Showers, Max, lab accidents, recordings, probation, and pennies

Chapter 13: Showers, Max, lab accidents, recordings, probation, and pennies
==Text==
"Hey, sleepyhead. Time to rise and shine," Newt chirps, wrenching Hermann out of a peaceful dream of riding the updrafts around a small, hilly island in a velvety bay. 
Hermann pries his eyelids open and finds himself nearly nose-to-nose with a grinning Newt. 
"You had best have a good reason for waking me at this ungodly hour, Newton," he grumbles. 
"‘Fraid so, Doctor. It’s already eight. You were so exhausted last night, I didn’t have the heart to wake you earlier, but you really need to get going to be ready in time for the staff meeting. We get our talking points for the UN assigned today. Oh boy," he says with mock glee. 
Hermann sighs and drags himself to the bathroom. Newt’s assessment of his energy level is correct. Marshal Hansen gave him the task of escorting a group of municipal officials through all of the spaces currently and formerly occupied by K-Science and the walking and politely answering the mostly inane questions drained his reserves. His muscles ache and he looks forward to unlimited hot water (one of the few perks of Shatterdome life) and the soothing effect it has on his knee. 
He unwraps the gauze from his broken wing and flexes both of his feathered limbs through their full range of motion. The healing fracture still throbs uncomfortably, but the pain is already negligible compared to the first days after the injury. 
Leaning into the shower, Hermann adjusts the water temperature and tests it with his hand before stepping in. As always, he carefully avoids letting too much water to splash onto his wings and shivers them regularly to shake off any drops that collect. He learned long ago his feathers are not waterproof and soak up liquid like giant sponges; sponges which become very heavy very quickly. 
He scrubs himself thoroughly then leans on the wall and allows the hot spray to massage and run down his legs, sighing as some of the soreness melts away. 
"All good things must end," he mumbles as he turns off the water and carefully steps out. He shakes his wings a last time, towels off efficiently, swallows his morning prescriptions, and brushes his teeth. 
Newt waits for him in the main body of the room to help him complete their morning ritual: a check on his wing’s healing, resecuring the splint, wrapping first the injured wing then the uninjured one. It surprises Hermann how quickly this interaction became routine. He chooses not to think about it, focusing instead on living and reacting moment to moment. 
Ready to face the world outside their quarters, the two scientists walk side-by-side to the conference room, Newt matching his pace to Hermann’s and chattering the entire way. Hermann occasionally interrupts with a snide comment, mostly because it’s expected. 
Hermann’s talking points match his predictions. He and Newt will be responsible for answering questions about how the Breach functioned, how it was collapsed, and the scientific justification for using a nuclear explosion in the process of sealing it. Hermann makes a mental note to include information on how little radiation was released to close the Breach compared to how large a release was necessary to bring down the kaiju before the advent of the Jaegers. 
After that the meeting bores Hermann, as such things usually do, so he entertains himself by seeing how far he can carry the Fibonacci sequence without making notes. He reaches 8-digit numbers before they are finally adjourned. 
As he and Newt chat with Tendo, Herc Hansen stands nearby talking with Raleigh Becket and loosely holding Max’s leash. 
Max sniffs Newt’s boots, then turns his attention to Hermann’s oxfords. The bulldog takes a single snuffle and barks up at the mathematician. Max bounces backward two steps, barks again, and bows, eagerly wagging his stubby tail. As Hermann and Newt watch with curiosity, Max repeats: bounce, bark, bow. The dog prances up to Hermann and gums the hem of his trousers, giving it a gentle tug. 
"Oi! Max! Leave the doctor alone!" Herc yanks the leash and tows Max back to his side. "Sorry, Doctor. He’s never done that to anyone except Lieutenant Ishibashi in Osaka," Herc says, sounding embarrassed. "He wants to play with yeh." 
Newt tries to suppress a laugh by biting his lip, while Hermann alternates between scowling at Max and Newt. "What’s so funny?" Hermann demands. 
"Heh! I can’t think of anyone who’s less of a dog person than you, dude." His eyes widen and breaks into a mischievous smile. "‘Course, you’re probably even less of a cat person … ." 
Hermann responds with a sharp rap on Newt’s shin with his cane and a potent look of disapproval. Newt keeps giggling even though he limps noticeably on the way back to the lab. 
"Have you ever met Lieutenant Ishibashi, Newton?" Hermann asks as they walk. 
"Never heard of ‘em," Newt says with a shrug. 
"The lieutenant is a falconer." 
Newt stops mid-stride. "So Max is a bird dog?" Hermann glares and waves his cane threateningly. "You totally set that one up, dude," Newt says with a laugh. 
Hermann collects the appropriate records from his file cabinets and begins preparing his presentation at the lab’s holo-projector. He sits ramrod straight and tacks away at the keys, pausing periodically to contemplate the best way to explain complex physics to the same men who apparently lacked the insight to see a flaw in depending on a wall to defend against flying monsters. 
