Now See Here! (m/m)

Naked Eye

"No, it's simply a matter of personal preference, Mr. Russo," Jake said. "Maybe you could help us instead, or should we leave all together, Mark?"

"We can stay," Mark nodded, suddenly not wanting to flee with his tail between his legs.

"Of course, I'd be delighted to help you. So what are you looking for today?" the man asked. He had that little… lilt… in his voice, which Mark associated with some gay people, but he supposed it was wrong to jump to conclusions just because of a speech pattern.

"We are going on a date to the opera later this week and are looking for a couple of new suits… just to look stylish enough so they won't kick us out," Jake explained.

"Then this way, please," the man said.

As they left, Mark's sensitive hearing picked up a few words.

"Well, if you were gay anyway…" Linda muttered. Neither Jake nor their new assistant had heard her, though, and Mark decided not to call her on it. It was unfair that she should get in trouble at work for something that had happened privately, after all. She wouldn't get any commission from Jake again, though, the blond was pretty certain of that…

"Well, this feels nice," Mark said half an hour later. "What does it look like?"

"Very good!" Jake said approvingly.

"Yes, but I mean… like what color is it?"

"Blue?"

Mark sighed. "Could you be a bit more specific? I want to be able to picture it?"

"Dark blue?"

"Mr. Barlow, I'm ashamed of you. One could almost believe you were straight!" the shop assistant, who had just returned with a few more items to try on, snorted. "Mr. Sanders, you are currently wearing a navy chalk stripe suit from Andrea Campagna. It's made of wool, in Italy and has a cupro lining."

"Wait… cupro? What does that mean?"

"It's the material, Sir, a type of rayon."

"Oh, I see," Mark nodded, though he wasn't completely sure. The lining felt like silk, anyway, and was very nice.

"It's a two button model, as you can feel, peaked lapels, front flap pockets and chest pocket as well as interior pockets. The pant is a flat front with quarter top pockets and back button welt pockets."

"I was wondering about the hem, it… didn't feel right?" Mark asked, a bit embarrassed to be complaining about something the man had just described so proudly.

"That's right, Sir. The hem is unfinished and it comes with basted sleeves and shoulders… this suit is too fine not to fit perfectly, and our tailors will take care of that for you, should you choose to buy it."

"Oh, I kind of like the sound of that," Mark grinned.

"Yes, especially as we almost had to go into the teen department to look for something that would fit you, short stuff," Jake joked.

"Hey! Not everyone can be a giant like you!" the blond defended himself.

"I assure you the fit is already good and it will be perfect," the salesman said.

Mark enjoyed the feel of it. He had tried some others on which hadn't felt quite right, but this one was just like an outer skin. And probably a very expensive one.

"How much does it cost?"

"Well, as I said, this is one of our finest-"

"How much?"