WHO: Maddie Savage, Jasper Williamson ft. Luca’s Kneazle. WHAT: Housemate problems. WHEN: Monday, 29 Jan. WHERE: Jasper’s house in Brighton. WARNINGS: None.
It had been a long time since Maddie had lived with someone that she wasn't related to or sleeping with, and she was still adjusting. She'd gotten used to the stupid way Jasper organised his cupboards (... sort of), and the ever present and irritating kneazle. And all of the extra time spent around Jasper.
What she hadn't gotten used to was his shower routine. She was certain he spent longer than she did in the shower, for no reason she could understand. What was he doing in there?
She didn't have all that much more time before she had to leave, and she was sure the water had been off long enough for Jasper to have cleared the bathroom. Luca was happily playing with the kneazle, and all would be fine for a few minutes.
Her shower stuff in hand, she pushed the bathroom door open, blinking for a couple of moments as she was hit with a face full of steam. … and a half naked Jasper.
“Uhhh. What happened to knocking?” Jasper was adjusting better than he’d expected to living with a housemate, probably because he was already used to having to share all of his alone time with Luca whenever the kid was around. But then there were moments like these that were proving to be a bump in the road of peaceful house sharing.
Still, he wasn’t one to blush over it, so he finished patting down his freshly shaved jawline. “Also we’re almost out of toothpaste, so you’ll have to squeeze hard. I’ll get some more later.” Which probably meant he’d forget to do it tonight and end up paying for it the next morning.
"I thought you were finished!" Maddie averted her eyes quickly, hoping her cheeks weren't as flushed as they suddenly felt. It'd been a long time since she'd blushed over anyone. "Don't you have any back up toothpaste?" Who didn't have at least one spare tube stashed in the cupboard for times like this?
Jasper frowned, trying to recall, then — “Nah, that was the backup toothpaste.”
He looked over at her strangely, unsure why she was sounding so weird, when the damned kneazle skidded past the bathroom door making a racket. Out of the corner of his eye he saw what looked like one of Luca’s toys attached to the feline’s tail.
“Maybe Lestrange’s real plan was to trick me into raising a terrorist,” he grumbled, stepping towards the door to rescue yet another fucking cat. But Maddie was in the way, and now he felt awkward in his towel, which was… a first. “Sorry.”
"What?" She blinked a couple of times, confused by the conversation jumps. Her mind took a couple of moments to catch up and she took a couple of hurried steps back, out of Jasper's way. "Right, sorry." Her lips curved into a slight smirk as she cocked her head as she tried to recover her equilibrium. "Told you we should have told Luca I was allergic."