damned_institute | Dayshift 34: Men's Showers

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Dayshift 34: Men's Showers

Albel had wasted an entire night, but he couldn't quite figure out how he had actually wasted it. He had left his room early, didn't stand around doing nothing and no pathetic worm had dragged him down. Finding Fayt's room and smack the foolish maggot against the nearest wall shouldn't have taken a full night, but yet he found himself back in his bed before he even had so much as located the right door.

What the hell?!

But he didn't have much time to think about it, as one of the wenches instantly stepped into his room as soon he sat up. Had she had been waiting behind the door or something? He ignored her useless babble along the way to the showers. Apparently, he had slept through most of the day. Perhaps the lack of sleep was taking it's toll, though the warrior wouldn't even think about admitting that thought. And who cared about it anyway? The days were useless!

By the looks of things, Albel was the first one to arrive. Not that he cared. After stripping himself of his clothing he stepped inside the shower area and picked a stall by random. It took some fiddling with the knobs before the water temperature was good enough, but he eventually let the water wash over his body.

[Free!]

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Peter had to wonder if he could go a shower shift without making some sort of physical contact with another man, though the voice that chimed in made him calm down instantly. He half turned toward his friend, sending him a quick smile. He and Harry had been in this situation during high school, hadn't they? That felt like ages ago now, and their lives had become so much more complicated...

But he didn't want to start thinking too hard about that sort of thing. It was better to focus on the here and now.

"Twice a week," he joked back before reaching forward to get some soap out of the dispensers so that he could start cleaning off. He was glad to see that his friend was okay, and even gave him a very quick glance over to make sure that he wasn't injured at all. He looked away right after, though, and focused instead on their conversation. "So, what do you think of Statesman?" He needed to know if he was being too harsh in regards to the older man or if Harry agreed with him. He knew it was pointless to have any infighting going on, but he couldn't help that the man rubbed him the wrong way.

"Jesus, that's it? Well, that sure explains a lot, don't it?" Harry grinned sidelong at Peter, doing his best to avoid looking directly at him. Not that the spandex left much to the imagination but- Harry wasn't going anywhere further with that train of thought.

Peter seemed just fine, like he'd said, but it was good to see it with his own eyes. Never mind how much he appreciated seeing a friendly face. Stupid Gin, carrying on like he was a bad friend. What did he know? They got on just fine, now that the whole trying to kill each other business was over with.

"Statesman? He seems alright. Maybe a bit serious, but alright. Why?" Why would Peter be asking him about Statesman? If he had reservations about anyone it was about Logan, but Peter seemed fine with him. And Statesman was a friend of the wolf-man, so what was the problem?

Glancing around to check no one nearby was listening in, Harry said "I meant to ask you something last night. About that creep Brock. You- saw some of the stuff he wrote on the board right? About me?" Peter would hopefully get where he was going and would be able to offer an explanation for just how Brock knew that stuff. And more importantly, how much he knew.

Was Harry implying that he stank? Peter frowned at that, even though he knew it was probably just a joke, and started to put more attention to lathering himself up with soap. It wasn't like he decided when they got to shower, after all, and his friend was going to be stuck in the same rut soon enough.

So it didn't sound like Harry had any issues with Statesman. Granted, he hadn't known the man as long, but it made Peter wonder if he was being too touchy about the whole thing. He just didn't see why Statesman thought he deserved to be the one calling all the shots. It sounded like he had experience, sure, but so did Logan! And yet his roommate went along with it without a single complaint.

That might just be because he's more mature than you, he thought to himself. Even though Peter had always felt that he was far wiser than most people his age, at other times it seemed like he had a lot to learn. With great power, and all that.

Before he could give his thoughts on the matter, though, Harry brought up something else that was of far more importance. "Yeah, I did see that," he responded, his frown deepening. "I... don't really know what it means, though. I don't know how he would even know any of that stuff. I never told him, that's for sure." There was really no way to explain it, and yet Eddie must have found out somehow...

There was really only one way to find out, and he got the feeling Eddie would be tight-lipped if Peter ever asked him. Or he would rub it in his face, though neither option seemed that enjoyable.

