For a long time, Velma had been eying two of the tree's that lived in the back yard. Maybe a time as she tended to her butterfly bushes and other garden companions she found herself sizing up those two trees. Unable to stand it anymore, she had bought it.
Measuring the steps between the two parallel trees, she smiled as the numbers added up. Taking a few more measurements, her eyes twinkled at the possibilities.
"This is the best idea."
She talked to herself, since everyone had occupied themselves somewhere else in the nice day. So she found herself alone to unravel her diabolical plan. Walking back, she found the box she had bought earlier waiting for her. Like a Christmas present, it sat there waiting to be ripped open and used. Though she already knew what was inside, the excitement was still there.
With great care, she used her pocket knife and carved the tape open to split the great box open, showing her the guts of her project. With wiggling giddy fingers, her hands clasped upon something. It rustled as she brought the paper out and held it where the sun could give her the instructions. Not that she couldn't figure it out, but she always liked reading the instructions before she started anything. Though it mattered little if she actually followed it's advice, depending on the venture.
Bringing up a thumb, she chewed upon it as her eyes glazed over the words. Soaking up ever bit of information that she could squeeze out of the simple piece of paper. She was in her own little world, as she commonly became when reading something that had information to glean from.
The paper took little time to finish twice over as her head was brought back to the box and it's contents inside. With a giggle, she grabbed the first part. Standing up, she traveled to the two trees. Squinting, she eyeballed it, though using her own height she figured where she had to place it... the trouble was the fact it was almost two feet above her.
"Looks like you need a hand."
Squealing, Velma jumped at the sudden voice behind her she had been so occupied with the paper and the first component that she didn't notice someone was sneaking behind her. Turning around, she found Shaggy with a goofy grin peering into her secret box.
"... I though, Like' you were up to something."
"I'm not up to nothing..." Velma stuttered in her defense, feeling thrown off with his sudden appearance. Usually she was pretty good, but since she had been so distracted he got the drop on her.
"Ah, I remember you explaining this before." He placed his hand to his chin and tried to look studious. He just ended up looking silly, but at least he tried. "A not, with a negative like word, equals the fact that you're up to something. Am I right?" His eyes wiggled in delight. He had been paying attention and not everything Velma said got past him... just most of it.
Velma blushed and turned away. He had caught her and she had not been prepared with a witty enough response to escape the claim of the truth. She gave a laugh and turned back around after composing herself.
"...You got me. I plan to set that up." She said pointing at the box.
"That makes sense. I have seen you looking at those trees lately with that far off look you get when you have something on your mind. And frankly I think it's a great idea. Let me feed Rex and I'll be right there to give you a hand."
Velma watched Shaggy trot off to feed his Venus fly trap he had named 'Rex'. She had always enjoyed his and Scoobys company when she worked in the garden, and it was nice to have someone else enjoy the back yard in the same way she did, at least plant wise. Though it surprised her at first to know that Shaggy was such a green thumb. But then again, most food grew, and ever since that project they worked on together he's been a green nut.
It took Shaggy little time to feed his plant and then return. Moving up, he eyed the tree and the little part she held in her hand.
"So, what can I do?" He asked, looking down at her.
"Well, this." She held up the little bit of metal and showed it to him. Though it seemed kind of small, the thickness gave the image that it would be able to stand a lot more then it looked like it could. "We need to put it about six feet off the ground. But you might have to make a small hole before you want to screw it into place."
Handing the piece to Shaggy, Velma went back to the box were she also had brought out her tool box. Flipping it open, she pushed about things in the box till she found what she needed. In her hands, the drill looked larger then she should be using, but she preferred the higher power motor that the larger models had rather then the smaller ones she had in the past burnt out.
"Here." Going back to where Shaggy was, she handed him the drill. It had the right size drill bit in there already, so all he had to do was make a small hole first. Shaggy looked at the drill with a bit of hesitation. He wasn't as good with tools as Velma or Fred seemed to be. Sure, he knew how to use them, but being actually good with them was not really his thing. Well, unless it was being used to mix some batter... But that really wasn't the main use of a drill.
