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Despite the pomp and grandeur of the Nova Corps, it was anything but glamorous. Lots of early mornings, gruelling training exercises and maintaining space crafts. Overall, it wasn't nearly as cool as you wanted it to be. Still, being a force of justice and the people you worked with often made it worth while. You were one of the more loose tempered officers, along with a handful of others. While you took your job seriously, you weren't as serious as some. Like Denarian Saal. Being middle ranked and highly respected, you got why he was so stoic and a bit of a stick in the mud. Still, you wondered if that man ever had fun, especially since he never seemed to have a day off. Sometimes you really worried he would work himself to death and only hoped it was a coincidence that you never saw him take time off.
The morning started off like all the others; roll out of bed, put on uniform that could have been better pressed, and make your way to the cafeteria for breakfast. All seemed normal until you had your breakfast sitting in front of you and you were just about to dig in. Taking a glance around you caught sight of someone you almost didn't recognize. If it weren't for the sleepy brown eyes, that velvety voice and his height, you would have never known it was Saal. Mostly because he was by no means in his normal pressed to perfection uniform. He shuffled around, coffee in one hand and tablet in the other, in what appeared to be his pajamas. A plain white tank top that still looked pristine and loose hanging grey sweatpants. His hair was barely even combed back to tame it. Normally, seeing a fellow officer out of uniform was not unusual but on one hand it was Saal. He was always perfectly put together, ready for anything. Secondly despite how good he always looked in uniform, the broad shoulders of that blue coat only accentuating his own physique, you never knew what he looked like under it. Not until now, that is.
It comforted you to find you weren't the only one staring either. Glancing around several others were gawking at him. Saal was none the wiser, sipping his coffee and focused on whatever he had on his tablet. None of the stares were judgemental either, in fact all were more in shock then anything. Anyone who stood next to Saal knew he was tall as a tree, but seeing him now made it clear he was sturdy as one too. Broad shoulders leading down to a pinched waist and hips and a barely there belly. It shouldn't have shocked you he was in such good shape given he took his role so seriously, but it still caught you off guard. The neckline of his tank top didn't do nearly enough to cover the expanse of his chest, leaving little to the imagination and allowing tufts of hair to peek over the hem.
Eventually he stood from his table to get more coffee, the sheer amount of it that man could drink and not even shudder was scary enough, and you felt guilty for your eyes immediately darting down to his lower half. The sweatpants barely clung to his hips and if it weren't for the length of his top, you were sure you'd be able to see most of his belly. Noticing a familiar shape around his groin your gaze darted away as you blinked incredulously. You were surprised but very thankful no one had noticed your shameless staring. Either that, or everyone else was looking at the same thing.
After collecting yourself a moment you started really thinking why he would suddenly let go like this. Although you were sure he had good reason, you knew you couldn't waste a chance to see this up close. Picking up your tray of food, you made your way over to Saal's table, asking if you could sit despite that other seats being empty. Peering up from his tablet he raised a brow a moment before gesturing to a seat beside him. You sat down now hyper aware of your gaze. From this close he was sure to notice if you lingered too long, so you made conversation to divert attention.
"Uniform not out of the wash yet?" You joked. It was a risky move given Saal didn't have much of a sense of humour, but to your surprise and delight, he smiled at it. You'd never seen him smile so genuinely before and it made your heart flip as his face lit up.
"No, my uniform is fine. It's my day off, actually." He spoke softly, eyes still trained on the screen before him. His face was more relaxed then usual, not as stern and focused. He looked soft and sleepy, like he should be curled up in bed rather than at work.
"That's a surprise. I didn't think a day off was an option for you." You responded, finally eating some of your nearly forgotten breakfast. You still stole glances between bites as you spotted the soft freckles along his collarbones, the stubble along his jaw and admired his lean, long fingers. He let out another short chuckle.
"Well you're half right. Although I'm not officially on duty, there's still work to be done." He sighed softly, clearly tired. Hearing the fatigue in his voice sent a pang to your heart. He may be a stick in the mud, but he was still sweet and a good man. Seeing him like this only made you want to urge him to rest and care for himself more.
Finishing off the last of his second cup of coffee he seemed to contemplate a third before huffing and closing what he was reading. Peering up from the screen, Saal finally took in the cafeteria around him along with the staring eyes that had been watching him. Most turned away, a few tried to make it seem like they were looking elsewhere, but almost all were a much brighter shade of pink as they had been caught. Saal cocked a brow, his gaze moving to you as he felt your eyes on him as well. You were just as flustered as the others having been caught as well. With a rather surprised look on his face, Saal looked over himself, as if looking for what they were staring at.
"Maybe I should keep the uniform on..." he mumbled, peering down at himself before looking up to you. You smiled wide, leaning in as if you were about to give him the best life advice he'd ever hear.
"On the contrary, Saal, I think you should wear it less."