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The day after Captain Boismortier's ball, Finral woke up to the smell of breakfast wafting through the base. His throat was dry and he winced at the bright sunlight coming in through the window, but overall, not a bad hangover for having gone out with Yami the night before. Though it wasn't like they'd gone to a bar. For that matter, Finral had had more to drink after they got to base than he had at the ball. Yami he wasn't so sure of, since-
-warm fingertips against his cheek-
-since it was always hard to tell how much Yami had been drinking. Guy had the tolerance of a bull, pun intended.
Finral pushed himself out of bed, shaking his head to clear it. Fancy parties weren't his thing anymore, so there was no need to think about anything that had happened any further. He'd just depress himself. Instead, he got busy getting himself presentable. Not like anyone on base would care if he came down in sleepwear, but old habits died hard.
The lack of chilly air on his skin as he stepped out of the shower cheered him up. Spring had finally arrived in the Forsaken Realm. There were probably a few more cool days to go, but today was a warm one. Finral had never minded the cold, but higher temperatures would put everyone else in a better mood. He dried off, got dressed, and headed down for breakfast.
Grey, Gordon, Luck and Magna were already chowing down, Charmy's usual spread being devoured and replenished even as Finral headed over. He was about to grab a plate, debating between pancakes and sausages, when the front door opened.
Finral knew it was Yami before he even looked up. There was no mistaking that aura, and Yami usually came in from his morning training when Charmy served breakfast. But when Finral glanced over, he froze.
Oh. He's...
There was no logical reason to be surprised. Yami had been out training since dawn. It was the first warm day in a while. And he'd never cared about anything approaching body modesty. This was not even remotely the first time Finral had seen the guy shirtless and sweaty.
So much for shaving yesterday, he's already got stubble again. The thought floated through without really connecting to anything else. A bead of sweat tracked from Yami's jaw down his neck. Finral tried not to follow it with his eyes and failed. He swallowed.
This was just... sudden. After seeing Yami covered up for once the night before.
Yami stepped across the threshold and shut the door. He didn't look up, unhooking his scabbard from his belt as he headed toward the plates. The sure motions of his hands reminded Finral of the feel of rough callouses against his palms, and the warm slide of Yami's hand down Finral's side when he'd taught him how to dance.
If the day had felt warm a moment ago, it was sweltering now. Yami leaned his sword against the edge of the table. But instead of grabbing a plate, he paused to stretch. The ripple of muscle across his torso made Finral choke. At the small noise, Yami looked over at him. Finral froze.
“You gonna get some grub or stand there all day?” Yami asked.
“Forgot something,” Finral managed to squeak. Then he turned on his heel and stepped through a hastily summoned portal. Finral's powers might be useless on the field, but he wouldn't trade them for anything in situations like this.
*
Yami frowned at the sudden disappearance of his portal mage. It reminded him of the way Finral had bolted out of the dance lesson a week ago. The flare of magic from upstairs told Yami that Finral had booked it back to his room, just like before.
But before Yami could decide if the weird behavior was worth pursuing, his stomach growled. His body wasn't happy with him ignoring the smell of food after a long morning training on an empty belly. He pulls one more disappearing act, I'll sic Vanessa on him, Yami decided. Then he put the whole thing aside and concentrated on breakfast
*
Finral let out the breath he'd been holding as the portal winked shut. What. The. Heck.
Finral scrubbed at his face, willing the heat to die down. The shirtless part, okay, fine, people usually reacted to more skin, but the rest? Sweaty and disheveled was not supposed to be an attractive look. After the confusion during the dance lesson, Finral had been apprehensive about the ball, worried that Yami in formal wear would be distracting. It really hadn't been. He'd breathed a sigh of relief and comfortably packed the whole thing away.
Well, it was sure out of the box now. Finral started to pace.
Why had he reacted like that? It didn't make sense. Finral had grown up in the highest circles of nobility and royalty. There'd been plenty of handsome guys around, but they'd never provoked this strong of reaction in Finral. A head turn, a bit of a flutter in his gut; that was the end of it. The ladies had always been far more interesting.
Then again... Yami wasn't really like the men in those circles, was he? Finral's steps slowed as he turned over the idea. Then he shook his head. No, that didn't work out either, if he'd been into tall and ripped and impulsive, he'd have had a crush on Mereoleona Vermillion, not-
-kind purple eyes, a tender smile, frail and gentle hands-
-someone else. Finral forcibly shelved the memory. Definitely no reason to dredge all that up. The point was, this was a clear departure from his usual preferences on at least two levels, and it was bizarre.
Finral paused. Glanced down at his robe, the crest that marked the worst and weirdest squad of Clover Kingdom. Slowly, he looked over at his mirror. He eyed the blush still staining his cheeks.
Then he closed his eyes with a groan. Because really, he'd been with these people over three years now, did he actually think he was still normal? If he ever had been in the first place. With a sigh, Finral sat heavily on his bed.
Fine. Apparently, the assumption that he was more into women than men had been based on some skewed data. Specifically, Finral had assumed that he had taste. He hid his face in his hands. Really, who gets more flustered over Yami than Kirsch Vermillion? Geez, there is something wrong with me. There was also the rather baffling question as to why he hadn't figured this out years ago.
Finral's face heated up further when he abruptly remembered the dance lesson again. Right. That was why this was suddenly getting his attention. Looking and touching were... very different. Finral pressed his knuckles hard against his eyes and forced his thoughts to move past the recollection.
That was the solution to the whole thing, really: ignore it. Dwelling on it would just be awkward. Finral had just about swallowed his tongue the first time Vanessa had decided to lounge around base in her underwear. Now he barely noticed. This would be even easier, since he was already familiar with Yami's clothes-optional approach to life. The dancing and the sudden switch to formal wear and back again had just thrown Finral for a loop.
And it wasn't like it would matter much outside of base. In a world ruled by magic, Yami was nearly unique. Probably why Finral hadn't figured out his apparent preferences in men years ago.
Of course, out in the boonies where people had less magic, there were probably more guys built like that. But Finral wasn't going there in search of dates. Finral didn't flirt with peasants. Nothing wrong with them, but the further you got from the prosperous castle towns, things changed. People looked at the purple eyes that implied noble blood and the robe that marked him as a Magic Knight and wondered if they were allowed to say no, and that just... no. Not happening.
So he'd stick with the cute ladies of Clover's castle towns. Mystery cleared up and problem solved, Finral stood and headed for the door. He was calm now. There'd still be plenty of food at the table-
-where Yami was probably still eating. And had probably not bothered to put his shirt back on.
...on second thought, today was a great day to go out for breakfast.