[ wow wowwow. thanks for having shiro’s back, abel. guess shiro will be the mvp here and… get conned. swindled once, swindled twice – if he gets swindled a third time, can he call it quits and go home? isn’t that how the three strikes rule works? ]

That’s works for me.

[ it’s not like shiro actually minds anyway. again, he hypes himself up with the i’m a fucking astronaut yada yada and takes a long sip from his hot cocoa ( only mildly burning his tongue, thanks ). it’s only a ladder. not even up that high. abel seems trustworthy enough to hold it steady.

setting his mug down on the cardboard box of a who knows what, shiro bids farewell to the hot cocoa that will be cold cocoa by the time he returns to it and then grabs the ladder. ]

We have two – three hours until sunset. [ okay. and? he frowns, looking at the ladder, rather than at abel. ] If we work smart, we should be able to get everything set up before we freeze. [ and it’s not like mrs. flanagan can actually keep them here. shiro just hates the thought pf disappointing a totally fake sweet old lady right before christmas. ]

‘Tis the season of giving and all that. [ finally, forces a smile, looking to abel. ] This’ll be our good deed for Christmas. It’ll be fine. [ famous last words. by the way, that ladder? it looks like it belongs in a cartoon. what century is this thing from??

god. shiro is going to fall and break his neck, isn’t he? abel… abel please help him as shiro works on angling the top of the ladder against the roofline. ]