hot mess

part of the hmmasterlist My mind's not perfect, but it's sincere; you'd be amazed at what you can achieve in a year!♪

[fritzled]

G’morning Sunshine

[fritzled]

highlyregarded‌:

Omelets, [he repeats. It’s more conversational than anything. He’s trying to be participatory, but his brain’s not really awake for much more than a confirmational repeat of what Fritz said at the moment.]

[No, wait, he’s sure he can manage something else as well, especially as Fritz seems to ask for a bit more of his participation than he’d previously given:] Sounds good. Do it up. [There we go. That was a bit more helpful, if only slightly.]

[He continues to sip at his mug, now glancing over the rest of his kitchen, letting the very first of the caffeine hit his senses and begin to jog his thought processes into working. With Fritz on the stove and making omelets, Raeger supposes he can start chopping aromatics for the base dishes he’s got to get going in a few minutes. He can do that at the counter, then start getting a pot of curry going in the slow cooker to the side of the stove. He might not even need to ask Fritz to move.]

[He takes a few more deep swigs of coffee, shakes his head like he’s trying to wake up, then starts pulling out some onions and garlic. He begins peeling these, occasionally glancing over as Fritz works.] How’s everything going?

Hell yeah! Do it up!♪ [Fritz downs a huge swig of his coffee, arm pumping the repetition of support as he moves on to the next part. He adds his own sound effects to each motion, clicking his tongue or chittering some noise as he grabs out four eggs and the remaining milk, carrying them all back to the stove and setting them carefully around each other in a cluster.]

[He takes another large swig of coffee, using his other hand to grab up the chopped up onion and mushrooms and dropping them into the pan to start sizzling. He’s already half distracted by the coffee as he continues this one-handed transfer, smiling back to Raeger as he drops that in.] Pretty good! I uh—

[Sips his coffee, looking to the green peppers, tomatoes, and zucchini left out to the milk and eggs company.] I don’t remember what order to put these in, but I think I gotta let the onions and mushrooms cook first. [Shrugs, taking another sip and beaming to Raeger as he peels.] Figure even if they’re less cooked they’re still good, yeah?♪

[fritzled]

plain--wayne‌:

[Wayne chuckles, bashfully scratching the back of his head. Truth be told, he did not know where the farming supplies came from, but he figured the farmers in town would make much better use of it!]

Shucks, it’s no sweat, really. Sprites, if I didn’t give ‘em to you, they’d probably just go to wast—[Before he can finish, Wayne finds himself pulled into a hug. His nose slams into Fritz’s shoulder. Blinking, Wayne attempts to hug the other man back, but the moment is already over.]

Well, gosh. Glad to hear it, my friend. ♪ [Nods at the box while Fritz rips it open.] If I’m rememberin’ correctly, you should find a new hoe, hammer, ‘n watering can in there. And a few bags of potato seeds plus fertilizer. What do ya think? Can this stuff help you out a bit? ♪

Aw man, I needed a new watering can! [Beams up at him as he yanks it out, already looking over the inside of it through the light from above.] Mine’s got a big rusty hole worn up in the bottom of it!♪ Now I can water things twice as fast— [He’s already onto the next thing, having set the watering can on a box as pulls out the hoe, nods happily and chatters about how rusty his is before hefting up the hammer with both hands.]

Dang— I didn’t even have one of these yet! [He practices hefting it for a second before dropping it noisily and redirecting to the potato seeds and fertilizer, pulling the seeds out one by one and shoving them into the nook of his arm.] Whoa— a FEW?! There’s more’n here than I usually buy!♪ Gee willikers, Wayne, you’re— [Sits back on his heels, looking up at the man with a curious look as he has the bundles of packets of seeds pressed to his chest.] You’re really sure this ain’t like, payment ahead for something? Do I gotta like, fight someone or somethin’?

[fritzled]

G’morning Sunshine

[fritzled]

highlyregarded‌:

Mm.

[He watches Fritz work— and he tries his best not to be judgmental, he really does. They go through this routine a lot, so Raeger’s pretty used to it. The farmer comes in maybe twice or three times a month to use his kitchen - he assumes when Fritz has enough ingredients to cook that he can’t just scarf down raw. Otherwise he’s caught Fritz buying cooked meals down at the trade depot - probably when food is otherwise scarce.]

