fh_trips | Nine Hundred Ninety-Nine Feet Below Fandom, Monday

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bde summer 2021: donut holes

Nine Hundred Ninety-Nine Feet Below Fandom, Monday

Monday dawned bright and hot -- up on the surface, anyway. Down in the hole, with no sun to indicate the passage of time, Monday started no different from any other day.

Well, there was the part where Travis was constructing a careful little mound of scrap wood in approximately the center of the clearing between the hole-d buildings, anyway. After unsuccessfully trying to dig out through the rocks, he was back to trying to make the best of things, and right now he'd decided that involved providing light using something more than various emergency lanterns.

Fires could be cheerful too, right? And hey, maybe if they built up enough smoke, it would vent out through the holes up above and help folks up there figure out where the hell people were ending up. . . .

[open!]

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Building a campfire wasn't quite the same without someone over your shoulder telling you you needed to make a little teepee. No, a teepee! Here, let them do it, you're doing it wrong, Travis. . . .

He was not building a teepee, imaginary friend, he was building a log cabin, it would burn longer that way. So there.

Dwight watched Travis work on building up the wood in the makeshift fire pit. Guy clearly knew his stuff.

"You seem to have this all well under control," he said as he walked up. "But do you need any else? More wood or tinder or anything?"

Travis looked at the little campfire, then up at Dwight.

"Do you have any marshmallows?"

It would be a sad campfire indeed if no one made any s'mores.

"Pretty sure either the Bowling Alley or the ice cream shop would have some- pretty sure they would use marshmallows on the sundaes and such, right?" he asked, suddenly aware of just how few sundaes he had had in his life.

"Anyways I can go scrounge around and see what I can find. Anything else I should root around for while I'm at it? Matches, more wood, a signal flare, elevator that leads out of the hole..." Dwight gave a soft chuckle, hoping to lighten the mood at least a little.

"I definitely won't mind if you find that last one. But I've got the fire stuff taken care of. Ooo! Unless you can find some skewers for marshmallow roasting."

"Will see what I can round up for ya, Travis." Dwight paused for a moment before speaking again. "And thanks man, for everything you're doing to keep us together and safe down here." Dwight gave him a slight smile. "We're gonna figure this all out."

Travis huffed softly and smiled up at him. "I'm trying. I figure it's this or go crazy, you know?"

He was definitely maybe going crazy.

"Well after we get the fire situation all figured out and have everything we need for those s'mores, maybe it's time for Travis to take a little R&R" Dwight said simply.

He had seen first hand what could happen when soldiers spent days and weeks at a time under high pressure with no way to deal with it or let off steam effectively. It usually didn't end well, and he didn't want to see that happen to Travis- or anyone else for that matter.

"It ya want to take a break and talk or anything, I'll be around. I'm sure you can find me, even among this growing lot we got down here" he added with a slight chuckle.

"R&R," Travis said. "Dwight, we're in a hole."

Where was he supposed to get rest and relaxation down here?

"Well, I'm pretty sure Hannibal has a sauna, there's a cute kitten running around the place, and he also has beds. Actual, like beds, which he's opened up to anyone who needs to crash for a bit." Dwight gave a soft sigh a rubbed the back of his head. "I'm not saying to not worry and stress. Just, try to relax, even for just a few minutes. Can't hurt," he said with a shrug.

"Fire station has beds," Travis pointed out. "You know I live there, right?" He shook his head. "I'm not going to use a sauna when we have limited potable water." The man had been sponge bathing for a week over here. "And I've totally taken time off. Like, multiple times."

Those were sad lump days. And anyway, if his husband telling him not to worry had barely worked when they were on a tropical vacation, Dwight stood little chance of managing it when they were all stuck in a hole.

"Are we meant to be having a cookout?" Hannibal asked. "Or were you going to practice your skills in putting it out, or did you merely feel like making a fire?"

"We are . . . having a fire," Travis said. "If Dwight manages to find marshmallows, we'll even have s'mores. And, I don't know, maybe if smoke starts coming out of the holes when they open up, people in Fandom will be able to find us easier."

Mostly, he'd been giving himself something to do.

Hannibal nodded. "It couldn't hurt." The cavern was tall enough for the smoke not to smother them, anyway. Which to be fair to Travis, he had probably taken into consideration.

"I have some marshmallows," he said. "And if Dwight can't find more, I can make them."

Travis had, in fact, taken that into consideration. He was not about to try choking them all out with smoke inhalation.

(He'd need at least another week or so in here before he started considering anything like that.)

"Great. We can have a good old fashioned campfire then. Break up some of the monotony down here."

Hannibal nodded. "I'll be right back."

One perk of this hole was that home was never terribly far away. He went into the kitchen cupboard and found the tupperware of homemade marshmallows - some vanilla, some chocolate, some almond, some strawberry - and picked them up, along with metal skewers. He met Dwight on the way out, and he gave him cheap bagged marshmallows he'd gotten from the ice cream store.

Hannibal brought all of these back to Travis. "I believe we're set."

"I guess we are. We should let Dwight know, I asked him to look for this stuff."

"Ah, the store-bought ones are from Dwight," Hannibal explained. "We passed on my way here. You mentioned s'mores, but I don't know that I have the proper form of chocolate, only bars for baking. I could make some, though, if you're set on them."

[Dwight modded with permission in case he can't get on tonight!]

“I’ve got chocolate bars in the station,” Travis assured him. “They’re good for when you need a quick burst of extra energy on a long shift. Graham crackers too, since we didn’t try to use them for a pie crust.”

Hannibal nodded. "Shall I start some marshmallows and watch the fire, then?"

“Watch the — oh, while I go get the s’mores stuff. Sure, thanks.”

It wasn't like it was going anywhere, but Hannibal's home was down here, and fire was fire.

"You're welcome." He started searching for the best place to put the skewers if people didn't want to hold them.

Hannibal...had not been on many traditional camping trips, no.

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