Glancing at Peter again, Harry found himself wishing they were somewhere else. He got the feeling he'd done something to upset his friend but couldn't guess what. At least if they were elsewhere he'd be able to grab Peter, make him say what the problem was. As it was, it thankfully didn't seem to be a big deal as Peter admitted to being stumped by Brock too.

"Well I sure as hell didn't tell him either, and there's only a couple of other people who know about my dad. And the other stuff, from before? Was he stalking me during school or something?" Harry forcibly stopped himself, as he was beginning to shout and he didn't want to attract attention.

"Sorry, I just- He kinda got to me, you know?" He turned away, washing himself determinedly, wanting to get out of here so he could look at Peter without feeling awkward.

"No, it's fine, it's... definitely weird," Peter agreed, turning away as well. It was about time to rinse, and he watched as the soap washed off his body and headed for one of the many drains in the room.

"I doubt he was stalking you. There must be some other way that he found it out, I just don't know how." Even though he had gotten to a point where he was accepting of the fact that there might be alternate dimensions, he still fell back to logic when he could. And there had to be some logical reason...

It was possible that Eddie had done his research, but why would he have gone to all of that effort to find out more about Harry, when the two had barely interacted before now?

"I'm just going to have to ask him about it at some point," he said decidedly. He knew that Harry was probably going to want to be present for it, but Peter didn't know if Eddie would be as willing to talk if it was both of them asking him.

Harry blinked, as he realised he was just standing there, watching Peter, waiting to hear what he had to say. Flushing, he looked away, staring intently at the wall. Raking a hand through his hair, he sighed, frustrated.

If Peter didn't have a clue what was going on then he had no chance of figuring it out. Harry was used to being in the public eye sure, but not like this. Public scandals were one thing, but he'd been so certain he'd covered up everything that could link him or his father to the Goblin.

"I'd like to be there when you do. Or maybe I'll ask him myself. I'm sure I can get some answers." Harry cursed himself as his brain caught up with what he'd just said. He didn't want Peter to know how far he was willing to go for answers, but the odds of his having figured out that Harry was holding a grudge were pretty high. Something about attempting to assault people in public may have provided a clue.

Turning away he said "He knows about you too, right? How'd that happen, thought you tried to keep your identity a secret?"

Luckily for Harry, Peter completely missed the flushing and the awkwardness. "I... think he might be more willing to tell me about it," he said with a sigh, his tone not as insistent as he had hoped it would be. He knew just how stubborn Harry was, and sometimes it was hard to say no to his friend. But he knew that if Harry tracked down Eddie himself, it couldn't end well. Peter was slowly learning how to have a conversation with the blond without it turning into an argument, so maybe he could manage in this case as well.

Peter was surprised by Harry's next question, though he realized there was no way his friend could know about a lot of what had happened with the symbiote during that time. First there had been Harry's memory loss, and then they had been at each other's throats for a good while after that, so Peter's whole rivalry with Eddie had probably been completely missed by Harry.

"Yeah, I do try," he explained, grabbing for shampoo as he thought back on all of those events. "He was there, when I ditched the symbiote. That's how he got it in the first place. Anyway, he saw me -- that's how he knew to kidnap MJ." No matter what lengths he went to, she always ended up in danger. He didn't understand why she still stuck with him sometimes, but he was grateful for it.

At least she hadn't been brought here. Peter had been thankful for that countless times before, but once more wouldn't hurt.

"Why would he be willing to tell you anything Pete? Unless you've forgotten, the guy did try to kill you. Or did you two chat it out while I was busy dying?" It was infuriating to think Peter might be defending Brock, he was supposed to be on Harry's side, not anyone else's! He was determined now to track the creep down and get whatever he knew out of him before making sure he couldn't harm anyone ever again.

