January 23, 2037

[bettersafethansorry]

[The locker room is under construction, just the like the hangar, and the cafeteria, and the rec room. Dr. Ito says there are big plans, but in the here and now, all it really means is that there's a tarp up over the far corner instead of an actual wall, and the chill spring breeze flaps it every time there's a sizeable gust, and Aki maybe isn't any closer to being changed back into civvies than he was when he started, because he just can't seem to stop catching it out of the corner of his eye, and it moves like -- well. It moves like curtains, almost]

[So he sets himself down on the bench instead of changing -- takes too long to fuss with his water bottle, and then with his phone, like he's texting someone. Like there's someone to text. Like the only person he ever texts isn't next door in the girl's locker room, getting changed herself]

[He'll just wait -- hang back a minute or two. Or five. It'll be fine]

Comments

[upallnite2getluci]

[It's fairly quiet, even. Perhaps Aki's gotten past without anyone even thinking to bother him.]

[At least that's the case until there's a sudden muffled curse from the back by the showers. A few moments later, Lucio stumbles back towards his locker, dripping wet and surreptitiously looking for a towel. He appears much closer to a drowned rat than the carefully cultivated cool veneer Lucio's been maintaining since joining the team last week. More like the flustered Lucio of a decade ago, perhaps.

[(Or maybe sometimes they move the towels in the locker rooms while you're out on medical leave so you just gotta go commando through the locker room like an old man at the baths, let him live. Nobody's still here, right?)]

[bettersafethansorry]

[Aki's eyes snap up toward the showers, at the curse; stay fixed on the doorway, darting back and forth, forth and back, until the source of the sound is visible]

[And then -- well, then he goes a remarkable shade of red, at the eyeful, and looks quickly away again. Clears his throat, delicately, perhaps to announce his presence]

The, uh. The towels?

[upallnite2getluci]

[Immediately Lucio looks towards the voice, obviously off-balance for a beat]

Oh--I-- You.

[Visibly he forces the tension from his frame and his voice, tone lowering half an octave to something more actively neutral. He even deliberately turns to face Aki more fully, apparently unshy about his body whatsoever. Though it doesn't take that long of a look to guess that Lucio has put effort into his looks, given the almost equal definition of vanity and useful muscles in his swimmer's build or the still visible lines of his admittedly much faded tan. It's almost enough to distract from the less-faded bruising and almost Frankenstein-ish web of stitched scars running from his left hip to his knee cap, if Lucio remembers to shift his weight correctly. Which he does, now, at least]

--The debrief's over. Shouldn't you be out relaxing with the others?

[And the question isn't rude, it's just--factual]

[bettersafethansorry]

[Aki must be aware of the shift in position, surely; the flush creeps steadily outward to encompass his ears, though his gaze remains fixed on a floor tile down and somewhere vaguely to the left]

I got distracted.

[And he waves his phone a little, by way of explanation, though apparently he got distracted early on; he's not even out of his plugsuit, yet. He points vaguely toward the new towel shelving, bare metal, up along the far wall]

A-anyway, uhm.

[upallnite2getluci]

Some distraction...

[A brief pause, then Lucio drips over to the towel rack, grabbing a towel and throwing it over his head]

...The hot water ran out, so you may as well just go without.

[bettersafethansorry]

Again?

Maybe they'll fix the water heater when they do the rest of the construction...

[That towel placement does not actually help,]

[upallnite2getluci]

It'd be about time. With all we do, the least we deserve is unlimited warm water.

[Depends on what the goal is! It seems to work well enough to dry his hair, and after some effort to dry, he just wraps all his hair up in the towel and leaves it. Then he reaches for a second towel to dry his face, then start on his body.

Around then is when he glances back over to Aki, since it feels like he's still there?]

...Do you need something?

[bettersafethansorry]

I, uh. I mean. This is my locker?

[Which seems to remind him -- at least enough for him to rise from the bench, finally, and turn toward said locker]

[He thumbs it open, pulling out his shirt, eyes firmly on the bank of metal doors and back firmly toward the view behind him, though his ears are still markedly red]

[upallnite2getluci]

Rather than use it, you were just sitting...