[That having been said, he’s gone through this routine enough times by now to know Fritz knows his way around a kitchen— and, indeed, knows his way around Raeger’s kitchen, too. He’s careful with his rinsing. He’s not bad with a  knife. But sometimes it takes a little gentle nudging (and a little judging) to keep him from getting too distracted.]

[He does help himself to a little of the cream, as Fritz suggested— and he does pour a mug for Fritz, too, giving him a lot more cream than coffee. He even drops a couple sugar cubes into Fritz’s mug as a show of good faith. Now that he’s done a little sipping on his own coffee, he’s starting to feel a little less grumpy, too— so he can let himself be a little generous.] 

Here you go.

[As he chops each vegetable up and scoots them off to the side of the cutting board, Fritz settles in a little more comfortably into his skin. Farming had been such a lark thing he took up, and even as passionate as he could be about it he never felt quite as comfortable with it as he did cooking. For one, it’s a little less forgiving of his attention span.]

Alright, uh— [He stops a moment before drizzling a little oil into the pan to start heating up now that everything was chopped and separate, having to wait a moment to think over the next step. That was always where he faltered, sometimes going over a few steps ahead and repeating them to himself to remember to do them in time.]

I’m gonna make omelets, I think. [He murmured this out loud, putting a hand to his chin as he studied the vegetables and continued his musing.] I’d only thought so far as wanting to saute them and then... maybe eggs and milk would get in there somehow, but uh— that makes omelets make the most sense for that now... I guess.

[He grins to Raeger, beaming for the coffee as he scoops it up.] Oh— yes! Thanks a bunch, Raeger! You’re the absolute best!♥ [He sips it gingerly before taking a large swallow, since the cream had dulled down the heat enough.] Mm—! Perfect— [Attention diverted again.] How’s omelets sound to you?

[fritzled]

barking up the wrong tree [WP/Fritz]

blackcauldrons:

It wasn’t rare that the Witch Princess stepped out of her home to walk around the forested area that surrounded her, but it was rare to see another face there. Perhaps, not that rare… It happened that lately a lot more undesired faces had found her. Years of solitude were no longer a thing in her life, just something she had to look forward to. Eventually.

“Oh great, an idiot.”

The blonde looked over the man.

“What are you doing here?”

[Fritz winces as he picks a few twigs out from his sleeve, busily recollecting himself after the tumble he’d taken. He’d been on the receiving end of comments about his intellect far too often to really give it a response when, honestly, he couldn’t much argue it after a stumble like that.]

Well, uh— [Blinks, already forgetting if he had asked the question first, and slipping into a wide grin as he figured she only asked because she was also not meant to be here.]

You too, huh? Yeah, I’m real lost too. Been lost for a few hours now, actually— [Cups a hand up over his eyes and looks around them.] Woods are really thick out here! It’s real swell to see a friendly face, though, never expected to run into anyone out here - the name’s Fritz!

[Beams to her again, giving her a thumbs up as though accentuating how cool his name, and by extension, he, was before reading out his hand for her to shake.] Hope I didn’t spook ya or nothing, miss!♪

[plain--wayne]

fritzled:

[Shakes for a moment after his feet settle onto the wooden surface, a little frazzled for the experience and how easily that could have gone wrong. If he were a smarter man, Fritz might have learned something. But, emboldened, he turned a beaming face to the blond with fists ready to pump for air.]

Hell YEAH I held that so good! My own and all the owns— [Punches out to the air at his side as if working off the adrenaline before hopping down off of the chair and finally checking himself over.] Seems all good, don’t think I’ll know I broke anything until it hurts, heh!

[Leans to follow the gesture of his thumb, quirking an eyebrow.] Eh? Yeah, I’m a farmer! This’s been my farm for over a year now! Weird, though… I don’t think I ordered nothing— [Scratches his cheek before putting on a (he hopes) convinceable grin.] —but I’ll be happy to take it anyways!♪

[Wayne rests both hands on his hips, chuckling at the other man’s reaction.]

Well, you’re awful cute, aren’t you? That’s right—you didn’t order these. Actually, they’re from me, boss. [He walks over to the box and slides it over to Fritz. The contents inside made it heavy, but he presented the bundle nonetheless.]

