Day 30: Men's Showers (Third Shift)

[notachick]

The lockdown had been interesting. The fact that the staff had enough power to put down a rebellion that quickly and then lock people into their rooms just as fast was something of a feat to be admired. Their efficiency would have been much more impressive if Okita had been on the other side of it, however. As it stood, he had to keep his

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[i_slay_giants]

[Free for pestering]

Jack was a bit pleased to hear that it was time for a shower. In the almost-week he'd been at Landels, he hadn't gotten a shower, not really. Perhaps that was the reason the ladies weren't as attentive as they usually were; he probably smelled a bit ripe. He mused over this as he stripped. Despite not having bathed and being pretty active, he didn't have too strong an offensive odor.

Oh, the magic of this place.

He slid beneath the nozzle and turned up the water nice and hot. Yes, there was a lovely sort of comfort to a long overdue shower...

[vintage_brit]

Mason had always thought showering was a bit overrated, but he figured it might be a good idea to wash off some of the blood and gore he'd been accumulating in the past few days. He stripped quickly and left his clothes in a messy pile, exposing his bright blue back and all the scorch marks left over from his little adventure in the kitchen.

He noticed the mirrors along the walls and turned to see if his face had healed at all. ...A bit, maybe. He still looked like something a dog would shit out, but his eye was less puffy and the burn scars at least looked a few days old. Hopefully he'd be healed by tomorrow, but who new in this place. "Fucking hell," the reaper whispered. "I look like shit."

"Hey!" he called when he recognized a familiar blond man. He ran over to stand underneath the shower-head next to him. "I remember you! What's your name anyway?"

[i_slay_giants]

Jack arched an eyebrow. Last he remembered, Mr. "I have whiskey" hadn't been too kind to him. In fact, he hadn't even been willing to part with the location of his booze. Well, he'd be cordial, but nothing more. "John," he offered and said nothing more on the matter.

Really, what was the Brit after now? His sudden friendliness was welcomed, sure, but suspicious.

[vintage_brit]

"Hello, John, I'm Mason," Mason said, offering his hand to shake.

"If you still want whiskey, I'm all out, but I've got some fags if you wanna trade for those." The reaper began to scratch the back of his head, but stopped, wincing, when his fingers touched the bump there. "Fuck me," he hissed at the sudden pain.

[i_slay_giants]

"See? I told you so," Jack told himself internally. This punk was after something. Well, Jack had nothing to offer him, short of what he actually DID have to offer him. But he didn't want to offer those to Mason.

"I've already got smokes," the Fable said dryly. "I was interested in the whiskey, but if it's all gone, you've got to do better than that."

Really, if this man had anything trading for, Jack would get it out of him, even if he didn't have anything to offer back. Mason wouldn't have to know that.

[vintage_brit]

Mason shrugged. "Oh well. Worth a try, mate." He noticed a couple of soap dispensers, and began lathering himself up. Fuck! Most of his body was in a lot of pain and incredibly sensitive to the touch.

"Bloody hell," he whispered to himself, glancing down at all the bruises, wounds, and burn scars he'd accumulated in the past 24 hours. "This place fucking sucks, eh?" he said to John, nudging him in the ribs in what he thought was a comrade-like manner.

[i_slay_giants]

Jack glowered. He might have been more receptive to the gesture if Mason and him weren't both naked. The gesture in the nude seemed a bit...gay.

He sneered and took step from Mason. "What the hell?!" He snapped. "I don't swing that way." Really, what else was he supposed to think? "Keep your hands to yourself, ok, buddy?"

[vintage_brit]

"Woah! What the fuck, mate!?" Mason demanded, leaping backwards. He hadn't meant that gesture the way this bloke had obviously taken it!

"I'm straight!" he insisted. "I'm so fucking straight you could use me as a fucking ruler, you could!" The reaper sneered. "Just 'cause you're obviously insecure about your sexuality... don't go ruining a fellow's shower time, yeah?"

[i_slay_giants]

...what?

Oh, clearly this guy was bruising for a beating. He was saying these things clearly to annoy the Fable. Well, Jack wasn't stupid enough to fall for that. He just snorted and turned his back to the man. "Whatever. I'd just like to point out that I didn't grope you."

It was Mason who was insecure, Jack mused. Let him feel self conscious about his actions.

[vintage_brit]

Mason snorted. "I didn't grope you!" he insisted. "I nudged you! You can't grope someone with your fucking elbow!"

The reaper angrily turned the temperature of the water down as it started to hurt his burned skin.

"If you want to grope guys, do it on your own fucking time and don't do it to me!" Mason snarled. Clearly, he wouldn't be trading anything with this guy any time soon. "Fucking wanker," he mumbled under his breath.

[i_slay_giants]

Jack said nothing, just smirked to himself. This man was very obvious, trying to defend his own misactions by turning Jack into the villain. Jack didn't even need to respond to him-- he was comfortably straight and convinced that Mason was as well. Didn't mean the reaper felt the same way, as the man continued to try and explain away his actions by making them seem Jack's doing. Well, he'd let the reaper blame him as much as he liked. He wasn't the one freaking out at the moment and it amused him that Mason was so bothered.

[vintage_brit]

Mason was slightly peeved by Jack's silence. The man was clearly weird and probably hiding something.

...What to say to a guy who you didn't want anything from, didn't want anything from you, and probably thought you were a flaming queer? Mason wasn't very good at small talk.

"Sorry about that," he mumbled finally. "I... um... I'm not queer, you know. Definitely not." He paused. "Um... do they ever serve waffles here?"

[i_slay_giants]

Jack blinked. Waffles? "Uh, yeah. They do. I think they had them just the other day."

That was an odd turn of conversation.

[vintage_brit]

Mason nodded. "Good. I like waffles."

He gingerly peeled a flake of burnt skin off his shoulder, checking out the pale, shiny skin underneath. Looked like parts of him were starting to heal. Very nice, about fucking time.

Unsure of what to say next, Mason continued peeling off the scabby bits that looked ready to come off and flicking them in the direction of the drain.

[i_slay_giants]

Jack was certainly glad they'd established that. He didn't know how he would have slept at night, uncertain if Mason did or didn't like waffles. It was good to know in this crazy, mixed-up world, there was still a waffle lover amongst the flock.

"Any other question?" He inquired smugly. "Like concerning the existence of pancakes?"

[vintage_brit]

Mason snorted and chuckled at the same time, causing himself to choke a little.

"Nah, pancakes're all tosh. Just waffles," he informed the other man when he had recovered. Really, who didn't know that waffles were better than pancakes in every way?