damned_institute | Day 37: Men's Showers

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Day 37: Men's Showers

I wouldn't really call this a locker room. More like a bathroom with lockers. The place was uncomfortably crowded, with almost every adult male patient being hustled into the showers at once, but Phoenix wasn't as annoyed by the claustrophobic, milling throng of bodies as he might have otherwise been. Every extra person was one more person who might end up standing between himself and Edgeworth.

He knew that the prosecutor would have a fit if he found out about this. He'd known since he'd tacked that first response up on the bulletin board. And in a way, he couldn't blame him. Phoenix knew that he jumped into things all-or-nothing more often than most people. At the same time, he had some kind of reality testing. He wasn't going to learn the basics of how to defend himself and suddenly decide that he was Rambo.

He found an unoccupied locker in the southwest corner and glanced around, trying to gauge how long he could possibly stall in a locker room, looking as if he was expecting something, before people started looking at him strangely. It would have been easier if he'd known something of the description of the man he was supposed to be meeting. As it was, all he had was handwriting and a military rank, neither of which guaranteed any particular appearance.

It's not as if there was a better way to plan this, though. "Yeah, meet me by the lockers. I'll be wearing gray and a smiley face, just like about a hundred other guys."

[for Hughes]

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Ken really hadn't gotten as much of a chance to talk to Yohji last night as he wanted. He hadn't much cared to stick around with Schuldig there.

Maybe Ken wasn't quite as at ease with exposing himself in front of the institute, but it didn't seem to bother him. The chance to shower was appreciated.

"You're gonna melt your skin off with a shower that hot," Ken said, slipping into the spot next to Yohji. He turned the taps on for his own showerhead and tested the spray before ducking under it.

"It isn't half as hot as I'm used to having," Yohji murmured in response as he rubbed the shampoo into his hair and stepped back beneath the spray, rubbing soapsuds away from his eyes.

He turned to face Ken, smiling slightly at his friend. "Morning, Ken," he said.

"Gotta leave some hot water for the other nutcases," Ken replied flippantly. "And there's worse places to take a shower." In the prison, the water had been cold and colder, short, and often interrupted by people who wanted a piece of your ass--in more than one way, in some cases.

Ken flashed a grin at the older man. "Mornin'. How're you doin'?"

"So I'm a selfish bastard. The other nutcases can damn well wait their turn to scald their skin off," he replied with a smirk. "I was here first." Even this place couldn't make a shower a bad thing, thankfully. Although watch them come up with some ingenious form of shower based torture now, just to spite him.

"I'm alright," he replied, matching Ken's grin. "Even managed to get some sleep. You?"

"Didn't get much farther than your hallway before night ended," Ken admitted. If he were the superstitious type, he'd almost think that something didn't want him going to Aya's room. But he was paranoid enough that he got nothing but bad feelings from it.

He definitely wasn't about to tell Yohji that from what he could remember, he'd felt dizzy and then passed out just down the hallway. He wasn't for sure on that, anyway.

Yohji grimaced at the news. "Damn. This place really hates us actually doing anything," he muttered, not happy with that turn of events. If they actually had a destination, then they couldn't get there. "I'm sorry," he added more quietly. No sign of Aya today either, which was not helping the sinking feeling about him having disappeared any either.

"Hey, I highly doubt you're the reason I couldn't get anywhere. And don't even think about saying 'Well you were talking with me' because we weren't talking that long and I can want to make sure you're okay just as much as I want to find Aya."

Tirade over, Ken got a handful of shampoo and started washing his hair.

"Eh, not just for that," Yohji replied, smiling slightly. "I'm just sorry that you didn't manage to get anywhere." That he hadn't been able to find Aya. "Thanks though, for coming to find me." It meant a lot, even if he wouldn't say as much in so many words. "I should probably have waited for you before heading off though," he added smiling wryly. That had possibly been a bad choice of positions for Ken to see him in after all.

Ken waved one soap-covered hand. "I'll just try again tonight. Not like I have much better to do."

