Joe/Miley - The Best Luck I Had Was You (Or Four Time Joe was Alone with Miley) (oneshot)
Title: The Best Luck I Had Was You (Or Four Times Joe was Alone with Miley)
Character/Pairings: Joe/Miley (mentions of Nick/Miley)
Summary: sometimes Joe thinks they’re soulmates. Not in a ‘let’s-get-married-and-have-babies-and-live-happily-ever-after’ way, but in a ‘we’re-kind-of-the-same-person’ way.
Rating: G
Word Count: 2,100
Disclaimer: I own nothing and this probably never happened. Title from Michael Franti and Spearhead's Say Hey (I Love You)
Other: Written as a gift for empressearwig.
i.
The first time Joe goes to Miley’s house without Nick it’s because Miley wants him to go shopping with her for Nick’s birthday present.
After he rings the doorbell he stuffs his hands into his pockets because it’s a chilly day, and he hasn’t spent a whole day alone with Miley, well, ever, and he’s kind of freaking out. Because he’s sure it’s going to be weird.
But then Miley opens the door, grinning at him and pulling him into her house. “Hey, do you want something to eat?”
“No, I’m good,” Joe looks around, trying not to appear awkward even though he has no idea what to do next.
“Are you sure? Because I slept late, and my parents went out to lunch and now there’s no one to drive us anyway.” Miley runs her fingers through her hair and looks up at him with the bluest eyes he’s ever seen.
He realizes that she doesn’t want him to leave, and he’s not sure if that’s because they’ve had fun when she’s hanging out with his entire family or because she forgot to call him and cancel. “I could use some water,” he says, kicking his shoes off.
“Great.” Miley goes into the kitchen, pouring some milk into her cereal and getting him a glass of water. “Sorry we couldn’t get Nick a present,” she says.
“It’s okay.” Joe means it. He doesn’t have anything else to do today anyway. “You want to call Nick and have him come over?”
“Nah, he said he was going to do some writing today and he always gets a little snippy if I interrupt him.”
Joe chuckles under his breath, watching some condensation drip down his glass. “Yeah, sometimes he gets like that.”
“That’s why I like you though,” Miley begins, chewing on her cereal thoughtfully. “You’re just always having fun, rolling with the punches or whatever. You’re good for him.”
Joe feels his throat go dry and he stares at her. And he’s pretty sure she has no idea that what she just said means a lot to him. “So are you.”
When Nick and Miley first started dating, Joe was worried that maybe Nick would get hurt, that maybe Miley didn’t like him as much as he liked her, that the distance would just naturally make her forget. Joe knew Nick wasn’t going to forget because he was writing songs all the time. But then they moved out here, and Joe saw just how much Miley liked his brother. And it was okay.
Joe sees a little of himself in Miley, and he kind of wonders if maybe she was a little older, if he would have asked her out. But she isn’t, and she’s his brother’s girlfriend. And yeah, if he could have handpicked someone for Nick, it’d probably be her.
“My sister just got a trampoline, want to go on it after I finish?” Miley asks, shoving the last of her cereal into her mouth.
“Yeah,” Joe says, tapping his fingers on the table, a smile involuntarily spreading across his lips. “Sounds good.”
He spends the whole day with her, jumping on the trampoline, playing videogames, Miley teaching him some crazy yoga positions that make all the blood rush to his head if he stays in them too long. They don’t talk about Nick again, and it doesn’t feel strange. It feels like they’re actually friends, and not just because she’s dating his brother.
When Joe leaves he hugs her extra tight and tells her to call him later.
As he walks down her driveway, she yells, “Practice your yoga!”
“Practice your Halo!” he shouts back.
ii.
The second time Joe goes to Miley’s house alone it’s because they’re having a terrible movie watching party, just the two of them. It was Miley’s idea, but sometimes Joe wonders if they thought of it together.
“Have you ever wondered why, of all the people involved in making this movie, nobody stopped to think, ‘hey this really sucks, maybe we should stop?’ I mean, someone had to have seen how crappy it was, right?” Joe asks, tossing a kernel of popcorn into his mouth.
“They probably thought it’d be funny to see how many people would pay money to go see it,” Miley laughs, eyes glued to the screen, waiting for something unintentionally funny to happen.
“You paid money to rent it; I wonder how stupid that makes you?” Joe asks, watching her as she turns to him, mouth dropping open in disbelief. “I bet they heard someone checked it out and have been laughing at you ever since.”
