(no subject)

[amicably_absent]

Glitch had swum for hours, chasing fish and insects and bubbles and sunbeams. Eventually, worn out and tired, he had swum to shore and curled up on the bank on the sun warmed pebbles, grumbling about his lack of coat until he fell asleep.

He woke up with Rennie shaking him, a scolding voice telling him he had to come in, he was all wet and dirty and needed a bath and clean clothes, and was she going to have to strap him in the chair.

Glitch reacted predictably.

He screamed at her, judo flipped her while sitting down, dove into the water, swam to a far edge and took off.

Rennie asked Cain to go find Glitch and bring him in before he froze or hurt himself.

Glitch had retreated to the rotunda, sitting on the seat and swinging himself back and forth, watching the sun setting on the lake. He was soaking wet again, but his trembling didn't seem to worry him at all.

Comments

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"Mm." He shrugs and leans in against Cain. "I don't remember. I swam a lot. With you."

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He looks Glitch's way, wondering just what would cause such...familiar tranquility. "So you remember something, at least. Wasn't that part of the day good?"

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"It was. So was the wood chopping." He gives Cain a cheeky, tight smile just outside his room.

Inside, there's water running and Rennie is cleaning up the mud. "Mister Ambrose, where's your soap? And shampoo? And the shaving cream?"

"The what?"

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Cain looks from Rennie to Glitch and back again, brain working over the age old dilemma of whether to lie for his friend, or tell the truth. He fills the momentary silence with a shrug of shoulders and eyebrows both, mouth opening on the tail end of a moue. Even the straight and narrow has its fair share of wobbly bits.

"Some of the things in there made me sneeze up a storm, Miss. Ambrose was good enough to dispose of a few things for my benefit." Glancing at Glitch with the hint of a smile. "Maybe one too many things."

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"Oh, the flowery stuff!" Glitch beams at her. "I threw it out the window. It made my nose itch and I don't like it much."

Rennie's mild disposition hardens just a bit and her eye twitches.

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Over here, Cain stifles a sigh of frustration. Of course Glitch couldn't let him take the blame.

"Terribly sorry."

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Rennie nods slowly. "All right. I'll go and find some other toiletries then. Please make sure the bath doesn't over run."

She leaves in a swish of skirts.

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He waits until the door closes behind the two of them on the young nurse's way out, then lets out a breath he didn't even know he was holding in.

"So much for getting into her good graces, huh..."

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"Well it was true, and I don't want her stocking me up on it again." He starts pulling at his shirt, tugging it off and over his head without bothering with the buttons. It was how he got on in the first place, afterall.

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And suddenly, from the involuntary way in which his eyes zoom in on the pale, unbelievably smooth skin, Cain doesn't know which way to turn. Doesn't know where to look but away.

"Good thinking."

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Glitch clutches his shirt to his chest, eyes wide as he blinks at Cain. "What was?"

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He nods his head at the door, very intrigued by the ceiling mosaic. Nothing but blue skies, it looks like. "Telling her the truth about the smelly toiletries."

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"Oh, that." He walks out to the bathroom, dropping his shirt and dipping a hand in the water. "Well, it was true."

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Go in there after him and pick up his-- No. No, Cain tells himself silently, he won't go in there. It leaves him hovering by the bathroom door.

"Why didn't I think of that..."

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"You get too busy thinking about everything else." He might troubles with buttons, but zippers he's chillingly effective with and his pants get dumped and then there's a splash as he hops into the bath.

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If he closes his eyes, he knows he'll see nothing but pale, soft skin and long limbs prone to stumbling and bouncing right back, and he can't deal with that right now.

He clears his throat, hoping against hope it will help to clear his mind. Warmth travel up his back and down his front, and for once he thanks the stars he's on the outside not looking in.


"Yeah... I think too much, don't I?"

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"Pretty much." There's more splashing, making it apparent that he hasn't turned the taps off.

"Mm. I don't feel cold... ooh, this smells nice!" He grabs the bottle in question and adds it to the water.

There's a shriek of delight. "Bubble bath!"

The smell of satsuma starts to waft out.

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"Don't forget to turn off the water, Glitch."

And don't you forget your place.

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"I didn't know I'd turned it on, Wyatt. Mrow." There's another giggle. "Taps, taps, right."

More giggles as it keeps bubbling. "I love the bubbles."

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Maybe if he's lucky, the bubbles will keep Glitch occupied and distracted from giving Cain ideas... But listening to him so, very excited about such a tiny little trivial thing makes Cain smile. He leans against the door jamb, back still turned, and makes up his mind right then and there.

This isn't too bad, after all. He just needs to keep a cool head, and not let his mind get the better of him. "I hear they're the best part."

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Rennie came back in finally, carrying different products. "I got the- Mister Ambrose, have you turned off the water?"

"Yes!" There's more splashing.

Rennie sighs and goes in there, setting items down. "Shampoo. Conditioner. Soap... how much bubble bath did you put in?"

"Um... the amount I'd use to lubricate the joints of a mechanical cow."

Rennie's eye twitches.

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Cain listens, doing his best to keep his face neutral, but inside he's laughing.

He almost feels sorry for the poor girl. Almost.

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"Don't drown yourself in it. And make sure you wash your hair and your body and even between your toes. Especially there with the running around in bare feet."

"Okay." He splashes more. "I wonder when I last washed my hair..."

"Before surgery, Mister Ambrose."

"Oh. I don't remember that."

"Do you want me to do it?" She reaches towards him.

Glitch positively howls and scrambles back in the bath. "Don't touch my zip!"

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Spikes of alarm replace the warmth that had only just started settling into peaceful, quiet contentment, sending Cain rushing headfirst into the bathroom.

He places a hand on Rennie's arm, gentle, non-invasive, and leads her to the side while never taking his focus off his friend.

"It's okay, Rennie. I'll take care of this. Thanks for everything." And belatedly, remembering dinner. "If you'd bring dinner up in an hour, I'll make sure everything's settled and tidied up. I'd be much obliged." In other words, 'You did good, despite everything'.

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Glitch is covered in white bubbles and half out the bath at the far end. Rennie just sighs and stands up. "Very good, Mister Cain."

She leaves.

Glitch sinks back into the bath, watching after her. "I don't like people touching my zipper."