May 25, 2007 12:08
Title: Conspicuous
Author: Hyatt
Rating: PG
Fandom: Suikoden III
Characters: Albert, Yuber
Warning: I guess slight spoilers for Suikoden III.
Disclaimer: Own Suikoden? Moi? If only, people. If only. ;-;
A/N: I’d originally started this as a drabble for daily15, but ended up kinda going over. XD Oh well. I’m still kinda happy with how it turned out.
--
“This is stupid.”
Albert Silverberg sat back in one of the chairs by the fitting room, turning to the bookmarked page in the novel he was holding. “So you’ve been saying all day. Complaining about it won’t make it end sooner, Yuber.”
The blonde scowled, browsing the rack by the wall disinterestedly. “I still don’t see why that brat found this necessary.”
“Luc said it was a matter of being conspicuous,” Albert replied, nonchalantly flipping to the next page. “And he’s right, you know. Conspicuous doesn’t suit us well right now.”
“Your point?”
“Bulky black armor is the definition of conspicuous, Yuber.”
“Oh, oh, right, and he isn’t at all. He just blends in perfectly with that big, attention-grabbing iron mask, doesn’t he?”
“That ‘big, attention-grabbing iron mask’ doesn’t elicit that kind of reaction from passersby,” Albert said, jerking a thumb over his shoulder. Sure enough, the other customers were looking over at them nervously, quickly turning away when Yuber met their gaze.
Yuber seemed on the verge of some clever retort, before one particular outfit caught his attention. “… Hey,” he said with a manic little grin, holding the suit up by the hangar. “This doesn’t look so bad, does it? I think I could still strike fear in the hearts of innocents with this.”
Albert glanced up, raising an eyebrow. “Black,” he observed, going back to his book. “How surprising.”
The blonde draped the suit over his arm as he waved over one of the salesgirls, a tiny, terrified-looking girl with thick glasses. She bowed her head meekly as she approached, trembling as if afraid Yuber might eat her.
Albert supposed he couldn’t blame her for that. If Yuber weren’t so desperate to get out of here, he actually might’ve tried.
“It was on the 75% off rack,” Yuber said, handing it to her. “So how much is it going to cost?”
“Oh… I… uh…” the girl looked down at the suit, shaking fingers fumbling for the tag. “S-sir, I think someone put this over here by mistake. It’s s-still full price.” A strange, uncomfortable silence settled between them, and she looked up, confused. “… Sir?”
Yuber stared at her.
She stared back.
Yuber started to reach for the hilt of his sword-
“Yuber.”
Yuber flinched, hand falling limp at his side again. “… Fine.” He snatched the suit back, scowling at the poor clerk. “Count yourself lucky, woman.” The girl staggered backwards, nearly crashing into a rack of pantsuits, before hurrying off to the back room, sobbing into her sleeve. Albert watched dispassionately, shaking his head.
“… And that’s what we mean by ‘conspicuous,’ Yuber.”
The other man shrugged, making his way over to another rack. “The wench deserved it. So how do you think I’d look in one of these hats?”