See, there was a bunch of farm stuff lyin’ around the post office the day I got back to town. No names, labels… nothin’. Brand new items, too. I figured there’s a number of farmers in town who could use ‘em. [Grins, ushering Fritz to come closer with his hand.] Go on, open it! There’s still even more stuff back at the office that you can come exchange with too, if you’d like.

[fritzled]

Wh— [His eyes light up, the idea of a gift immediately swelling him up into the largest grin he’s managed yet.] Really?! Holy smokes, you mean you don’t even know any of us and you’re giving us good stuff?

Dang!

[Swings his arm around him into a tight hug, squeezing him one armed and grinding his balled up hand into the other man’s arm.] Gee whiz, Wayne, you and I are gonna be great friends!♪ [Scrunches his face up at him in his grin, in the next moment distracted by lunging for the box and tearing it open like a hungry raccoon.]

I’ll be happy with anything, honest! I don’t need to make any trades, chances are it’s better’n what I already got!♪

[fritzled]

G’morning Sunshine

[fritzled]

highlyregarded‌:

[His heart skips a beat at the word “fire,” but really, he ought to know better than to react to Fritz’s teasing like that. If there had been a fire, he probably wouldn’t have been forthright about it. He stares over the counter at Fritz, deadpan.] … Don’t even joke about that.

… [But getting coffee ready is worth forgiving him for. Raeger grunts his groggy approval, coming around the counter to join Fritz in his narrow prep kitchen. He pours himself a cup of coffee black, not bothering to thank the farmer for having prepped it. After all, it is his coffee.]

He spots the knife on the cutting board while sipping at the rim of his mug gingerly. He leans one hip against the counter, glancing between the knife and Fritz.] … Don’t let me stop you, [he adds, hoping he sounds more reassuring than grumpy, but landing somewhere in between in the end.] Go ahead.

Heh♪ [Fritz grinned, not even registering the panic he’d given the other man. He was already distracted by tugging out of his bag a green pepper, two small tomatoes, a rather wide onion, a decent sized zucchini, a couple of large mushrooms, and an extra small ring of dirt. He set the canister of milk separate of the bag and nodded proudly to the pile. They were probably the best of his stock, held aside instead of selling as he often did.]

[He hesitates, thinking over his next step as Raeger pours coffee. There’s a long pause, Fritz standing in place with his hands fidgeting on the misfitting apron and his attention divided through the kitchen.] Er... [He’s clearly forgotten what he’s doing.]

[Raeger’s reminder flips the switch back on in his brain and he nods an affirmation.] Right! Okay—

[Scoops up the vegetables against his chest and carrying them with both hands precariously toward the cutting board. He eyes Raeger’s coffee as he passes by him, eyebrows rising up by its dark color but beaming anyways.] You can use a bit of the cream in your coffee if ya want, I was real proud of my cows this morning!♪ If you wanna pour me a cup with it too that’d be real swell— [Drops the vegetables messily with some remnants of their dirt dropping next to the cutting board, turning to rinse them now in the sink as he talks over his shoulder.] I like it a real mess with cream, myself!♪

[fritzled]

G’morning Sunshine

[fritzled]

highlyregarded‌:

[It’s so hard to stay mad at Fritz, even under duress. Raeger has tried again and again to hate this guy, and yet every time Fritz hits him with that awkward, embarrassed self-roast, Raeger feels himself melting into a much softer, less icy version of himself. Fritz may take advantage of him a little, but at the end of the day it’s not help Raeger wouldn’t give willingly.]

[He sighs, smiles, then ruffles the farmer’s already pre-ruffled hair.] It’s all good.

[Fritz bounds off down the stairs, and Raeger turns to his wardrobe. Fritz is right— it’s too hot for sweatpants. He’d love to do be able to do the prepwork for today’s shift in something comfortable, too— but something in him can’t bring himself to not get fully dressed for the day, even if nobody (except Fritz) is going to see him.]

[He changes into his uniform, sliding each crisply-folded-from-the-night-before piece of his suit into place. He tucks his shirt into his dress slacks, he folds his sleeves up and buttons them into place, he ties his tie and fastens his vest up over it. All the while, he stares blearily into the mirror— not quite awake or present behind his eyes.] …

… [He comes downstairs a few minutes later, trading his slippers at the top of the stairs for his dress shoes. There’s a moment of dread for him right before he rounds the corner to allow the main room of his restaurant to come into view, however— and he peeks slowly, bracing himself for the worst.] Everything okay in here?

