[ Carmen's voice seems to come out of nowhere, and with one hand holding the drill, Richie fully expects the pop to fall and explode because he's missed it. (It wouldn't be the first time he's failed, nor would it be the first time something blew up because of it.)
Instinctively, he swears as he reaches out for it. ] Shit--!
[ But he catches the thing somehow. Miraculously, even, and with his left hand instead of his right. As he shifts the can to rest more safely against his palm, it sweats in his hand, and Richie can't help the smarmy grin of triumph. ]
Ha! [ Pleased as ever. You see that, Bear? ] I still got it, eh? [ Never mind the fact that saying that gives his age away.
And after Richie pops the tab with his thumb, he takes a few gulps before setting the can down on some unopened box. It's better than letting the water stain Carmen's floor.
Richie looks over his shoulder, meeting Carmy's gaze with both brows raised. ] Things're about to get noisy, [ the drill buzzes for half a second in emphasis ] so if you gotta step away...
[ Regardless of Carmen's choice, Richie's quick with it. Holes are made in the wall following the surprisingly thorough diagram he'd made, and he moves on to the brackets. ]
[ It is kind of a miracle Richie catches it, actually, with his hands already full, and the only one to blame if the situation had just become a real mess involving rags, a mop, windex, and possibly a change of clothes would have been Carmen for fucking aiming too hard for "normal," apparently. For the seconds it takes for Richie to get a handle on the can, he kicks himself.
(If you don’t want people dealing with your stupid mess, don’t get distracted. Got it.)
Carmen shakes his head as Richie plays the catch off as a victory, covering a little relief (and some amusement) with the flick of his lighter at the cigarette. ]
Smooth.
[ The noise from the drill isn’t a problem, in the way the loud and monotonous usually isn’t. He's already rounded the kitchen corner and begun digging in the bag of hardware supplies at Richie's feet when he asks for one of the shelves, and Carmen pauses to grab one from where it's propped against the wall. ]
Yeah, here. [ This was always more Richie -- and Mikey --, this kind of working with hands. As much as he'd tried to keep up -- be useful in ways that seemed to matter to people, or maybe were just expected -- and as much as he'd picked up from the two of them, it had never come naturally to him.
He lifts the shelf to where Richie's placing the brackets, lining it up with what's already in place. ] Good?
Yeah, [ is Richie's answer-- easy. But he's easy when he isn't out of his depth, considering. ] Perfect, Carmy.
Hold it there. [ He likes to imagine this reasonable, considering the shelf's being put up for the convenience of Carmy's height specifically.
A thought comes to him, though, as he's drilling the thing in, settling with a whisper in the back of his mind. As the shelf is secured one screw after the other, simple and methodical until Carmy's hands are no longer needed, that whisper grows into a proper shout.
Richie's got a couple other shelves to go, but for a moment he furrows his brows at the one they'd just secured.
Then he faces Carmy to his side, eyes on wisping cigarette smoke and his decidedly unfairly striking profile. ] ...your landlord gave you permission to drill this shit in, right?
[ He likes to think this, too, is a reasonable question, even if permission is the farthest thing from his mind.
Truthfully, drilling holes into Carmen's walls had Richie wondering if this meant he was going to stay here for good. But there's no real way to ask that without bringing to mind all kinds of metaphors related to playing with fire. ]
[ It’s good like this, to focus in on keeping it steady where Richie needs it, and the simple facts of pieces fitting together. Focused and purposeful and positive — kind of what they’re aiming for more generally, right?
Carmen watches Richie make quick work of the screws. Whatever presses in the back of his mind, the weight of the familiarity of Richie here and beside him, hands, warm or cold, that fucking necklace he’s always wearing, whatever else, whatever— it’s not helpful and not relevant. This, here, works. He just needs to keep it together.
And then he’s staring back at Richie, the question so ridiculously reasonable, in fact, that for long moments it doesn’t even seem to make sense.
Did the landlord give permission.
Carmen drops his hands from the shelf that is now firmly embedded in the wall. ]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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Instinctively, he swears as he reaches out for it. ] Shit--!
[ But he catches the thing somehow. Miraculously, even, and with his left hand instead of his right. As he shifts the can to rest more safely against his palm, it sweats in his hand, and Richie can't help the smarmy grin of triumph. ]
Ha! [ Pleased as ever. You see that, Bear? ] I still got it, eh? [ Never mind the fact that saying that gives his age away.
And after Richie pops the tab with his thumb, he takes a few gulps before setting the can down on some unopened box. It's better than letting the water stain Carmen's floor.
Richie looks over his shoulder, meeting Carmy's gaze with both brows raised. ] Things're about to get noisy, [ the drill buzzes for half a second in emphasis ] so if you gotta step away...
[ Regardless of Carmen's choice, Richie's quick with it. Holes are made in the wall following the surprisingly thorough diagram he'd made, and he moves on to the brackets. ]
Hand me one of the shelves, will you?
no subject
(If you don’t want people dealing with your stupid mess, don’t get distracted. Got it.)
Carmen shakes his head as Richie plays the catch off as a victory, covering a little relief (and some amusement) with the flick of his lighter at the cigarette. ]
Smooth.
[ The noise from the drill isn’t a problem, in the way the loud and monotonous usually isn’t. He's already rounded the kitchen corner and begun digging in the bag of hardware supplies at Richie's feet when he asks for one of the shelves, and Carmen pauses to grab one from where it's propped against the wall. ]
Yeah, here. [ This was always more Richie -- and Mikey --, this kind of working with hands. As much as he'd tried to keep up -- be useful in ways that seemed to matter to people, or maybe were just expected -- and as much as he'd picked up from the two of them, it had never come naturally to him.
He lifts the shelf to where Richie's placing the brackets, lining it up with what's already in place. ] Good?
no subject
Hold it there. [ He likes to imagine this reasonable, considering the shelf's being put up for the convenience of Carmy's height specifically.
A thought comes to him, though, as he's drilling the thing in, settling with a whisper in the back of his mind. As the shelf is secured one screw after the other, simple and methodical until Carmy's hands are no longer needed, that whisper grows into a proper shout.
Richie's got a couple other shelves to go, but for a moment he furrows his brows at the one they'd just secured.
Then he faces Carmy to his side, eyes on wisping cigarette smoke and his decidedly unfairly striking profile. ] ...your landlord gave you permission to drill this shit in, right?
[ He likes to think this, too, is a reasonable question, even if permission is the farthest thing from his mind.
Truthfully, drilling holes into Carmen's walls had Richie wondering if this meant he was going to stay here for good. But there's no real way to ask that without bringing to mind all kinds of metaphors related to playing with fire. ]
no subject
Carmen watches Richie make quick work of the screws. Whatever presses in the back of his mind, the weight of the familiarity of Richie here and beside him, hands, warm or cold, that fucking necklace he’s always wearing, whatever else, whatever— it’s not helpful and not relevant. This, here, works. He just needs to keep it together.
And then he’s staring back at Richie, the question so ridiculously reasonable, in fact, that for long moments it doesn’t even seem to make sense.
Did the landlord give permission.
Carmen drops his hands from the shelf that is now firmly embedded in the wall. ]
—God fucking damn it. [ He hadn't even asked. ]