[But then Aki does use the locker, so does it seem weird to say anything? --It is probably weird, and Lucio drops his towel, concentrating on wrenching open his own locker instead, a few doors down. He's got a full change in there, it's fine,]

[bettersafethansorry]

Right. Like I said. Just -- distracted.

[And if his shoulders come up a little, at the footsteps approaching from behind, well -- probably it's nothing? At any rate, he's quick enough unzipping his plug suit for it to hardly be noticeable, eeling free of it and into his shirt in the same motion. For a minute, his face disappears; then his head pops into view again]

A-anyway. How are you finding it, being back?

[upallnite2getluci]

[Lucio does the same, shrugging a black t-shirt over his towel-wrapped hair and down his chest.]

The suit still fits. Hopefully you don't have any other complaints...?

[bettersafethansorry]

Complaints?

[Aki pauses midway through stepping out of the suit bottom]

No, of course, nothing -- nothing like that.

[He steps the rest of the way clear, covered to the knees by his shirt, which hangs large on him. There's scarring on his legs -- a bit too regular, perhaps, around his ankles -- and then he's pulling on underwear and pants all in one motion, and it's gone from view in the space of perhaps a second]

Just... it must be an adjustment, right?

[upallnite2getluci]

[Lucio eyes him idly, though can't be caught lingering on any one thing before turning back to his locker and grabbing a pair of baggy grey sweatpants]

Having my own room was nice, though I suppose getting out of the med bay isn't so bad. Since your team needs a warrior and all.

[bettersafethansorry]

It's your team, too, isn't it?

[He does up his pants -- sits himself down on the bench again to pull on socks, though his ankles don't see the light of day in the process]

More a welcome back than a debut.

[upallnite2getluci]

Mmm.

[Shoulders stiff, Lucio dips back into his locker, smoothing some sort of product over his face.

Chroma's warrior was still alive, he's pretty sure. Recovery from four surgeries wouldn't be easy, but so far as Lucio knew, waking up was still a distant possibility.

(So far as Lucio knew, most of Team Avalon wouldn't ever be waking up again.)

And he straightens up, tossing the towel from his hair towards the hamper]

Does it matter?

[bettersafethansorry]

Doesn't it?

[Aki fidgets with the hem of his sweater -- reaches up, after a beat, to retrieve a cardigan from the locker and pull it on over the top]

Haru said maybe we could do a -- well, a party or something. But I wasn't sure if you wanted --

[He fusses with the buttons for a moment, collecting his words]

It could be something lower key, if you'd rather. A trip into the city, maybe? There's a place in the Keio building that does good cake.

[upallnite2getluci]

[Lucio stares back, for the first time, looking caught flat-footed]

Wh-- Why do all that?

[bettersafethansorry]

As a welcome back party.

Uhm. Event, at any rate. Welcome activity, designation pending...?

[He leans down to set his inside shoes on the floor, slipping his feet into them]

[upallnite2getluci]

[Lucio hesitates, then shakes his head--starts raking a comb through his damp hair, the faintest flush over his cheeks]

...No need for all that. Wasn't patrolling enough excitement for one day?

[bettersafethansorry]

Doesn't have to be today, if you don't want. Or tomorrow.

Just -- whenever.

[He fishes a brush out of one of the bags in his locker -- the one hanging, not the one resting on the bottom -- and sets about making himself less rumpled. It has butterfly stickers on the handle, so odds are good it was Haru's, at one point]

[upallnite2getluci]

[Lucio gives a brief hum of acknowledgement, but seems to focus on a mirror inside his locker, combing a little less violently before adding product and brushing through again--doesn't look over as he speaks]

Chroma throws a lot of parties, do you?

[bettersafethansorry]

Not especially.

[Another few passes of the brush, and he tucks it away again, out of sight in the bag]

[upallnite2getluci]

[Lucio continues to fuss with his hair, primping it just-so and totally not just using an excuse to somewhat hide his expression]

Didn't think things were so festive now, is all.

[bettersafethansorry]

I wouldn't say festive, necessarily.

[He maneuvers a stick of deodorant beneath sweater and cardigan both, on first one side and then the other]

But special occasions deserve a little festivity, don't they?

[upallnite2getluci]

[Lucio sits back as though to check his look; leans back to dab a bit of concealer where the dark circles under his eyes have started showing through.]

Is that your opinion or Sergeant Muramoto's?