bump 'n' grind

Didn't I Blow Your Mind? | Miles & Nick

Miles was still vaguely aware of Nick talking to him and the quiet chaos from the onscreen chefs, but by now he was drifting off. Nick would probably have to physically move him if he wanted him to get up, and he hoped he didn’t want that. This definitely wasn’t the first time Miles had begun to fall asleep on Nick’s couch. It wasn’t even the first time he’d done so practically in the middle of a conversation. But it was the first time he did after a fight and now while holding his hand, both of which were foreign to him. But Miles didn’t even notice at this point. He could still hear Nick’s voice, though he was pretty sure he couldn’t respond to him if he tried. He yawned, shifting in his seat a little to find a more comfortable position. Truthfully, though, Miles could fall asleep anywhere. As he moved, his head fell to the side, and he scarcely noticed the fact that it now rested on Nick’s shoulder. It didn’t matter anymore. Not when he was this tired, at least. But it probably wouldn’t matter to him even if he were wide awake. If he’d crossed a line, he couldn’t tell, because he felt way too safe to think this was a bad idea — to think anything that had happened between them recently was a bad idea. Nick made sense to him. Even when they did these weird things that confused the hell out of them later on, it still all somehow made so much sense, because it was Nick. Miles knew what it meant. He knew what was happening. He just couldn’t figure out how to say any of it yet. For now, he was content to fall asleep after being relaxed in a thunderstorm for the first time since he was twelve years old. And he would be lying to himself if he said he was surprised that it had happened here, with him.

Nick wasn’t completely surprised when Miles fell asleep. They’d been friends long enough for it to be considered normal. He was a little relieved to see him so relaxed, actually, after seeing him jump so much earlier. Nick didn’t know why he was so scared of them, but he knew it wasn’t really the best idea to ask him. If you were scared of something, the last thing you probably wanted to do was talk about it. Still, it had been sad to see him like that, and he was happy it all just stopped. What did surprise Nick, though, was Miles’ head falling onto his shoulder and resting there. He looked down at him, not sure if he was still awake and trying to mess with him or something, but he wasn’t.  He looked completely relaxed; oblivious of the fact that he had passed out on his arm. And Nick knew he should wake him, or try to move him so he was laying on the couch or something more comfortable, but he couldn’t quite seem to get himself to wake him. Hesitantly, not unlike how he reached out to his tattoo earlier, Nick’s free hand rose of its own will. This time, though, he went to brush his hair to the side gently, as though it’d end up tickling him awake or something. It took Nick a minute to realize what he was doing, but when he did, he made himself stop. Slowly, he lowered his hand, embarrassed that he let himself do it in the first place. He still didn’t move the rest of him. Instead, he forced his attention back to the TV. He wasn’t sure what was happening on the show himself anymore, but he figured that they’d be there long enough for him to find out.

Didn't I Blow Your Mind? | Miles & Nick

Miles didn’t know exactly why he didn’t tell Nick right away. He was pretty sure it was because he was embarrassed. If he did ever end up getting a tattoo, he had hoped it would have been while he was sober, so at least he’d be making a conscious decision. He had no excuse for a drunken mistake like this. Another part of him didn’t want to bring up the night of his birthday more than necessary because that was also humiliating, trying to kiss Nick when he wasn’t in his right mind. But he was telling him now. Miles sighed, unable to think of the words to respond. It bothered him that it was permanently on his body. It was sort of funny, though, and he was sure he’d be able to laugh about a skateboarding dog on his arm eventually. Now just wasn’t that time. “Thanks,” was all he managed to get out before yawning. “Maybe you should get one now.” If he was being honest, Miles had always assumed Nick would be the one out of all of them to get a tattoo. But nothing in life seemed to be going as planned lately. “Now shhh.”

Nick wasn't completely sure why Miles chose that exact moment to show him the tattoo, but he was glad he did. Seeing the skate boarding dog in print on his friends arm seemed to lighten up the mood some. Between all of the fighting, and then the storm, it had been a tiring night. Something which he knew Miles would probably agree with, due to the way that he couldn’t seem to keep his eyes open. “Are you kidding? There’s no way I could top that one.” He grinned, gaze still wandering to Miles’ arm even if it was covered now. Nick had always wanted a tattoo; he was surprised Miles --- and also probably his brother --- got one before he did. But he could never decide on what he wanted. Getting a tattoo was a big commitment. Maybe he should just take a lesson from Miles and get drunk first. That’s apparently how you get the good ones. His thoughts were broken by Miles shushing him, and at that moment he realized he was trying to sleep. Nick paused for a moment, unsure of what to do, before he whispered out. “Miles?” He waited, before reaching his free hand out to Miles’ sleeve, fingers itching to pull the fabric up so he could see the tattoo again. Worried he’d wake him up and piss him off, though, he reluctantly dropped his hand into his lap before he could. He’d just bug him about it when he was awake again, probably. Slumping back into the couch, he let out a small sigh as he turned his head back toward him, noticing his eyes still shut. “You’re gonna miss who wins.” He whispered lowly again, more to himself than anything. He didn’t think he’d hear him this time.