[Immediately Fritz sets to the kitchen as if he owns it, dropping his bag on the counter and beelining for the few aprons that Raeger left hanging to switch between. He had to fold over the top a couple of times to make it fit his own height, but Fritz tied it around himself sloppily and hummed his way to starting up the coffee maker and following what he’d observed the other man do. He didn’t get permission for that exactly, but they couldn’t have breakfast without coffee, right?]

[Nods to himself in affirmation as he turns back to dropping a skillet noisily onto the stove and taking out a knife, looking it over as if judging it like an expert chef. Raeger’s knives were really nice, of course— he set it gently onto the cutting board, a little nervous to mess up something that nice and outside of his ability to repay.]

Uh—

[Jolts with guilt as he hears Raeger call in to him, as if he’d heard his thoughts and fears about damaging something. But nothing was wrong yet!]

Oh yeah, everything’s good— [Smiles to himself mischievously.] —you know, just a fire or two!♪ Heh!

[Comes bobbing back to his bag on the counter, beaming to Raeger as he snatches it up.] Just kidding! But I made coffee!

[reap-the-harvest-blog]

Finders Keepers || Minori and Fritz

[fritzled]

reap-the-harvest‌:

[Tuts] Well, if you keep dreaming, someone else is gonna take all the mushrooms.

[Shoves the mushroom in her hand back into her pocket] Sure, sure- there’re too many for one person to gather anyway. I couldn’t believe my eyes honestly, I’m surprised someone else hasn’t stumbled upon them yet! You could probably even keep some to make dinner with as well and still make a nice chunk of change from what you do ship out.

[Sniffles, scrunching his nose into a grin.] What luck!

[Leaps up and past her, darting to his small shed as he talks.] We’ll get the baskets and get right to it! You like mushroom stew or somethin’? I bet we could fry ‘em up real nice, I got some good recipes for over a fire—

[Pulls open his shed, looking over the mess before leaning in to tug something out from the darkness between two large pails and what appears to be a box of broken bits of machinery.] Is it very far? You bring me to it and I’ll bring— these— [Tugs out a small stack of mismatched baskets, presenting them proudly.] C’mon, before a bear gets ‘em!

[fritzled]

G’morning Sunshine

[fritzled]

highlyregarded‌:

[It’s too early for this. He’s not even awake, really. He probably won’t be awake for another few hours, even on his feet. Fritz has always been the kind of guy who loudly protests any signs of Raeger’s love life (imagined or no), while clearly putting himself in situations where he might nosily stumble across it. He’s such a little snoop— I bet he’d be thrilled to catch someone up here, so he could yap about it for months all over town—]

Hm. [This grunt is the only thing that escapes him for a second while he lets Fritz ramble on, and lets the grumpy thoughts in his head ramble on as well.] Mhm. Hm.

[Finally, Fritz gets to the point— and he shrugs, eyeing the bag of vegetables. They do look pretty good. At least Fritz did something right.] Yeah, sure. Go ahead and use it… and the eggs, too, I guess. I’m gonna need to come down in a couple minutes and start prepping for lunch, but I could probably share the kitchen with you. I just gotta make some dressings and stuff, but there should be enough room for both of us.

Plus I’ll be happy to have some of what you cook. It’s nice to have someone make me something every now and again. [He smiles, unable to keep a flicker of sarcasm out of his tone.] And it’ll even go a little ways toward paying me back for all the free meals you squeeze out of me.

Right on, you won’t even know I’m there! I could probably even help with your dressings—♪ [Shuffles the vegetables back into his bag, beaming and proud of himself as he tries to settle it back on his shoulder comfortably.]

[Turns his smile back to Raeger, sincere for a moment.] Aw, Raeggy, you know I’ll cook for ya if I ever have the stuff for it! I love to cook, just— [Hand moves to scratch his hair with an awkward expression following his eyes in the direction of his farm.] .. sorta lacking the means, ya know what I mean?

[Chipper!] Heh! Right, this’ll repay you back for all the times ya feed me!

