Miles apart (Man × Man) ✔

22) d i s t r a c t e d

On the following days, Miles and Ash fell into a routine. Somehow, without asking or being told to stay over, Ash ended up sleeping at Miles' for three nights in a row. They were both busy with work, but during those days they worked remotely.

Ash's job didn't always require going to the office, so if he didn't feel like leaving home, he could do the needed encoding and software work on his own laptop. Whereas Miles had a few days off from Kerning only to work on some freelance projects. Ash was working with his old laptop, which at that point seemed to only work by a miracle, while Miles had a variety of devices from an Ipad to a Macbook.

Miles glimpsed at the kitchen, where Ash's makeshift work station was located. He found him there staring at the screen, furrowing his brows in concentration and typing furiously. His hair was still damp from shower, which they had taken together to save water or whatever excuse they could come up with to get their hands on each other, and the black roots were getting more noticeable. 

When Miles' mind started wandering back to their shared shower, he had to press his eyes shut and shake his head slightly before his body started getting any ideas. He had tons of work to do and he couldn't afford to get distracted by the fact he had a freaking sex god in his kitchen. When shutting his eyes and shaking his head didn't work, he groaned in frustration.

"Are you hungry?" Ash's voice carried to the living room and Miles could hear amusement in it. 

"Yes, but not the way you think." Miles muttered, gripping the pencil when he continued drawing on his tablet. The task got his attention, so he didn't notice Ash tiptoeing to the living room behind the couch before he could feel his hands on his shoulders.

Miles hummed and shut his eyes when Ash began to massage his shoulders, working through all the knots. Miles hadn't even realized how much tension he carried in his shoulders. Ash's movements were skillful and it didn't take long before Miles was relaxed enough to fall asleep. He didn't, though, since he didn't want to miss a second of that bliss.

"Come on, let's make dinner." Ash whispered in Miles' ear.

"You don't need me for that." Miles pointed out, opening his eyes tardily.

"I do, and you need a break, so get up." Ash commanded and started heading back to the kitchen. Miles groaned again before forcing himself up from the couch and slouching after Ash.

Ash had already learned his way around the kitchen and he didn't need help finding the ingredients. He did have to ask Miles if he had a bigger kettle and shook his head in utter disbelief when Miles dug out three larger options to choose from, all still in their sales packaging. 

"There's no way for you to burn the house with these." Ash shoved a chunk of cheese and a grater in Miles' hands.

"You wanna bet?" Miles laughed and smirked devilishly, but started grating the cheese, managing the task without setting anything on fire.

Next up was an onion, while Ash chopped the garlic. The kitchen was spacious, so there was no need for them to work so close to each other that sometimes their elbows brushed together, but that didn't stop them from doing so. They didn't need to touch half as much than they did while walking past each other, but where was the fun in that?

"Go ahead, add the onions now." Ash instructed, looking over Miles' shoulder while Miles did all the work. Miles could smell his cologne when he stood so close, but soon it was drowned under the aroma of frying onion and garlic. "Okay, now season it with a pinch salt and pepper, then add the spinach."

"Spinach?" Miles grimaced, glancing at Ash over his shoulder.

"Just trust me on this." Ash told him. Then he smiled, and just for that one goddamn smile Miles would have added anything into the pan. Literally anything. And so did the spinach go in the mix, all done by Miles without any major catastrophes. 

He stirred until everything was mixed together, all the while inching closer to Ash. In no time their bodies were pressed together and Ash was starting to catch up with Miles' plan. 

"That's not going to work on me." Ash pointed out, but the words came out deep and hoarse, giving Miles hope his plan might work after all. The fact that Ash didn't back away was another hint to carry on, and so he did.

"Whatever helps you sleep at night." Miles smirked at himself, snuggling even closer to Ash, until he could feel Ash's hands on his waist, turning him around and bringing their lips together into a heated kiss.

They navigated towards the kitchen counter and Ash made Miles room to sit on it before lifting him up. With his legs dangling over the counter, newly liberated from their task to keep him standing, Miles wrapped them around Ash's hips. The new proximity made Ash grunt and he moved down to kiss Miles' neck and along his jawline.

"Not working on you?" Miles chuckled, breathlessly, tilting his head to the side and giving Ash a free access to his neck. 

"Shut up." Ash didn't even bother to take his lips off Miles' neck and Miles could feel his breath warm against his skin. Then, as a payback, Ash sucked the skin just from Miles' weakest spot, making him moan. 

Originally Miles' plan had been to prove a point, that he could easily distract Ash to make sure he didn't have to cook, but it didn't take much for him to forget all about his previous ideas. He was already melting under Ash's kisses, ready to take things to the bedroom, or hell, even getting into the business right in the middle of the kitchen. And then..

They could smell something burning, and Ash dashed to salvage whatever was left to salvage from the pan. Fortunately only a small part of the mix had burned and the rest could still be used.

"See, I can burn anything." Miles laughed, while running a hand through his hair. He hadn't actually meant to spoil their dinner, so at that point he was both relieved and embarrassed. Ash gave him a pointed look, although Miles could tell he wasn't truly angry, and ordered him to continue the dinner preparations. 

They got the lasagna in the oven in one piece and went back to working while they waited for it to be ready to eat. While Miles continued sketching on his tablet, he couldn't seem to stop smiling. He still couldn't believe how lucky he was. 

Unlike Miles' previous attempts of trying to date someone, Ash hadn't run away after meeting his dad. He had actually believed Miles over his dad. There weren't words to describe how relieved that made Miles, who was scared to death to bring anyone meet his dad. He wanted to feel like he was worth fighting for and not just something to toss away after the first sight of trouble. Although, admittedly, his dad wasn't just any trouble, but more like The Trouble. 

No matter how hard Anthony made things for Miles, he held onto the hope that one day he would find someone who would stick around. And, judging by the past weeks with Ash, he was starting to think maybe he had found that someone. 

Miles' phone beeped, bringing him back to the present moment. The screen of his tablet had gone dark, making him suspect he had zoned out for a good while. He picked the phone and his smile grew wider when he saw whom the text was from. He didn't answer it right away, but got up and tiptoed into the kitchen. When Ash looked up at him from his computer screen, he took the seat next to him.

"How would you feel about karaoke?" Miles asked, and before Ash could tell him that such a thing was never going to happen, he continued: "Daisy wants to meet you. And you can bring friends, if you want to."

"Karaoke?" Ash lifted an eyebrow. It took him a while to digest the idea, and a small like appeared between his brows. "You like to sing?"

"Hell yeah, I love singing." Miles grinned at him, already excited about the idea. And Ash, despite not seeming overly eager to sing, gave in. Maybe it was because it was his chance to meet the "notorious" Daisy, or maybe it was because he could tell how excited Miles was. Either way, he agreed to go.