I
Iskari
Guest
Original poster
"Wow! A hot shower that I don't have to pay for at all!" Perry muttered to himself, reminiscing on the many truck-stop showers he had encountered in an effort to keep chaffing and infection to a minimum. So excited about the prospect of being actually genuinely clean and taking as long as he liked under the steamy streams that he barely took note of the contents of the bathroom at all... barely.
It was a magnificent house with an equally impressive bathroom. Even the SOAP gleamed with value to his beggar's eyes. It seemed almost a shame to wash with it. The mirror was squeaky clean, as was every surface in the room, obviously kept by the maids Ander doubtless had at least one of. Whatever he paid them was definitely enough, for their fastidiousness spoke of a man who liked his house tidy. It was a man's bathroom... a rich man's bathroom, but still... and thus less cluttered than he would have expected of a female host. The place smelled of cologne, 'male' body wash, lingering bleach, cleansers, shaving cream, toothpaste...
The shower went smoothly after Perry pulled his wandering eyes away from the otherwise stealable objects. For once, at least for the first time in quite a while, he was thankful of his detail oriented nature. Every splash of warmth felt like heaven and the sounds of water all around him washed away memories and imaginings and stole his attention completely. Eyes closed, he picture only the impacts of water on his dirty skin, making him clean once again.
But all too soon it was over. Sure he was clean, he smelled acceptable, and he had even changed his mind about not shaving, but as he looked in the mirror, all he saw was his every failure written onto his face.
"How the hell did YOU get there," he muttered quietly at his reflection. "You don't deserve all this."
Stepping into the next room, his gaze kept squarely on the floor to keep from getting absorbed in the details of the room. He made his way to the bed, toweling off as he went to give himself something to focus on. On the bed were some of Ander's clothes, on loan to replace Perry's smelly bum rags. Quickly he dressed in the over-softened medium blue teeshirt with an unrecognized media company logo, and a pair of khaki gym shorts, both made for someone much larger than Perry. Satisfied, that he was dressed and dry and no longer an affront to his new benefactor, Perry made his way down to the den where the others now stood, watching Ander as he worked his computer. He had thought he had heard Ander's voice on the way in... something about Harry, the mention of the name sending a shudder down Perry's spine with remembered sounds.
A servant offered him a drink and, after turning down on his request for something alcoholic, brought him a steaming mug of coffee. It was then that Perry noticed the air consternation surrounding his new... friends?.. coming particularly from Ander.
He glanced at the computer screen, not at all tech-savvy, but determined to get a look at the data.
He was stunned. He saw what looked like random garbage pop up time after time as Ander perused the contents. Vivid scenes, things remembered from some distant past clouded by drug use, flashed into Perry's memory. He had seen this before! The random numbers and letters had a specific pattern... a pattern that his detail-seeking mind could understand!
"I... I know this." He said aloud, pushing his way to the computer. "Here... we start here. This might take me some time to get right, but I know this code!"
It was a magnificent house with an equally impressive bathroom. Even the SOAP gleamed with value to his beggar's eyes. It seemed almost a shame to wash with it. The mirror was squeaky clean, as was every surface in the room, obviously kept by the maids Ander doubtless had at least one of. Whatever he paid them was definitely enough, for their fastidiousness spoke of a man who liked his house tidy. It was a man's bathroom... a rich man's bathroom, but still... and thus less cluttered than he would have expected of a female host. The place smelled of cologne, 'male' body wash, lingering bleach, cleansers, shaving cream, toothpaste...
The shower went smoothly after Perry pulled his wandering eyes away from the otherwise stealable objects. For once, at least for the first time in quite a while, he was thankful of his detail oriented nature. Every splash of warmth felt like heaven and the sounds of water all around him washed away memories and imaginings and stole his attention completely. Eyes closed, he picture only the impacts of water on his dirty skin, making him clean once again.
But all too soon it was over. Sure he was clean, he smelled acceptable, and he had even changed his mind about not shaving, but as he looked in the mirror, all he saw was his every failure written onto his face.
"How the hell did YOU get there," he muttered quietly at his reflection. "You don't deserve all this."
Stepping into the next room, his gaze kept squarely on the floor to keep from getting absorbed in the details of the room. He made his way to the bed, toweling off as he went to give himself something to focus on. On the bed were some of Ander's clothes, on loan to replace Perry's smelly bum rags. Quickly he dressed in the over-softened medium blue teeshirt with an unrecognized media company logo, and a pair of khaki gym shorts, both made for someone much larger than Perry. Satisfied, that he was dressed and dry and no longer an affront to his new benefactor, Perry made his way down to the den where the others now stood, watching Ander as he worked his computer. He had thought he had heard Ander's voice on the way in... something about Harry, the mention of the name sending a shudder down Perry's spine with remembered sounds.
A servant offered him a drink and, after turning down on his request for something alcoholic, brought him a steaming mug of coffee. It was then that Perry noticed the air consternation surrounding his new... friends?.. coming particularly from Ander.
He glanced at the computer screen, not at all tech-savvy, but determined to get a look at the data.
He was stunned. He saw what looked like random garbage pop up time after time as Ander perused the contents. Vivid scenes, things remembered from some distant past clouded by drug use, flashed into Perry's memory. He had seen this before! The random numbers and letters had a specific pattern... a pattern that his detail-seeking mind could understand!
"I... I know this." He said aloud, pushing his way to the computer. "Here... we start here. This might take me some time to get right, but I know this code!"