I reclined on the mattress, my stomach stretched from all the food and sighed happily. Even though we were waiting to be called back into the Council room, I was weirdly relaxed. The crew were silent, everyone was sprawled out on the mattresses, just relishing in being together again and so full. I reached out slightly and brushed my hand against Cas’ arm, enjoying being close to him again.

I need to pee. Do you think we should go before we get called back in? Gem asked.

Probably a good idea. Who knows how long we’ll be in there next time. I thought back lazily.

Gem groaned loudly as she stood and walked slowly towards the door.

“Sorry, I need the bathroom.” She told the Guardian outside.

“Oh… I can take you.” The Guardian said after looking at the other one for confirmation.

“Does anyone else need to go?” Gem glanced back at us, a hint of anxiety on her face.

I understood her fear immediately and pulled myself up painfully.

“Yeah, I do actually,” I said as Peggy stood too.

The Guardian glanced at us and then looked at the other Guardian who was standing watch outside the door once more before nodding. She turned and began leading us along the corridor.

“Hang on, aren’t you going to cuff us?” I asked, hurrying up to her.

“No. It’s not necessary, is it?”

“Well… no, I guess not?” I reply, baffled.

I looked back at the other two who shrugged at me and just continued walking, unsure what else to do or how any other Guardians would react if they found us uncuffed. The Guardian didn’t say anything else though, they simply lead us to the bathroom and gestured for us to go in ahead of them, staying outside the door once we had entered.

I glanced around the bathroom. Again, there was nothing suspicious or seemingly out of place. The bathroom was small with a couple of high walled stalls standing opposite grubby sinks. The white tiled floor was icy and stained beneath my feet, hinting that it must be the Guardians’ bathroom, not the Councillors. I imagine their bathroom must be tiled in gold with solid golden toilets and Rhomian waspsilk toilet paper. I snickered at the mental image.

This is weird. Gem thought as I went into one of the stalls.

What is? Cory sounded worried.

They didn’t cuff us and they just let us go into the bathroom alone? I don’t know about y’all but I’ve not been able to go anywhere alone since I woke up. I even had someone watching me shower.

Yeah, us too. That is strange.

I washed my hands and used the watery moisturiser from the dispenser, spreading it over my face. My skin was so dry from not moisturising in months that it stung lightly as I rubbed it on. I didn’t care though, it felt so good.

“Ohh! This smells nice!” Gem said, doing the same.

Y’all, there’s moisturiser in the bathroom! She thought excitedly.

“Do you reckon there is a shower around here? All that anxious sweating I did during the trial is making me feel gross.” Gem said, sniffing her shirt cautiously.

I laughed, not wanting to sniff my shirt for the exact same reason.

“Let’s ask the Guardian?”

Gem pulled the door open, holding it for Peggy and me to walk through.

“Is there a shower anywhere we can use here after the trial ends tonight?” I asked the Guardian as she led us back to the storeroom.

“Oh, they’ve dismissed themselves for the evening. Didn’t the last shift tell you?”

“No?” I replied, my head tilting slightly to one side.

“Yeah, they finished just before we came on duty. They’re going to restart again in the morning. I’ll see if there’s a shower you’ve been cleared to use.” She held the door open for us.

“Thanks.” I smiled politely.

“Is there anything else you need?”

I looked around at my crew questioningly.

Do you think I could get a book? Peggy asked.

“Would we be able to get a book? Or like a screen or something that we can read on?” I asked for her.

“A book?” The Guardian seemed confused.

“Yeah… just anything to read really.” I was aware of how strange my request was but I knew that Peggy needed something to distract herself.

I assumed they hadn’t been giving her the sleeping tablets she normally took so her sleep had probably dropped from a few hours a night to none again, just like when she was unmedicated at the base. If she didn’t have a book or something to distract herself with, she’d just stay up all night being unable to sleep and worrying until she made herself ill. I decided that if they couldn’t find her a book I’d stay up with her all night so she at least could talk to me if she wanted to.

“Urr… I’ll look into it and see what I can find. Not really sure where I’d find one here…”

“If they have a library or something…” Peggy added shyly.

