milliways_bar | (no subject)

[#teamnice #elfwarning]

In one corner of the bar, a very serious operation is underway. Normally this would be done in secret, but they needed to do something to deter elf dolls.

Fry is cutting out cardboard boxes precisely, sticking them together with sellotape, and passing them down to toddler brother Gil, who is making them pretty. When Gil finishes, Fry takes the boxes back, and puts in a gingerbread person made and decorated earlier by their sisters, who are back home (at Rainbows and hockey respectively).

The gingerbread person may resemble the recipient, depending on who did the decoration.

"Dad, Gil's making them too pink." Fry complains.

"Let him be, Fry." Guppy says, from a nearby rug where he is attempting to assemble a miniature trampoline.

"But it's for Gene." Fry says. "And he was born in the olden days but not old enough that pink was for boys."

"Er... swap it for Teja's black sparkly one." Guppy says, peering over at them before attempting to attach a spring, which pings half way across the room with a boiiiiiing.

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Noriko catches the spring about two seconds before it would have hit her in the face; as it is she drops the pliers she's working with to catch it, thankfully not bending any of the sheet metal parts on her table.

She's building christmas presents too, just slightly more elaborate ones than gingerbread men. "...Is this yours?" she asks Guppy.

"Oh, cheers." Guppy says, getting up and coming over to get it.

"Wow, those are impressive."

"It's the Himeji castle," she says, tossing the messy braid of her hair back from her shoulder; most of it is covered by a gray slouch beanie, save for the vibrant purple lock behind her ear. "Christmas present for a friend."

Since he probably won't get to see it in person, she imagines. "It all comes pre-cut, you just assemble it." Which is tedious, but soothing. It takes a certain amount of concentration to complete one.

"Lucky friend." Guppy says. "We're doing a bit of mass production over there. Not that that's much quicker, we already had one batch on the floor and one batch inside the dog."

"Well, you do have some limitations," she says. Namely that'd be the kids in her opinion, but then Noriko doesn't tend to think of herself as a little kid person. She functions on a slightly different level.

"So ginger cookies for everyone?"

"Yeah, well, depending on diet. They were supposed to look like the person they're going to, but some of them are rather wonkier than others."

"Anatomically or facially correct gingerbread men are kind of ambitious to begin with."

She shrugs. "Got any extra, toss them my way. I don't mind wonky."

"I think you're already getting one." Guppy says. "Definitely saw a blue one in the pile somewhere. Fry? Have you got one for Noriko there?"

"Yes." Fry says, looking through the pile and then bringing over a box covered in sparkly pink and purple and green scribbles. "I didn't do the box decorating but I did your biscuit." he says, handing it to her.

"Thank you," she says, and produces a small, neatly-wrapped box in gold paper with a white bow; inside is a tiny metal model of a drum set with an attached note: these don't make noise.

"Happy holidays."

"Thank you." Fry says. He wouldn't bang them anyway. "I'll open it on Christmas and keep it away from Gil and Brooke."

Fry goes back over to his production line.

"Is it fragile, what he's got in that box?" Guppy asks, looking at the other ones she's making.

"Only moderately," she says, twisting one metal tab ninety degrees to secure the pieces she's working on, and setting them down. "I took the precaution of spot-welding his, given he has siblings. It is metal, though."

"I'll make sure he keeps it away from the little ones." Guppy says. "They aren't allowed in his room anyway, he doesn't like people touching his things so we let him lock it when he's not in there. Me and his mum can get in but the little ones can't."

"If they manage to hurt it, clearly I haven't done a good enough job at spot-welding," Noriko says.

"Brooklyn can be a little unpredictable." Guppy says. "The other day she used a copy of 'Mrs Frisby and the Rats of Nimh' as a frizbee."

"Not bad taste," she chuckles. "As far as projectiles."

"Admittedly not the most foolish thing she has ever done." Guppy smirks a little.

"What was?" she asks.

"I think it's a close tie between the time she launched herself down two flights of stairs on a tray and the time she shaved half her head - admittedly the second was less dangerous but it didn't go down well with school."

"She's gonna be such an adrenaline junkie," Noriko laughs. "If she was big enough to carry on my back I'd take her with me on a run and see how she likes that."

It'd be safe, at least.

"How big would she need to be?" Guppy asks with a laugh.

"Big enough to pull of a monkey-carry," she says. "Her arms around my neck, my arms under her knees." Noriko shrugs. "I mean, she can't be that heavy."

"She might manage that. She's four, but she's tall and broad-shouldered." Guppy says. "She's slightly bigger than Coral, who's six, but Coral is especially small for her age."

"At some point, I'll ask her if she feels like doing it," she says.

"That's fine by me, I trust you." Guppy says.