After a few listless days, Newt seems to have regained his enthusiasm for dissection and Hermann hears him happily slicing away at some kaiju organ or another. 
Their work goes well, and quietly, until late in the evening when the blasted holo-projector’s software hangs and the machine automatically reboots, destroying at least twenty minutes of Hermann’s effort. Hermann curses loudly and creatively in German. His swearing causes an echo, as Newt shouts something which isn’t quite German, but which indicates he is in considerable pain. 
Hermann heaves himself to his feet and crosses the lab to where Newt stands bathing his hand in the chemical spray from the decontamination sink, grabbing the first aid kit on his way. "What have you done to yourself this time, Newton?" he asks. Simultaneously, he notes the long, but thankfully shallow cut on the side of Newt’s left hand. Straight edges, he thinks, three butterfly sutures to close it and a bandage over the top to protect it for the first day. 
"My hand slipped and I nailed myself with a scalpel," Newt spits. "Goddammit, it hurts!" 
"Stop whinging. You should be used to this by now. It’s only superficial and the gel will numb it soon enough," Hermann says. The decon cycle ends and Hermann quickly proceeds to rinse away the last chemicals and press a bandage covered in analgesic gel to Newt’s injury. 
"If you hadn’t yelled and scared me, this wouldn’t have happened. Don’t harp at me for something that’s your fault!" 
"This is my fault? Did I drive you to this?" Hermann snarls, pointedly staring at the other man. 
"You fucking liar! You did listen!" Newt shrieks. 
"Of course I listened, you idiot! You’d nearly killed yourself! You nearly scared me to death! Against all by better judgement I care about you! I had to know what you’d done and what you were thinking!" 
"You already knew what I was thinking! The same thing I’d been thinking for weeks! That it would work!" 
"I expected that," Hermann says through gritted teeth. "What I didn’t expect was you saying that whatever harm came to you was my fault, that I drove you to such dangerous action." 
"That was a joke! I was-wasn’t thinking! I knew it would work!" 
Hermann fixes Newt with a level stare. "You’re lying," he declares. "I know your speech. You realized what could happen to you in the last moments before you activated your neural bridge. You let the message stand. You meant it." 
"I … but … I didn’t … ," Newt stammers. 
"You nearly died and it was my fault." 
"Dammit, dude!" Newt rips his hand from Hermann’s grasp to gesture wildly. "Not everything is your fault! I made my own choice and you had nothing to do with it." 
"If I’d supported you in front of the Marshal maybe … ," Hermann argues, reinstating his hold on Newt’s hand and checking under the bandage to see if the bleeding had stopped. 
"Maybe nothing would’ve changed or maybe they would’ve given me the equipment and it wouldn’t have worked. Or maybe the real gear actually would’ve killed me. No matter what happened, though, you would’ve been the one right there to save me." He waves a finger in Hermann’s face. "Besides, whose bright idea was it for you to Drift with me?" 
"Hold still," Hermann orders as he cleans the gel from Newt’s hand and applies the butterfly stitches. "That may be the case, if only because I seem to be alone in understanding how much trouble you cause for yourself and others when left unsupervised." 
"I’m not that bad," Newt responds with an eye roll. "Does the fact you’re making fun of me instead of yelling at me now mean you’ve forgiven me for the stupid message?" 
"Newton … ," Hermann begins, then notes Newt’s pleading expression. His own scowl softens into a half-smile. "Perhaps I’ll forgive you after several decades of good behavior," he says. 
"You’re putting me on probation?" Newt shrills. "For decades?" 
Hermann quirks an eyebrow. "Is that a problem?" 
"Umm. Wait," Newt says as his brain’s gears mesh, "That implies you’re expecting me to be around for decades." 
"I expect you to keep coming back like a bad penny." 
"Hey! I’m worth way more than a penny." New shrugs. "Besides, no one’s made those since 2016." 
"It’s an idiom, Newton," Hermann says. 
"It’s a stupid idiom, Hermann," Newt huffs. 
"I suppose you have a better expression to hand?" 
"No, but we should probably get back to our room before you stoop to cliches. Or, even worse, puns," New says with mock seriousness before dodging a half-hearted cane swing from Hermann. 
Evening rituals complete, Newt suggests, "One last check on the wing?" He inspects the break to check its healing. "It feels solid," he says "Want to sleep with it loose?" Hermann nods and allows himself a small smile. 
The two men climb into bed side by side. Hermann drapes both an arm and a wing over Newt. "I’m keeping you where I can see you," he murmurs.
==Meta==
If the name Ishibashi rings a bell, this may be the reason.
A comment from sherriaisling inspired the Max incident.
Feel free to ask any questions or make any suggestions you have in the comments or message me at my Tumblr.
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