Hannibal's house, Sunday

[sharp_as_knives]

Neither Hannibal nor Jono had wanted to camp this weekend, nor was either of them a particularly Easter-prone person, so a quiet day at home it was.

Or it would have been, except that Hannibal had finally gotten the last of the quotes from the contractors the other day. He now had several different designs of sauna to contemplate, as well as a selection of quotes for various heated-floor options.

His folder was fuller than it had been last week, though hopefully Jono was in a better frame of mind to deal with it. (And pay for it, because good lord.)

He'd better be, because Hannibal was coming at him with it now. And coffee, at least.

Oh, Jono...


[OOC: For him who's mentioned, though open for calls or whatnot, sure!]

Comments

[furnaceface]

Here would be where Jono was going to blink, and then just blatantly smirk, yes.

//Here, let's see his quote, then. He sounds like a... some manner of slug after my own heart.//

Poor bloke probably heard escargot jokes all the bloody time.

[sharp_as_knives]

Well, he didn't hear them on his own world much; only when he went other places.

Hannibal flipped a few pages over until he found the right one. "Here." He handed Jono that, then went digging for the sauna estimates.

[furnaceface]

Jono figured escargot and salt jokes were probably the worst things the guy had to deal with when working away from home. He nodded, taking the offered page and looking it over.

It... wasn't too bad. Maybe? He could certainly afford it, at any rate.

Okay, that didn't make it less bad.

//Ah.// Well. Maybe he just wasn't looking at it the right way. Maybe the trick was looking at it like somebody who had always had money, instead? //And you say he does good work?//

[sharp_as_knives]

Hannibal waved toward the conservatory. "You can see for yourself," he pointed out. Not that Jono had probably been concentrating on the architecture when he'd been in there.

[furnaceface]

Noooot particularly, no.

//... True enough.// He glanced that direction, and then leaned sideways to look at some of the other quotes. //Any of them come with samples of their work, or... reviews or anything?//

Jono had no idea what he was doing.

[sharp_as_knives]

"References." Hannibal held them so Jono could see. "The main contractor on the house listed several for me." He stretched out a bit, giving Jono a better angle as well as more room to cuddle, if he were so inclined.

[furnaceface]

And, really, Jono was always so inclined. He reached for that sheet of paper and blinked at it, too.

//How did you end up settling on the, er, the gentleman who did the conservatory?//

[sharp_as_knives]

"I hadn't," Hannibal said. "I was only pointing out that I knew his work." He picked up his coffee for a sip. "He's the only one I've met personally."

[furnaceface]

//Oh, no... I meant... when you had him do renovations before,// Jono explained, tilting his head and closing his eyes a little as he shamelessly (there was nothing to be ashamed of) helped himself to that excellent sense of taste of Hannibal's.

Ah, coffee. Never stop being wonderful.

//I've never picked a contractor before. Hell, I was the one Troy hired to renovate th'Boards before it was passed along to me.//

[sharp_as_knives]

"Ah, I see." Hannibal nodded. "The main contractor hired him. I wanted to get things done more quickly than his usual crew could, so he hired subcontractors for some parts." He smirked at Jono. "But if you've got experience, maybe you should do this yourself."

He wasn't going to let that happen.

[furnaceface]

//Oh, that'd work out wonderfully if you wanted me to be tearing up your floors for years,// Jono replied, shaking his head, clearly amused. //I don't think I'd do that to your house, mate. I'm still mostly surprised that you went looking for quotes in the first place.//

It was a pleasant sort of surprise, mind. Even if Jono was well aware that he'd be handling the bill.

//Anyway, I'd be an excellent choice if you wanted new carpeting and theatre lighting and seating installed. Not anything involving heat.//

[sharp_as_knives]

Hannibal chuckled. "A contractor it is, then." He shrugged. "And it's little trouble to look up the information. I'm not opposed to the heating, I just hadn't thought it important enough for the inconvenience. If you think it is, I'm happy to indulge you. So long as it doesn't take too long to complete."

Those were the quotes he'd tossed immediately.

[furnaceface]

//It seemed more important a few weeks ago, when the knowledge that we were both prone to turning into highly venomous snakes who don't like cold floors in the least was a little more fresh in my mind,// Jono admitted, scratching the back of his neck. //Not that I think you're out to get me when you're a cobra or anything, but accidents happen, instincts are a nasty thing, and I've already bitten Karla once before.//

... Seriously, though. Who in the world started squealing at the terribly disoriented viper and then got surprised when they wound up with a set of teeth buried in them, anyway?

[sharp_as_knives]

"Who is none the worse for wear, and you've never bitten me," Hannibal pointed out. Then again, Hannibal hadn't squealed at him. "But I distinctly remember the argument that my floors were always too cold, snake or not," he added archly, "or have you changed your mind about that?"

[furnaceface]

//There can be practical reasons that go hand-in-hand with me being an utter brat,// Jono pointed out, winking. //If it's too much trouble, though, I'll understand, mate. It isn't even my house, after all.//

But the flooooooors.

[sharp_as_knives]

"You spend enough time here," Hannibal answered with a shrug. "If it can be done quickly enough, I can live with it." But the faster you wanted it done, the more expensive it was. If Jono cared about that.

[furnaceface]

//You know, I'd say you spoil me, but I'm pretty certain I'm going to be handling the bill,// Jono teased, leaning sideways to cuddle up against Hannibal a little more. //Maybe I'm spoiling myself, to your temporary minor inconvenience, and you get to reap the benefits after construction is through.//

A beat.

//Have you got any preference for the sauna design?//

[sharp_as_knives]

"Whichever way you prefer to look at it," Hannibal agreed equably. He put an arm around Jono and spread the folder out over both their laps. "There were a few designs I liked. This one," he turned it so Jono could see, "would leave a somewhat odd-shaped studio, but plenty of room for both that and the sauna. It would involve, apart from putting in the sauna itself and insulating the wall between the two, a sort of airlock between the sauna and the hallway, and breaking through the wall at the end for a door to the studio. It was already designed for that, fortunately, since the original plans came with an optional elevator."

[furnaceface]

//This is far more fun than an elevator,// Jono decreed, looking down at the contents of the folder - Joni was now helping, stretching out from the part of Jonothon's lap she'd previously claimed in order to rest a paw on the paper - and nodding thoughtfully. //And odd-shaped rooms can be worked with. Maybe put some extra shelving over there to help split the difference or something.//

[sharp_as_knives]

Hannibal chuckled and rubbed Joni's head again. "Shelving is good. And I'm willing to deal with an odd shape for the sake of two windowed nooks."

[furnaceface]

//One for each cat?//

Jono was grinning now, yes. Joni was purring up into Hannibal's touch, and Jono was reaching down to poke at the little jellybeans on the bottom of the paw that was trying to claim the papers.

//They'll certainly appreciate it.//

[sharp_as_knives]

"Not likely," Hannibal answered dryly. "Beethoven will claim one for his own, and then this little devil will join him. No matter which one he claims."

And if he switched, so would she.

[furnaceface]

She loved him! Him, and how much he hated her!

//Thus leaving the other one for the two of us, hm? Brilliant thinking, mate.//

Let's be real, though. The moment Jono and Hannibal were comfortable in the other nook, both the cats would be along shortly to join them.

[sharp_as_knives]

Very likely, yes.

"For as long as that would last."

And to be fair, Beethoven hated pretty much everybody except for Hannibal and occasionally Jono.

[furnaceface]

And Jono usually only when Hannibal wasn't around to witness it. To be contrary.

//I'd give it all of three minutes. But just imagine how blissful those three minutes would be before the cats showed up to scuffle over lap space.//