Miles apart (Man × Man) ✔

2) a t t r a c t e d

The first time Miles' eyes landed on Ash, something about the tattooed guy with dyed hair and gorgeously dark eyes caught his attention. Yet his solemn gaze was what intrigued Miles the most. He could feel a pull towards him, like a magnet urging him to get closer. 

Miles had never been in the local gay bar, FAB, before. He hadn't even known a paradise like that existed, but it had been there all this time, only a walking distance away from his home. That night, as a drunken impulse, Benjamin had decided to take Miles, Jeremy Preston and Judith there to see someone.

That someone turned out to be a fairly good-looking guy, which came as a surprise to Miles. Before that night he had had no idea his friend was gay, but then again, Miles didn't exactly carry a neon sign announcing he was bi either. Maybe it wasn't something you'd tell your colleagues flash friends during the first year of knowing them, not unless you had a good reason to.

When Benjamin's new guy, Eli, introduced Ash, Miles opened his mouth before his brain could tell him otherwise. Miles was wasted, which was never good for his all over the place personality and inability to keep his mouth shut even if his life depended on it. 

"Ash like Ash Ketchum?" Miles wanted to facepalm himself. It wasn't like Ash Ketchum was the only Ash in the world, and Miles wasn't even aware he was thinking of the Pokémon trainer in question before his name slipped from his lips. 

"You can call me Ashvaghosha Balakrishnan if you don't like it." The harsh tone Ash used made Miles' face heat up. When Ash's eyes bore into him, glum and relentless, Miles wanted to sink into the floor. Or better yet, cut out his tongue so that he couldn't keep making stupid comments. 

"Um, nice to meet you, Ash." For the rest of the evening Ash sitting so close to him was all Miles could think about. They barely said a word to each other, but Miles could feel Ash's eyes on him when he was talking with their other friends. 

Benjamin ditched them to have the night of his life with his dreamboat, followed by Jeremy Preston who had to go make sure his fiancée could get even an hour of sleep with their newborn baby girl. Then Judith was gone as well and Miles found himself hovering by the front door of FAB, looking around like a lost puppy. 

When Ash walked to him, his face looking like someone who was coming from a funeral rather than from a bar, Miles had no idea what he was going to say. But whatever he could think of, wasn't even relatively close to Ash's blunt question: "Want to have sex tonight?"

"With you?" Miles asked, gaping at the taller guy. The entire evening Ash had seemed like he wanted to crush Miles under the sole of his worn out leather boot, and now he wanted to take him home? To have sex with him? If that wasn't the textbook definition of mixed signals, Miles wasn't sure what was.

"No, with Santa Claus." Ash huffed gloomily, already turning away. Miles rushed after him. 

"You want to have sex with me?" He had to make sure. Ash turned around to face him again, stuffing his hands deep in the pockets of his jeans, which had been black once but faded to dark gray over time and use.

"I don't see why not." Ash shrugged, like it was no big deal at all. It probably wasn't for him, anyway. 

"Hell yeah." Ash did seem surprised by Miles' answer. But there was no way in hell Miles was going to say no to an opportunity like that. He hadn't gotten laid in eight months and nine days, not that he was counting or anything. Who would have been a better choice to break that streak with than Ash? Sure, he wasn't exactly a ray of sunshine, but damn was he attractive.

"Great." Ash nodded, but didn't reward Miles with a smile. Miles was starting to suspect he would have to do a lot more to get one, but he liked the challenge. 

They walked side by side in silence, their strides long and determined. Miles' apartment was on the opposite side of the city, and Ash was guiding him to an uncharted neighborhood. The apartment buildings were high, their brick walls were deteriorating and the fire escape routes looked like using them would end up more deadly than staying in the fire.

Ash guided Miles to one of those buildings, opening the door and climbing up the stairs. The hallway was just as decrepit and the stale air smelled like old cigarettes and curry. Not that Miles cared about any of that, when his focus was fixated on the guy walking next to him. 

Ash's apartment was small, but homely. Miles was craning his neck, soaking in every detail. A yellow, dented and rusty bicycle in the living room made a smile tuck up the corners of Miles' mouth.

He wasn't good at one-night stands, which was plain obvious when he already craved to know more about Ash. Miles wasn't just into Ash's body and what it could offer, but he convinced himself that he could do the one-night stand thing. Surely he could walk away and pretend all he wanted was sex. 

He gasped out of surprise when Ash pressed him against his bedroom door, slamming it shut in the process. He lifted Miles' hands over his head, pinning them against the door. For a moment they just stared at each other, giving Miles just enough time to think: so, it's really happening. I'm one lucky son of a..

Then Ash pressed his lips against Miles', and the kiss was eager yet gentle. Being pressed against the door, hands pinned together, should have made Miles feel afraid, vulnerable. But it didn't. Instead, when Ash let go of his hands, Miles used them to pull him even closer. 

Ash pulled off his shirt and Miles let his gaze roam along his bare skin, halting a little longer on his tattoos. He wanted to take in every line and fine detail, he even wished he would one day learn to know the story behind each picture. 

Which was, of course, something that was never going to happen. Ash wasn't planning on marrying him, he probably didn't even want to fuck him twice. It was just a one-off deal, a drunken impulse, and Miles tried not to read too much into it. Again he reminded himself that all he wanted was sex. 

Ash was gorgeous. Everything about him was just right. Miles ran his palms along Ash's shoulders, then slipping them behind his back. On the arcs of his shoulder blades and down the groove of his spine, until they found their place on Ash's lower back. 

Then Miles felt the warmth of Ash's lips on his neck, while his hands started to unbutton his shirt. Everything in Miles wanted to give in to the touch, but there was too much light in the room. He couldn’t shake the feeling that Ash wouldn't want him anymore, if he saw him. Miles lifted his hands and grabbed Ash's wrists, making him stop and look at him questioningly. 

"Did you change your mind?" Ash's voice came out deep and hoarse. 

"No, you're fucking gorgeous." Miles groaned, biting his lower lip. 

"But?" 

"..I'm not." Miles sighed. Then he continued with an awkward chuckle: "I'm not exactly a cover boy." 

Ash knitted his eyebrows when his gaze moved up and down Miles' body. When he didn't seem to find anything to complain about, he asked: "You're kidding, right?" 

"Yeah, sure." Miles plastered a grin on his lips, masking his embarrassment. Body image issues probably weren't the kind of thing you were supposed to dump on your one-night stand. He started fumbling with his buttons, to show Ash he still wanted to do it. 

In a beat Ash's nimble fingers took the charge and he let Miles' shirt fall on the floor. If he didn't like what he saw, he hid it well. Instead of pulling away in disgust, Ash set his hands on the back of Miles' tights and lifted him up from the floor. Miles, with his back still against the door, wrapped his legs around Ash's hips. 

The friction of their bodies turned Miles into a panting flushing mess. They kissed and devoured each other, until Miles had forgotten all about his previous insecurities. In Ash's eyes there was nothing wrong with him or his body.

~~~

I accidentally called Jeremy Preston Preston Miller in the previous chapter. I think I've probably done that once or twice in Jester as well.. so, if I mention someone called Preston Miller I mean Jeremy Preston. I'm just really bad with names and I keep mixing them up all the time. :D