“Yeah. I’m sure they’ll have something, right?” The Guardian looked at their partner.

“Yeah, probably?” She shrugged.

“Okay, great. Thanks.”

I walked into the room, dropping down next to Cas again who was still lying on the mattress where I left him.

“So, we’re showering?” He queried.

“They’re looking into it.”

“Awesome. I could do with one.”

I took his hand in mine as gently as I could, worrying about his injured fingers and smiled down at him.

“What?” He asked after a minute, smiling back at me.

“Nothing…” I said quietly, looking away self consciously.

I wanted to say more but the words were stuck in my throat.

He squeezed my hand slightly, waiting for me to continue.

“I just missed you.” I whispered instead.

He pulled me down onto the mattress and into his arms. His body felt warm and comforting as I rested my head on his shoulder, not caring about the pain. My hand travelled over his stomach and wrapped around him.

Even after everything that had happened, he still felt like home.

“I really missed you,” He whispered.

I smiled again, feeling safer than I had in so long, my eyes starting to droop shut. Cas’ hand gently stroked my hair as I fell asleep.

Hey, shower time! Gem thought waking me up.

I sat up too quickly, dizzying spots flaring before my eyes and blinked hard, looking around. The food carts were still in the room but there was now a Guardian standing in the open doorway.

How long was I asleep? I asked, rubbing my eyes.

Like, twenty minutes maybe? Cas thought, yawning widely.

“We all have to go shower now apparently,” Gem told us, her arms crossed as she looked disapprovingly at the Guardian.

“How come?”

“We aren’t meant to guard a group of you alone anymore. Apparently, you might overpower us and run rampant through the Capital.” The Guardian answered, the sarcasm in their voice confusing me.

I fought a smirk as I looked around at my crew and shrugged.

Shower time then, I guess?

We got up slowly, using the discarded furniture for support and followed the Guardians. Again, they didn’t cuff us and let us walk slowly rather than hurrying along. We went further than the toilets at the end of the hall this time, going down a set of stairs before reaching a large changing room with shower cubicles to one side. A pile of towels and clean scrubs sat on the bench near the showers waiting for us. It was identical to the Guardian’s showers we used upstairs, right down to the wall of lockers and the colour of the tiles.

The Guardians stood cautiously by the door as we walked in but we ignored them, too entranced by the allure of the showers.

“You can go first, I’ll wait,” Cory said gesturing to the four shower cubicles with his head and leaning back against one of the tables.

He picked up the elbow-length rubber glove with a seal at the end that I hadn’t noticed on the table before and began slowly fixing it over his injured hand to protect the bandage. A strange hint of gratitude went through me as I watched. The Guardians had actually thought of that. It was weird to feel somewhat taken care of.

“Or you could join me…” Gem raised an eyebrow at him.

He glanced back at the Guardians, a slight blush rising on his face before following her eagerly into the cubicle, pulling the curtain across the door behind them.

Giggling came from the shower and I rolled my eyes.

At least, turn the shower on so we don’t have to hear anything. I thought at them.

They didn't reply but the rush of the shower dampened the noises coming from their cubicle.

I looked across at Cas who was still waiting outside the showers and bit my lip. He smiled back at me. I knew I could have asked him right then and I wanted to. My eyes flitted around the room in search of a camera. I couldn’t see one, even with my mods, but I didn’t want to risk it. I smiled sadly at him and shrugged.

Maybe next time. He thought and winked at me before sauntering into the shower.

I stared after him before shaking my head, trying to clear it of any longing thoughts before going into my cubicle.

I took my time showering, humming as I did to try and block out the noises coming from the cubicle at the end and trying to avoid looking at myself in the mirror behind the shower, before finally turning off the water. I stepped back and looked around for my towel before cursing loudly. Cas had flustered me so badly I hadn’t thought to bring one in with me.

Has anyone finished showering yet? I felt blood rush to my cheeks.

Not yet! Peggy thought back.

I have, what’s up? Cas replied.

I groaned and dropped my head back in embarrassment. Of course he would be the only one out there.