"Don't get cocky, now," Ash warned, eyeing Miles reproachfully and tutting. "Just because I thought about you in a concerned manner for more than three seconds doesn't give you the right to hold it over my head. Besides, you know I need you around. Stand me next to you, and I'm like a genius Adonis. Without you by my side, I'm above average, at most. Your inadequacies make me look better." Ash grinned devilishly, knowing Miles hated it whenever he teased too harshly. Sometimes he simply couldn't help himself, though. Miles never really retaliated whenever Ash got a little too mouthy; he simply cursed at the taller boy, or called him some insulting name, huffed a bit and then they were free to continue on with their day. Perhaps, if Miles were a little wittier, Ash would be more careful about his words. His broken friend was glaring at him, so Ash shook his head and patted Miles as gingerly as he could on the chest. "Hey, don't get all fussy with me. Go on, tell me what happened to you."<br/><br/>Miles opened his mouth again and let loose with what must have been the truth, it was too insane not to be. Ash's eyes took a quick glance in Casper's direction, seeing the validity of Miles' statement etched into the hard, disappointed lines of his face. No wonder Casper seemed so irritated with Miles; the boy had been acting like a right twit. "You got drunk and you didn't invite me?" Ash replied teasingly, tutting again with that active tongue of his. "Well, from the sound of it, it seems like you did me a favor. I'd hate to be laying about like you right now. I'm guessing the other guy won, eh?"<br/><br/>His friend didn't seem too interested in idling long on just precisely why he was all bandaged up in bed and redirected the conversation to their homework. Ash nodded, dragging the backpack over and unzipping it, showing Miles the books. "I brought everything, like I said I would. I'll help you out a bit, but I'm not here to be your personal scribe, all right?"<br/><br/>Casper interrupted, stealing Ash's attention away from Miles and awarding Ash's curiosity with a jab that set Miles' skin aflame. Ash burst out into a boisterous laughter, slapping his hand over his mouth when he saw the fierce glare Miles gave. "Sorry," Ash mumbled, momentarily directing his attention to the floor where he still knelt before taking a second to glace sideways at Casper. The man could crack a joke, that was evident, and he housed a wicked sense of humor that tickled Ash's funny bone in just the right way. He couldn't help but wonder how someone with a biting wit could have a son like Miles. The boy was so very literal in his thinking most days that most of Ash's humorous observations flew right over his head like a fleeting wind.<br/><br/>It seemed Casper's teasing was over, for now, and Ash kept his eyes trained on the older man as he made his way to the door, pulling at his shirt and exposing his damp chest. The man had sharp, attractive collar bones and Ash found he enjoyed the way they framed the tops of his pectorals, though his view was minimal.<br/><br/>"Fantastic meeting you too, Mr. Hawkins," Ash replied, perhaps a little too earnestly, staring at the empty space Casper left after he had exited Miles' bedroom.<br/><br/>Miles swiftly brought Ash back to reality with a thump on the head. "Ow!" the boy snapped, rubbing at the now sore spot where Miles had smacked. Ash glared at the bedridden boy, a frown on his attractive face. "What the hell was that for?"<br/><br/>He shrugged his shoulders, letting his eyes wander aimlessly around Miles' bedroom just to avoid giving the shorter male a direct look. "We didn't talk about anything, ya twat. He didn't even tell me how hurt you really were. All he mentioned were your wrists, and I made a joke that you had fucked 'em all up by masturbating too excessively. It was just a joke, you know I meant nothing by it." Although Ash was putting on his apologetic tone, he wasn't truly one to ever feel badly about making a joke at anyone else's expense. Miles would get all huffy about it, most likely, but he'd forgive him like he always did, and it would be nothing like it always was. Ash found he'd rather skip all the nonsense and get to the meat of the issue.<br/><br/>"Okay, Miles, you better give me the rest of this story. Maybe you were keeping your mouth shut 'cause daddy was here, but some things aren't adding up." Ash completely believed Miles had made himself particularly inebriated and got into a tussle, but the lack of detail about the whole event was rubbing him the wrong way. How could Miles remember drinking and fighting but nothing else?<br/><br/>"Where did this happen? Who were you fighting with? And why the hell didn't you invite me, you nitwit? At the very least I could have provided you some choice back up."