Chapter Text
The old clock on the wall ticked with every agonizingly slow second that passed and Alex lay in bed, sheets pooled around his waist and willing for his tired eyes to droop shut. He tossed and turned, praying he wouldn’t have yet another night of restless sleep. It was no use though, the only antidote to his current problem was 2,789 miles away (yes, he googled it) in New York.
It was times like these that he missed Miles the most. He missed the soft fingertips that traced endless patterns on his shoulder and the steady thump of a heartbeat beneath his ear, he missed the croaky sleep deprived voice that quietly sang to him and the lips that gently pressed against his bed-head hair.
These were among the only times he hated his job. He hated the endless mismatched schedules and by God did he fucking loathe the distance. He knew it was unavoidable what with them both being full time musicians; it had been the one worry they had both had at the beginning of their relationship, the one thing that had them questioning whether they would last. All those worries of course had gone out the window once they realized how well they worked together, how perfectly fitting they were for one another, but that just forced Alex to hate the distance all the more.
Sighing, Alex turned on his side once more, now facing the neon red letters of the digital clock on his nightstand that read 00:24. Running a hand through his hair, he rose into a sitting position. Perhaps a cup of tea would help his eyes shut for the night. As he threw a pair of trackie bottoms he’d gathered from the bedroom floor on, he’d already decided that no, in all probability a cup of tea would not help, but at this point he was willing to give anything a try.
If Miles were here he’d insist on making the tea himself, kissing Alex on the forehead and murmuring the words “don’t you dare move” as he left the room. Miles’ tea always tasted better, Alex wasn’t sure if Miles just had insanely good tea making skills, or if the mere thought of Miles getting up in the middle of the night to make Alex tea just made it taste better, either way it was delicious.
The sound of the kettle whistling broke Alex’s train of thought and he began pouring the boiling water into his favourite mug, adding one sugar and just enough milk so that he wouldn’t burn his tongue when he took the first sip. He ventured into the living room, flicking on the light with his spare hand and carefully placing his mug on the coffee table. He reached for his phone to check the time once again, but instead found himself gazing at his screensaver. It was a photo of himself and Miles in some hole-in-the-wall cafe that Matt had so kindly offered to take; Alex’s hair was messy and his eyes were half closed, but he loved the photo anyway because he was wrapped up in Miles’ embrace and just looked so happy. Miles himself looked about as sleep deprived as Alex felt, but his nose was squished against Alex’s cheek and his lips pressed underneath and fuck did he miss Miles.
That was all it took for Alex to swipe right with his thumb and call that oh so important person. As the phone rang, Alex realized that he’d made a mistake, it was around 03:30 am where Miles was and he was probably sleeping. Decidedly, Alex didn’t bother hanging up, Miles had most likely been woken at that point.
“Al?” Croaked that perfectly familiar voice.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you,” Alex practically spewed out, “It’s just I’ve been trying to sleep for hours now and I didn’t know what else to do and I just wanted to hear your voice.”
“Hey, it’s okay, I couldn’t sleep anyway.”
A little smiles creeped its way onto Alex’s face. Miles was lying, he had been sound asleep when Alex called, because he could sleep though anything, but he didn’t want Alex to feel bad, or guilty. Even in his disrupted sleep state Miles was only thinking of Alex’s feelings. Typical.
“Yes you could.”
“Would I lie to you?”
Alex snorted, picking up his tea and taking a gulp.
“Anyway,” Miles continued, “What’s up, buttercup? What’s got you wired?”
Alex sighed for the hundredth time that night and leant his head against the back of the couch. “I miss you.”
It was Miles’ turn to sigh. “I know you do, la, I miss you too, but there’s no point in getting yourself worked up about it, I’ll be back before you know it.”
“Doubtful. Weeks seem like years when you’re not here Mi.”
Miles didn’t say anything, but Alex knew he agreed. Distance was one thing Alex knew they mutually hated. Luckily, he’s not as bad as he used to be. The first time the two were away from each other after becoming a couple was hell. Alex had been on tour and no amount of shows could fill the gaping hole he had felt in his heart. Fortunately, with time came the acceptance that he would just have to put up with it and stop feeling sorry for himself, he wasn’t the only person missing somebody. That didn’t mean he missed Miles any less.
“Did you try making yourself a cup of tea?”
“Yeah, nowhere near as nice as yours though.”
“Stop trying to butter me up Turner,” Miles teased.
Alex chuckled and took yet another gulp of his mediocre tea.
“Are you in bed, la?”
“No.”
“Well, go on up and lie down. You might fall asleep talking with me.”
Slowly, Alex lifted himself off the settee and carried his cup to the kitchen, turning the light of on the way out. Miles rambled on about some joke one of the roadies had made while Alex emptied the last of his tea down the sink and made his way upstairs, settling down on his shared bed once again.
“You all tucked in?”
Alex hummed in response, kicking off his trackie bottoms, closing his eyes and pulling the sheet up past his shoulder.
“Okay, just close your eyes, love.”
“Already done,” Alex mumbled, the lack of sleep finally catching up on him.
“You want me to sing to you?”
Alex smiled, breathing out a barely audible, “Yes please.” He didn’t last much longer beyond that, somehow stayed awake through Miles’ rendition of Lou Reed’s ‘Walk on The Wild Side’. However, the “Goodnight love” that echoed though the phone fell on deaf ears and Miles hung up, counting down the days to where a conversation with Alex wouldn’t be through the phone.