Tell Me I'm Pretty [Alfred F. Jones]

[Feliciano Vargas]

For a mutant hiding from the government, discretion and disguises were important. Very, very important. Generally, Feliciano simply layered himself with the clothes he'd stolen the day he escaped the Underground. Sometimes, he borrowed some of Alfred's clothes, because they were large and soft and cozy. The smell of Alfred on them helped the mutant feel safe. The pants didn't really fit, but a belt and a baggy shirt usually kept things under control. However, Alfred couldn't be expected to willingly share his clothes all the time, though. Especially when Feliciano would borrow them for 'unauthorized' expeditions outside the apartment. Doubly especially when Feliciano had been caught, on multiple occasions, curled up in Alfred's leather jacket. Alfred was very protective, and possessive, of that coat. Not many, if any, in Archadia had a jacket like it, either. It could be bad if someone recognized it on Feliciano, rather than its rightful owner.

Therefore, Feliciano wasn't particularly surprised when Alfred came home that day with several bags of clothes in hand. Old clothes from the other Freedom Fighters, Feliciano was told; donated for "the cause". Whether Alfred had told the others he was housing a mutant, the mutant who'd caused the Underground Break Out, he did not know. What Alfred told his fellow Freedom Fighters wasn't Feliciano's business, even if he wanted it to be. "Try 'em on," Alfred had said as he passed the bags to Feliciano. "We'll keep the stuff you like."

So that's what they did. The clothes were, thankfully, freshly laundered, and so far hadn't irritated Feliciano's skin. He was safe to try each article of clothing on in the bathroom, then show them to Alfred to get his opinion. This process was a bit strange to Feliciano; his entire remembered life, the brunette wore uniforms identical to everyone else in both Weeds and the Underground. Then, when he was on his own, Feliciano couldn't really go clothes shopping for himself. At the time, his money had been better spent on food and chances to bathe than whatever clothes were 'in fashion'. But most of the shirts to choose from, so far, had been pretty cool, but Feliciano didn't think he could keep everything. Plus, Feliciano trusted Alfred's opinion. Dressing up too much, too eccentric, or too mismatched, and that would just defeat the purpose of wearing a disguise. Alfred knew more than Feliciano, in just about everything. He was like Ludwig in that regard. Feliciano didn't mind leaving these choices up to Alfred, rather than himself.

However, Feliciano wasn't sure what to make of the outfit he discovered halfway through the second bag. Most everything so far had been familiar: t-shirts, button-ups, jeans, shorts...masculine clothing, he assumed. This was obviously a dress, folded together with a pair of sheer...leggings, he thought they were called? Maybe tights? Feliciano didn't know the difference between the two, but he knew there had to be since they were two different articles of clothing. None of the men the mutant had ever seen wore dresses, but here it was. Were they meant for him? Alfred had said to try everything on... His fingers were gentle as they ran over the fabric. The dress was very pretty; white top with a ruffled front and short, equally ruffled sleeves. Perhaps a bit faded from its original bright white, but not unclean. The ruffles must've been for a set of breasts, something Feliciano obviously didn't have. It grew fitted at the waist, white top sewn to a black satin band. From there it flared once again, trimmed twice more with those satin strips. The loops descending from the waistband halfway down the skirt were obviously for decoration, since they were sewn down as well. The fabric, where not silky smooth, was soft cotton, and Feliciano enjoyed the feel of it against his hands. Thinking on it, most of the clothes in this bag were... cuter than the ones in the first. They were smaller, too; fitted better to his frame rather than hanging off narrow shoulders. All of them softer, and in better shape. Someone obviously cared for these clothes before...possibly outgrowing them, or replacing them with something more fitting their tastes.

Might as well try them on. Someone was kind enough to give this to him; it would be rude to just dismiss that generosity. Alfred could tell him if it looked ridiculous. Feliciano was careful, but efficient, as he shucked off the green plaid button-up he'd paired with a simple pair of pale blue jeans. Alfred had approved of the look; Feliciano was definitely keeping the outfit. Maybe he'd approve of this one as well.

Pulling the tights on proved a bit of an issue at first, but after realizing they were a bit like stretchy, clinging pants, the task proved easier. Feliciano managed to get them on without tearing anything or getting them backwards, at least. Thankfully, the dress was easier to figure out; a zipper to loosen the top. With its fitted waist, Feliciano wasn't quite sure how he would've gotten it on otherwise. Once it was on, the brunette smoothed the fabric against his skin. A bit thinner than he was used to human clothes being, but definitely as soft and comfortable as he'd expected. Sure, the sleeves were a bit tight, but it looked like they were meant to be that way. They didn't limit his movement too badly, so he didn't mind. It felt...nice, to wear the dress. Nicer than Feliciano first thought. Hopefully it looked as nice on him as it felt. Feliciano plucked a bit self-consciously at the front, where the ruffled top didn't quite fit against his chest. He shrugged the feeling away. Alfred would tell him whether the dress looked good on him, or not.

