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 Posted: Tue Sep 12, 2017 7:48 am
When he'd called to get an estimate for fixing his window and door, he'd been told the earliest the repairman could get there would be Saturday.
Saturday.
Not only were their (and every other company's suggested by Google) services overpriced, but they expected him to go four days with a broken window and a door that practically hung from off its hinges?? The damned cat, it was always the damned cat had caused enough ruckus as it was with the food pantries but this one took the cake. Whatever had gotten into the moody beast was now going to cost him big time because he needed them fixed, especially before the big rain was due to come in over the next few days.
Crap.
Desperate times called for desperate measures, which was how Robert Banks found himself pulling up Craigslist, a site he'd never been fond of in the first place, to look for a quicker handyman than the professional fix-it folks who wanted to charge an arm and a leg after making him wait nearly one hundred hours.
Numbers were exchanged as he texted the very plain, very non-descriptive ad for Repairman Services and set up an appointment for after work the following day.
Sitting on the couch, he'd ensured that his pepper spray was tucked away in a pocket while he waited for the mystery repair man to show up to his doorsteps. The pay wasn't terrible - cash, he'd been told to have - and he could do it in one night. Rob couldn't ask for much more.... well, except to not get robbed in the process or the s**t beaten out of him.
Rumors liked to spread, when it came to using Craigslist.
Eyes scanned the paperwork in front of him, glancing from time to time towards the open door, the thin screen door being the only thing separating him from the night outdoors. Bugs fluttered by now and again, thanks to the porch light, but otherwise it was a rather quiet evening, thankfully.
Hopefully, if everything went well, it would continue to stay that way.
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Posted: Wed Sep 13, 2017 9:41 am
His ad on craigslist was pretty straightforward. It had a list of his skills and a phone number where the client could text details to and he would quote back and estimate with disclosure that stated the price could change upon seeing the job. All in all it was basic. Simple.
It was also an effective means of obtaining additional jobs that fit into his crazy work filled schedule.
Most jobs were quick and easy, simple fixes that the common man couldn't figure out without having to resort to hours of youtube that would likely result in a bigger mess that required professionals. Kavinsky wasn't a certified professional, but he was a professional in his own opinion. He took pride in the work he did and the skills he acquired over the years of constant tinkering.
It was how his brain worked, everything was a mechanical puzzle he could figure out.
When he got the request from a R. Banks the job seemed simple enough. Broken window and bad door, easy fixes which meant an easy job. Getting to the place wasn't too much of a pain either for a man who didn't have his own vehicle and had to rely on public transport or his own two feet. It wasn't close to the apartment he shared with Ellis but it wasn't far either. About a forty minute walk give or take and it was surprisingly close to the place he had dishwashing shifts at. Only twenty minutes give or take.
He sent a text to let the man know he was on his way and headed there.
Knuckles wrapped on the door, because ******** doorbells, and he waited, tools in hand for the man to let him in.
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Posted: Wed Sep 13, 2017 12:07 pm
In truth, Rob hadn't been certain of who he expected to see walking up the pathway to his house. The letters of the online name seemed more of a jumble than an actual name but, then again, who knew what people's thought processes were behind their internet personas. He preferred things straight and to the point, but alas, using such a name as "Rob Banks" in any fashion seemed to elicit more questions than acceptance.
When the repairman finally arrived after his text, it wasn't some haggard looking older man in search of extra cash, nor was it some questionable homeless man with the demand for his money and personal belongings. No, it was some kid - or an adult who looked barely old enough to drink, if that - trudging along the path with an expression akin to someone having run over his dog.
Great.
He busied himself with putting away his paperwork, half assuming the man would see him through the screen and wait for acknowledgement, half assuming he'd ring the bell.
Angry kid decided to do neither.
Heavy knocks on the door grated on his nerves with every connection the fist made to the wood. The doorbell was right there! It wasn't like it was hidden by some ornate decor, it was as plain as the nose on his own face, christ.
Whatever - as long as things got fixed, right?
A strained smile greeted the young man as Rob abandoned his papers and made his way towards the screen door. Twisting the lock off, he nodded his head as the door opened for the silver haired man.
"K, I take it?"
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Posted: Wed Sep 20, 2017 2:55 pm
It was almost as if Kavinsky could sense that Rob disliked that he was knocking because he knocked harder until the man was actively on his way to the door. It was then, and only then, that his arm dropped to his side and he adjusted the bag of tools over his other shoulder.
Blankly he stared at the well dressed man, his resting face likely one of the bitchiest anyone had the fortune to gaze upon. It didn't get better when he raised a single brow at him when he confirmed who he was.
His expression said it all. Of ******** course I am.
His voice was gruff and low tenor when he did respond. "Kavinsky or K." Either worked as long as whomever was speaking to him didn't attempt to address him by any of his other names. Pietro was dead as far as he was concerned and there was only one person he'd allow to call him that or any variation of it. As Ellis was not the client he was to be dealing with, Kavinsky or K would be fine.
