fic: easy silence (disney rpf, nick/miley, pg)
Title: Easy Silence
Author: empressearwig
Pairing: Nick/Miley, peripheral Kevin/Danielle
Rating: PG
Word Count: 2,101
Warnings: None
Disclaimer: I own nothing, this is all for fun. Etc.
Summary: Kevin and Danielle get engaged. Nick reacts.
Author's Notes: For leobrat, who doesn’t mind when I take her on strange trips with me. Title is from the Dixie Chicks song of the same name.
Nick can’t stop thinking about the fact that Kevin’s engaged.
It’s not that he’s not happy for Kevin and Danielle, he is. He just knows that everything is going to be different now. Kevin’s not just going to be his brother; he’s going to be Danielle’s husband. He’s going to move out and have his own house, and not always be there.
Nick’s just really used to Kevin always being there.
As soon as Kevin calls with the news that Danielle said yes (like that was a surprise), Nick wants to talk to Miley. But she’s filming and he doesn’t want to interrupt, so he settles for texting her, have good news. call as soon as you can. miss you. He supposes he could have told her in a text, but the news feels too big for that, too important. Plus, he just really wants to hear her voice.
He thinks she’ll understand what he’s feeling. Trace and Brandi didn’t leave to get married, but they left, and he knows how much Miley misses them. Kevin’s not even gone yet, but it’s like Nick misses him already.
And he really misses Miley.
*
Miley calls an hour later.
“Hi Nicky,” she says, sounding happy and breathless, and if he missed her before he thinks he misses her even more now. “What’s going on?”
“Kevin and Danielle are engaged,” he blurts out, not even bothering to say hello.
There’s a long silence on the other end of the line, and then suddenly she’s letting out a high pitched squeal and Nick literally has to hold the phone away from his ear.
“What, when, where -” Miley starts in, and he grins. He knows people think she’s too immature for him, that they don’t make sense, but he needs her exuberance, the way she can always make him smile. He just needs Miley.
“Whoa, Miles,” he laughs into the phone.
“Well you can’t just drop a bomb like that and not give me the deets, Nicky,” she huffs. “This is huge!”
He nods, though she can’t see him. “Believe me, I know.”
Something in his voice must have changed, because her voice softens and she asks,” Are you okay?”
He nods again and say, “I’m just - I’m so happy for them. Dani’s amazing and she makes Kevin so happy, but it’s weird, you know? Kevin’s getting married, Miley. Married.”
“I know,” she says gently.
They lapse into not speaking, and Nick can hear her quiet, steady breathing come through the phone. He loves the way that she can tell when he needs the quiet and when he needs her to fill up his empty silences.
The words tumble out before he knows what he’s saying. “Come to Utah this weekend.”
“What?”
“Come to Utah this weekend,” he says more urgently. “Please. We’re going to be celebrating and I just - I just need to see you. I miss you.”
“I miss you, too.” There’s a pause, and he can practically hear her thinking. “I have to ask my parents, though. But I promise I’ll try.”
“Yeah?” he tries not to sound too hopeful.
“Yeah,” she promises. In the background he can hear her name being called loudly. “Shoot, I’ve gotta get back to set. I’ll call you later, okay?”
“Okay.”
“Tell Kevin and Danielle I said congratulations, and Nick?”
“Yeah?”
“I love you.”
“Love you, too.”
The call ends and as Nick’s sliding his phone back into his pocket, he can feel himself smiling.
He feels lighter, he feels happier, like now he’s the right amount of happy for Kevin and Danielle.
He really hopes Miley can come this weekend.
*
Miley comes to Utah.
When she gets there it’s late, and most everyone has drifted off to their hotel rooms or to bars or to where ever. Joe disappeared with the band hours ago, and Nick’s alone in their room, leaning back against the headboard of one of the beds, strumming a guitar quietly and trying not to watch the clock.
There’s a soft knock at the door, and he scrambles off the bed to answer, barely remembering to check to see who it is first. He knows better, too many years of fans staking out their hotels has taught him as much, but he just really wants to see Miley. And when he spots her on the other side, he flings the door open and drags her inside.
