#thedadlizard

Milo hummed quietly to himself as his fingers tangled through Gabe's hair, adding yet another braid to the dozen or so he's already completed. It was mostly out of boredom because he had to wait for Gabriel to wake up and carry him down from the web nest Milo had found himself plopped into last night after they had finished reading together. He couldn't even get to his book to read it because it had fallen somewhere under Gabriel's massive form and Milo knew that the gentle spider would be distraught if he were to accidentally be squished under his weight trying to retrieve it. So he was left entertaining himself until Gabriel either woke up on his own, or Milo did. 

He peeked through his bangs at Gabriel's face, having gotten used to the others strange appearance since their meeting. Not that Milo had been particularly bothered by it, it was mostly Gabriel's sheer size that had made him so wary. But despite his hulking form, the spider was very skittish and tentative, practically tiptoeing around so he didn't accidentally step on Milo while the human was bustling around him on the ground. Setting down the finished braid, Milo folded his hands in his lap patiently for a few minutes. His arms were tired from braiding, since Gabriel's hair was so long to him it had been more of a work out than he anticipated. 

Despite knowing it was too high for him to climb down from the nest on his own, Milo did peek out over the edge to see if there really was no other way down. He was hungry, and he needed to pee. But Gabriel looked so peaceful all curled up like he was, his legs tucked under him with his torso curled up in a way that gave Milo the perfect place to sleep. He hadn't even needed a blanket, because Gabriel's body was so warm. 

Milo tugged on his bangs anxiously, pulling on them out of the unconscious habit to hide his face despite the fact that he knew it wouldn't make his hair grow any faster. But the burn scar that covered the left side of his forehead had also left him with a large bald patch in his hair line, so he grew his hair out to hide it as best he could. Milo felt the tips of his fingers graze the edges of his scar when he tugged on his bangs again and flinched instinctively before dropping his hand. He didn't like thinking about it, or looking at it. He didn't like other people looking at it either. They said it was disgusting, called him a freak because of how he looked. Maybe that's why he liked Gabriel so much, the other didn't judge him on how he looked or sounded. He didn't tease him for having a stutter. In fact, the first time they met Gabriel had been fascinated with Milo playing his violin. 

The man smiled at the memory of Gabe popping up out of nowhere asking him how he was playing such pretty music. Though it hadn’t been as sweet when it happened because Gabriel had scared him so much that Milo actually screamed and nearly made Gabriel run away in a panic. At least they had gotten over that, eventually. In their own ways. Milo kind of wished he had his violin up here with him, but it was down with his bag since he hadn't really gotten the option of deciding when he was going to go to bed. One moment he was sitting leaning against Gabe's warm side and the next he was being picked up and deposited in a hammock of soft spider silk before being, for lack of a better word, cuddled. 

Eventually Milo couldn't ignore his bladder any longer and let out a reluctant sigh. Climbing up onto Gabriel's chest, Milo knelt there a little unsteadily due to the deep rise and fall every time Gabriel breathed. Reaching out, Milo very gently booped him on the nose to get his attention, tickling it when all he got was a sleepy grunt instead. Feeling the rumble of a laugh under him, Milo felt himself grin and proceeded to tickle the massive spider under him until Gabriel was squirming and picking him up again and holding him out of reach, leaving him dangling in the air, in order to avoid squishing him. Milo feigned innocence at the look he was being given at being tickled awake.