"Hey, careful with that!" Ash chased after the discarded novel, collecting it from where Miles had disrespectfully tossed it and making sure his friend hadn't done any more damage to the already worn and battered cover. He scowled and clutched the book to his chest before returning it to his bag, having no issue slipping it inside now that Miles' textbooks weren't taking up so much damn space. "You're a petulant little shit sometimes, you know that?" Ash scoffed, though there was only the smallest bit of malice in his voice. Miles was still his best friend, and perhaps his only real one, despite being an ass from time to time. Besides, it wasn't like Ash didn't fuck with him at every opportunity. It was sometimes difficult to say which of them could be the bigger jerk at times.<br/><br/>After his mild outburst, Miles seemed to settle, and Ash was grateful for it. He had no intention of getting into a little spat with Miles over something stupid, and thankfully the heat was enough to distract both of them. "Downstairs, you say?" Ash said, lifting up an eyebrow and nodding slowly. "All right, I'll get it for you. But only because you are obviously too pathetic to do it yourself." A grin flashed across Ash's face, and the young man lifted up his t-shirt, tearing it away from his body and playfully tossing in Miles' face as he lay back on the bed.<br/><br/>"Don't you dare fall asleep on me," Ash chided, "not when I'm going to be running more errands for you. When I get back, you have to at least look over your homework, okay? I don't think you have to turn anything in until next week, and I'll bring stuff back for you, but you gotta do<i>something</i>. Those books were fucking heavy." He offered his friend one more smile before exiting the bedroom, pulling the door behind him but leaving it open a crack to keep air flowing. He didn't want Miles getting overheated while he was gone, even if it was only for a minute.<br/><br/>Ash descended the stairs two at a time, his long legs giving him a quick, easy stride as he made his way into the living room to retrieve the fan Miles had spoken of. When his feet hit the floor, however, an unexpected sight met him, leaving the young man frozen. Miles' father had completed his shower and was now downstairs with nothing but a towel tied about his waist. Pieces of glass littered the floor, drowned in a red liquid that smelled distinctly of wine, and his palm was stained bright red. At first, Casper's (mostly) naked body had been the image to catch Ash's eye, but the bloody hand quickly tore his attention away and the young man rushed forward, careful to avoid the pieces of glass still on the floor.<br/><br/>"Mr. Hawkins, you okay?" Ash asked, deftly stepping around the broken mug and spilled wine to grab a few paper towels from a holder next to the sink. He tore the towels in half and wet some with water, not bothering to ask the older man for permission as he reached forward to take Casper's hand into his own to wipe at the blood. Ash had never been the type to get squeamish around bodily fluids, and his comfort was obvious as he cleaned the injured hand, though blood seeped from it more quickly than he had anticipated. He snatched the dry paper towels from the counter and shoved them into the man's hand. "Hold these to sop up the blood. You guys have like a first aid kit or something? In the bathroom, or a cupboard?"<br/><br/>Mr. Hawkins couldn't seem to recall where the first aid kit was, though he was sure there was one around the house. Ash spent the next couple of minutes hastily searching through cabinets and drawers until he discovered a white box filled with a variety of items. He returned to Casper and took the bloody towel, tossing it into the trash. There were individually packaged alcohol wipes, so Ash tore one of the small packages open and began cleaning Casper's wound, holding his hand steady as he wiped.<br/><br/>"Now I see where Miles gets his clumsiness," Ash joked, looking down into Casper's wound. "Looks like you gave yourself a nice gash, there. Doesn't look too deep though. I'm not a doctor though so what do I know." Ash tossed the soiled alcohol wipe and pulled a clean bandage out of the kit, followed by a bit of gauze. He set about wrapping the wound up and when he was finished he returned everything neatly to the kit and washed his hands at the sink.<br/><br/>"I came down here to get a fan for Miles, and instead I'm cleaning up his bloody father," Ash joked, his eyes quickly sliding away from his wet hands to Casper's torso. He was incredibly handsome, and he briefly wondered if Casper had looked more gawky and awkward like Miles before growing into his looks, or if he had always been physically gifted. "How do you two manage to not burn the house down?"<br/><br/>When his hands were clean, Ash grabbed a few more paper towels and made his way over to the shattered mug on the floor. He carefully picked up the pieces with the towel, trying his best to avoid getting sliced up like Casper.<br/><br/>"Do you always drink your wine out of a mug?" he asked, a smirk dancing across his lips as he gazed up at the very nearly naked older man.