Miley’s all travel-rumpled and sleepy-eyed, and he thinks that he’s never seen her look prettier than she does right this minute. He pushes her back into the closed door, wrapping his arms around her and bending his head to kiss her. She makes a happy little sighing noise and reaches up to tangle her fingers in the hair at the back of his neck, and she tugs him more firmly against her.
Even when he finally has to pull back because he needs to breathe, he’s not willing to break the contact. He just leans his forehead against hers and opens his eyes to find her staring back at him, looking dazed and flushed, and he’s sure he looks the same way. “Hi,” he breathes, pressing a kiss to one cheek and then the other.
“Hi,” she laughs, and she pushes him back from her just a little. “I’m happy you’re happy to see me, Nicky, but can I come in?”
He groans, but takes her hand and pulls her away from the door. “And this is it,” he says, gesturing around the hotel room. “Home sweet home. At least for the night.”
“You sound so jaded,” Miley scolds. “You love this and you know it.” She flops down on the bed and looks up at him with a grin. “Being on tour, playing each night for thousands of screaming girls, getting to be a rock star…”
“Are there girls at our concerts?” he asks innocently, coming to sit next to her on the bed. He reaches out to tickle her side and she squirms away from his hand. “I hadn’t noticed.”
“Very funny, Nicholas.” Miley’s all the way on the other side of the bed now, eyes narrowed at him, practically daring him to try it again.
He grins. She really should know better. “I thought so, Destiny Hope.” He lunges for her, and catches her ankle, pulling her down so that she’s flat on her back. He rolls on top of her. “Gotcha.”
Miley laughs as she wraps herself around him. She stares up at him expectantly, her voice coming out as only a breathless whisper, “And what are you going to do with me?”
He doesn’t answer, but leans down to kiss her instead. Her mouth parts eagerly beneath his, and she tastes like the caramel drink from Starbucks that she loves, and he can’t help but moan a little as she slips her hands beneath his shirt and against his skin. He presses kisses along her jaw and down her neck, his hands tracing the curves of her body, before finally sliding under the soft cotton of her shirt.
One of Miley’s hands tangles in his curls and she tugs him back up to her lips, rolling them over, so she’s straddling him. She sits back just a little, pushing her hair back away from her face.
“Nicky?” she breathes, her hands running across his chest.
“Yeah?” he pants, his hands gripping her hips tightly, trying to pull her back down into him.
“Where’s Joe?” She looks at him anxiously, as she toys with the hem of his shirt, like she’s afraid to go any further.
At first he doesn’t realize what she’s asking, because he hasn’t seen her in two weeks and he has a hard enough time thinking when Miley’s around anyway, but when she’s on top of him, lips swollen and kissable, he can’t think, period. And he doesn’t understand why she’s talking about Joe right now at all. But then somehow, he remembers where they are and that they’re in a room he’s sharing with his brother who could be back at any time and he sighs heavily, releasing his hold on her hips and running his hands through his hair in frustration.
Miley slides off him, sprawling out next to him on the bed. She slides her hand into his, and Nick squeezes it gently.
“I’m sorry, Miles,” he says.
She turns to look at him, a confused expression on her face. “For what?”
He releases her hand and turns on his side, propping himself up on his elbow so that he can look at her. “For forgetting where we are, that Joe could be back whenever.” He reaches out to stroke her cheek. “You kind of make me crazy, you know that?” He can feel himself blushing, which is ridiculous considering what they were just doing, but Miley’s always made him feel just a little bit lamer than normal.
Miley smiles at him happily, like he’s just said the absolute right thing, and she slides closer, burrowing her face in his chest. She presses a kiss to his neck, and he wraps an arm around her waist.
“This is nice,” she says, voice muffled by his shirt.
He nods, and breathes in the scent of her hair. He loves that it still smells the same, that this part of her didn’t change, even when so much else had. It makes him remember what it was like to be fourteen and in love, and he thinks that this is even better.
She tilts her head back and looks up at him, and he can see she has her serious face on. “Nick?”
“Yeah?”
“Are you really okay?”
He looks at her with confusion. “Miley, what are you -“
She rolls her eyes at him like he’s being intentionally slow. “Kevin and Danielle. Getting married. It freaked you out, I know it did.”
“No,” he tries to deny it, but Miley’s shaking her head at him.