Didn't I Blow Your Mind? | Miles & Nick

Miles nodded. He didn’t care about the show anymore. He could find out who won later on. It was quiet for a while, peaceful, allowing Miles to relax for once the entire night. It wasn’t thundering anymore and they weren’t arguing. It was nice. He pretended not to notice that the storm was now over and Nick’s hand was still grasping his. The silence was broken by all the questions Miles had set himself up for by bringing this up in the first place. “’M serious,” he muttered, keeping his eyes closed. He sighed. “I didn’t want a tattoo.” He had planned on not getting any tattoos as long as he lived, let alone a dumb one that he immediately regretted. But that was gone now. “My arm.” He didn’t specify which one or where at first, but he figured Nick was going to either keep asking or be unbearably curious, and Miles didn’t want to have either of those options on his mind. So he used his free hand to reach over to pull up the sleeve of his t-shirt, showing Nick the whole thing on his shoulder. He still didn’t open his eyes, but he could still picture it in his head, and he only kept it there for a moment before pulling his sleeve back down and settling back into his seat. At least his stupidity would give Nick a good laugh. Miles was exhausted at this point. So much had happened, and they hadn’t even moved from this spot.

Nick didn’t think to release his hand, even if the rain slowed down noticeably by this point. It just didn’t cross his mind to, especially when Miles started talking about his tattoo. That perked him up almost instantly, turning his head to look at him as the curiosity began to burn at him. His friend seemed tired all of a sudden, but now Nick was wide awake. “I can’t believe you didn’t tell me this sooner.” He laughed, not quite being able to picture Miles with a tattoo. He watched with an eyebrow raised as Miles began to raise up his sleeve. “Dude.” He said, a laugh of disbelieve leaving him as he leaned forward some to make out the details. “That is the best tattoo. I have ever seen.” The sincerity was real, and he had to stop himself from reaching out and touch it just to make sure Miles wasn’t fucking with him and it was really just a press on. But that seemed too real to be fake. "He has sunglasses and everything. Your arm looks like a comic strip.” That was a compliment. “You should wear more short sleeves.”

Didn't I Blow Your Mind? | Miles & Nick

Miles nodded as he watched, though he wasn’t really following along anymore. Truthfully, he didn’t care about the show at this point; he hadn’t for a while now. It was a lot less important than what was right next to him. And now more than before, he was just tired. He was all out of jokes and especially arguments. The fight in him was gone. “Shame. I was rooting for Chris.” It was true, though. They totally favored the moms. Miles glanced out the window, noticing how the rain had lightened up considerably. Part of him really wanted to get home to Scout, but she’d been alone in storms before. The need to get back home was not as overwhelming as his desire not to move from where he was right now. It was partly because he was just lazy, because that’s who he was, but also because he just didn’t want to leave. Nick getting honest with him and trying to understand it all made Miles feel something indescribable. He just felt warm. It was nice to hear Nick open up to him. They were always honest with each other, since that was the basis of any decent friendship, but it just seemed different with stuff like this. It made Miles want to do the same, to make him feel equally as appreciative of the honesty. But Miles wasn’t ready to tell him (or anyone) certain things, and he was growing more tired by the minute, and there was only one thing he could think to say. “I got a tattoo,” he blurted. He leaned his head back against the back of the couch, letting his eyes close as he finally gave up on pretending to watch Chopped anymore. “On my birthday. You brought me home and then I went out again with Murphy and got a tattoo.” He knew this wasn’t going to make him feel the same warmth Miles had earlier, but he had nothing else to say. It was good enough.

”Hey, you never know. Maybe he’ll surprise us all.” He shrugged, and although normally he’d be a little more interested in the final showdown between contestants, he wasn’t really feeling the show. Something told him that Miles wasn’t either, but it wasn’t an awkward thing. They’d both just been distracted a lot that night. For a moment, though, Nick just stared idly at the TV, feeling both relieved and worried at the same time. On one hand, him and Miles were no longer fighting. On the other, Nick couldn’t help but wonder how long that would last. He wasn’t going to think about any of that now, though, and the thoughts were further pushed to the back of his mind when Miles’ began to speak. “What?” He questioned with a laugh, the surprise evident in his voice as he turned to look at him, the out of the blue confession startling him out of the tiredness he was beginning to feel. “Are you messing with me?” Yet he could tell that Miles wasn’t lying, which instantly caused his amusement to grow. "I didn’t ---” He stopped for a second, realizing he was about to tell him he didn’t notice any tattoo the night of the wedding, and promptly censoring himself. “I didn’t know you wanted a tattoo.” He paused. Nick didn’t know how to feel about a drunk Miles stumbling out dead ass drunk in order to get a tattoo with his baby brother, but the thought of it now was kind of hilarious. Albeit surprising. “Where is it?”