CHAPTER 07

[A/N] Just updated the MC's picture, so you can check it out and see if this one's good as compared to the former one.

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Walking behind Malia into the boutique, he couldn't help but note that it wasn't as crowded as he thought it'd be, which was something he was thankful for. He didn't have any problems with crowds or people whatsoever but if he were to ever be given a preference, he'd rather there was no there in the beginning.

He was no loner by any means since he was pretty much around people most of the time but that didn't mean he didn't prefer the solitude. Not to mention that he found most conversations mildly irritating since strangers often found the monotonous reply off-putting. It'll take a special kind of someone other than Satomi's pack members to fully understand what he wanted to say without him actually saying it. 

The members of Satomi's pack had grown rather used to his way of speaking, noticing early on that his preferred way of speaking was with the fewest words possible. Oftentimes, he'd just let his gaze do the talking and even then, they'll still manage to get what he wanted to say. So it wasn't that he was socially awkward, he just didn't like prolonging things more than absolutely necessary. That was one of the numerous things he and Malia had in common. 

"Hey, eyes up front. We'll be starting with yours since it takes more time than mine." Without even giving him the time to answer her, she dragged him along with her and went towards the men's section. 

Despite his quiet nature, Tristan was awfully picky about his wardrobe article which left Malia doing the shopping for him most times as she knew his preference more than anyone. To an outsider with a superficial observation, it looked a lot like she was babysitting him and tending to his needs most of the time but that wasn't entirely true. 

She was usually burdened with things he didn't attach a lot of significance to, like clothes shopping for example. If it was any other thing, he wouldn't even let her make any decision since she could be pretty dumb at times, like getting foodstuffs for example. 

It was a silent agreement between the two of them that she'd take care of him while he'd take care of them. As long as he didn't show enough interest, she could pretty much drag him along into any of her shenanigans and he wouldn't show much opposition. Unfortunately, the unspoken arrangement seemed to favor her highly as she always had something that needed him to be brought along. It was also a blessing in disguise as that meant that he was mostly present whenever she had the urge to rip someone's head off. 

Finding a lounge to sit on, he let her wander around to look for anything that caught her eye despite the fact that it was supposed to be his shopping. Due to his extremely picky tastes, he would only pick a few of the clothes that she brought for him to glance through, making her dive back into the fray of clothes. 

Similar to Brett, Lori, Cheng and a few other young pack members, Satomi supported them financially with monthly allowances and took care of their schooling since she apparently had some old money that she didn't let any of them know about, and despite the fact that they'd often butt heads whenever she seldom came to visit, it was pretty evident to anyone who watched them that she adored the young werecoyote in her own stern way. A reminiscent fondness that always passed through her eyes every time she saw the headstrong girl. 

Though she was stern with everyone, Tristan included, which made them respect her even more, Malia was the only one that refused to budge despite the number of times she'd been beaten in a spar by the old woman. This also made Malia not very lenient in her spending if Tristan wasn't there since she knew Satomi would always fund it to the bill. 

Seeing how they would waste a lot of time here, Tristan sighed and got up from his comfortable seat to help reduce their shopping time since he knew they had a game to be present this evening. Lori would be pretty mad at him if they missed Brett's game after all. 

Without saying a word to Malia, he started going through the hangers of clothes on display, sifting through them while looking for something simple yet classy without being too luxurious. 

"How about this one? I think it'll look good on you." She held out a long-sleeved checkered shirt that had the two sleeves in alternating colors. 

He looked at the shirt for a while before nodding, prompting her to move to the next one. They spent over an hour on his side of shopping before they moved on to hers. 

Different from the male section, the female section was more open and had way too numerous samples laid out for the interested eyes to peruse. Malia led him around with an air of familiarity, showing how much she frequented the place, and brought him to a part of the section that had a lot of changing rooms. 

"Wait here."

Leaving him stranded like a troublesome child, she made her way towards one of the lines she'd scoped out the moment they entered the female section. 

She didn't fancy skirts all that much, pretty much had an aversion to them, so she browsed out a few jean pants and shorts that appealed to her before moving on to the hard part of any shopping spree – shopping for tops. 

Since she had pretty much ironed out her own style, it took a much shorter time for her to find out what she needed than when she was shopping Tristan. Having gotten the few pieces she liked, she went back to where she had left Tristan by tracking his scent which was pretty hard to find only if she wasn't that familiar with it. 

