Miles apart (Man × Man) ✔

29) r e s e t t l e d

If managing to work while helping out with Eliana was hard, combining those things with emptying a house was a disaster. Ash left behind or sold most of his furniture, but there were still boxes to pack and move. 

Luckily their friends were more than willing to help, so they got the packing and cleaning done at Ash's apartment relatively fast. When the moving day came, the little Ash had left, found its way to Miles' without trouble. 

"Please tell me this is the last one." Miles groaned, lifting a cardboard box on top of the already heaping stack. It was a chilly day, but he had rolled up the sleeves of his flannel shirt and his forehead glistered with sweat.

"Believe me, this was child's play compared to a regular move." Ash wrapped his arms around Miles' waist from behind and leaned down to rest his chin on Miles' shoulder. They watched the stack of boxes in silence, both smiling at the meaning of them: it was their home now.

"There weren't even stairs." Benjamin remarked, while he and Eli walked in carrying a green armchair.

"And you only carried a few boxes." Eli joined, while they set the armchair down. A face-splitting grin spread on his lips when Miles sprinted towards him and Benjamin, and then they all disappeared deeper into the apartment accompanied with bursts of laughter. Were they adults or just a bunch of children?

Ash chuckled to himself, shaking his head while taking one more look at the boxes. He thought about how much his life was going to change, even though he had practically already lived there the past months, and what he was leaving behind to start a life together with Miles. None of those things felt like much of a sacrifice, compared to what he got instead.

"Is there any beer?" Brandon's voice brought Ash back from his thoughts. He was leaning against the kitchen doorway and he pushed up his glasses, more out of nerves than for an actual need of fixing them. Ash took two beers from the fridge and handed one to Brandon.

When Ash heard clamour from the living room, he turned to join the others and patted Brandon's shoulder on his way. Dam-Bi and Shirley were laughing at something Miles was saying, Eli was sitting on the floor while Benjamin sat behind him on the couch, Steven had conquered the other corner of the couch and Judith was studying the framed pictures in the bookshelf.

"Who wants beer? Wine? Pizza?" Ash offered, immediately getting everyone's attention. They were all equally thirsty, hungry and ready to take a breather. Miles picked up two bottles of wine and a six pack of beer while Ash ordered pizza for them.

They turned the coffee table to a makeshift dinner table, where they set the pizza boxes. Instead of chairs they had the couch and cushions. They devoured the pizzas to the last crumb with huge bites which they gulped down with their drinks. At first, having their stomach full made them drowsy, but it didn't take long before the alcohol kicked in.

Miles was resting his head on Ash's shoulder, unlike the others, still exhausted by the day's exertion. When he sat on the floor, he didn't do it cross-legged like most of them did, but by folding one leg to the side and resting another on top of his knee, making him resemble a human pretzel. Every now and then he yawned, and he was too drowsy for his usual chatterbox mode.

Ash circled his arm around Miles and couldn't resist an urge to press a quick peck on his temple. Miles was making him the sweet and cuddly man he had sworn not to be. Even in the middle of all the stress and anticipatory grief, he smiled more than he used to. No matter how many times he smiled around his friends, it didn't cease to surprise them.

"I mean, seriously, that's got to be some sort of a superpower." Steven's eyes were wide with awe when he looked at Miles. "I can't believe you've turned our ice-hearted friend to a mushy, cuddly teddy bear."

"Mushy, cuddly teddy bear?" Eli cracked up, almost managing to choke on his drink. He had to wipe his chin with the back of his hand when some of the liquid spilled from his mouth.

"Well, am I wrong?" Steven turned to grin at Eli, who grinned back even wider and shook his head.

"Shut up, both of you." Ash grumbled, trying to silence them by giving them a death glare. Not that it made a difference, because Eli and Steven only cracked up more.

"Benjamin, tell your boyfriend we can still change our minds about letting you bunk here." Miles mumbled, not even bothering to open his eyes.

"There's no need, he'll behave." Benjamin rushed to assure, clearly worried over the couch to sleep on during the time their apartment was uninhabitable due to a bathroom renovation. Eli, on the contrary, showed no signs of the promised good behavior. 

"And that if he pisses Ash off, we won't give you two a chance to screw the entire time you're sleeping on our couch." Miles raised the stages, his head still resting on Ash's shoulder.

"No!" Eli exclaimed, his eyes widening in chock. He clasped his hands together on his chest and pleaded: "I'll be good, I promise."

"I like your priorities." Steven remarked, lifting his glass in the air ceremonially and wiggling his eyebrows. Benjamin rolled his eyes and everyone, this time even Ash, bursted out laughing. 

The next few weeks were going to be interesting, that much Ash knew for sure. He was also wondering if letting two more people live with them for such a long time was a terrible mistake. He needed time to recharge his social batteries, but even more than that, he wanted alone time with his boyfriend.

Still Ash was willing to consider the possibility that having more people around would be good for them. It didn't hurt to have company on those days when all they could think about was Eliana's forthcoming death. Besides, Miles and Benjamin could go to work together and Perfect Day was nearby, so having them over at their place was the smartest solution.

Brandon was the first one to leave, followed by Steven and Judith. Soon after that Dam-Bi and Shirley pulled on their jackets and made their way home. Then it was just Benjamin, Eli, Ash and Miles left. 

"I'll get you the bed sheets." Miles prompted, getting up from the floor and disappearing into the bedroom. Soon he was back with the bed sheets and a couple of towels, which he placed on the couch with a yawn. "I know this is unheard of, but I'm dead tired. You can keep the party going and.. make yourself at home."

And that is exactly what they did. Ash stayed up till small hours watching TV, drinking beer and chit-chatting with Benjamin and Eli in lowered voices. The thought that he would get to fall asleep and wake up in his and Miles' bed filled his chest with warmth. 

~~~

I couldn't resist an urge to start writing another story alongside with this one, which means that I might not be able to keep up with the current pace with the updates. But I'll do my best, I promise. :)