonderful, Cress." Cress gave him the biggest smile.

"Thank you! I'll go change back."

They were all standing at the entrance. The girls all had their swimsuits, and the boys all had their blushes.

"This was fun!" Iko tittered.

"Yeah, sure," Cinder replied, sounding exhausted. "This reinforces my dislike for shopping."

"Come on," Thorne urged. "It wasn't all that bad. Right?"

Jacin snorted. "Okay."

"I had fun," Winter interjected.

"Me too!" Cress grinned.

Scarlet smirked. "It was entertaining, that's for certain." Ze'ev looked pained.

"Yeah. For you!"

"Don't pretend you didn't enjoy that, Z," Scarlet scoffed. Thorne burst into laughter and Ze'ev looked like he just wanted to die.

"I don't see you denying it," Jacin added. Ze'ev looked at him, astonished and mortified.

"Not you too!" Ze'ev cried.

"He's not wrong..." Kai commented. Ze'ev dropped his head in his hands in total embarrassment. Scarlet laughed and kissed him on the cheek.

Cress slipped her hand in Thorne's. A comfortable silence ensued as the Rampion crew walked out of the store. Suddenly, Iko squealed.

"Let's come back soon so the boys can try on bathing suits!"

All the guys groaned.

A/N: This was so much fun to write. Thanks to MusicDancer for giving me the idea for this story! One day, I'll write a second part to this where the boys try on bathing suits... Ooh, that'll be fun. XD I hope you all giggled as much as I did and had fun with it! Love to you all! -Aurum19

[I do not own the Lunar Chronicles.]