[Turns on his heel to happily bob down the stairs with his bag in tow, calling over his shoulder.] You might wanna put on something less hot, though, it’s real sweltering out! You’ll catch a hot!♪

[fritzled]

plain--wayne‌:

[Wayne’s eyes widen with slight fear upon seeing Fritz make the abrupt leap. Instinctively, he maintains a firm grasp on the otherwise worn chair and winces when the other man collides into it. But Fritz’s somewhat safe landing causes Wayne to sigh in relief.]

I’d say that was a close one, but you held your own. ♪ [Eases his hands off the chair.] You alright there? You didn’t break any bones on me, didja?

By the way— [Points a thumb over his shoulder to a large brown box.] That package there is for you. From no one in particular. You’re one of the farmers, isn’t that right? [Grins.]

[Shakes for a moment after his feet settle onto the wooden surface, a little frazzled for the experience and how easily that could have gone wrong. If he were a smarter man, Fritz might have learned something. But, emboldened, he turned a beaming face to the blond with fists ready to pump for air.]

Hell YEAH I held that so good! My own and all the owns— [Punches out to the air at his side as if working off the adrenaline before hopping down off of the chair and finally checking himself over.] Seems all good, don’t think I’ll know I broke anything until it hurts, heh!

[Leans to follow the gesture of his thumb, quirking an eyebrow.] Eh? Yeah, I’m a farmer! This’s been my farm for over a year now! Weird, though... I don’t think I ordered nothing— [Scratches his cheek before putting on a (he hopes) convinceable grin.] —but I’ll be happy to take it anyways!♪

[fritzled]

G’morning Sunshine

[fritzled]

highlyregarded‌:

[The scolding voice from downstairs is enough to drive a man as put out as Raeger’s been by Fritz absolutely insane— who is going to break in and eat my food, besides you, Fritz?— but he’s fairly sure he’s already been insane for well over a year now, because things like that hardly have him flinching anymore. Here, here’s a t-shirt he’s only worn a few times. He manages to get it up and over his head just in time, just before the cannonball crashes into his bedroom.]

Huh?

[He follows the glance to his own bed, confused— before his sluggish morning-brain catches up with the implication. Raeger’s face falls deadpan.] Yeah, no kidding you didn’t think about it. You could have really embarrassed yourself, you know that?

[He, too, ignores the lack of presence of a third person in the room for Fritz to be embarrassed by. He’s long since given up insisting that he doesn’t have a girlfriend at the moment; Fritz never believes him, anyway.] 

[Why is he not surprised that it’s a favor? What else does Fritz ask him for, anyway?] What is it?

[Holds his hand up to block the bed from his vision, just in case a girl appeared there or maybe several, who knows.] Embarrassed myself?! Yikes, Raeger— you got some nerve, leavin’ a door unlocked and blaming someone for waltzing right in!

[Lets go of the bag to droop off of his shoulder as he gestures to the bed, still shielding his eyes with the other hand.] When you go off havin’ sleep overs and whosits and whatsits all night!! Gosh— [Shakes his head, dropping the hand he’d gestured with back to the bag to tug it around to be more visible and immediately giving up his shield hand to help him dig in.]

Well, speakin’ of using your kitchen I was gonna ask if I could come use yours! [Beams at him proudly as he yanks out a baggy of vegetables he’d clearly shoved together to bring over.] My cows and gave me the best milk today, and some fruits of my labor came in! Figure a good hearty breakfast was in store in celebration!♪

[Wags his eyebrows at him with wide-eyed excitement.] Gotta free breakfast out of it for ya if I can use your eggs!

[fritzled]

plain--wayne‌:

[Raises his brows, grinning at the cheerful man above.] I’ll say. ♪ Let’s getcha down nice and easy now.

[He moves the chair again, repositioning it to make certain that it’s in the best possible landing spot. With a confident nod, he looks back up and smiles.]

Well, mornin’, Fritz! Name’s Wayne– [Tips his hat respectfully.] Pleasure to meetcha. Shoot, if I’da known I’d be meetin’ a neighbor like this, I woulda brought the ladder down from the postoffice, heh. ♪

Ok–! [He stands near the chair with a reassuring smile. Both hands hold it firmly to the ground to ensure a steady landing zone.] Whenever yer ready, boss!

