Vierapril 2025 Day 27

[gaiages]

Vierapril Day 27 - Fix
Rebuild

It might be best to realize the limits of your abilities... before you hurt yourself.

Rating: General Audiences

1,091 words
Relationship(s) / Characters: A / B ; A & B
Tags: Post-MSQ ; DIY ; rebuilding
CWs: none

The boys don't know how to build things. They think they do, and thus, chaos ensues.

(It makes sense, though... Wood Warders wouldn't exactly need to build furniture or houses, and afterwards they never really had to... think of such things. But they need to learn the hard way. Because of course they do.)

Other links: Tumblr | AO3

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"What did the carpenter say to do again?"

Laurent pokes his head up from under the bar, sawdust covering his hair and ears. "What do you mean?"

"I mean…" Gale gestures towards a mishmash set of wooden planks. "The carpenter gave me this for… something."

"If I had to wager a guess, it's to repair something."

Gale gives Laurent an annoyed look. "Very astute. But for what?"

Laurent matches his husband's expression. "I don't know, I wasn't there."

"You're the Archon, Reyna, you're smart. Surely you can figure it out."

"I'm not the Archon of Wood, Eir."

"Are you sure about that? Because last night—"

Laurent sighs and returns his attention to fixing the bar, the sound of the hammer bringing a blunt end to the conversation.

Gale chuckles, then looks back at the planks while tapping his finger against his lips and casting his gaze over the old bar. Much of it needed repairs—given how long they were forced to leave and Rabanatre's general state, this was to be expected. But the structure was still sound and solid, so they could fix what was lost and make it into a new home for themselves.

Granted, even if Gemna's bar were nothing more than rubble, they still wouldn't abandon it or live anywhere else.

Eventually, Gale's gaze lands on the stairs. They were useable but by no means safe, and the planks matched the general length of the steps.

"Ah, that's right, they're meant to replace the stairs. My love, would—"

"I'm busy," Laurent growls as he struggles to remove a nail from the bar, presumably missing the mark with his annoyed hammering earlier.

"…Very well, then. I'll take care of the stairs by myself." Gale walks around the bar to grab the other hammer, gently kissing his husband on the top of his head before walking back and picking up a plank. "How hard can it be, anyway?"

** **

"Eir…"

Laurent stares at the steps—or, more accurately, what used to be steps—before looking at Gale with an exasperated expression. "What in the seven hells did you do to the stairs?"

Gale crosses his arms in a huff. "I fixed them, of course!"

"Fixed them?"

"Yes! Did you think I spent the whole day doing nothing?"

"…Did you try to go upstairs yet?"

Gale frowns, brow furrowed. "I thought you'd want to go upstairs and rest. I was going to let you do the honors!"

"I insist you head up first, my love. I'll be right behind you."

Laurent's husband continues to frown at him before tsking. "I can't believe you can't trust my handiwork!" Gale climbs up two steps before looking back at Laurent with a smirk. "You've never seen sturdier stairs in your li—"

The third step gives away with a thunderous snap, sending Gale's leg through the resulting hole. He curses under his breath and attempts to free himself, but the second step groans concernedly under his full weight. Gale stops and is forced to look back helplessly at Laurent while stuck in the trap of his own making.

"I thought they were the sturdiest steps I've ever seen." Laurent's eyes sparkle in amusement while watching Gale struggle in his predicament.

"You could have told me the third step was cracked!"

"Would you have believed me?"

"…Can you just help me out of this already? I can't move."

"To think that a flight of stairs would fell the Warrior of Light." Laurent chuckles as Gale glares at him, and he finally holds his arms out and leans toward Gale so he can support his weight. With a bit of a struggle, Gale frees his leg, but the second step can no longer handle the Viera's abuse and begins snapping, making ready to also give way.

"Hells—"

Laurent yanks Gale down from the stairs before the second step cracks completely. With the danger behind them, Laurent looks at the damage and fails to suppress a laugh.

Gale scowls at him as he nurses his scraped shin. "Like your work is that much better."

"Well, I didn't fall through the bar."

"Maybe you should stand on it, then." Gale stands back up, scrapes healed with his conjury, and looks at Laurent expectantly.

"…Why would I stand on it? That's not what a bar's for—unlike a set of stairs."

"Fine, just lean on it, then." Gale lightly slaps the bar's countertop, and the structure sways a bit from the impact.

"Don't do that, you'll…" Laurent trails off, and his husband narrows his eyes with a smirk.

"I'll what? Break it, perhaps? Surely, it can stand the weight of one man against it. Unless you don't trust your own handiwork?"

Laurent stares at Gale with a frown and eventually huffs. "Fine. I'll show you how stable it is." He turns his back to the bar and very gingerly begins to lean against it. He feels the wood tilt with him, but eventually it stops moving, and Laurent lets out a breath he didn't realize he was holding. He turns to Gale with a triumphant expression. "See—"

Before Laurent could even begin his brag, his weight shifting from the turn was too much for the bar, and it promptly collapsed, taking the Viera with it. Gale watches as Laurent is covered in a new cloud of sawdust and covers his mouth as he giggles. "My, that was more spectacular than I imagined."

When the dust settles, Gale holds out his hand to help Laurent up and wipes some of the sawdust off his with his sleeve. "I'd say your bar is less of a death trap, but it's infinitely more… useless." Gale chuckles and then begins to look Laurent up and down. "Any scrapes?"

"…No…" Laurent crosses his arms and turns away from Gale.

"Stop being difficult." Gale grabs Laurent's left arm and wipes the dust off the scrape on it, causing Laurent to grimace.

"That hurts—"

"You'll survive." Gale quickly heals the wound, then looks around the old bar with a sigh. "I daresay we made things worse."

"…We should ask the carpenter to do this."

"…I agree. I'll make him some food or something… after we get the stone smiths to rebuild the kitchen…" Gale sighs again. "Perhaps we're not… very good at fixing things."

Laurent mumbles something under his breath as he brushes sawdust off his shirt, and Gale smiles at him. "Go and draw a bath, my love, I'll be along shortly. Let me sweep up the dust, seeing as we'll be sleeping down here tonight…"

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