A Close Shave

Hikaru Suzuki

With the wardens nowhere to be seen, the shower schedule is now none of Hikaru's concern. Which is good, because in the process of making himself a late lunch he managed to splash garlic oil on his chest, and he does not want to wait a day to wash that off.

He heads into the changing rooms, winces in anticipation of the disorientation, and then wrinkles his nose as the straightjacket comes off and he can see the extent of the splash on his shirt. Could have been worse, but good thing he can get rid of it sooner rather than later. It's bad enough not having anything other than a mesh shirt to wear day in day out, let alone a stinky one.

It's then that he realises there's someone else in here. Robert was still sticking to the timetable, huh?

"Hey! Sorry for barging in. I was just gonna wash off my shirt, but I don't mind waiting if you're about to use the showers. Or not waiting, I'm not shy."

Robert McCay

Robert was a man of habit, and once he'd acclimated to showering at the odd hour of 3pm, he simply saw no reason to stop just because the wardens weren't there. He hadn't expected his cautious approach to the public showers to actually pay off, though.

Hikaru had caught Robert in the middle of shaving with one of the crappy disposable razors the MILGRAM had so kindly provided them. He still had a towel around his waist, thankfully, but the powerful build that lay mostly hidden under his straitjacket was now on full display. No wonder Ei had gotten such a bruise from that punch...

Robert nodded briefly and drew the razor carefully across his jaw, glancing at the man behind him via the mirror. Nice shirt.

"Er-- go ahead, Mr. Suzuki. I'll be here a while." (I'm at work I'm not making shirtless Robert sprites, sorry Kris.)

Hikaru Suzuki

Of course Hikaru couldn't help his eyes wandering a little, but he did his best to be polite about it and not linger. Instead, his attention caught on the cheap razor, and he winced. They were a (sometimes literal) pain in the neck at the best of times - he was glad his own facial hair was pretty sparse. Maintaining a moustache like Robert's must've been much more trouble.

"Thank you. I know it's really not at the top of the list of concerns about this prison in any way, but it really sucks that we're stuck wearing the same clothes under the straightjackets. Thank goodness the weird magic stuff about this room cleans them up at least. Still, I don't know how much I trust it to properly clean…"

So saying, he took a towel and internally debated the best of the now wider selection of toiletries to use to scrub his shirt. Funnily enough, he decided on the 5-in-1. It wasn't like he was going to use it for anything else, anyway, and maybe it had a hidden 6th property as detergent.

Robert McCay

"No, yer so right, imagine if I'd been dragged in here in my concert wear! I'm already worried enough about ruinin' those jeans…"

Robert's floral jeans and ridiculously colorful button-up were folded up in the changing room, if Hikaru was curious about what this guy thought "casual wear" looked like.

"Maybe we can ask the wardens fer some changes 'a clothes? When they get back… or if… How d'ya think they even asked fer shit in the first place--"

In the mirror, he saw Hikaru pick up the 5-in-1-- he quickly set his razor down and turned to stop him.

"--Whoa now, hang on, what kinda stain is that?"

Hikaru Suzuki

Hikaru sucks air through his teeth sympathetically. "Oh, no. What sort of thing do you wear for concerts? I can imagine it might get uncomfortable long term too."

Robert didn't seem like the kind of guy to have super elaborate stage wear, but Hikaru knows enough about show business to know that some of those costumes were not meant to be worn any longer than they had to be.

"I mean, we know Bea's easy to persuade, but if I asked her for clothes I'm worried what I'd end up with. I might not be shy, but I still get cold."

Hikaru raises his eyebrows as Robert approaches.

"Cooking oil. And I had mashed up garlic in it, so I need to get it gone before it starts to stink…!"

Robert McCay

"Oh nothing too extravagant, just a lil' more embroidery and beadwork, maybe some fringe if I'm feelin' spicy." Robert waggled his free hand. "I'm more worried about accidentally tearin' a one-of-a-kind piece a' fiber art, right? Even just a t-shirt and plain ol' pair a' jeans would be nice…"

Hikaru's quip about Bea did successfully turn Robert's cheeks a little pink, if that's what he was going for. "I, uh… didn't think about that. Gotta be careful about wordin' the request, I guess-- anyway--"

He shook away the embarrassing thoughts and took another look at the stain as clinically as he could.

"--Yer gonna want dish soap fer an oil stain like that. Or maybe the plain shampoo if you don't wanna run back t'the kitchen? I'd be worried about residue from the conditioner in the 5-in-1."

Hikaru Suzuki

"Ahh, really? Cute, I'd like to see that. But yeah, I get your point with not wanting to ruin something special. I feel like normal straightjackets must have some kind of basic shirt underneath, right? That would do, honestly."

And beads and fringe could probably get a bit annoying after a while, too. Could things get caught on the inside of a straightjacket? Hikaru didn't want to know.

It hadn't been his explicit intent to make Robert blush, but he'll take an easy win. He smirked, though it wasn't an unkind one - just amused. But back to the original topic.

"Mm, good point. I hadn't thought of that. I didn't think there might be like… actual conditioner in here rather than just generic cleaning gloop. If it weren't for the material, I would've used baking soda, but…"

He winced for effect. The idea of any baking soda getting stuck in a mesh shirt which was then his only clothing option? No thanks.

Robert McCay

"Well I don't tour, but if yer ever in L.A…"

Provided they ever got out of this place, but-- at this point, that might as well go unspoken at the end of every sentence.

Robert flinched away at the smirk, fixing the curl in his hair. If he saw any of this, his partner would be making so much fun of him right now. After a second, though, he remembered that he'd only gotten halfway through trimming his mustache, and moved back over to the sink.

"Oh yeah, definitely no baking soda."

Another awkward pause, before curiosity got the best of him.

"…So are those tattoos, or part a' the shirt?"

Hikaru Suzuki

"Hey, maybe! It's definitely somewhere I'd like to visit."

Hikaru was basic enough that the big-name tourist hotspots like Hollywood were more than enough to tempt him. He'd probably have to learn a bit more English before a visit like that, but that wasn't really a concern for right now.

Robert's very obvious attempts to avoid looking awkward only managed to entertain Hikaru further. Being the considerate guy he was, he decided to wait until Robert was done with his task if he was going to tease him again - if he was that easy to distract, a moustache-trimming accident was all too likely.

"Oh, they're tattoos - with that straightjacket gone I could actually show you the one on my shoulder too, if you're interested. Got any of your own?"