Brock had seen the Peter was Spiderman? When the hell had that happened? And how? It didn't seem right that Peter could keep his secrets from everyone he was close to, even when they were living together, but strangers got to know everything. Fighting back anger he replied as tonelessly as possible, "I figured he must have known, to go after her like that. Everyone who wants to get at the bug does. And yet she keeps coming back. How do you do it buddy?" Harry knew he sounded jealous but he couldn't help it, remembering just relaxing and having fun with MJ, even if she had only been with him because she was arguing with Peter.

"I didn't ask before, did you two get back together? I know you guys were going through a rough patch for a while there. Did you work it out?" Just because he'd get back together with MJ in an instant didn't mean he didn't want her and Peter to be happy, or at least he didn't want them to be unhappy.

"I don't know," Peter admitted with a frown as he started working the shampoo into his hair. "He's always looking for a chance to talk to me here - just talk, even if most of the time it's to pester me - so if I ask about it, he might tell me just to rub it in my face." Then again, that might work just as well if Harry approached him, but it was also more likely that it would result in a brawl.

While he might not have caught it if it was anyone but Harry, Peter knew the guy pretty well, and he could tell that there was a sudden change in his tone. "I... can't let her get hurt because of me," he said with a shake of his head. "She always seems willing to take the risk, but that doesn't mean I could forgive myself if she got hurt." So far nothing too terrible had ever come of the villains' kidnappings, but that didn't mean that it wouldn't happen in the future.

"We worked it out, yeah. It's probably still going to be rough from here on out, but... hey, who knows when we'll even be getting back there." He was doing his best not to think about those at home who might be waiting for him (did it even work that way? It was hard to know with how strange time was here), or what he was missing out on. He needed to focus on the here and now, and talking about MJ wasn't helping his mood much.

"What makes a guy go from trying to stab you to following you around?" Harry grumped. He didn't want Peter getting hurt, but the idea that Brock had gotten over trying to kill Peter after he'd stabbed Harry was- well, it was ironic enough to be true, considering how his luck tended to run.

Although, "Why the hell do you talk to him in the first place?" Would Peter be getting buddy-buddy with the guy if it had been MJ he'd killed? The thought was followed immediately by a surge of guilt as he remembered how close she'd come that night. Harry forced himself to look at Peter, saying as sincerely as possible, "I'm glad you two got back together." Hopefully he could convey everything he meant, how much he regretted past events without actually having to say anything.

Brushing a hand against Peter's shoulder, Harry assured him confidently "I'm sure it won't take you long to figure out how to get out of here. The real question is what do you think will happen when we do get home? If I'm supposed to be dead and all- you think I'd have any luck passing myself off as my long-lost cousin or something?"

"Don't ask me," Peter grumbled in return. He wasn't upset at Harry, but his confusion over Eddie had been bothering him for a while. It really didn't seem like the man wanted to kill him, and he wondered if he ever had wanted to. Eddie wanted to hurt him, yes - both physically and emotionally - but Peter wasn't sure that he wanted him dead.

Peter took a moment to wash the shampoo out of his hair, already feeling better now that he was cleaner. The build-up of grease and blood and sweat and whatever else started to take a toll after a while, and when he actually had good company in the showers, it wasn't all that bad. "I talked to him because -- well, I... Eddie's... it's complicated." He had known Eddie before the symbiote had taken him over, for one, and he knew how tempting it was to give into its urgings. He'd also done some pretty terrible things to Eddie in the past, and he didn't know if he had made up for it. Since he wasn't certain this Eddie had ever even killed Harry Osborn, it was also hard to know if he had that much he could hold against him.

Sometimes he wished it could be as easy for him as it was for Harry and Logan, and that he could just decide to deal with Eddie the way he probably deserved to be dealt with... But sometimes he thought he was too forgiving, and too good, if that was possible.

But then he wondered if he was giving himself too much credit. He had made his share of mistakes in the past, and he was sure he would continue to make them.

He was jarred out of his thoughts and pulled back from the water at Harry's touch. "Huh? Well... I, I don't know." He hadn't wanted to think about that, since he wasn't sure Harry could make it back, but he couldn't admit something like that to his friend. He didn't want Harry to lose hope, since it wasn't like they knew for certain.

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Dayshift 34: Men's Showers

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