“Shut up!” She smacks him in the side with a pillow, shaking her head at him. “They’re probably thanking me for giving them money to live on.”
“Worshiping the ground you walk on?” Joe takes a sip of his soda, stretching his legs out in front of him and flexing his feet since they’re starting to fall asleep. This is the third movie they’ve watched, and with anyone else he’s sure he would be bored out of his mind by now.
“Oh, of course.” She nods her head, her face serious. “They’ll probably come over to thank me personally. I bet they’ll actually pay me for renting this.”
“But then they don’t earn anything,” Joe points out.
“Do they even get money if I rent something from blockbuster?” Miley asks, reaching into the bowl on Joe’s lap, chewing on her popcorn thoughtfully
.
“I…don’t know. Maybe not.”
“How excited are you for the tour?” Miley changes the subject abruptly, squeezing Joe’s shoulder. Her face lights up whenever she talks about it, her eyes glowing and her smile shining.
“As excited as you,” Joe says, reaching out and ruffling Miley’s hair. “Thanks again for asking us.”
“You kidding me?” Miley reaches over and ruffles Joe’s hair, too. “I wouldn’t miss a chance to spend a few months with my favorite guy.”
Joe puts his hand over his heart and blinks rapidly at her, filling his voice with fake emotion, “Oh, Miley, I didn’t know I was your favorite.”
“Oh. Yeah, you’re good, too,” she says flippantly. “I was talking about Kevin.”
Joe really laughs at that, pulling the pillow he’s sitting on from underneath him and throwing it a Miley. She just giggles, leaning her head on Joe’s shoulder. “Oh, hey, rewind, rewind!” she shouts, pointing at the screen. “I think something ridiculous just happened.”
Yeah, Joe thinks, like his life being completely awesome.
iii.
When Joe goes over to visit Miley without telling anybody else, it’s to make sure she’s doing okay after the break-up. He’d seen it coming, warned Nick to be careful, because he knew it would hurt his brother--he's probably be more heartbroken than ever before-- but he also knew it’d kill Miley. Joe thinks he’s a little heartbroken, too.
“Hey,” he says quietly, she’s lying down on the hotel bed, staring at the wall, and Joe’s lived with Nick long enough to recognize Elvis Costello when he hears it. So he goes over to the stereo and turns it off, plopping down next to Miley and pulling her into him, running a hand over her hair. “How’s it going?”
“Bad,” she breathes out, snuggling closer to him. “You guys are leaving the tour, right?”
“Yeah,” Joe whispers, kissing the top of her head. “It’s probably better that way. It’ll be easier for you and Nick.”
Miley sniffles a little, not saying anything for a long time. Joe watches the minutes tick by slowly, time’s practically standing still. “How can it be better when I don’t have my best friend anymore?”
Joe feels his heart swell and break. He rubs his hand in circles around her back, breathing in her shampoo. He wishes the last time he’d see her for a while he’d get to hear her laugh, watch her eyes light up as she smiles, he hates that this’ll be it; they’re flying out to New Jersey for Christmas tomorrow morning.
He doesn’t know what to say, so he just holds her there, closing his eyes and wishing he could explain how having your heart broken gets better, how she’s stronger than she thinks she is. But there’s a lump in his throat and he’s trying not to cry.
Joe knows he won’t really be able to talk to Miley all the time, and Miley knows it too. He feels like he’s losing his best friend, too, and he can’t really comfort her any better when he feels the loss just as much as she does.
iv.
When Joe goes to Miley’s house he doesn’t tell Nick, because technically no one knows that sometimes they still talk. Because Nick and Miley have been broken up for a good eight months and Nick’s dating Selena, so Joe doesn’t feel too bad about the whole thing. And he and Miley both happen to be in town today, and they’re not doing anything else, and that never happens.
And he misses her.
She ushers him in quickly, letting out a high-pitched squeal, embracing him tightly. Joe can’t help it--he picks her up off the ground and spins her around. “What’s up, Miles?” he asks. Seeing her feels surreal, Joe’s about ready to pinch himself.
“I think you got taller,” she says, placing her hands on her hips, studying him. Joe turns around slowly so she can get a good look and she laughs appreciatively. “Yes, definitely taller,” she concludes, twining their fingers together and leading him into the kitchen.
“And you eat just as much as I remember,” Joe quips as Miley drops his hand and starts rummaging through the freezer.
“Hey! I hid some ice cream for us. And you don’t even know how hard that was considering Justin and Braison eat more than I do. Ah-ha!” She spins around, holding the pint out for him.