“Nicky…” she says gently, reaching up to trace his jaw. “It’s me. Tell me.”
He sighs. She really does know him too well sometimes. “I just. I don’t know.” He’s drawing absent patterns on her back and trying to figure out what to say, but the words just aren’t there.
“It’s okay that it did, Nick. You’re not a bad brother.” She smiles at him. “I promise.”
“Yeah?”
Miley nods. “Yeah.”
It’s like her absolution unties his tongue and he starts rambling, not even sure if he’s making any sense. “It’s just all going to change now, isn’t it? I mean, we’ll still be a band, and it’s not like Dani didn’t come with us a lot of the time anyway, but Kevin’s going to have other priorities now and he should, but it’ll be different. And I’m being selfish and I just want things to stay the same and what’s wrong with me?” He looks at her miserably. “I’m happy for them, I am. She makes Kevin happier than anything, and I’ve known that this was coming, so why am I feeling like this now that it’s here?”
“You’re human, Nick,” Miley says. “Things are changing. If you weren’t freaked out, I’d be more worried.” She wraps her arms around him, pulling him into her warmth. “It’s okay to just be sixteen and scared. I promise.”
He laughs weakly against her hair. “You’re making an awful lot of promises tonight, Miles.”
She tilts her face back to look up at him. “Have you ever known me to break one?”
He hasn’t, and suddenly it feels like they’re talking about something else entirely, something else that he isn’t ready to think about. So he just shakes his head and presses a kiss to her cheek. “Never.”
She grins at him, and his chest feels lighter. He thinks he could love her for the way she makes his world not as heavy alone. He runs his fingers through her hair. “I love you, Miley.”
“I love you, too,” she says, and stretches up to press a soft kiss to his lips.
He tucks her head against his chest, and they fall silent. He strokes her hair, and he can feel her breathing even out, feel her falling asleep in his arms. He presses a kiss to her hair, and leans his head against hers and tries to do the same.
Before he falls asleep, he thinks that if Danielle makes Kevin feel what Miley makes him feel, then his brother is the second luckiest guy in the world.
Because he’s the one that has Miley.
And that makes him the first.
Author: empressearwig
Pairing: Nick/Miley, peripheral Kevin/Danielle
Rating: PG
Word Count: 2,101
Warnings: None
Disclaimer: I own nothing, this is all for fun. Etc.
Summary: Kevin and Danielle get engaged. Nick reacts.
Author's Notes: For leobrat, who doesn’t mind when I take her on strange trips with me. Title is from the Dixie Chicks song of the same name.
Nick can’t stop thinking about the fact that Kevin’s engaged.
It’s not that he’s not happy for Kevin and Danielle, he is. He just knows that everything is going to be different now. Kevin’s not just going to be his brother; he’s going to be Danielle’s husband. He’s going to move out and have his own house, and not always be there.
Nick’s just really used to Kevin always being there.
As soon as Kevin calls with the news that Danielle said yes (like that was a surprise), Nick wants to talk to Miley. But she’s filming and he doesn’t want to interrupt, so he settles for texting her, have good news. call as soon as you can. miss you. He supposes he could have told her in a text, but the news feels too big for that, too important. Plus, he just really wants to hear her voice.
He thinks she’ll understand what he’s feeling. Trace and Brandi didn’t leave to get married, but they left, and he knows how much Miley misses them. Kevin’s not even gone yet, but it’s like Nick misses him already.
And he really misses Miley.
*
Miley calls an hour later.
“Hi Nicky,” she says, sounding happy and breathless, and if he missed her before he thinks he misses her even more now. “What’s going on?”
“Kevin and Danielle are engaged,” he blurts out, not even bothering to say hello.
There’s a long silence on the other end of the line, and then suddenly she’s letting out a high pitched squeal and Nick literally has to hold the phone away from his ear.
“What, when, where -” Miley starts in, and he grins. He knows people think she’s too immature for him, that they don’t make sense, but he needs her exuberance, the way she can always make him smile. He just needs Miley.
“Whoa, Miles,” he laughs into the phone.
“Well you can’t just drop a bomb like that and not give me the deets, Nicky,” she huffs. “This is huge!”
