Welcome to Gaia! ::

Wash felt a little out of place - the facility boasted dozens of new faces since he'd left, and on top of that, it seemed like his transfer back had very likely been some kind of paperwork mistake. As it was, he'd been randomly assigned tasks from the duty roster, a sort of day-to-day russian roulette. He'd always wondered if Deus used hunters to do janitorial work as well, and he got his answer today as he strode grimly through the halls armed with a cleaning cart and a gallon jug of bleach.

He steeled himself, took in a deep breath, and entered the Life Lab men's restroom.

Wash noticed the shoes in one of the stalls, so he cleaned the sink instead, politely waiting for the shoes' owner to finish their business and leave. He wondered why they weren't using the urinal - but maybe he had to, you know.

Number two.

Or maybe they were embarrassed about the size of their, erm, weapon.

Wash let out an audible groan- which necessitated a deep breath, which was a mistake.

"Yeah man, no problem," he replied, and decided to take his time by ensuring the small mirror was absolutely spot free. He glanced at the other hunter's face - there was something vaguely familiar; he was pretty sure at least he'd seen the man around on some mission or another.

"Don't think I recognize you. Wash Becker." He started to offer a hand to shake, and then realized where they were and what they were doing and stopped.

"Few years," Wash replied evasively. He had not, as he had so many times been reminded, exactly been in this location, especially in the most recent years in question, but it was all the same, right?

That pretty much covered all the conversational territory Wash had hitherto explored in a public restroom setting. He was used to going in, doing his business, whatever that might entail, and then leaving quickly, all the while trying to forget any strange noises that may have issued from any others present. He steeled himself and prepared to venture into unknown lands of social decorum, as he felt it would be rude to not make conversation with the fellow hunter kind enough to clean after himself.

"So. You, uh. D'ya like sports?"

In American football terms, this foray would likely be identified as a fumble.

Wash was pretty sure he could feel Sally internally cringing.

"Yeah," he replied, still absently wiping the mirror. It was clear that pre-Deus Wash had not been much help with household chores. "I played football in high school."

There was a long, awkward pause.

"Big fan o' the Saints."

"Eh." Wash flinched reflexively at the reminder of his long absence. "Somethin' like that. Just tryin' t' get my mind off a few things."

He looked down at his towel, and then at the bottle of Windex. "Ah, thanks."

After a brief interlude of slightly more productive wiping, he added, "Back home, Denise did all the chores." He paused. It'd been a while since he'd brought her up to anyone else - it has just sort of slipped out. Doing housework had reminded him of simpler days, days long gone.

"Was."

Ami. Ami, now why did that sound familiar?

I'm not waiting for something that will never come. A quiet whisper, just another voice that haunted his nightmares.

"How's she doin'? Ami, I mean. I know it was hard, hard for all of us, after...you know."

It had affected all of them differently, and Wash felt a twinge of guilt for not following up with any of his fellows. It had been easier to pretend nothing had happened.