"Where's the window?" Straight to the point and ready to get down to business. If he finished this in a timely manner he might even be able to get a decent amount of sleep before he woke and slugged off to an early job.
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Posted: Wed Sep 20, 2017 5:20 pm
Well he certainly wasn't paying for personality.
"I see."
Rob's sleeves were already rolled up, thanks to his lack of desire when it came to changing clothes after work and finding the long sleeves annoying as he shuffled through waves upon waves of paperwork. He outstretched an arm in offering to the young man out of general need to be friendly - not that his house guest seemed to be on the very friendly side of things.
"Robert Banks."
The other hand moved to gesture towards the kitchen, where the fractured window and broken sill sat above the sink. The damned fat cat had tracked in a fair amount of mud and dirt on his way through the house on top of breaking the damn window... who the hell knew why he even kept the beast around to begin with. "Window's back there. Did you want to take care of the door first, or...?"
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Posted: Wed Sep 20, 2017 8:18 pm
Kavinsky wore what he always wore; a plain colored v-neck, a jean jacket with a hoodie liner, a beanie, jeans, and his work boots. The work boots were the only article of clothing that didn't look increasingly worn. They were the one thing he didn't skim out on or rummage through thrift stores looking for.
Had he known what the older man was thinking he would have told him to ******** right off. He was here to do a job and to do it well, not to chit chat with the man because pleasantries were expected when he just wanted to get a job done.
Silver eyes glanced down at the extended hand before looking to Rob's face. A single arched eyebrow said everything. There would be no handshaking.
"Saw the door, need to see the window so I can quote you appropriately." Better get the talk of money and payment out of the way first. Often Kavinsky knew at a glance how long it would take him to fix something.
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Posted: Wed Sep 20, 2017 9:07 pm
His hand was left hanging, also leaving yet another distasteful sensation in his mouth at how this Kavinsky was handling his business. Sure, he didn't have his practice listed on Angie's List or Yelp and Rob couldn't exactly review Craigslist... but that was no excuse for poor customer service.
Right?
The hand returned to his side, slipping into his trouser's pocket before the lawyer gestured the young man to follow him through the open spaced living room and into the kitchen area.
The house itself was rather plain in appearance. Decor was lacking, but then again Amy had always been the one to add the flowers and paintings and general color to his otherwise drab looking choices. But hey, who cared right? It was just him and Bobby boy now, there wasn't anyone to impress.
Especially when the only house guest he'd had in months was some cocky sonofabitch with repair skills that Rob apparently lacked, else the lawyer would be fixing his stuff himself.
Pausing in the kitchen, he motioned towards the window again before retreating to the nearby fridge. Trying for a second attempt at being hospitable, he opened the door and bent down to stare in the fridge, offering, "Want a drink?"
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Posted: Wed Sep 20, 2017 9:57 pm
If Rob had wanted better customer service he would have been better off hiring someone who, you know, wasn't on Craigslist.
Nowhere in his ad had Kavinsky advertised friendliness. Even the whole ad read curt and to the point. It was the lawyer's fault if he expected anything else.
Foot steps were relatively soft and quiet despite the burlier man they belonged too. He didn't speak as he followed the brunette into the kitchen and even brushed past him without so much as word to examine the window closely. With a grunt he reached out to test what parts of the frame were salvageable or not.
The beast that had forced his way inside had done a number on the poor window for sure.
"S'gonna run you about $325 give or take depending on supplies." That was, depending on who Rob might've gone through otherwise, about a hundred dollars than average. "You need anything from me or can I start?"
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Posted: Wed Sep 20, 2017 10:09 pm
Three hundred bucks to cover a stupid cat's lazy antics. Well, s**t.
"Yeah, that works. I'd prefer to go to bed knowing I have a working front door again, ha."
The laughter at the end of his statement was forced, not that the kid probably cared. The little a** hadn't even bothered to respond to his drink offer, leaving him hanging by the open fridge door as he stared inside at the shelves of leftovers upon leftovers. Whatever.
Forced smile fading, the lawyer moved back towards the living room, making his own path towards the liquor cabinet. The emotionless repairman could dehydrate himself, he was going to have a proper drink while he watched this Craigslist treasure get to work on his belongings.
A rum and coke was fashioned, half of it being tossed back with the first gulp. Curiosity (and the habit of always wanting to poke the figurative bear) had him returning closer to the kitchen, watching the silver haired man work.
Leaning against the counter, he drawled out slowly, "So, you go to school for this sort of thing, K?"
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Posted: Thu Sep 21, 2017 8:28 am
Once the agreement was made, Kavinsky sought to get right to work. Off came his jacket, sleeves pulled off by thick fingers and he folded it, surprisingly carefully, and set in one one of the chairs in the kitchen. Now that the jacket was off, the muscles in his arms had a chance to shine and breathe, if one was into that sort of thing.