“I appreciate it,” Joe says, shaking his head in amusement at her, going over to the utensil drawer get some spoons. “And if Justin ever eats your ice cream again, I’ll beat him up for you.”
“What about Braison?” Miley asks, sitting down at the table and peeling the lid off the carton.
Joe sits down next to her, handing her a spoon. “I’m pretty sure Trace would beat me up, and I can’t have that.”
“And you could take Justin but not him?” Miley asks, raising her eyebrows at Joe suspiciously.
“Nah, I just think you like me better than Justin, but I can’t compete with family.”
Miley looks at him seriously for a moment, swallowing her ice cream before speaking, “you’re family.”
Joe presses his lips together, looking at her carefully before glancing around the kitchen. “Good…so what else do you have planned for Joe and Miley’s day of fun?”
“You have been hanging out with Demi too much.” Miley smiles at him, gently kicking his leg under the table.
“It’s not my fault if you’re so famous that you’ve forgotten about the little people, the people who knew you way back when.”
Miley kicks him again, giggling when Joe grunts in pain. “You love me,” she says, tilting her head to the side.
“Yeah, I do…And I plan to kick your butt at Halo today.”
“Pfft,” she huffs, wiping at her eyes a little. “I’ve been practicing. And I bet your yoga skills haven’t improved.”
“Oh, that’s not even fair, girls are naturally more flexible than guys,” Joe protests, shaking some hair out of his eyes, feeling some melted ice cream slide easily down his throat.
“Someone hasn’t been practicing,” Miley smirks softly, shaking her head in false disappointment. “It’s okay; I’ll go easy on you.”
“Right back at ya.”
Miley looks at him for a minute, and then a new surge of mist overtakes her eyes. She glances down before looking back up at him. “I love you, too.”
And, yeah, sometimes Joe thinks they’re soulmates. Not in a ‘let’s-get-married-and-have-babies-and-live-happily-ever-after’ way, but in a ‘we’re-kind-of-the-same-person’ way. And he’s not sure when Miley started to know him better than anyone else. But he’s okay with that.
“You got taller, too,” he tells her.
“Duh,” she says, rolling her eyes a little, “we have to have the same height ratio as before.”
“Of course.” Joe grins at her.
Yeah, they’re definitely soulmates.
---
Character/Pairings: Joe/Miley (mentions of Nick/Miley)
Summary: sometimes Joe thinks they’re soulmates. Not in a ‘let’s-get-married-and-have-babies-and-live-happily-ever-after’ way, but in a ‘we’re-kind-of-the-same-person’ way.
Rating: G
Word Count: 2,100
Disclaimer: I own nothing and this probably never happened. Title from Michael Franti and Spearhead's Say Hey (I Love You)
Other: Written as a gift for empressearwig.
i.
The first time Joe goes to Miley’s house without Nick it’s because Miley wants him to go shopping with her for Nick’s birthday present.
After he rings the doorbell he stuffs his hands into his pockets because it’s a chilly day, and he hasn’t spent a whole day alone with Miley, well, ever, and he’s kind of freaking out. Because he’s sure it’s going to be weird.
But then Miley opens the door, grinning at him and pulling him into her house. “Hey, do you want something to eat?”
“No, I’m good,” Joe looks around, trying not to appear awkward even though he has no idea what to do next.
“Are you sure? Because I slept late, and my parents went out to lunch and now there’s no one to drive us anyway.” Miley runs her fingers through her hair and looks up at him with the bluest eyes he’s ever seen.
He realizes that she doesn’t want him to leave, and he’s not sure if that’s because they’ve had fun when she’s hanging out with his entire family or because she forgot to call him and cancel. “I could use some water,” he says, kicking his shoes off.
“Great.” Miley goes into the kitchen, pouring some milk into her cereal and getting him a glass of water. “Sorry we couldn’t get Nick a present,” she says.
“It’s okay.” Joe means it. He doesn’t have anything else to do today anyway. “You want to call Nick and have him come over?”
“Nah, he said he was going to do some writing today and he always gets a little snippy if I interrupt him.”
Joe chuckles under his breath, watching some condensation drip down his glass. “Yeah, sometimes he gets like that.”
“That’s why I like you though,” Miley begins, chewing on her cereal thoughtfully. “You’re just always having fun, rolling with the punches or whatever. You’re good for him.”
