Chapter Text
Ravi Panikkar is a good landlord. He’s aware of the moral implications of that sort of power, but he saw the property going around for cheap and couldn’t help himself. If he doesn’t buy it, someone else will, and he’s bored. It’s not like he has anything else to do when he’s off shift. He distantly remembers Cap mentioning a barbeque this coming weekend, but he knows well enough by now not to expect an invitation. They’ve got their group, and he’s not in it, which is fine, really. It just means he has the free time to make sure all of his tenants are very well taken care of.
Which is why when he wakes up to a disgruntled text about a tenant causing trouble, he takes it very seriously.
Ravi - There is a hooligan stealing laundry in apartment 12B. Please deal with him immediately. - Mrs. Freeman
Meredith Freeman, the older lady on the first floor, is a bit of a curmudgeon. She doesn’t quite understand how texting works and she always finds something to complain about. That being said, Ravi grew up in hospitals as an Indian child, so he knows what it feels like to have your concerns ignored. He’s not going to do that to Mrs. Freeman, whose husband passed away just a few years ago and whose son is always busy with his corporate job downtown. Ravi has always tried to be patient and listen to her, and in exchange she’s taken to baking him oatmeal raisin cookies. Ravi would rather die than lose those cookies. He texts her back.
On it.
Dragging himself out of bed, he takes a bleary look around the room, noting the dirty laundry piled up under his spiderman poster that’s peeling at the corner. It’s in direct contrast to his open closet and desk, which are color coded and pristine. Father Mackenzie gives him a slow blink from his terrarium. The bearded dragon gives the distinct impression that it’s mocking him. What a louse.
“Yeah yeah, I’ll get to it tomorrow” he says, knowing full well he won’t.
Running a quick hand over his face, he shuffles over to his desk and opens up his laptop with its assortment of stickers, looking up his list of tenants. 12B belongs to Graham Quay, a man he hasn’t met yet. A lot of his tenants have been in the building longer than he has, and as “new management”, he hasn’t had the time to formally greet all of them without some sort of problem. Since Graham always turns in his rent early, the occasion hasn’t arisen. Until now, that is.
When he knocks on the door, he’s expecting an old man to answer, or at least someone middle aged. A guy you’d see monopolizing your local HOA meeting or yelling at kids to get off his lawn. What he’s not expecting is a young guy, around his age, with a shock of curly black hair and the biggest brown eyes he’s ever seen. Fuck, he’s cute.
“Um, can I help you?”
Ravi shakes himself internally. Focus, Panikkar. There are cookies on the line. His eyes pass over the apartment in front of him. The place is completely barren; no magnets on the fridge, no paintings or pictures of family on the walls, not even a decorative dish towel. Huh.
“Hi, I’m the new landlord, Ravi Panikkar. There’s been a complaint about missing laundry? One of your neighbors seems to think you’re the one responsible. That wouldn’t happen to be true, would it?”
Graham’s eyes widen. Oh, this guy is so guilty.
“She thinks I stole it?” he gives a nervous chuckle, “no, no no no. I did not steal anything. I put the laundry in its rightful place.”
Jesus. “And where would that be, exactly?” He tries to keep his tone even, but the man in front of him is making it rather difficult.
Graham squares his jaw and straightens up defensively. “In the lost and found with all of the other items left unaccounted for.”
“Seriously, dude?”
“Yes, seriously. Look, at first it’s just one load of laundry, then people are shirking all social responsibilities and before you know it we’re belly up in the abyss.”
“Meredith is like 80!”
“She's a shirker. There’s no excuse for not doing your duty.” Okay, this guy is getting on his last nerve. So much for him being cute. “Look, I don't know what your whole-” he gestures vaguely at the man in front of him, “-deal is, but Mrs. Freeman is an old woman. She's slow, she forgets things. All normal for her age, and not, as you call it, ‘shirking’”. At that he makes sarcastic air quotes, raising one eyebrow.
Graham has the decency to look taken aback. “I-I didn't think about it like that. Next time I'll take that into account.”
“No, you won't. Because there's not going to be a next time, do you understand? Please tell me you understand.”
“I understand. Sorry, Mr. Panikkar.”
“Dude, we're like the same age. It's Ravi. And you do know decorations are allowed, right? It's your space, do what you want, but maybe put up a poster or two? Those walls are painfully bare.” With that, he closes the door on a shocked-looking Graham. What a weird guy. Thank goodness that's the end of that.
His next shift, Ravi is sitting at the table with Hen and Chim, who are gossipping about something or other. Ravi sat down after they started talking and they hadn’t bothered to provide context. Buck and Eddie are pressed up against each other on the couch, and are they- yup, they’re just staring at each other. Freaks. Like hell is Ravi going to get in the middle of that. He would go talk to Bobby, but the man is in his office with the door closed, a clear sign of wanting to be left alone. So that leaves Ravi scrolling through his phone, bored as all get out. Idly, he considers saying the q word just to make something interesting happen. But the shift just started a few hours ago, and the last thing he needs is the wrath of the crew. He shudders, recalling shouts of “probie” and an incident with a chainsaw. Yeah, never again.
He nearly jumps as his phone buzzes, a text coming in from Rafael - a relatively new tenant, and one Ravi quite likes. He’s a young guy who just moved to LA from Georgia, of all places, with a fish tank and not much else.
Hey Ravi! Just wanted to let you know that there’s a guy lurking around the laundry area arguing with people - I think his name was Graham? Idk
There’s no way. It hasn’t even been a full 24 hours since Ravi talked to him and the guy is already causing more problems? He sighs.
He may have been a bit loud with his sigh, because Hen and Chim’s conversation comes to a screeching halt, leaving the kitchen in total silence. He looks up, startled and a bit guilty. “We boring you, Rav?” Chimney asks sarcastically. “No no, just a tenant causing problems.”
“I forgot you’re a landlord. How’s that going?” He appreciates Hen’s attempt at interest, but he’s honestly not sure how to respond.
“Oh, you know. Lots of… rooms.” Nice one, Ravi. I’m sure they’ll find that fascinating. “Yeah, that makes sense.” He nods along with Hen before Chimney goes, “wow, great talk!” and pulls Hen back into their discussion. So much for that.
They get called to a couple small accidents that night - a cat up a tree is Ravi’s favorite, the little guy is absolutely adorable. Despite it being a relatively slow shift, he’s still inexplicably exhausted after. Most of their calls had happened at night, making sleep hard to come by. It was especially hard to take a nap with Buck and Eddie in the bunkroom together, giggling from the same bed. You can barely fit one person on the bunks, but somehow they manage to wrap themselves securely around each other, dodging PDA accusations with “not a couple, Ravi” and “you’re just jealous there’s no room left for you”. Needless to say he doesn’t stick around long.
He’s irritable when he gets home, so it might not be a good time to confront Graham, but at this point, he’s itching for a fight. He’s never been one to start things, but this is Graham’s fault. If the man had only listened to his warning, Ravi wouldn’t have to drag himself back to his door and have the same conversation
all over again. Taking a deep breath, he raises a fist and knocks.