Even his back muscles were apparent as he pulled out tool and rummaged through the supplies he had picked up. Hopefully he wouldn't have to make a trek out for supplies and could get it all done in one sitting.
Setting to work was easy and instinctive. He didn't need to think about what he needed to do, he just did.
Unfortunately the decidedly chatty lawyer encroached on his space and started talking at him. K did not want to talk. He wanted to do his work, get paid, and leave.
Still, he answered gruff as ever. "No."
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Posted: Thu Sep 21, 2017 8:52 am
Hazel eyes watched his every move - out of interest or out of boredom, he wasn't sure. Perhaps a mixture of both, seeing as there was nothing interesting on television on nor did he really feel like getting back to his paperwork.
"No. So a self-learned man, I can respect that."
His finger traced the rim of his glass as he took his time studying the form of the younger man. He couldn't be any older than his mid-twenties, despite the whiteness of his hair that hid behind that ridiculous looking hat. Muscles, he could appreciate the sight of muscles. Looked like a bouncer more than a repairman, for Christ's sake. Probably didn't have much trouble with the ladies as far as his appearance went - that personality, however...
"I didn't start from much, myself. Got out of law school a couple years ago, decided to bring my practice to D.C."
He paused, waiting for any potential questions in return. And waited.
His irritation at questions going unanswered was fading, replaced by an impish mirth, probably thanks to the rum he was still nursing. If the little prat wanted to stay quiet, well, he obviously agreed to the wrong job and Rob didn't care if that made him look like an annoying coxcomb at that point.
"You from around the area?"
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Posted: Thu Sep 21, 2017 11:16 am
Whether Kavinsky paid attention or even heard what Rob was saying in response was unclear. Regardless, he didn't respond as he was clearly focused on the work he was doing. The beast that had torn into the window had done a number certainly and there was more that he needed to tinker with than he would have liked.
But, it didn't appear as though he would have to go out and buy parts which he appreciated. If the window was busted a second time however...the whole thing in it's entirety would need to be fixed and that would be costly.
Silver glanced over at the man who kept yammering at him about things he clearly didn't care about. Was he always like this when professionals were working on something? How annoying. If he ever took more work from the man he would have to note a conversation tax. An additional fee if he was going to distract him and cause him to potentially miss out on other jobs because someone couldn't shut their mouth.
"Close enough." He said, tone a near snap when he looked over his shoulder and arched an oh really brow. "Do you always talk this much?"
Maybe if he pointed out how it irritated him the man would shut up.
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Posted: Thu Sep 21, 2017 11:56 am
Raising the glass to his lips, he sipped on his drink to avoid revealing the s**t-eating grin on his face. It was obvious from the scowl on the other man's face that he was significantly perturbed by Rob's decision to ask questions.
Good.
If the unclassy b*****d wanted to be rude to him, Rob could serve it to him right back.
Setting the glass down, he shrugged his shoulders. "Sometimes. Talking is a big part of my job, after all. But I guess you wouldn't really know about that, not unless you've had any run-ins with the law, yourself."
Another swig and the drink was gone, leaving ice cubes to clink in the glass.
"On that note... ever get yourself in trouble with the law, Kavinsky?"
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Posted: Thu Sep 21, 2017 2:42 pm
Yup, this mouthy ******** was going to have to pay for chit-chat in any future jobs. Had he not already quoted him a price he would charge him now because goddamn he wouldn't shut the ******** up.
Silver eyes rolled and he turned back to his work wishing that he had brought headphones with him to drown out the annoying voice that might as well have been nails on chalkboards with how it grated on his nerves.
"Didn't ask for your life story. Thanks." It was dismissive and probably would be seen as rude but Kavinsky didn't care. He was here for a job, not to make nicey-nice with some would-be wished-he-could-be-a-hotshot lawyer.
(If Rob was a decent lawyer he wouldn't have needed to skimp out on repairs. He could have hired a certified professional instead of a man off of craigslist.)
"S'none of your business. I'm not poking around in yours, stay the ******** out of mine." Beneath his breath he muttered something in Russian.
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Posted: Thu Sep 21, 2017 6:52 pm
A nerve had apparently been struck, his prying resulting in digging up irritation as opposed to information. That was fine - public records were readily accessible to men in his position, so it wasn't as if he really needed to know. Hell, it wasn't like he had asked for a background check for this Craigslist punk.
He turned to refill his drink right as the other man started grumbling in a foreign tongue. Well, well, well - so the accent did prove that he wasn't from around here. Fancy that.
Rob decided to nix the Coke with his refill, opting for straight rum on the rocks.
Kavinksy. Probably Serbian or Russian, somewhere around those parts. They tended to be an angry sort of people to begin with, right?
Hiding another smile, he tilted his glass as his free arm fell to his side. "So, what - German?"
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