Third Floor Common Room; Monday Morning [12/07].

[howareyanow]

When Wayne got to the common room early that morning to get a start on breakfast, he was not expecting to see that not only was the Christmas Troy still there, it was also fully decked out just the way they'd left it.

He probably should have expected it, really, and didn't know why he felt even a little bit surprised.

He squinted a little at Troy before moving to fridge and the cupboards to start getting everything out to start cooking, until a voice emerged from all that tinsel and garland ornaments.

"Wayne? A little help?" When that wasn't met with an immediate leap to action, he added, a little witheringly, "I really have to use the bathroom."

"Oh, fer fuck's sake!" Wayne huffed slightly, setting down his pots and pans in a clatter before turning sharply to access the situation. Because when a man asked fer help, you helped 'em, but they'd really gone a bit overboard, and Troy, in general, sort of needed all the help he could get.

"I'll go find scissors," he concluded.

Or, at this point, to cut through all that bullshit, some gardening sheers...

[[ open of course! ]]

Comments

[scoffs_at_tradition]

"Do I even want to ask?" Shuri asked.

[howareyanow]

"Hard no."

But Shuri probably already knew that.

And Wayne was mostly planning on trying to ignore it all anywhey.

"Shuri." A determined nod. "How are ya now?"

[scoffs_at_tradition]

"Confused," Shuri admitted with another look at Christmas Troy, "but I can move on. How are ya now?"

[howareyanow]

"Good," said Wayne, with a lingering squint toward Troy to suggest that, no, he was not being entirely truthful there, "n--"

He stopped, realizing the he'd already asked her that, the order had gotten a little wonky, but he set it right with a drawling, "Not so bad.

"Breakfast'll be a bit later," he then confessed, "but I did manage to get the coffee going."

He was no slouch about priorities.

[scoffs_at_tradition]

Shuri beamed at him. "That's why you're my favorite. What are you making for breakfast today? May I help?"

[howareyanow]

"Ohhh," Wayne said, definitely turning his attention to the kitchen now, getting a couple of mugs first and foremost. People would need to be fed soon, after all. "Prob'ly the usual. Pancakes, bacon, eggs...now's a good time to put in some requests if you want. Put in her own two cents."

[scoffs_at_tradition]

"I especially like the bacon," Shuri said, smiling.

[howareyanow]

"Then how's about," Wayne proposed, "you take the bacon, I'll get on the pancakes. Divide and conquer."

[scoffs_at_tradition]

There would a lot less for sharing with Shuri in charge. "That sounds wonderful!"

[x_discospider_x]

"Astrid was telling me about Christmas trees, but we didn't have a tree, so we just used me instead."

What? She asked!

[scoffs_at_tradition]

"Are you staying here for the entirety of the festive season, then?" Shuri teased. "Should we water you?"

[x_discospider_x]

"Please don't use the word water."

If he sounded mildly desperate, well...Troy was pretty sure that Wayne was taking his time helping him get all this crap off of him on purpose.

[scoffs_at_tradition]

"Whyever not?" Shuri asked.

[x_discospider_x]

Troy was maybe a little more reluctant to answer that one, yes.

"Since yesterday is a long time to be a tree," he eventually ventured, "without any breaks..."

[scoffs_at_tradition]

Shuri was a smart girl. "Ohhhhh. How can I help get you out of this mess?"

[x_discospider_x]

"Wayne was going to get scissors," but he'd clearly gotten distracted, "but you could also grab the loose end of the garland and I'll just spin really fast until it unravels."

He'd seen enough cartoons to know that would work!

[scoffs_at_tradition]

"I've always wanted to see if that works," Shuri said. "For science!"

She was totally recording it.