Caspian’s expression got brighter, stepping forward to take an armful of clothes when Lake didn’t stop at one.
Soon, they were making their way to a dressing room with piles of clothes hanging off their arms, Caspian laughing contagiously.
Lake tried on the first top Caspian had gotten for him. It looked very out of place with his skinny jeans, and the bottom rode up higher than he thought.
He turned around when he heard Caspian’s footsteps draw closer, the Omega pouting as he approached.
"A sheer lace top doesn’t count as an outfit," Caspian protested.
The delicate white blouse only had a few buttons right at chest level, which meant that most of his stomach was exposed.
"I could say the same about this," Lake pointed at the clothes he had on, his tone light and teasing.
Caspian forgot about his complaints regarding his top, small hands resting on Lake’s shoulders.
"What are you talking about? This outfit is awesome, all you need is the right pants..."
A full hour and several outfit changes later, both Omegas’ faces were tinged pink from exertion, and discarded clothes were lying around.
"I didn’t realize that buying clothes was so tiring," Caspian muttered, slightly out of breath but not losing his smile.
Lake had already perched on an ottoman, Caspian was the last to tire out, still trying to sell him his outrageous ideas till the very last minute.
There was a polite knock on the door, Marge poking her head in after a go-ahead from Caspian.
"Do you guys need my help?" The store worker offered.
"Yes, actually," Caspian replied, back to being energetic. "I need your help packing up everything in this dressing room. We’ll take them all!"
Lake’s mouth dropped open at Caspian’s confident announcement, too tired to protest.
Even though he would never wear some of the outfits he tried on again... they just didn’t seem right.
He felt like he wasn’t worth them. After today’s shopping, he would stop at a cheaper store and get more pairs of jeans and shirts.
"... That pile is for me, and the other pile is for Lake..." Caspian was explaining in detail to the shopping assistant.
"Just charge them both to my card, we’ll be taking a short breather outside."
Marge gave Caspian a thumbs up and got to work sorting and folding, definitely pleased with how much they were purchasing.
Well, ’they’ was generously used here; Caspian was the one paying for everything.
Lake let Caspian link their arms together and lead the way, even though he had a couple of inches on the other Omega.
"Keith can handle the payments," He explained, "I’m pretty sure I saw a cafe nearby that we can get drinks at."
This was a much better way to spend his day than dozing and binge-watching shows, so Lake went along without a single protest.
"Lake and I are going to get a drink," Caspian did all the talking when they got to Keith who was hanging around the counter.
Lake was honestly surprised he hadn’t seen the bodyguard earlier.
Keith didn’t look surprised to see him, however, so he could guess that the bodyguard did see him coming in.
"Marge will be out soon with the things I bought. What kind of drink do you like?"
Lake held the bodyguard’s inquisitive stare, he had nothing to hide. Meeting Caspian here had been pure fortune on his end.
"Can’t drink on the job," Keith was quick to turn down the offer.
"Sure, that’ll be an americano for you and a milkshake for Peter." Caspian bulldozed down his dissent, leading the way out.
Keith didn’t even try to protest further, this seemed to be the norm with them.
And not for the first time, Lake thought about what it would be like to work for Caspian.
He hated to return to the service industry but he had a feeling that it would be bearable if it was under Caspian.
"What will you have?" Caspian asked casually when they got to the counter at the aesthetic cafe that was basically a store in a nook.
It was like they had done this many times. Shopped together and then grabbed a drink after. It was a semblance of the childhood Lake never had.
"Hot chocolate," He answered without thinking much about it.
He already had coffee that morning, so he didn’t want to have another hot chocolate, which was never his go-to.
Lake couldn’t even remember the last time he had indulged and gotten a drink .
The most he splurged on was more expensive store bought coffee, which he made himself and often drank black when he was in a hurry.
"And I’ll have lemon tea," Caspian added to the barista.
"Let me handle that," Lake stepped forward when it was time to pay.
Caspian opened his mouth to protest and then thought better of it. He didn’t want Lake to think he was a charity case.
He wanted a friend, and he hoped to find that in the reclusive Omega.
The drinks were separated into two paper bags, and they both held one as they made their way across the parking lot.
Keith and Peter were standing outside the car waiting for them.
Caspian held the bag with their drinks so he just handed it to the men.
Peter and Keith struggled to maintain their imposing persona, hesitating instead of excitedly grabbing their drinks like they usually would have done.
Caspian didn’t pay attention to them, focusing on Lake instead. "Do you mind if I drop you off? It’ll be easier than getting a cab."
Once again, Lake fought off the strong urge to turn Caspian down and put more distance between them.
"I don’t see why not," He shrugged, opening the passenger door, "I call shotgun."
Keith whipped around at that, completely forgetting his decorum. "That’s my seat."
"You were too slow." Lake handed to him, getting comfortable in the passenger seat.
Peter was the designated driver, so he didn’t get involved in the spat.
Instead, he peacefully opened the back door for a laughing Caspian and went around to the driver’s side.