Joe feels his throat go dry and he stares at her. And he’s pretty sure she has no idea that what she just said means a lot to him. “So are you.”
When Nick and Miley first started dating, Joe was worried that maybe Nick would get hurt, that maybe Miley didn’t like him as much as he liked her, that the distance would just naturally make her forget. Joe knew Nick wasn’t going to forget because he was writing songs all the time. But then they moved out here, and Joe saw just how much Miley liked his brother. And it was okay.
Joe sees a little of himself in Miley, and he kind of wonders if maybe she was a little older, if he would have asked her out. But she isn’t, and she’s his brother’s girlfriend. And yeah, if he could have handpicked someone for Nick, it’d probably be her.
“My sister just got a trampoline, want to go on it after I finish?” Miley asks, shoving the last of her cereal into her mouth.
“Yeah,” Joe says, tapping his fingers on the table, a smile involuntarily spreading across his lips. “Sounds good.”
He spends the whole day with her, jumping on the trampoline, playing videogames, Miley teaching him some crazy yoga positions that make all the blood rush to his head if he stays in them too long. They don’t talk about Nick again, and it doesn’t feel strange. It feels like they’re actually friends, and not just because she’s dating his brother.
When Joe leaves he hugs her extra tight and tells her to call him later.
As he walks down her driveway, she yells, “Practice your yoga!”
“Practice your Halo!” he shouts back.
ii.
The second time Joe goes to Miley’s house alone it’s because they’re having a terrible movie watching party, just the two of them. It was Miley’s idea, but sometimes Joe wonders if they thought of it together.
“Have you ever wondered why, of all the people involved in making this movie, nobody stopped to think, ‘hey this really sucks, maybe we should stop?’ I mean, someone had to have seen how crappy it was, right?” Joe asks, tossing a kernel of popcorn into his mouth.
“They probably thought it’d be funny to see how many people would pay money to go see it,” Miley laughs, eyes glued to the screen, waiting for something unintentionally funny to happen.
“You paid money to rent it; I wonder how stupid that makes you?” Joe asks, watching her as she turns to him, mouth dropping open in disbelief. “I bet they heard someone checked it out and have been laughing at you ever since.”
“Shut up!” She smacks him in the side with a pillow, shaking her head at him. “They’re probably thanking me for giving them money to live on.”
“Worshiping the ground you walk on?” Joe takes a sip of his soda, stretching his legs out in front of him and flexing his feet since they’re starting to fall asleep. This is the third movie they’ve watched, and with anyone else he’s sure he would be bored out of his mind by now.
“Oh, of course.” She nods her head, her face serious. “They’ll probably come over to thank me personally. I bet they’ll actually pay me for renting this.”
“But then they don’t earn anything,” Joe points out.
“Do they even get money if I rent something from blockbuster?” Miley asks, reaching into the bowl on Joe’s lap, chewing on her popcorn thoughtfully
.
“I…don’t know. Maybe not.”
“How excited are you for the tour?” Miley changes the subject abruptly, squeezing Joe’s shoulder. Her face lights up whenever she talks about it, her eyes glowing and her smile shining.
“As excited as you,” Joe says, reaching out and ruffling Miley’s hair. “Thanks again for asking us.”
“You kidding me?” Miley reaches over and ruffles Joe’s hair, too. “I wouldn’t miss a chance to spend a few months with my favorite guy.”
Joe puts his hand over his heart and blinks rapidly at her, filling his voice with fake emotion, “Oh, Miley, I didn’t know I was your favorite.”
“Oh. Yeah, you’re good, too,” she says flippantly. “I was talking about Kevin.”
Joe really laughs at that, pulling the pillow he’s sitting on from underneath him and throwing it a Miley. She just giggles, leaning her head on Joe’s shoulder. “Oh, hey, rewind, rewind!” she shouts, pointing at the screen. “I think something ridiculous just happened.”
Yeah, Joe thinks, like his life being completely awesome.
iii.
When Joe goes over to visit Miley without telling anybody else, it’s to make sure she’s doing okay after the break-up. He’d seen it coming, warned Nick to be careful, because he knew it would hurt his brother--he's probably be more heartbroken than ever before-- but he also knew it’d kill Miley. Joe thinks he’s a little heartbroken, too.
“Hey,” he says quietly, she’s lying down on the hotel bed, staring at the wall, and Joe’s lived with Nick long enough to recognize Elvis Costello when he hears it. So he goes over to the stereo and turns it off, plopping down next to Miley and pulling her into him, running a hand over her hair. “How’s it going?”