Aw, shucks! [Frowns in disappointment, snapping his fingers.] If only we’d used hindsight— coulda had me down outta here lickity split if I’d asked ya to bring a ladder! I never think of those things in time— [Snaps into a grin, beaming at him.] Well, nice to meetcha as it is, heh!♪

[Grins at the set up, nodding approvingly as he steadies his hands on the edge and finds the best way to drop himself down.] That looks great, Wayne! Alright, I’m comin’ down feet first— [Pauses, unsure what other way he would have managed and pondering that a moment longer before shaking his head and setting his hands to gripping the wooden edge of the attic.] Uhh, okay— three, two, —

[Before he even finishes that train of thought, he drops his feet down between his arms, not accounting for the momentum that would swing his body down and loosen the grip of one of his hands before he could steady the fall better—] Wa—WATCH Ah—out—

[His feet start cycling far above the chair, straining but managing to keep one hand gripping the wood as he scrambles to attach his other hand back to the ledge with wildly moving legs.] Uhh— hrf— thought— that was— taller—

[fritzled]

G’morning Sunshine

[fritzled]

highlyregarded‌:

[He sees that rock fall from Fritz’s hand. He may be tired, but he’s not so tired that the “small pebble” escapes his notice. Raeger frowns deeper, if possible. He’s lucky he got up when he did; the window may have been open, but he doesn’t trust Fritz not to miss this window and hit another one.] …

Yeah, well. [He stares blankly down at the man below, not sure he appreciates the implication that he’s “the last person in town still sleeping.” And here he was, thinking he’d been planning to get up early to prep for lunch— it’s not his fault that his definition of “early” may not match the boundless enthusiasm that Fritz was for some reason capable of outputting. Besides, his work hours are long and grueling enough that this block of time right before he gets out of bed is just about the only part of his day he isn’t working.]

Wait, wait— I didn’t say come up, I said— [He stops mid-sentence, because he already knows the first half of this sentence was as much a waste of his time as the second half of it would be. Once Fritz gets something in his head, he’s impossible to divert— and if he’s coming upstairs instead of waiting for him on the first floor, Raeger has got precious little time to get ready for the onslaught. He abandons the sentence and abandons the window, disappearing into his bedroom and grumbling to himself as he looks for pants. They’re the more important of the articles of his clothing that are missing, after all.]

Damnit, Fritz— [Sulks as he pulls a pair of black sweatpants, then immediately begins searching for a t-shirt.]

[Misses the entire beginning of Raeger’s chastising as he lets himself into the restaurant, shutting the door noisily behind him and calling out above as he starts up the stairs.] Hey, you gotta be careful leaving your door unlocked like that! Any sorta stranger could break in and use your kitchen, eat your food—!

[Hefts his bag up onto his shoulder more as he tops the staircase and throws himself into Raeger’s room happily.] G’morning, bright ray o’ the day! Oh—

[Hesitates, staring at the messy bed and turning his attention to Raeger with a red hitting his cheeks.] Gosh, didn’t even think about you having company or something.

[Scratches the side of his neck, smiling awkwardly away as though he really had walked in on someone else in there.] Hope I didn’t interrupt anything, I just wanted to ask you a favor!♪

[reap-the-harvest-blog]

Finders Keepers || Minori and Fritz

[fritzled]

reap-the-harvest‌:

[Quirks a brow at, lips pressed together]…shark? Of course I’m not a shark, why’d you even have to say I wasn’t one!

[Sighs through her nose, shoving one hand into a pocket of her dress] I want to show you something, look- [Produces a mushroom with a brown cap from her pocket] I found a whole bunch of these growing in the forest. Like a ton of them; they look ready to be picked and everything. 

[Drags his entire mouth out of shape along with the back of his hand, eyelids clamping open and closed a few times before his eyes focus on her.] Eh? Of course you’re not a shark— I guess I was just dreamin’ of one. Seemed so real...

