Work Text:
You recently, finally, got approved to rent a house in Torrence. You previously lived in LA with your shitty ex before finding freedom. It was a simple, older, one bedroom house. You got approval from the original owner, an old man whose wife had passed away, for a rent to own contract. He couldn’t keep up with any house work anymore, choosing to move in with his daughter for his safety. He did let you know that it needed “a fair amount” of work on both of your walk throughs before finally getting approved. Before actually moving in, you hadn’t realized how many issues it had. Your kitchen sink didn’t really drain, there was a chandelier in the dining room that was coming unscrewed from the ceiling, etc. You’ve been trying to find someone who would be able to fix it for cheap. You were video chatting with your grandma when she asked how the repairs were going. “I’m not gonna lie, I haven't gotten ANYTHING fixed.” You’d been living in the house for two weeks, even your fish haven’t adjusted yet. She reminds you “Two weeks and nothing, I told you my recommendation.” She’d recommended some woman's grandson. He brought his grandma to bingo once and your grandma, being the chatty person she is, had gotten to know them both a little bit. He does all of the repairs around their house. “He’s a really sweet kid!” You put in effort to not roll your eyes. “I’m not sure I want someones child doing work on my house-” She interrupts, “He’s almost your age!” “Regardless of his age- I’m not really ready to have people here yet.” She scoffs at you. “You’ll never have me or anyone over if you keep not fixing that place up. I’m telling you! He’s his grandmas caretaker. Could someone who’s evil take care of their granny?” You look around at the multiple issues just in your kitchen alone and sigh. “Okay…” You roll your eyes. “Send me his or his grandmas info. I’ll get pricing from him on how much all of this will cost.” “Super! I told him to expect a message from you soon.” You can’t help but facepalm as she starts boasting about how she knew you’d end up calling him. You start cleaning up a little and you send him a message once you receive his information from your, nosy, grandma.
<Hello, is this Herman? My grandma spoke to you and your grandma about my house repairs.
>Hello! Yes this is Herman!
<Hello. Do you want me to send you photos or videos so you can give me an estimate? If it turns out to be too much that’s also okay. I’m not too sure how to go about this.
>It’s alright! If it’s not too much trouble, I would like to come by and take a look. Do you have a list of repairs? That would help me gauge what tools to initially bring with me.
You’re a little shocked at his professionalism, you were kind of expecting a “Sure! I’ll come by rn.” following his realization that everything needs an overwhelming amount of TLC.
<Yes that’s fine. When would you be available? Do you do weekends? Today is my last day off til Saturday. I can make a list.
>Saturday is perfect for me! I don’t actually do this as a job, I have a day job. This is kind of a hobby/part time job for me!
<Wonderful. Is it okay if I send you my address and the list Saturday morning?
>Yes! That’s more than okay!
<Perfect, speak to you then. Have a good evening.
<You too!
You finish cleaning up a little bit and go to shower, hopefully a nice hot shower will ease this sinking feeling.
You lose hot water Friday night, adding that to the list as a priority. Even if that’s like a big thing, it couldn’t hurt for him to take a look right?
Saturday morning you wake up at 10AM to your ceiling fan in your bedroom shooting off a blade. The ceiling fan blade puts a hole in your wall and the blades that are still attached scraped up the ceiling and came off of it halfway. You send Herman the list and your address along with a photo of this morning's events. The caption for the photo reads “I almost died.”
>When do you want me to come over? I can replace that today!
<How does 12 this afternoon work?
>12 works! I'll see you then!
You have roughly an hour to get prepped for someone to be in your space. You're sitting in your living room drinking coffee when you see an old, rusted blue mini van park in your driveway. You feel your phone buzz.
>I'm here! I think?