He nods, though she can’t see him. “Believe me, I know.”
Something in his voice must have changed, because her voice softens and she asks,” Are you okay?”
He nods again and say, “I’m just - I’m so happy for them. Dani’s amazing and she makes Kevin so happy, but it’s weird, you know? Kevin’s getting married, Miley. Married.”
“I know,” she says gently.
They lapse into not speaking, and Nick can hear her quiet, steady breathing come through the phone. He loves the way that she can tell when he needs the quiet and when he needs her to fill up his empty silences.
The words tumble out before he knows what he’s saying. “Come to Utah this weekend.”
“What?”
“Come to Utah this weekend,” he says more urgently. “Please. We’re going to be celebrating and I just - I just need to see you. I miss you.”
“I miss you, too.” There’s a pause, and he can practically hear her thinking. “I have to ask my parents, though. But I promise I’ll try.”
“Yeah?” he tries not to sound too hopeful.
“Yeah,” she promises. In the background he can hear her name being called loudly. “Shoot, I’ve gotta get back to set. I’ll call you later, okay?”
“Okay.”
“Tell Kevin and Danielle I said congratulations, and Nick?”
“Yeah?”
“I love you.”
“Love you, too.”
The call ends and as Nick’s sliding his phone back into his pocket, he can feel himself smiling.
He feels lighter, he feels happier, like now he’s the right amount of happy for Kevin and Danielle.
He really hopes Miley can come this weekend.
*
Miley comes to Utah.
When she gets there it’s late, and most everyone has drifted off to their hotel rooms or to bars or to where ever. Joe disappeared with the band hours ago, and Nick’s alone in their room, leaning back against the headboard of one of the beds, strumming a guitar quietly and trying not to watch the clock.
There’s a soft knock at the door, and he scrambles off the bed to answer, barely remembering to check to see who it is first. He knows better, too many years of fans staking out their hotels has taught him as much, but he just really wants to see Miley. And when he spots her on the other side, he flings the door open and drags her inside.
Miley’s all travel-rumpled and sleepy-eyed, and he thinks that he’s never seen her look prettier than she does right this minute. He pushes her back into the closed door, wrapping his arms around her and bending his head to kiss her. She makes a happy little sighing noise and reaches up to tangle her fingers in the hair at the back of his neck, and she tugs him more firmly against her.
Even when he finally has to pull back because he needs to breathe, he’s not willing to break the contact. He just leans his forehead against hers and opens his eyes to find her staring back at him, looking dazed and flushed, and he’s sure he looks the same way. “Hi,” he breathes, pressing a kiss to one cheek and then the other.
“Hi,” she laughs, and she pushes him back from her just a little. “I’m happy you’re happy to see me, Nicky, but can I come in?”
He groans, but takes her hand and pulls her away from the door. “And this is it,” he says, gesturing around the hotel room. “Home sweet home. At least for the night.”
“You sound so jaded,” Miley scolds. “You love this and you know it.” She flops down on the bed and looks up at him with a grin. “Being on tour, playing each night for thousands of screaming girls, getting to be a rock star…”
“Are there girls at our concerts?” he asks innocently, coming to sit next to her on the bed. He reaches out to tickle her side and she squirms away from his hand. “I hadn’t noticed.”
“Very funny, Nicholas.” Miley’s all the way on the other side of the bed now, eyes narrowed at him, practically daring him to try it again.
He grins. She really should know better. “I thought so, Destiny Hope.” He lunges for her, and catches her ankle, pulling her down so that she’s flat on her back. He rolls on top of her. “Gotcha.”
Miley laughs as she wraps herself around him. She stares up at him expectantly, her voice coming out as only a breathless whisper, “And what are you going to do with me?”
He doesn’t answer, but leans down to kiss her instead. Her mouth parts eagerly beneath his, and she tastes like the caramel drink from Starbucks that she loves, and he can’t help but moan a little as she slips her hands beneath his shirt and against his skin. He presses kisses along her jaw and down her neck, his hands tracing the curves of her body, before finally sliding under the soft cotton of her shirt.
One of Miley’s hands tangles in his curls and she tugs him back up to her lips, rolling them over, so she’s straddling him. She sits back just a little, pushing her hair back away from her face.