"You're back." Was all he said while reclining on the chair he sat, showing no intent on moving an inch from his resting spot. 

Ignoring his comment and trusting her senses in case anyone was nearby, which was unlikely since this was very secluded spot that they usually use whenever she brought him out for shopping, she unbuttoned her shirt, leaving her in only her pants and bra before picking up one shirt and changing into it while Tristan stared with half-lidded eyes. He had grown accustomed to seeing her naked after living with her for so long. 

"How does it look?" Seemingly not caring about his blatant stare as she changed. She was not an exhibitionist by any stretch of the word but she had no shame if she wanted to show off her body to anyone. Currently the only people who've gotten to see her naked on numerous occasions were Tristan, Lori and one occasion Brett. Didn't stop Tristan from growling at him until he knew not to look though. 

"Good." He said, before gesturing for her to continue trying out the clothes she bought, not because he wanted to continue looking but because he wanted to get out of the boutique faster. 

Seeing him urging her on, she continued trying out a few shirts, leaving the pants for when they got home. By the time they left the boutique it was a few minutes past 3pm which was actually a lot late as they had a game to attend and also needed to eat before leaving for the game that was due to kick off in a little over an hour's time. 

Picking up her bags while he held his, they made their way to the cashier to pay for the clothes they bought. With that out of the way, they finally made their way to their car after being gone from it for over two hours, much to Tristan's chagrin. After offloading their bags in the back seat, they left the boutique for their home with Tristan driving this time around as he sped through the tarred road of Beacon Hills, taking care not to go over the speed limit as he rushed them home. 

"What are we eating?" Malia asked as she slurped out of a juice box she had gotten from a vending machine at the side of the boutique. 

Tristan had a look of uncertainty in his eyes as he drove while trying to come up with something they'll both like for dinner but couldn't come up with any so he just shrugged. 

"We could go for something easy, like fried rice? We got chicken so might as well." Malia suggested. Another testimony to their unique relationship was once again evident. Malia couldn't cook jackshit so Tristan was the one who took care of their meals everyday but even though he constantly did that, Malia was the one who mostly decided what they ate. His diet was… a little bit special so unlike his choice of clothes, he wasn't picky about his food. 

"Okay." 

… 

The house they rented was a two bedroom flat with a small backyard that they had gotten for cheap from an old couple that wanted to permanently move outstate. The history behind how they got the house was covered in a lot of drama from Malia when she had vehemently refused to go back to the house she'd once lived in with her parents and suggested that they rather get a new one. 

Tristan knew she still had a little bit of trauma from her past, though it wasn't as pronounced as it was in the past, so he acquiesced to her demands since he was fine either way. The only reason they went for a two bedroom was just because it was spacious and also due to the visits from Lori when she wasn't with Brett and didn't want to stay with another member of the pack. Malia and Tristan used one room as they've always done since they met each other, that the other room had already been designed by Lori to suit her tastes as it was practically hers at this point.

"I don't think rice is going to be ready before the game starts so we'll have to make do with leftovers and finish up the cooking when we're back." Tristan said to Malia as she came to the kitchen after taking a bath. Compared to before, he was more relaxed and speaking freely as it was just the two of them. 

"I think there are some pizza leftovers from this morning." Malia said and went to check the fridge to confirm. "Yup. I think we can manage with this until we get back. Why don't you go shower while I heat this up for us."

Taking her suggestion, he went to their room to take off his clothes and proceeded to enter the adjacent bathroom to take his bath. 

After a thorough wash, he put on some light clothing despite the fact that it was pretty chilly around this time of the year before making his way back to the living room where Malia had already started snacking on their meal. 

"Couldn't wait for me, huh." He said as he took a slice only to find a head falling on his lap. "I knew you were coming."

He looked at the clock and saw a little over half an hour left, enough time to arrive before the whistle blew for the game, and decided to just rest a bit while petting her long hair and sometimes twirling it around his hands. 

"We should get going before it's too late. Wouldn't want Lori to bitch at us for coming late." Malia said but Tristan just hummed at her and continued doing what he was doing while also eating his slice of pizza before going for another one. 

"We still have thirty minutes on us. There's no need to rush and besides, the pizza isn't finished yet."

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