Giving the skirt one last flick of his wrist to straighten its fold against his thighs, Feliciano moved to the door. "Ve, I'm sorry that took so long," Feliciano called out as he exited the bathroom. "I had a little trouble getting this on--oooh, it's cold in here!" The brunette shivered in the cooler air of the bedroom loft; the unfamiliar brush of air against his bared shoulders. He played with the hem of his skirt a moment as he let himself grow adjusted to the temperature. At first, he couldn't quite bring himself to look Alfred in the eye as he carefully padded over to where the blonde sat. Thankfully the floor was carpeted up here, or walking would be difficult with the smooth surface of his tights. When he got closer, Feliciano lifted his gaze to Alfred's with a smile, brushing his bangs aside. "I found this in one of the bags you gave me. Do...you like it?" Feliciano liked it. Hopefully Alfred would, too.

---

Alfred F. Jones I hope you like your gift <3

[Alfred F. Jones]

it's a

revolution

Word count: 827

Tags: Feliciano Vargas

Notes: why u gotta be so cute

Alfred wasn't entirely sure when the idea had occurred to him to start a clothing collection for Feliciano. Maybe it was when Alfred had spent ten minutes searching for his Captain America t-shirt only to find Feli wandering around the apartment in it. Not that Alfred minded having Feli wearing his clothing (in fact, it was almost just as disturbing that Alfred didn't mind all that much), but it was better for both of them if Feli had clothing of his own to wear.

So he'd put out a call in the last FF meeting, asked for people to donate old clothing for the cause. He'd given relatively vague details on Feli's measurements and a fair number of the Freedom Fighters had pulled through. Alfred hadn't bothered to sort through them; he figured that Feli could manage that after he'd tried them on. Alfred had tossed them in the laundry without looking at them too closely and now that they were dried, Alfred had brought them up to the bathroom for Feli to try out.

There was so much work to do for the Freedom Fighters. Alfred had proposed a new project recently, a potential series of safe houses modeled after the Underground Railroad. They could smuggle the mutants to places like Canada, where things remained peaceful and discrimination, though still potentially rampant, was contained.

But first, they needed to start with a safe house. Alfred was no architect, so he had to work carefully with other members of the FF (and a lot of help from the internet) to make plans. They needed at least one safe house in the city, then a series elsewhere. It couldn't operate quite like how the Underground Railroad had during the Civil War, but they could take the basic premise of it and try to recreate it with modern times.

That's what Alfred was working on now, sitting with his laptop on his bed and looking over designs while Feli was changing. The last few outfits had been acceptable, though Alfred still thought they should dye Feli's hair. Maybe put in contacts whenever he went out. But the clothes, at least the clothes were a start.

Alfred scrolled down the plans with a notebook in hand, jotting down changes he wanted to make. The fun part about not really having one job was that he could be everyone and everything. But of course...that also meant he had to learn how to be everyone and everything. And Alfred was not exactly an engineer. He knew his way around coding and hacking, but design and infrastructure? Not his forte. Still, there were a few people in the FF who were engineers, and could easily help Alfred with putting everything together.

Alfred scribbled down another note about the soundproofing when the bathroom door opened and Feliciano came out with an apology.

"Oh yeah, don't worry about it," Alfred said, saving the files onto his hard drive and setting the laptop aside while the data was encrypted. “I was working anyways and...”

Alfred looked up.

Feliciano stood in front of him, an almost shy smile on his face. "Do...you like it?"

It was a dress. A white and blue dress, with little bowties on the top and ruffles and ribbons and a whole lot of other things that girls liked to put in dresses that Alfred had never quite understood. It had little sleeves and a neckline that exposed Feliciano's collarbone and down to where a girl's breasts would begin. It was coupled with a pair of tights that hugged Feli's legs. Had there been tights when Alfred had tossed everything into the wash? How had he not noticed?

It was around this time that Alfred realized he was blushing. Blushing. And staring. And his mouth had fallen a little open.

"Wow."

...That wasn't what he was supposed to say.

"Um..." Alfred ran his fingers through his hair as he stood. "Just...wow."

He needed another word.

"It looks good." Alfred nodded vigorously. "Yeah. Good on you. Um...turn around?"

Alfred wanted to smack himself the moment the words came out of his mouth. He was just trying to make sure that the dress didn't have any holes, but that sounded like a come on, didn't it? It definitely did. Fuck. So maybe Feli was really cute in that dress. Like seriously cute. Alfred had never really noticed it beforehand. Sure, he thought Feli was sweet and everything, but cute? He'd never really...

But now, Feli's hair framed his face sort of like a short bob and he had that and he was in a pretty dress and Feli was cute. Not that Alfred found men cute, but Feli was just...

Alfred tapped his fingers against his forehead. Pull yourself together, Jones.

"It's nice. I like it. Uh...do you? I mean...it's not...really designed for um...guys, but it...looks good on you. Yeah. I mean...I understand if you don't want to keep it."

He really was a mess.

i suppose

by Worldie for Leia