“Nicky?” she breathes, her hands running across his chest.
“Yeah?” he pants, his hands gripping her hips tightly, trying to pull her back down into him.
“Where’s Joe?” She looks at him anxiously, as she toys with the hem of his shirt, like she’s afraid to go any further.
At first he doesn’t realize what she’s asking, because he hasn’t seen her in two weeks and he has a hard enough time thinking when Miley’s around anyway, but when she’s on top of him, lips swollen and kissable, he can’t think, period. And he doesn’t understand why she’s talking about Joe right now at all. But then somehow, he remembers where they are and that they’re in a room he’s sharing with his brother who could be back at any time and he sighs heavily, releasing his hold on her hips and running his hands through his hair in frustration.
Miley slides off him, sprawling out next to him on the bed. She slides her hand into his, and Nick squeezes it gently.
“I’m sorry, Miles,” he says.
She turns to look at him, a confused expression on her face. “For what?”
He releases her hand and turns on his side, propping himself up on his elbow so that he can look at her. “For forgetting where we are, that Joe could be back whenever.” He reaches out to stroke her cheek. “You kind of make me crazy, you know that?” He can feel himself blushing, which is ridiculous considering what they were just doing, but Miley’s always made him feel just a little bit lamer than normal.
Miley smiles at him happily, like he’s just said the absolute right thing, and she slides closer, burrowing her face in his chest. She presses a kiss to his neck, and he wraps an arm around her waist.
“This is nice,” she says, voice muffled by his shirt.
He nods, and breathes in the scent of her hair. He loves that it still smells the same, that this part of her didn’t change, even when so much else had. It makes him remember what it was like to be fourteen and in love, and he thinks that this is even better.
She tilts her head back and looks up at him, and he can see she has her serious face on. “Nick?”
“Yeah?”
“Are you really okay?”
He looks at her with confusion. “Miley, what are you -“
She rolls her eyes at him like he’s being intentionally slow. “Kevin and Danielle. Getting married. It freaked you out, I know it did.”
“No,” he tries to deny it, but Miley’s shaking her head at him.
“Nicky…” she says gently, reaching up to trace his jaw. “It’s me. Tell me.”
He sighs. She really does know him too well sometimes. “I just. I don’t know.” He’s drawing absent patterns on her back and trying to figure out what to say, but the words just aren’t there.
“It’s okay that it did, Nick. You’re not a bad brother.” She smiles at him. “I promise.”
“Yeah?”
Miley nods. “Yeah.”
It’s like her absolution unties his tongue and he starts rambling, not even sure if he’s making any sense. “It’s just all going to change now, isn’t it? I mean, we’ll still be a band, and it’s not like Dani didn’t come with us a lot of the time anyway, but Kevin’s going to have other priorities now and he should, but it’ll be different. And I’m being selfish and I just want things to stay the same and what’s wrong with me?” He looks at her miserably. “I’m happy for them, I am. She makes Kevin happier than anything, and I’ve known that this was coming, so why am I feeling like this now that it’s here?”
“You’re human, Nick,” Miley says. “Things are changing. If you weren’t freaked out, I’d be more worried.” She wraps her arms around him, pulling him into her warmth. “It’s okay to just be sixteen and scared. I promise.”
He laughs weakly against her hair. “You’re making an awful lot of promises tonight, Miles.”
She tilts her face back to look up at him. “Have you ever known me to break one?”
He hasn’t, and suddenly it feels like they’re talking about something else entirely, something else that he isn’t ready to think about. So he just shakes his head and presses a kiss to her cheek. “Never.”
She grins at him, and his chest feels lighter. He thinks he could love her for the way she makes his world not as heavy alone. He runs his fingers through her hair. “I love you, Miley.”
“I love you, too,” she says, and stretches up to press a soft kiss to his lips.
He tucks her head against his chest, and they fall silent. He strokes her hair, and he can feel her breathing even out, feel her falling asleep in his arms. He presses a kiss to her hair, and leans his head against hers and tries to do the same.
Before he falls asleep, he thinks that if Danielle makes Kevin feel what Miley makes him feel, then his brother is the second luckiest guy in the world.
Because he’s the one that has Miley.
And that makes him the first.