[Fin] Tailor Made

[TawnyAngel]

A day off base was always a welcome diversion from the everyday tedium of being a grunt. Oh sure he got to work on some interesting things with Tambery, and he was very glad of that, but when she didn't need him boredom awaited! Cleaning up after the chemists who worked at Agent level. Preparing their acids for them. Cleaning up spills. It was just dreary, and frustrating for a man of his skill and experience! He could be doing so much more and having so much more fun but no, until somebody saw fit to give him a white uniform this was his life!

"I mean, I caught an Articuno, what more do they want from me?" he asked of nobody in particular as he slipped in his cufflinks and checked his reflection.

The black Golbat hanging from the ceiling shrugged his wings. <>

KO tsked and raised an eyebrow. "Oh please, I am the perfect level of servile in public! Confident in my skills yet not too arrogant, a balance that Herr Commandant never managed to strike." Oh well, time to go. KO recalled Bruce to his pokeball, nodded to Duke, and set out to the garage to check out a car for the day's excursion with the Raichu trotting along beside him.

When he arrived the red-haired, red-suited rocket found himself faced with a... situation. "Car share? I have to car share?" KO gave a martyred sigh and signed the form that the grunt was thrusting at him. "Oh alright but I hope whoever it is is prepared to be a passenger! Keys?" The keys were duly passed and KO pocketed them before wandering over to lounge against a wall and await whoever else was heading into the city centre for the day.  

[TawnyAngel]

Humm? Was this his car share? Maybe this wouldn't be so bad after all. KO wasn't the sort who judged on appearances but- Ha! No, no KO definitely was the sort who judged on appearances, he was doing it right now as he looked the older man up and further up. "Well hello there, you must be here for the car ride to Camphoren?" KO pushed off the wall and sauntered forward, holding out his hand in greeting with a hint of a smile playing on his lips. "The name's Kirk, codename KO but that's hardly relevant today humm? And what should I call you?" Luckily he was no stranger to having to look a long way up to talk to somebody, he just hoped that height was all his impromptu comrade had in common with Star.  

[TawnyAngel]

"Mau it is then," KO agreed, his smile shifting up into a smirk, "and I completely agree. It will be an important life lesson." No chance he was wasting any of his day off waiting for people who might or might not show, you snooze you lose.

KO unlocked the car, a sleek but unobtrusive black saloon, and climbed into the driver's seat. "So what're you up to for the day? I need to go to the mall for a start but if you're heading elsewhere I can drop you where you need to be." As he spoke KO adjusted the seat to his liking - somebody slightly shorter than he had driven it last he judged - and then fixed the mirrors so that he could see properly.  

[TawnyAngel]

Ah, he did love it when people asked questions like that! KO's smile remained as he put the car into drive - alas, why were so many of the cars automatics? - and headed for the exit. "Oh, this? I made it myself, tailoring is a hobby of mine. One of the places I'm heading today is my favourite fabric store; I feel the need for a new casual suit, linen probably but I'll have to see what they have in. I never see anything that's just right on the peg; it's always the wrong colour, wrong material, wrong cut, and even if all that's right the fit is never quite perfect."

At the exit ramp KO waited for the all clear from security before driving out into the dappled morning sunlight and heading down the track towards the road.  

[TawnyAngel]

KO made a soft noise of amusement and glanced at Mau out of the corner of his eye. "I imagine so! You're rather a long way towards the end of the bell curve. I'd be happy to take you there... and you know, I do take commissions if you're interested." On grunt wages you had to find a way to make a little bit extra on the side if you wanted enough money to indulge yourself in luxuries... luxuries such as nice fabric to make yourself nice new clothes, or some drinks at the kind of bars you preferred when you had a day off. Hummm, maybe he could fit in some drinks after shopping? Technically he didn't have to return the car until tomorrow morning, or he could let Mau go back with it and return on Viceroy. He was no fan of riding but if it meant he could have a night out then he supposed it would be worth it.  

[TawnyAngel]

"Well I'd have to look up the specifics but you've got to be in the top five percent or so, at least. Still, I suppose being that big has its advantages," KO said, somehow managing to make the statement sound vaguely suggestive. Perhaps that was just his voice though; KO's voice could make 'good morning' sound like an invitation to bed, which it sometimes was but that was beside the point.

"I like to think my rates are reasonable," he continued as they turned out onto the main road, allowing him to pick up speed. "You pay for the materials and then for my time so in that way what you want will affect the price, a bespoke suit for example would be more than a made to measure as for the former I'd do a whole new pattern for your piece rather than adapting an existing one, which would take me longer. Then there's things like, do you want a canvas in the jacket? Half canvas? How much do you want stitched by hand and how much on a machine?"  

[TawnyAngel]

"Oh, I'm pretty easy to locate," KO affirmed with a small nod and a soft chuckle. "I'll give you my dex details though, it's easier to drop a message than wander the halls in search of me. And a fully hand stitched suit would probably take... sixty hours? Maybe more. Honestly though machine work is just fine for the completely straight seams like the centre back and the sides of the jacket, the difference in quality shows more on the... organic lines if you will, the arms and the lapels and so on."

KO smirked and glanced over at his companion again. "And you'd be amazed what I can handle! I'm glad you're excited, you know the prospect of working on something for somebody other than myself is always attractive for me too. It's nice to try out different things, colours and cuts I wouldn't necessarily choose for myself."  

[TawnyAngel]

"Oh well I don't go all red all the time," KO replied with a shrug and a thoughtful tilt of his head. "Humm, and I think that's a challenge I would enjoy! I'll come up with some ideas and you can tell me what you think? Though it would help to know what you want it for. Every day wear like this," he gestured languidly to the pair of them, "or something more casual, more formal? And would it be a summer suit you wanted or something ready for the fall?" Ah, the possibilities! He didn't get given free reign to design for other people all that often so if Mau was serious it would give him something fun to think about during his boring work life.