A/N: I know I have been MIA for a bit. It has been a rough couple of months. I decided to ease back into writing and research for this story took a little longer than initially anticipated, but that is okay. I mean, what gal doesn't enjoy looking at handsome men in shorts? Thanks to a friend who found me one of the companies that DJE used to use for his triathlons! I hope you enjoy this.

Made in China

Harm rubs the back of his neck while staring curiously at the inner contents of the box sitting on his bed.

Noticing a pair of black shorts lying next to the box Mac sidles up to him inquiring, "Harm, what's the matter?"

He turns towards her with a sheepish smile, "I'm not quite sure. I ordered these new compression shorts online because my regular brand of Zoot was out of stock, but these surely don't resemble any of the ones I have had in the past."

Mac walks over and picks them up holding them to her face and scrutinizing them as if she was performing a uniform inspection, "What do you mean? They look just like your last pair. Do they not fit?"

Harm pulls two circular pads with multiple arrows on them out of the bottom of the box and holds one in each hand for her to see, "Well for starters, I have absolutely no clue what I am supposed to do with these. And I haven't tried them on yet."

Mac sets the shorts aside, hiding her inward chuckle at his obliviousness, "Harm, those are shapers."

He stares at her quizzically, "Shapers?"

Mac stands behind him demonstrating as she places her hands directly below his toned glutes and pushes up, "Yeah, you know to give you a little lift." She releases him, and then taps his cheeks, "or a little padding."

Harm's eyes go wide as Mac explains, "Don't worry honey, I like your tushy just the way it is. You definitely don't need them. You probably have the best looking six in the Navy, especially in your summer whites." Mac fans herself for emphasis on her last statement as Harm looks over his shoulder at her brazen form of presenting the evidence.

He furrows his brow, "I have had shorts in the past with a chamois pad to help ease the pressure on the ischium bones when cycling, but those pads don't look anything like these. They are rather thin in the front, and thicker in the saddle region. And how do you know that these are shapers anyhow?"

Mac laughs as his discomfiture, "They look just like the ones that come in push up bras. The dimensions are a little different, but same concept."

Harm turns around and stares intently at his wife's perfect figure, "I can't believe you have ever needed a push-up bra."

Mac crosses her arms under her chest, causing her ample bosom to show a slight bit of cleavage in her V-neck sweater and Harm's eyes immediately travel south, "I wasn't born with these, you know."

Harm raises his brow as Mac relents, "You're right, I haven't ever worn one. But that doesn't mean I don't know other women that have used them. Those work a lot better than the tissues the girls I used to go to school with stuffed in their bras to make it look like they had a bit more than they did. I was just blessed with good genes, not every other woman is as lucky."

Harm laughs, "Yeah, one of my buddies in junior high school found that one out the hard way."

Mac's eyes twinkle, "Do tell."

Harm sits down on the bed, pulling her to stand between his legs, "Being the jokester that Robby was, he came up behind Casey and unsnapped her bra. The tissues fell on the floor and she turned around and decked him! He had a black eye for a week."

Mac chuckles as she leans down and brushes her lips against his, "She would have made a great Marine."

As she pulls away, Harm follows her deepening the kiss, inadvertently tossing the shorts to the floor. When they part for air, Mac leans down to pick up the shorts and takes a peek at the tag on the inside, also noticing a few other things that she missed on her original inspection. She smiles, "Honey, you might want to send these back from wherever you ordered them from. I can tell just by looking at the gusset that there is no way these are going to fit you, and I don't even want to know what this open crotch hole is that claims it is 'there for your health and protection.'"

Harm reddens, "How did I miss that one? I didn't realize that they made crotchless underwear for men."

Mac grins, "What do you expect from something made in China? Their children wear split pants instead of diapers." At Harm's dropped jaw, she emphasizes, "No, I am not joking. The begin potty training much younger than we do here, and while you don't normally notice it with girls as they are usually wearing dresses, it is commonplace to see toddler boys running around in open-crotch trousers."

Harm shakes his head, "I'm glad that I missed out on that tourist attraction on my trip to their country. Not that it was a very pleasant trip to begin with, all I pretty much saw was the inside of a cell."

It had taken years before he divulged his time as a Chinese prisoner to her. Not wanting him to dwell on what she knows was a very painful experience for him, she wraps her arms around his waist and hugs him tightly. "Harm, just put them back in the box and I will send them back to AliExpress. I already ordered you another pair of shorts anyway that will be more to your liking. They have Priflex fabric and an Italian-made APX Chamois. They even have a Navy logo with three gold stripes, and I couldn't resist. However, I am keeping the shapers."

Keeping his hands on her waist and leaning his head back to look at her, he raises his brow, "Why? I thought we already agreed I have no use for them."

She teases, "To cushion your fall the next time we go ice skating. While your derriere looks scrumptious in almost anything, I'm not a fan of the dress black and blue look."

Pleased at her attempt to lighten the mood from his agonizing trip down memory lane, he can't let that comment go. Curling his fingers in to tickle her sides, "I swear, I fall one time and you are never going to let me forget it…."

Giggling as she squirms to get away from him, "Damn straight! You can't be perfect all the time!"

They fall on the bed laughing together and the shorts are forgotten as they indulge in much more pleasant activities.