[Pulls his attention back to the prize in her hand, eyes lighting up.] Whoa— really? Hot damn! I haven’t seen these in forever! [Pushes himself up and settles himself onto his feet.] Well, let’s get to gatherin’ them! I got a couple baskets, we can split the gains even-steven if ya show me!♪

[fritzled]

G’morning Sunshine

highlyregarded answered:

[Raeger’s been sort of awake for a minute or twenty when he catches the sound of someone shouting outside— but he’s not really awake yet, so he’s really tempted to roll over and ignore it.] … …

…

… [Temptation wins. He rolls over, nestling back into his pillow.] … … … [But the shouting doesn’t stop, and Raeger realizes with a heavy sigh that it’s not going to stop until he answers the call. Plus, he does have neighbors to think about. It may be Fritz that’s the culprit doing the shouting, but he can’t imagine anyone’s going to be happy with Raeger after it’s the sound of his name being shouted through the center of town.]

Ugh.

[He pushes himself out of bed hard enough to let gravity do the rest of the work for him, slumping to his feet and going to the window. It’s already open, because it’s been hot as hell lately in Oak Tree, and Raeger had been hoping to let some cool night air in while he slept— even though he unfortunately slept in a little too long to catch it and close it before the sun started warming everything again.]

[He calls down, slumping on the window sill groggily:] Stop yelling, Fritz. I’ll be down in a minute, just— come in. The front door’s unlocked. You’re going to— [He pauses to yawn.] … bother the whole town.

Raaaaaaaeger— c’mon!

[He finally spots a good sized pebble that might not be too large, maybe, hopefully, scooping it up and settling its weight in his hand, rearing it back to get a shot before noticing Raeger shifting through the curtains and leaning on the windowsill.]

Oh-- hey! [Lets the rock fall from his hand, beaming and already forgetting what he’d been about to do.]

G’morning, Raeger!♪ Don’t worry about that, I think you’re just about the only person still asleep, heh— [Bends down to grab the bag he’d carried over, hefting it back to his shoulder and beaming widely up at Raeger and yelling too loudly as he goes.] I’ll be right up! Just make sure you’re decent before I come up and see ya in your skivvies!♪

[fritzled]

plain--wayne‌:

[Blinks once, thoroughly impressed with Fritz’s athleticism.] Ya got up there like that with just this box and that nail? [Smiles.] Well, I’ll be darned. 

Let’s see here– [Walks over to the box of rocks and pulls it forward, biting his lower lip at just how heavy it is.] Now that seems a little too risky. Hmm–oh! [Nods at a small wooden chair and tugs it towards himself, positioning it beneath the attic hole.]

[He looks up hopefully to Fritz.] Think you can land on this? I’ll stand right here ta make sure ya don’t fall. ♪ ‘Less you got a ladder ‘round here somewhere?

Heck yeah! [Grins toothily, chest puffing up with pride and rambling as the other man tries moving the box.] Took a lot of practice to get good at— and pleeenty of bruises— but let me tell you... totally worth it! Nothing can stop ol’ Fritz from getting up to anywhere now!

[Leans forward to judge the distance of the chair with a thoughtful hand to his chin before grinning again.] Oh yeah that should be perfect, thanks a bunch!

[Turns to steady himself for a drop, leaning his head over the side and gesturing to himself with his thumb as he bounces back between his own tracks for his wild train of thought.] That’s me, by the way— I’m Fritz. Fritz without a ladder currently, heh, ‘cause I can’t seem to find it. If ya wanna make sure I drop down right that’d be swell, uh, what’s your name, then?♪

[fritzled]

plain--wayne‌:

[Blinks once after hearing the man’s voice on the other side of the door–but he opens it nonetheless with a bounce in his step.]

Hey–woah! [Stops dead in his tracks right before the clutter. He looks up and sees Fritz at the edge of his attic.] You alright, captain? How’dja git up there like that?

Heh, yeah, watch your step! I got a lot of valuable things right there—

[Leans onto his elbows with his feet dangling down, eyes already analyzing his options in getting down.]

Oh, you know— parkour! But I gotta say, it’s easier gettin’ up than down, heh.

[Gestures towards the far edge.] I climbed onto that box over there of rocks, jumped up onto the broken fridge, crossed the gap with my foot up on the nail sticking out of the wall - from there it was just hefting myself up.♪ [Flexes an arm, patting the uh, slight muscle.]

Could do it again, but-- that nail already felt pretty unsteady. [Scratches his nose as he turns a smile back to the postman.] Say, you see any easy way down from where you are? I could probably make the drop if any of those boxes there look steady enough!