Naps
by Rose Starin

Sayings Selected:
7. Handyman's Creed: If at first you don't succeed, use a bigger tool.
9. I can fix anything! Where's the duct tape?

~*~

He was jolted out of a well-deserved nap, if he said so himself (which he did), by a series of load crashes and bangs. Disoriented, he would have fallen back asleep had there not been a lingering silence. That meant something was wrong. This meant that he had to get up and find out what disaster had befallen them this time. And when he said "them", he meant himself.

He was decidingly not-happy when he walked, er, stumbled into the living room/common room of the single floor building they'd bought for their vacation time, rather short as it was. His bandmates were surrounding an electrical disaster, each one with a different tool, from a small screwdriver and hammer to a large screwdriver and hammer. He sighed.

"Would anyone care to explain?" They all looked up sheepishly, something he found oddly disturbing, even after all these years. "No, don't all talk at once. One at a time, please."

Nick rubbed the back of his head with one hand while the other fiddled with the hammer he was holding. "We were just setting up the Playstation. The stand fell apart."

That explained the crashes then. He could feel the beginnings of another migraine tugging at the edges of the one he already had. "And...?"

Just silence as thy all fiddled with their various tools. Amazing how grown men could revert back to guilty little children so quickly, he mused. He didn't want to deal with this, he'd just wanted a nap. He didn't want to play his role today, just not today. He sighed again.

His cousin looked upset, his face downcast and his shoulders hunched over. He looked like a sad, meiserable puppy that had just been kicked. He felt like kicking himself as he felt himself giving in again.

"Let me have a look at it." He moved over to the mess on the floor, pretending not to have seen the look that passed between the two younger members on the group. They were planning something. Again. Idiots, every one of them, but he still loved them. At least, he would later.

His cousin moved over to make room for him on the floor and he knelt next to the tower of cheap plywood and selctronics. Moving the game system and the other elecronical equipment (the tv wasn't broken, thank heavens) out of the way, he set about looking at the stand itself. Cheap department store buy, the last set of owners to the place obviously hadn't bothered to find something that wasn't shoddy quality.

Yep, there was the problem; stripped screws. With the weight of all of the electronics on top of it, the screws had just popped out, hense the loud series of crashes and bangs that had stolen his well deserved nap. He bit back a growl. No need to upset them anymore. Besides, he didn't need a third migraine on top of the other two.

"Where's the duck tape?" He blinked in surprise when the roll appeared in front of his face before he'd even stopped speaking. He glared at the tattoo freak holding it, who was smirking.

"Face it, Kev, you're predictable."

He just took the roll of tape and ignored him as he went to work rebuilding the stand. Sometimes he could just hurt the boy....

"Ya know, I saw a tee-shirt that would be perfect for you, Kev. It's one of those with the sayin's on 'em."

"Oh! I remember that one! It was perfect." Nick spoke up, grateful for the distraction, even, er, especially since it meant picking on Kevin.

And he had to fall for it. "What'd it say?"

"'I can fix anything! Where's the duck tape?'" The group snickered. "See? Perfect!"

He just had to open his mouth. He rolled his eyes, not wanting to stoop to their level of childness once again, but unwilling to leave it at that. He shrugged nonchalantly. "At least it doesn't follow the 'Handyman's Creed'." He got up, brushed off his knees, and went for the TV. His cousin helped him lift it up onto the stand. Not a wiggle. He nodded. They'd go for a new one tomorrow. Right now he was going back to bed.

Nick's curiosity got the best of him by the time Kevin had reached his door. "What's that?"

"'If at first you don't succeed, use a bigger tool.'"

End

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