cranes in the sky

“Oh, yeah, you caught me,” Kit said, rolling his eyes deeply. “This is all a clever ruse to catch you in your facemask and jammies.” Kit sighed and ran a hand through his hair, resting his hands back on his hips. It was too easy to respond to her jabs - that was why they would never work, Kit was suddenly reminded; they got under each other’s skin and made each other crazy.

“I’ll call them in the morning,” Kit finally said, “‘cause it’s not like they’re open now, and leaving a stern voicemail isn’t going to do any good.” Kit sighed and shook his head. He was starting to get a headache, right behind his eyes, and he was wondering when he could tap out of this conversation and go to bed.

(God, they’d have to share a bathroom.)

“Meantime,” Kit said, refocusing, “we don’t kill each other until at least this weekend, ‘cause school’s starting and I got–we both have shit to do that’s more important. Deal?”

Jasmin matched his eyeroll with an impressive one of her own. “If I remember correctly, you used to say I looked in anything. And even better wearing nothing,” she added smugly, tossing her hair over her shoulder and turning away from him to head towards the kitchen to grab bottled water from the fridge. The sight of boxes yet to be unpacked only made her sigh, though. This was actually happening. They’d managed to keep their contact limited, and now they were stuck with each other. And just like the boxes that littered her once pristine apartment, Jas didn’t feel like unpacking why the situation bothered her beyond the inconvenience of being surprised by her ex. 

However, it was nice that Kit (for once) didn’t argue with her, agreeing to call housing (though it felt like a long shot) and even she could agree that in that current moment, there wasn’t much either of them could do. Besides it’d been a long day, they were clearly both over it, and all she wanted to do was relax in her space. “Fine. My schedule’s busy enough and I’m sure there’s someone in the psych department you can terrorize for the week. I can wait til the weekend.”

Kit blinked and pursed his lips together as Jasmin shoved a coaster under his beer - fine, sure, whatever. He could accept that - what he couldn’t accept was Jasmin thinking this was his fault somehow.

“Woah woah woah,” Kit said. “Hold the phone. I didn’t do anything,” he retorted, trying to keep his voice level - screaming at her wouldn’t do any good. “I just went where they told me to go. I didn’t even know you lived here. Why would I do this on purpose?”

Kit crossed his arms over his chest, his jaw working slightly. “They didn’t take your request. Not my fault. That sounds like something you need to fix, not me, and in the meantime, I live here too, roomie.”

This was going to be a nightmare.

“I don’t know!” Jas snapped back before taking a deep breath and letting out the irritation on a slow exhale. What she did know was she needed to calm down, that solved nothing. And he was right; how could he have possibly known where she’d lived? The last time they’d spent any time this close to each other the accommodations were different. 

She was feeling slightly calmer until that snide ‘roomie’ and the stupid flex of his stupid muscles with the arm cross, and dark eyes narrowed. “Look, you can’t possibly think this is gonna work out, us living together. I know you want this about as much as I do. Unless you’re really eager to get next to me again.”  

Kit heard the keys in the door and had the decency to mute the TV, although he was glad he didn’t stand up, because when Jasmin walked through the door, he would’ve been knocked flat on his ass again. It was all he could do for a few moments - stare at her, just as confused as she was.

“What the hell,” he finally said, setting his beer on the coffee table before he stood. He was stalling - he rested his hands on his hips and looked at the ceiling, asking God why the fuck he was being punished like this; then he looked back at her and let out a deep sigh.

“I didn’t…do this on purpose. I’m not screwing with you. I just went where they told me to go.”

It felt a little like his heart was stuck on the business end of a rockslide. Jasmin looked good. Really good. New York agreed with her. Them being broken up didn’t render him blind.

But he wasn’t allowed to think that anymore, nevermind say it, so he just pressed his lips in a thin line.

“Do you want a beer?”

Beer? Her mind was busy trying to wrap itself around the fact that her ex was in her place, on her couch, watching her television and offering her beer like he lived there, that Kit’s paltry explanation to his presence had taken a bit to register. Though as realization crept in, Jasmin’s confusion and surprise quickly gave way to irritation. 

“Who told you what to go where?” though the answer was all around her, in the boxes in her (their, now, apparently) kitchen and living room. “No.” She shook her head, long curtain of dark curls swishing back and forth as she glared accusingly at Kit. “This is not happening. And put a damn coaster under that beer!” That part was a lot less contained anger and more of a hiss and she stalked over to her coffee table and slipped one of the colorful cork coasters under the chilled beer bottle. 

She could feel the tension returning in her shoulders as she leveled a fiery look at Kit. From his genuine surprise at seeing her, deep down she knew he’d been as taken aback as she was, but it was still her apartment and she was allowed to be irrational. And she always liked pushing his buttons, secretly enjoying the twist of his lips and the way his arms looked when he crossed them at his chest whenever he was annoyed. “I specifically requested a non-male roommate, I don’t know what you did or why, but you need to fix this right now, Kit.”