Giving her a look, she nodded. Shrugging, he turned to the tree and tried to place the drill against the bark.
VZZZZZZZzzzzzzzztttt...
The drill hummed with intimidation. With a sigh, knowing that Velma would just nod at him if he looked over at her again, he gave it his best shot.
Vzzzzzzzzttt--Churrrrrggggg
The drill as it was pressed against the wood seemed to be winning at first, but the Shaggy's grip slipped and so did the drill. He didn't get hurt, but the bark went splintering off in random directions as it dug a line across the side of the tree.
"Ooops, heh. Sorry." He apologized but the second and third results were not to much different. Looking back to Velma, he looked helpless. With patience, she knew Shaggy wasn't exactly tool savvy.
"Here, let me show you."
Offering her hand out, Shaggy placed the large tool into her palm. Grasping the tool with the ease of experience, she placed her one hand on the grip and the other felt inot place on the back of the drill. A line was made from the tip of the drill, down the top part and ended at her top hand.
"See, the key is the top hand here. That is what helps create a continual and direct pressure to guide the drill into the wood. Without it, the drill will tend to angle and drift off in other direction like what you did."
Looking up from where she had gone into instructor mode, she found herself talking to air. She was about to look around when Shaggy seemed to have came up behind her while she talked and lifted her off the ground effortlessly.
"Hey, what the..." She tried to turn around but Shaggy held her tightly but gently enough not to hurt her. He had plenty of experience carrying the whole gang on many occasions, so just holding up Velma was a cinch.
"Well, you know how to do it, I'll be the height." She could tell he was smiling. She hung her head for a second and laughed. Well, at least she knew she would do it the right way. "...Wait, let's try this..."
Before she knew it, she was being lifted higher and carefully placed upon Shaggys shoulders. Thankfully, she had worn shorts for the occasion, or she would have been far more flustered then she was becoming.
"There!" Shaggy seemed pleased with himself. Although it did give her the extra height, it was a little bit too much for what she needed to do.
"Uh... Shaggy."
"Yeah Velms?"
"...I'm to high, I can't reach unless I lean over your head. And well, Um, that isn't going to work." Forces of gravity would not be her friend if she had decided to try to lean over.
"Hm, true. That would be hard. Alright, let's try this..."
"Wait!"
Ignoring her holler for hesitation, he reached up, grabbing her by the waist and pulled her up and over his head. Crossing her arms, she sighed as he moved her from side to side trying to figure out how to make it work. She even was turned towards him at some point, but he didn't seem to notice her slightly miffed expression before turning her back to face the tree. Reaching to make a crook with his arm, he placed her sitting by his elbow before rocking her back into the sling he had made with his interlaced hands. Her behind had slid back, resting her back against his chest. His hands settled by her knees as she was in a human swing.
"Are you done?" She asked still flustered.
"Can you reach it from here?" He asked, almost ignoring her question. Looking forward, she found herself a bit below the drill mark, but it was easier to reach up then it would have been to reach down. Sighing, she could reach it.
"..Yes."
"Good!" He said cheerily. She sighed again. Sometimes there was no way to explain to him that these kinds of things were a tad bit odd, being wiggled around in the air without her consent. Though since it did serve the purpose she needed, she decided to look past it. He moved forward and she was able to reach the spot he had been trying to drill.
Vzzzzttt--Churrrggg
Even though she had shown him the 'right' way to use the drill, on her first attempt she herself missed. Shaggy chuckled behind her, making her shake a bit in his arms. She got flushed in the face from annoyance.
"Not A WORD..." She grumbled, which made him chuckle more.
"I didn't say anything."
