The door remained open, but Theo had gotten undressed in riskier situations, so he complied with a mental shrug.
His linen small clothes were unfortunately too voluminous to fit beneath the trousers, so they had to go. He had also ceased wearing his stockings since he had gifted one of his garters to Jun.
Consequently, there was nothing between the tight fabric of the trousers and Theo in his entirety.
They fit more akin to stockings than proper trousers, faithfully hugging the lines of Theo’s body from just below the crest of his hip all the way to his ankles. He had never possessed something so snugly tailored in his life. A small smile graced his face as he thought of Ari’s no doubt scandalized reaction to such a garment.
Followed immediately by a pang in his chest. He was really beginning to miss his quiet, straightlaced twin. Being scandalous wasn’t half as much fun without Ari around to scandalize.
Theo turned to examine his backside with a critical eye in the smudged mirror stuck to the wall. He had to bunch up his shirt over his navel to see properly. “These trousers certainly leave very little to the imagination.”
Axel’s pad landed on the bed with a thump, and he pushed to stand and study the fit, himself. “Yeah, I bought them a size too small, hoping to attract the ladies with the siren call of my bulge.”
This was accompanied by a rather unfortunate gesture toward the front of his own closely fitted trousers.
Theo winced. “Oh?” He made an attempt to be supportive and nonjudgmental, aiming for a light and inquisitive tone rather than openly cringing. (Ari would likely have fainted on the spot from sheer disgust.) “Did that prove an effective courting strategy, for you?”
Axel made a face that wasn’t particularly confidence-inspiring, and then turned to hunt through the pile. He found a dull-gray sweater, which he thrust out at Theo insistently. “I got myself shot with a stun ray, so, no. But I did get the contacts for one super snarly dude first, so I thought they might work better for you. It’s not my thing, but snarly dude seems to be your type. Take off that blouse and put this on instead.”
Theo started to work free his cravat, only remembering the marks Jun had left on his neck when it was too late. Axel’s bright-green brows shot up, but he thankfully refrained from making comment.
“I can’t deny that there is something compelling about a man with a scowl on his face.” Theo’s shirt slightly muffled his words as he struggled to get it over his head without entangling his arms. “Makes me want to see what it takes to get him to smile.” He popped the sweater on, relieved to find that it had no odor, despite his fears. “I must inform you, however, that there is nothing of significance between your captain and me.”
“Significance” being the key word, there.
Nothing of any significance whatsoever. Just Theo’s nonsensical heart falling deeply and irrevocably in love with a man who wanted nothing to do with him outside of the occasional tryst.
Par for the course with Theo, really.
And entirely insignificant.
The rude sound Axel made was anything but an agreement. “Are we still going with that? I don’t get why he’s hiding it; it’s not as if any of us care who he’s nailing to the wall in his free time.”
Theo tugged at the collar of his new soft, slouchy top. He was suddenly a trifle warm at the unexpectedly welcome notion of Jun nailing him to the wall.
A thought that required further study.
Preferably while he was alone, in his bunk.
Theo frowned at his reflection and fussed with the hem of the sweater. The garment was too short. It barely flirted with the waistband of his trousers, flashing skin whenever he moved in any direction. “I think it’s more that he doesn’t want me to get inflated ideas of my own importance. Doesn’t wish for me to labor under the misapprehension that I matter to him beyond my work.”
He couldn’t decide if it was encouraging or disheartening that Axel’s face fell at that revelation. “Shit. That sucks, man.”
Theo gave up on the hem of the sweater and, instead, pushed at the overlong sleeves that hung low over his knuckles. “It’s quite alright. I know my place; he doesn’t need to worry. I’m aware of the importance of my work here, as well as the unimportance of myself as a person.”
If there was something Theo excelled at, besides languages and making an unholy mess every time he entered a kitchen, it was accepting his undesirability as a long-term romantic partner.
It was a proven, tested pattern, after all. Ari would applaud his use of the scientific method to reach that conclusion.
Actually, Ari would wrap Theo up in their softest blanket and acquire his favorite Turkish delight and sit with him while he cried. A steady, sympathetic presence Theo could depend on even at his worst.
Which was also a proven pattern.
Stars, he missed his twin.
Axel tossed a pair of clunky black boots at him, narrowly missing Theo’s ankles. “Throw these on, and you’re ready to walk the Wastes with the rest of the Crew, Doc.”
Theo gathered them up, surprised to find that he and Axel were of a size. He offered a soft, sincere smile of thanks. “I think these will suit rather nicely. Thank you for your assistance; you’ve been ever so kind to me.”
Axel clicked through the attachments on his arm with a furrowed brow, avoiding Theo’s gaze. “That’s me, kindness and light itself. I basically shit rainbows.”
Which was an exceptionally colorful idiom Theo had never come across before. He mentally added it to his inventory, to be used whenever it would horrify Ari the most.
Axel seemed to be done with him now that he had garbed Theo in Outlier clothing; his body language screamed dismissal. Theo bundled up his things under his arm
