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Xodiac took his time wrapping up his bedroom. The living room and kitchen were both filthy, and he was reluctant to tackle them. But there really wasn't much left to do beyond general tidying up. Eventually everything was back in its place and squared away. He looked around once, feeling a peculiar mixture of apprehension and satisfaction at a job well done. Then he reluctantly headed out to the living room.

At the entrance, he surveyed the room, hands on hips. He hadn't realized just how bad the room had become. Now, though, it was obvious. There were a lot of dirty dishes, spilled food, even more clothing that would need to go into the laundry. And it seemed everything was out of place. It was actually a little daunting — but, he thought, soonest begun, soonest done.

An hour later, the room looked much better. Almost habitable, she thought with a smile as she rummaged in the hall closet. Now where was... ah! She pulled out the feather duster she remembered seeing in there, long ago, and returned to the living room, pleased.

As she reached the bookshelves, though, something seemed a little off. Had they always been so tall? Xodiac could swear she'd been able to reach the top shelf before, but now she had to stretch, and the top of the unit was entirely out of reach.

Xodiac turned at the soft click of a camera's shutter. "Oh, hello, sir," she said, bowing her head slightly.

"Good morning!" Tomae replied cheerfully. "How are things going?"

"Quite well, sir!" Xodiac clasped her hands before her as she spoke. "Although... I cannot reach the topmost shelves. Do we have a stepstool?"

"Hmm... no, I don't think so."

"Oh, dear." Xodiac was surprised at how much it upset her that some of the shelves would remain unfinished. They wouldn't really be clean!

Her distress, it seemed, did not go unnoticed. "Tell you what," the otter said. "I'll run out and get one this afternoon, after lunch. Then you can get those top shelves and other hard-to-reach areas. Sound good?"

"That sounds wonderful, sir."

"Good." Tomae looked around the room, then turned back to Xodiac. "Room's coming along nicely. And so are you, I might add."

"Erm. Thank you, sir?" Xodiac hoped desperately that Tomae wasn't coming on to her. But she managed to keep her expression neutral. Barely.

Tomae chuckled. "Perhaps you should check out your dress before you do much more," he said, and headed back to his bedroom. A moment later he popped his head around the corner. "Oh, and please make lunch when you're done here. You can do the kitchen afterwards."

"Yes, sir," Xodiac said, with another bow of her head.

She'd actually forgotten about how the costume would continue to change. But she quickly realized what her roommate had meant. The sleeves were longer, yet at the same time looser, draping down over her elbows. The apron, too, had expanded again, covering more of the front of her dress, and now that she was paying attention to it she could feel that the stockings had crept upwards to just above the knee. For a moment she contemplated lifting the skirt to look, then blushed. That would hardly be appropriate!

There were frills everywhere, now, and a small pink ribbon had been somehow tied itself around her tail without her noticing. It matched the ribbons that tied her gloves closed — and she thought, disturbed, looked rather nice on her.

Xodiac sighed and turned back to her work. She didn't even notice her expression slowly transforming into a pleasant smile as she lost herself in the pleasure of cleaning once again.

Now, what to make for lunch?

---

Art by  Cobalt_K. I think this is my favorite of the six images. Feminine and frilly, but not over the top.
His posting is here.
Story by me, based on his maid costume design.
619 words (this part)