She scowled and then put her back into the drill to press it into place. With a whir, the drill moved how it was supposed to and bit into the wood. After a bit oft he drill bit disappeared, she pulled it out so the hole got fully carved out. When the drill stopped, Shaggy turned and headed to the other side. He stayed tilted sideway so Velma could eye the height before she nodded and He turned fully so she was able to drill the second hole. The drill slide in easily into the wood and took a lot less time to get the same sized hole. Plus it also looked a lot nicer.
With the holes drilled, Shaggy let Velma down. Moving back to the first tree, he picked the discarded object from before and moved it up to the hole. With a grunt, he twisted the metal loop around in circles till the screw end grabbed all the way down the hole and held the loop in place. Velma wandered to get the partner to the other loop and handed it to Shaggy as he moved to the second tree and attached the loop as well.
Shaggy heard a rustle as Velma picked up the paper and looked over the next set of instructions. She looked back into the box and started to tug on the rest of the contents. Shaggy wandered to her side and peered over her shoulder for a bit before he leaned over and gave her a hand. He held the box down as she pulled the rest of the project out.
"Oof!" Velma gave a grunt and lost one hand's grip upon the thing she was hauling and her elbow came up sharply into Shaggys chin. It made a resounding crack as she hit him squarely. Rocketing to a full standing position, Shaggy hovered in the air before falling over from the impact.
"Shaggy!" Velma turned and leaned over her hurt companion. Worry filled her eyes as she fussed over him, trying to see if he was ok? He was stunned for a bit, and saw stars before they cleared and he found her looking over him.
"Nice shot." A hand came up and rubbed the bottom of his aching chin. It was going to be sore for a while, but he smiled none the less. She always had a killer right.
"You had me worried there." She reached down and effortlessly helped him to his feet. He grinned at her as he regained his footing.
"Then next time don't try to take off my chin. I need this for eating." He moved and got on the other side of the box, away from her deadly elbow. She shook her head, happy he was ok and quipping right back at her.
"Like that would ever stop you from eating anyway."
She tugged upwards and with his help form the other side the binding came loose and the rest of her project flopped out. Surprisingly, she found that a bunch of the steps had already been done off the instructions and basically all they had to do was attach it to the hooks they already had in place. Each grabbing a side, they pulled it apart and stretched it between them. It was probably between ten to thirteen feet long from tip to tip. With a shuffle sideways, they walked to the trees.
Using Shaggys height, he easily clipped his side into place before coming to where Velma had been holding her side and took it from her to put into the other loop. It snapped into place like the other side with a resounding click.
Stepping back, they looked over their handwork. They had just put up their first hammock.
"First dibs!" Shaggy shouted suddenly, dashing forward and taking a leap into the canvas material that was stretched between the two trees. With a circumference of several feet, the trees barely moved as his weight got placed between them suddenly.
"Hey!" Velma barked in protest, giving chase and bounding upon the hammock right behind him. It soon became a shoving match, as each tried to get enough room, while trying to push the other off. The hammock rocked violently, but did little to stop the antics. With a final shove, Velma had gotten Shaggy to the edge and pushed him off. The Hammock rocked back and forth as Shaggy thudded softly to the ground. With his height, he didn't have far to fall when the hammock had dipped and leaned almost sideways at the time of his exit.
Slowly, the hammock rocked to a slight sway, as a burst of laughter sounded off from Shaggys place of defeat on the floor underneath her.
"You won this time Velms. But I'll get you back. I like' promise you that." He challenged, though not all that seriously as he was still laughing. She was out of breath, but laughing as well as she had been triumphant for kicking him off. And obviously he was fine where he had fallen.
"Bring it on Norville, I'll be waiting." She joked, using his real name. He gave the hammock a kick from below, making her yelp at the sudden motion which made him laugh again.
"I accept."
With his triumphant excimation she settled into the hammock to enjoy the gentle swaying that the light breeze was causing. Shaggy had seemed to settle under her with no protest. As the sounds of the day settled into a light harmony, she seeemd to drift off to sleep. She felt comfortable, knowing that he was there.