The reminder of just how he'd encountered Yohji last night made Ken shrug after a brief pause. "Yeah, well. Wasn't quite expecting to walk in on that, but I'm not about to say anything. You're a big boy, you can choose your own friends and cuddlebuddies." Ken just didn't want to get into it himself.

"We need to actually start doing stuff," Yohji said with a soft snort. "I think the last time I got anywhere was about a week ago with Om-" His smile faded and he became suddenly very interested in washing his hair. It didn't work quite as well as a distraction as when he'd had it long unfortunately.

The idea of calling Schuldig a 'cuddlebuddy' was something that Yohji had never anticipated hearing, and he shot a glance at the telepath surreptitiously. "Thanks," he said quietly. He didn't even want to think what Aya would have said, but at least Ken wasn't the type to bitch him out about it.

"Yeah. Like trying to find the head bastard's office or something." Ken had no idea where that could be, but the guy had to have one, right? He pointedly ignored the part about Omi, hoping that maybe if he pretended otherwise everything would be fine.

As for the cuddlebuddy statement, Ken was also very much not thinking about any other nighttime activities Yohji got into with Schuldig. He didn't want to think about that, thank you very much. "Welcome."

"Well, personally, I suggest we dress up as pizza delivery people, knock on the front door at the beginning of nightshift and surprise him." It made about as much sense as some of Weiss' plans anyway. Dressing up as flight staff and killing someone on an aeroplane? Yeah, he was thinking of that one.

He flashed a brief smile at Ken for not making him explain anything more about it, because he honestly wasn't sure that he could explain it himself.

The thought of that was so ridiculous, Ken just froze for a moment before breaking into laughter.

"As long as I don't have to wear a skirt like that cockup with the airplane," Ken managed after a moment or two, obviously of the same mind as Yohji.

Ken's laughter was infectious and soon Yohji joined in, a genuinely amused sound which felt good after too long spent with false smiles. "I don't know. I think you made a cute air hostess," he said, giving Ken a lascivious wink. It had been one hell of a weird mission that one, bizarre in fact.

"Yeah, well, fuck you," Ken shot back good naturedly. "You weren't the one in a dress." Ken ducked back under the water then, rinsing the soap out of his hair. "I still don't know how the fuck anyone bought that."

"I'm sure I've told you before that I'm here if you need me," Yohji replied teasingly, smirking at his friend. "And no, I wasn't in a dress, but I'm also nearly a foot taller than most Japanese women." Personally, he thought that Aya would have pulled off the dress pretty damn well. "Although I admit I'm amazed that you managed to fit one of the uniforms." Ken didn't exactly have a feminine build after all.

He shrugged in response. "Like hell I know. I think maybe Kritiker had a hand in the security aspects of that though. And the guy we were after was probably pissing himself by that point."

"Thaaanks." Ken rolled his eyes and turned to face the wall. He quickly and unabashedly washed the rest of his body, remaining silent while doing so--it seemed a bit too awkward for him to keep talking while doing so.

"Bet it was in laughter for the first few seconds," Ken grumbled. At least until they started in with the 'we will end you' speech.

Yohji bit his lip to keep from laughing at Ken's characteristic but still surprising display of embarrassment. He was really far too easy to tease sometimes, especially when it came to matters like that. You'd have thought that he'd have grown out of it by now, but he never did.

"Mmmm," he replied noncomittally. "Or possibly thinking what a hot hostess you made." He was going to get punched, wasn't he?

Ken sputtered and glared, his face turning red. "Bastard," he grumbled, hitting Yohji in the arm.

"Ow," Yohji said, rubbing his arm with exaggerated care. "You never figured out how to pull your punches, did you?" It was worth it to make Ken turn red like that and be acting like nothing had changed since they were living in the Koneko.

"That was pulling my punches," Ken shot back. If he hadn't, Yohji probably would've gone ass over elbows, and then there would've been all sorts of trouble.

He did have a point, Yohji had to admit. He'd probably have ended up with a broken jaw if Ken really decided to hit him sometime. "Well, learn to pull them more," he replied, rolling his eyes at his friend.

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Day 37: Men's Showers

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