Fashion Sense (fic)
Title: Fashion Sense
Author: DaystarsMom
Rating: R
Characters: Celi, Conrart, Yozak
Disclaimer: Good grief, it's fanfiction. Of course it's Not Mine.
Obligatory stupid summary: Two different views of Conrart's uniform: his mother's, and Yozak's. Sort of.
Fashion Sense
By DaystarsMom
Conrart has been wearing that same brown uniform for years. It drives his mother crazy. It's so...so nondescript. With his brown hair and eyes, the brown uniform makes him a boring brown shadow, easy to overlook. Which is probably the point, but still... he's far handsomer in his dress uniform, or the blue one he wore when he was at the Academy, or even in Big Cimmaron's uniform (though she knows better than to say that aloud).
But the only time he wears anything but that dreadful brown is when he and King Yuuri are going undercover for some reason. Even then she can't persuade him into the rich, vibrant colors that would suit him best. She'd thought she might have a chance when Yuuri mentioned baseball uniforms, but he'd insisted on a "traditional" design in white with blue accents. It's better than plain brown, but not by much.
And of course she knows that Conrart can't wear jewels with his uniform, but he won't even wear his medals. You'd think a military man would at least find medals an acceptable way of adding a little glitter, and Conrart has a drawer full...but that's where they stay, in the drawer. Even the new ones that Yuuri insisted on giving him for various "acts of valor in defense of Shin Makoku and the Maoh."
At one time, back when she was Demon Queen, she seriously considered signing a law to make her middle son wear colors. But when Stoeffel and Gwendal both agreed that it was a bad idea (and then vetoed her totally reasonable suggestions for uniform redesign in general with equal vehemence), she acquiesced. Now she's sorry she did, because she'll never get another chance.
Really, she thinks, for Conrart to wear that horrible uniform is such a waste.
o-------o
Conrart has been wearing his same brown uniform for years. For a long time, Yozak didn't think about it much, except to be glad that his career didn't demand that sort of dress code.
And then they both got soaked during one of the downpours that so often accompanied the Demon King's proclamation "Justice be done!" And Yozak couldn't help noticing just how good that stiff brown uniform looked once the rain had taken the starch out of it-or rather, just how good the man in the uniform looked with the rain-darkened fabric clinging to his shoulders, his back, his ass, his thighs... And then they reached shelter, and Conrart began stripping the wet layers off, and Yozak was a goner.
It wasn't as if Yozak hadn't seen Conrart's body before. They'd shared field quarters, patched each other up after battles, bathed together more than once. But something in the reluctant way the damp cloth came free of Conrart's skin made Yozak itch to touch the lean, scarred flesh it revealed. Never having been one to resist an impulse, he did. With results both surprising and entirely satisfactory to both parties.
Ever since, Yozak's been quite fond of that brown uniform. He likes the way the crisp fabric allows hints of the shape underneath to escape-hints that only an experienced spy would notice and appreciate properly. He likes ducking Conrart in the lake on the rare times when they can sneak off for a lazy afternoon together, and watching the fabric darken and wilt and cling. He really likes peeling the wet cloth off his lover's body, and seeing the skin beneath shiver, first with cold and then with desire. He's considered dumping Conrart in the castle fountain as a backup when they can't get away to the lake, but Conrart would probably kill him, and anyway there are other enjoyments to be found in sneaking off to assignations around the castle.
Still, Yozak thinks, when you get right down to it, you just can't beat that uniform.
-fin