You thumbs up his text and walk outside and wave. He's definitely not what you expected. You were expecting either a brawny man or like a 19 year old kid. He looks like a mix of both and neither at the same time. He's sporting yellow safety glasses, a bright blue jumpsuit and some black work boots. He's pretty scrawny but he's really tall. He walks up to you and pushes his safety glasses up to his curly auburn hair, revealing light greyish blueish eyes. He holds his hand out to you to shake. “Nice to meet you, I'm Herman. Your grandma's told me-us a lot about you.” You close your eyes and take a deep breath in before opening them and shaking his hand. “I’m sorry, she probably talked y’alls ears off. When comes to us grandkids she can’t help but talk.” He lets out a light laugh, “Grandmas, am I right?” You laugh at his remark, your hand feels a little clammy so you pull it back. “Anyways, let me show you the damage.” You turn around and motion him in. He looks around, you can see his eyes pause on things he notices before they move on. “It’s such a cute house..” He turns to you. “Why didn’t the old owners take care of it?” You sigh, “The answer is in the question. The old man who owned it got too old to take care of it. To be honest with you, I think he just didn’t have the energy for it anymore when his wife died.” you look around at the purple walls. “She died around ten years ago but he let it go so much. She’d be happy to see it fixed..” You trail off, “Sorry, that was more info than your probably wanted.” turning around to look at him, you see he’s wiping his eyes. He looks at you and sniffles. “No, I like hearing about the things- places I help fix." He smiles, "We’ll get this place fixed up! Let me grab my tools.” He turns around and runs out to his van. You can’t fight a small smile that creeps onto your face. Maybe this won’t be so bad after all.
It’s been about a week since Hermans started working on your house. As much as you hate to admit to her, your grandma was right, he’s a total sweetie. He’s been over pretty much everyday since the first. “He’s kind of slow to do jobs but he does excellent work so it’s whatever.” Your grandma sighs, “ You’re paying him fairly right? If you need help you know-” “Oh! Looks like he’s here! Talk to you later! Loveyoubye!” You were sitting on your porch talking to her when Herman pulls in, you can hear his metal music blaring. You stand up and walk over, putting your phone in your pocket. He turns his can off and opens his door. “Hello, how was your day today?” His tone is down, like he's sad but trying to hide it behind some confidence. You give him a soft smile, “It was good… Are you alright?” You both walk around to the back of his van. You grab his normal toolbox and he grabs a few boards of sheet rock. You're repairing a crack in one of your walls today. He sighs, “I've been better for sure. Some customer was trying to by car paint after he hit my van in the parking lot.” He sets the sheet rock down and points to a white mark on the side of his bumper. “Dumbass almost hit me when he left too. Sorry, I shouldn't curse.” you stifle a giggle. “You can curse in front of me, I curse like a sailor, normally.” he picks up the sheet rock after closing the hatch. He turns around and looks down at his toolbox. His eyes trail back up to your face, his gets a little pink. “My grandma would kill me if she knew I cursed in front of you.” You laugh, “Mine would only kill me if I cursed at or in front of her.” You hold the front door open for him and walk in behind him.
Well, you're fucked. When Herman cut out the cracked pieces off of your wall it revealed black mold that was covering the inside from floor to ceiling. “We can fix it! I can make a run to my shop and grab some stuff to clean it out and we can replace the insulation too!” You couldn't help the tears that started leaking out. “It's just so fucking frustrating. I felt like we were making real progress but we just uncovered another fucking problem.” Herman walks over to you and holds a hand out, palm side up to you. You look at his hand and raise an eyebrow. “Let's go to my shop, grab some stuff. We can grab a treat on the way back?” You wipe the few frustration tears that made their way down your face and you give him a low five. You weren't really sure what he was asking you to do with his hand but this works. He rewards you with a small laugh. “Let me grab my wallet.” He nods, you walk into your room and grab your wallet and keys. You come back to him staring at the wall, his hand is on his chin and his bottom lip is pushed out. “Is that your thinking face?” He jumps a little bit. “I guess so.” He laughs. “Did you have an idea for the wall or something?” He shakes his head. “I-its nothing.. Are you ready to go?” “Yes! Can we get a mcflurry? Or if you had a different treat in mind, we can do that too!” He smiles as you both head out.
