jedi_librettist | It's leather for leisure and a Velcro for sport

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psl: middleoftheforce

It's leather for leisure and a Velcro for sport

Ben stared at his brother for a full minute before he said anything. He couldn't believe what he'd just heard.

"No! You promised, Bail! You said I could just be Ben still. What do you call walking around with you and an honor guard? Do you really think no one will figure it out? I'm not doing it!"

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"He's probably gonna need a couple more shirts than that," Solo says. "He's 2. Kids are messy."

Ben stares at the other man. "Two is extra. It's a lot."

Solo shook his head. "No. It's fine to get more. Kids need more." There's a muttered agreement from a parent who looks particularly harassed - two small children pulling at their legs being the likely source.

Ben nods slowly, eyes wide. He pulls a couple more light tan shirts from the display. That should be enough, right?

Ani pulls another blue shirt out and the reaches for a green one with a gold pattern embroidered on it. He tugs on Ben's pants and lifts the shirt up.

"I... I don't know..." Ben looks over to Bail.

"It's fine." There was a wave of calm coming from him, trying to direct it straight at his brother. It's okay, you're safe now. He gestured around at the kids nearby. A lot of bright colours. For kids, bright colours is the way to blend in.

He shrugged. He took the blue shirt and swapped it for a smaller shirt this time. Then he hesitated, looking at the fancier shirt. He took it and folded it precisely. He put it on a shelf and picked up a plain green shirt instead. He looked between the two brightly colored shirts and sighed, putting the second blue one back.

Ani watched him fold the green and gold shirt. He reached toward it, lips quivering. When Ben put the blue shirt back, he started wailing and the original green shirt floated to his hands.

Ben looked at him and then his brother. "What do we... It's too much. We already picked out four..."

A parent beside them cut in: "trust me, you'll need triple that, at least."

Solo gave a bit of a worried look. Oh, he had the credits, but still...

Ben stared at the parent, jaw dropping. Three times as many shirts?! He couldn't even imagine owning half that many shirts. He turned to Bail. "That many?!"

"More is preferable. I don't know where half the dirt comes from. But you got to have a rotation." The parent sounded... It was a weary that suggested happiness at the same time.

Solo was just mentally trying to work out what jobs he'd need to pull to recover the credits from this.

Ben shook his head. It had to be possible to do without that many. Slaves never had access to that quantity of clothes but he knew enough people who'd grown up in slavery.

He turned his attention back to Ani who was still crying. He tried to ease the shirt out of the child's grip but the boy just held on tighter. "Ani, we can't get that one..."

"It's fine, we can get it," Solo spoke up having finished his mental math. It would be a bit of a squeeze, but they could manage it.

Ben sighed, putting down the plain green shirt. He helped the child hold the shirt up to make sure it was the right size. Fortunately, this time Ani had grabbed a shirt that would fit. With the shirt he had on, that made five. Ben could make that work.

"Pants now." He picked the toddler up. It would be easier if Ani couldn't just run and grab the first thing that caught his eye. "Just the simplest thing here."

"Uh, over there," Solo gestured to the corner that seemed to have that item. He was trying to count up the cost of what they'd already got. Someone had to do the math, after all.

Ben ran over and grabbed a pair of brown pants that looked like they'd fit. "I think we've got everything now."

"...Think he needs more than one spare pair."

"He already has one. What does he need with more than two?"

"Did you not hear the guy saying kids just pick up mess?" Solo gestured back in the direction of the parent who had interjected before. He sighed. "Ben, it's fine to have a few more things. It might not have been then, but it is now."

Ben looked helplessly at Bail. He gestured dismissively at the pants section. "Then you pick them. But I don't know what we'll do with it all."

"...Make him wear them?" There was a shrug as he checked the size on the pair his twin lifted before grabbing a couple more. They felt kind of harder wearing than some of the others out, so they could be better for a ship lifestyle - and yes, he had a feeling this kid was going to attach himself to his brother, and his brother was probably not for leaving the ship any time soon.

"He's only going to wear one at a time."

He looked at the pants his brother had chosen and sighed. He'd already argued more than he should have.

"Fine. We have what he needs, then. Can we go?"

He held out his hand for the tops.

"I need to pay."

Ben handed the shirts over. Ani promptly started crying, reaching for the blue shirt. Ben sighed.

"He's just going to pay for them."

That didn't stop the crying. Ben looked at his brother.

"Maybe he can carry them?"

There was a wary look on his face as he just nodded. Sure, let the kid carry the tops, anything to stop the crying.

Ben handed Ani the shirts and followed his brother. The crying reduced to hiccups and sniffles as the child hid his face against Ben's shoulder.

At the counter, Solo pointed to the tops as he puts the pants forward to be price checked.

"Can we do that without taking the shirts off the kid and making him scream again?"

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