“Bad,” she breathes out, snuggling closer to him. “You guys are leaving the tour, right?”
“Yeah,” Joe whispers, kissing the top of her head. “It’s probably better that way. It’ll be easier for you and Nick.”
Miley sniffles a little, not saying anything for a long time. Joe watches the minutes tick by slowly, time’s practically standing still. “How can it be better when I don’t have my best friend anymore?”
Joe feels his heart swell and break. He rubs his hand in circles around her back, breathing in her shampoo. He wishes the last time he’d see her for a while he’d get to hear her laugh, watch her eyes light up as she smiles, he hates that this’ll be it; they’re flying out to New Jersey for Christmas tomorrow morning.
He doesn’t know what to say, so he just holds her there, closing his eyes and wishing he could explain how having your heart broken gets better, how she’s stronger than she thinks she is. But there’s a lump in his throat and he’s trying not to cry.
Joe knows he won’t really be able to talk to Miley all the time, and Miley knows it too. He feels like he’s losing his best friend, too, and he can’t really comfort her any better when he feels the loss just as much as she does.
iv.
When Joe goes to Miley’s house he doesn’t tell Nick, because technically no one knows that sometimes they still talk. Because Nick and Miley have been broken up for a good eight months and Nick’s dating Selena, so Joe doesn’t feel too bad about the whole thing. And he and Miley both happen to be in town today, and they’re not doing anything else, and that never happens.
And he misses her.
She ushers him in quickly, letting out a high-pitched squeal, embracing him tightly. Joe can’t help it--he picks her up off the ground and spins her around. “What’s up, Miles?” he asks. Seeing her feels surreal, Joe’s about ready to pinch himself.
“I think you got taller,” she says, placing her hands on her hips, studying him. Joe turns around slowly so she can get a good look and she laughs appreciatively. “Yes, definitely taller,” she concludes, twining their fingers together and leading him into the kitchen.
“And you eat just as much as I remember,” Joe quips as Miley drops his hand and starts rummaging through the freezer.
“Hey! I hid some ice cream for us. And you don’t even know how hard that was considering Justin and Braison eat more than I do. Ah-ha!” She spins around, holding the pint out for him.
“I appreciate it,” Joe says, shaking his head in amusement at her, going over to the utensil drawer get some spoons. “And if Justin ever eats your ice cream again, I’ll beat him up for you.”
“What about Braison?” Miley asks, sitting down at the table and peeling the lid off the carton.
Joe sits down next to her, handing her a spoon. “I’m pretty sure Trace would beat me up, and I can’t have that.”
“And you could take Justin but not him?” Miley asks, raising her eyebrows at Joe suspiciously.
“Nah, I just think you like me better than Justin, but I can’t compete with family.”
Miley looks at him seriously for a moment, swallowing her ice cream before speaking, “you’re family.”
Joe presses his lips together, looking at her carefully before glancing around the kitchen. “Good…so what else do you have planned for Joe and Miley’s day of fun?”
“You have been hanging out with Demi too much.” Miley smiles at him, gently kicking his leg under the table.
“It’s not my fault if you’re so famous that you’ve forgotten about the little people, the people who knew you way back when.”
Miley kicks him again, giggling when Joe grunts in pain. “You love me,” she says, tilting her head to the side.
“Yeah, I do…And I plan to kick your butt at Halo today.”
“Pfft,” she huffs, wiping at her eyes a little. “I’ve been practicing. And I bet your yoga skills haven’t improved.”
“Oh, that’s not even fair, girls are naturally more flexible than guys,” Joe protests, shaking some hair out of his eyes, feeling some melted ice cream slide easily down his throat.
“Someone hasn’t been practicing,” Miley smirks softly, shaking her head in false disappointment. “It’s okay; I’ll go easy on you.”
“Right back at ya.”
Miley looks at him for a minute, and then a new surge of mist overtakes her eyes. She glances down before looking back up at him. “I love you, too.”
And, yeah, sometimes Joe thinks they’re soulmates. Not in a ‘let’s-get-married-and-have-babies-and-live-happily-ever-after’ way, but in a ‘we’re-kind-of-the-same-person’ way. And he’s not sure when Miley started to know him better than anyone else. But he’s okay with that.
“You got taller, too,” he tells her.
“Duh,” she says, rolling her eyes a little, “we have to have the same height ratio as before.”
“Of course.” Joe grins at her.
Yeah, they’re definitely soulmates.
---