You've never been in a hardware store, it's not really what you were expecting. It has an older, homey feel to it. You can't help but look down every aisle, in between helping Herman carry stuff to the counter, you notice that they have a ton of duct tape. Your curiosity gets the better of you, while Herman is talking to the guy at the registers you walk around a little. Your wandering is interrupted by Herman shouting your name from the registers. You run up, “Sorry!” You whip out your credit card. “Oh! Can we apply my discount?” The man behind the counter smirks at Hermans question. “Hermy boy, you know it's only for family or partners.” He turns to you, you see his name tag now, “Well, Robert, you see-” Herman sighs and Robert starts laughing. “You don't have to explain anything. He knows who you are and what we're doing, he's just being him.” You look back at Robert, he's wiping a faux tear from his eye. “Yeah, I'm just yanking your chain. Discounts been applied.” you tap your card on the reader, shaking your head. You sign the recipient given to you and look at Herman. “How does he know who I am? Do you talk about me?” “Oh shit.” Robert says, letting out a few chuckles. Herman puts his hands up, blushing, “W-well I get a lot of stuff for your house from here-because of my discount-I um-I just spoke to him briefly about some-a few things.” You give him a small smile. “I'm just messing with you. If you spoke to my grandma enough for her to recommend you to me then I guessed you were a yapper too.” He sighs and wipes his forehead. “I just hope my work has been good enough.” Robert clears his throat and points to the person waiting behind y'all. “Sorry!” You say at the same time. You both scramble to grab everything and move out of the way. You carry everything out to the van, Herman yelling a “See you Monday!” on y'all's way out. He loads everything into the back and closes the hatch. He claps his hands together and turns to you, smiling. “Ice cream?” You smile back at him. “Ice cream!”
You return to your house by dark, having been limited on time you both decided that grabbing your mcflurries and taking them home would be best. You hop out of the van and grab your mcflurry. You walk to the back of the van and try to open it up but it’s locked. Herman walks around, “Is it okay if I eat this then work on the wall? I haven't eaten since my lunch at 11 this morning.” You nod. “Of course! We could’ve grabbed food instead!” He smiles “It’s okay, I’ll probably cook something for me and my grandma tonight, if she’s still up by the time I get home.” You frown and follow him to your porch, “I can cook something? I have some chicken thawed.” He smiles and sits down on one of your patio chairs. “It’s alright, really. I think we still have some left overs too. We need to eat our food.” His smile goes lopsided, you feel a pang in your heart. You sigh and sit down, you hold your cup onto your thigh and try to mix in the oreo pieces. The ice cream is still so thick, it’s hard to mix. Your struggle must’ve been obvious, “I can mix it for you, I like my ice cream softer so it’s fine to sit for a moment.” He sets his on the table between you two, you can see that he’s successfully mixed his. “Thank you.” You hand your ice cream over to him, his cold hand almost covers yours entirely. You can't help the pink that warms your cheeks, thankfully he's too committed to mixing your mcflurry to notice. After a few moments he hands it back to you. It's like they mixed it with a machine. “Wowww, handyman and a cement mixer? I didn't know you had such skill.” You joke, he laughs. He holds out his hand that isn't holding ice cream. “It's all in the fingers.” He says genuinely, you can't help but laugh, almost choking on a piece of Oreo. His face burns red “N-not like that! I mean I guess like that. I don't even know anymore..” he trails off before shoving in another bite. You catch your breath and finish off your mcflurry. A few cars go by, the wind picks up, nothing exciting happens. You just sit in silence, enjoying each other's company and ice cream. Eventually he finishes his ice cream. He sets his cup down, “That was so good. I feel like they normally skimp out on the toppings.” You nod, “They totally do! I've been craving one for awhile so that hit the spot.” You both smile at each other. Herman breaks the silence first, “Let's get that mold cleared out before it gets too late.” You agree and stand up, you both begin walking to his van. Once you carry everything inside, he thanks you and asks you to leave the room. “I should've bought another mask while we were at the shop but I didn't think about it. I don't want you breathing the mold in while I clean it.” You nod. “Okay, I'll be in my room if you need