Out door yard work--- Dear god what have I done!

[innameof]

Griffen had moved just that year. Things had been crazy and awesome at the same time. He had never really owned his own home before. But after everything that had happened to him he had decided he wanted his own home.

Work had been busy. But also very awesome and he had started becoming good friends with Doctor Vernard who he carpooled with. He was also working on his doctorate while going to work. It was quite fun and exciting.

Trying to combat snow and over flowing gutters on his day off from work wasn't fun however. He had cleared off most of his front porch and was trying to deal with the gutters. He was happy he was able to get up on the roof to do it from there. Then just got a look of abject horror when the ladder fell down. How would he climb down when he was done.

"Well fuck." He takes off his hat for a moment to rub his forehead then blinked when he saw the figure of his both taller and slightly older neighbor. Griffen was after all only twenty six he was certain Mr Hotchner was in his thirties.

"Uh-- Mister Hotchner," Griffen calls over waving one arm smiling very awkwardly.

Comments

[baufatherfigure.livejournal.com]

Hotch wasn't much for yard work, but like many things in life, it had to be done. Especially shoveling the snow in the front yard area. His entire porch had been covered in the stuff for a very long while now- three months and counting. Only now had he found time to actually shovel the stuff out of his front porch and the remnants of it from the driveway.

That it, until he had heard the clattering of a ladder and the calling of his name. Hotch glanced up, seeing a young man waving in his direction and giving him a strange smile. He blinked, propping his shovel up against the door and walking into the snow. Thank god for boots.

"Mr. O'Niell," he called back, watching him from the ground and now standing by the ladder. "I assume you didn't push this away from the house."

[innameof.livejournal.com]

He sighs pulling his hat back on.

"No." He blinks then bends to pick up something off of the roof. A gleaming bit of L-shaped metal. "It looks like the bracket snapped off. Hmm. A shame."

He blinks then ducks his head a bit. "Would you prop it up for me? I wouldn't want to get trapped up here for too terribly long. I'm might need to grab a few more tools."

For someone who did lab work he was handy with his hands in other ways. He had worked any job he could get to help put himself through college.

[baufatherfigure.livejournal.com]

With nothing so much as a nod and a raised eyebrow, Hotch lifts up the ladder and props it up against the house. He keeps a firm hand on it, though, studying Griffen for a moment. "I can hold it here for you, if you'd like," he offers, looking at his porch and back up at him. Usually, one would see him in a suit and tie.

Not today. He's in a jacket, gloves, scarf- whole nine yards. No pun intended. His son is still in the house, fiddling around with picking up his room. There was a hidden promise that if he finished, he could play with his dad later.

[innameof.livejournal.com]

"Thanks. I'll be right down though. I'm going to see if I can fix this." He waits to make sure it's being held there then climbs down. He seems to be rather quick.

And normally Griffen is in a good shirt and slacks. Sometimes in a suit but he rarely wears a tie. He seems uncomfortable with them.

[baufatherfigure.livejournal.com]

He watches him climb down eagerly and props the ladder against the house, setting it firm in the snow. With the days getting warmer, it means the snow is packing better and better. Good thing too.

Hotch grabs his shovel on the porch, making short work of what's left on his doorstep and glancing at the driveway. There's pieces and parts of excess snow and dirt, but hey. There's always salt, right? He takes some out of the garage, watching Griffen and his house. "You seem to carpool quite a bit," he states, making a lame attempt at conversation.

[innameof.livejournal.com]

He is breaking up some ice and scraping it away. He nearly fell on his butt earlier so it seemed like a good idea to clear it away.

"Hmmm?" He blinks then shrugs. "I don't drive. I have panic attacks every time I try so I've just given up on it."

He also used to have problems around tall people. And people who were aggressive could really make him feel high strung but he's getting better.

[baufatherfigure.livejournal.com]

"Ahh." He finishes shoveling the snow into the grass and looks at it for a long moment before walking back over to the ladder and leaning against the house. Now that he thought about it, Hotch didn't know much about Griffen. Sad day.

"So what exactly do you do for a living?" he asks, sticking the shovel in the snow and watching him.

[innameof.livejournal.com]

"I'm a lab assistant for theoretical physicist." Obviously he was doing pretty well for himself. "At least until I can present my thesis. I was told I might get a better position here once that's done."

He rolls his shoulders. "They like that I have a strong background in math and chemistry too. It's handy for some of our work."

[baufatherfigure.livejournal.com]

"Background in chemistry and math can get a man far these days," Hotch admits, nodding a little and looking up at his own gutter. He should probably clean that in a little bit. Huh- wonder why he didn't think of that until now. "You looking to stay a scientist in the field?"

Griffen sounded as smart as one of his coworkers. Hotch could hardly keep track of what degrees one of his companions had now, despite hearing it so many times.

[innameof.livejournal.com]

"So I'm told," he can feel his mouth twitch with amusement. He had been offered teaching positions too. But he knows that students would be very stressful for him. Especially if he thought about teaching below college level. He couldn't think on a more basic level easily.

"Yes, ideally I will. I would make a terrible teacher. Though I'm told some people switch entirely over to accounting. Don't think I could do that. Lab work can be exciting at times. I like that." Most of the time though he and the guy he is working with are fighting to look busy until things happen.

Bed tiiime. <3 I'll continue tomorrow with you. Hugs!

[baufatherfigure.livejournal.com]

"Lab work exciting at times." Hotch repeats this skeptically, mouth twisting slightly into a smile. Made it almost sound like his job of being a profiler was fun at times. Having the talents of profiling was very helpful. The job itself? Not so much. "You know, you could make it as a teacher if you wanted. You've certainly got the look down."

He's perfectly serious too. Looks like some high school or college professor. "No offense."

Sleep well!

[innameof.livejournal.com]

"It can be," he defends with a smile. "You just have to wait out the er, waiting periods. That's the longest part. Then all of the sudden-- activity."

He made it sound dramatic. Like fighting prates or something. "I don't really care for it. Did some TA-ing. Discovered I can't really bring down my terminology. Doesn't seem fair to inflict that on first year students or highschoolers."

He barks out a short laugh. "None taken. I'm just more comfortable like this."