anything!” You go into your room and plop down on your bed. You stare up at the, now fixed, ceiling fan. That was the first thing Herman fixed in your house. You felt like you were gonna have a panic attack the entire time he was in here. When he was done he walked out to find you huffing your inhaler at your dining table. He was so worried he called his grandma who called your grandma. You laugh a little at the thought. A few hours pass, you fell asleep watching tiktoks. You're woken up by a knock on your door. You get up and open it to find that Hermans not only cleaned up the mold, he's also fixed the wall. “I'm done! I'm surprised it didn't take longer to be honest.” You gape at him, “You didn't have to do all this tonight! What time even is it?” He rolls up his sleeve and looks at his watch. “It's about 1:30 in the morning.” Y'all had come home around 9. “You really could've-” you yawn, still waking back up. “Waited till tomorrow. We have plenty of time then.” He smiles, “I couldn’t just let you sleep with a giant hole in your wall. Luckily the mold didn’t grow into the wall.” You yawn again and rub your right eye. “Did you find what might’ve caused it? I don’t want it to grow back after you did all this to get rid of it.” He put’s his hands on his hips, he messes with some tools on the right side of his tool belt. “I did. There was a tiny hole on the wall outside. I sealed it, it’s almost completely dry already.” You can’t help the sigh of relief that comes out. “Thank you so much. I’m sorry it took so long. To be honest with you, I pretty much passed out as soon as I laid down.” He lets out a breathy laugh. “I was originally going to wait until tomorrow to fill and seal the wall but I heard you snoring when I came to knock on the door so I just completed it. It’s really no problem. I’m glad you got a nap in.” You feel your whole face heat up. “Wow that’s embarrassing. Not only did I not help you but I fell asleep AND you heard me snoring. I can already hear my grandma making fun of me.” You sigh and cover your face. He laughs, “I’ll keep it a secret if you do.” you smile and check his watch, his sleeve is still rolled up so you can see it. “Let’s get you home before your grandma thinks I’ve kidnapped you.” He nods and walks towards your front door, “What time should I be here tomorrow?” He turns around, him standing on your porch, looking at you like he is. If you weren't so tired you'd feel like he's picking you up for a date. You shake your head, “Whenever. Just text me like 40 minutes before you come. Before you show up.” He smiles, “Okay, I'll see you tomorrow then, good night.” you return his smile. “Good night.” He walks away, halfway down your driveway he turns around and waves to you. “Text me when you get home! Drive safe!” You yell to him, “Okay!” he yells back. You go back inside and grab a bottle of water. You try to stay awake until Herman texts you. It takes him about 45 minutes to get home.
>I've made it home safely!
<I'm glad! I'm going to sleep! Good night. I'll see you tomorrow.
>Goodnight! ❤️
You swear your heart actually jumps up in your throat.
>Shoot, sorry I meant ☺️.
He’s going to give you a heart attack.
<It’s alright. Good night Herman.
You fall asleep with a feeling you can only describe as embarrassment, hope and doubt all at the same time.
You wake up to your phone ringing. You answer without looking at it, “Hello? Who is this?” You slur out. “This is your 1 hour warning before I arrive.” You freeze, Hermans voice is deeper than usual. “D-did you just wake up?” You hear him shift around. “Yeah, I haven’t gotten out of bed yet. It won’t take me long though.” You let out a little laugh. “I haven’t gotten out of bed either, actually, you woke me up.” “That’s twice in a row now.” You both laugh. “At least this time you didn’t have to hear my snoring.” He makes a mhmm sound through a yawn. “I’m a heavy sleeper.” You both go quiet. You roll over to the bare side of your bed. Talking to him in the morning doesn’t feel so weird, it feels weird that he isn’t here. Aside from the whirring of your new ceiling fan, the house is completely quiet. He clears his throat, interrupting the thoughts of loneliness before they get too strong. “Do you want me to grab breakfast on the way over? I could go for a breakfast burrito right now.” You nod, then realize that you have to speak. “Yes please. Can you get me one with no bacon? I’ll add it to my tab.” He lets out a breathy laugh that practically drills into your brain, it echos through the rest of your body. “Sounds like a plan. I’ll be there in an hour.” “Okay, drive safe.” “Will do.” You hang up before he can. You jump out of bed, get dressed and get ready. You make a cup of tea and sit on your porch and wait for him to arrive.