Chapter Text
23 Years Later...
A byproduct of the promise and sacrifices they made sat on the master bed, inspecting the ring in awe. Since he was having a guest over Miles took it upon himself to lock away all the photo albums to avoid having his baby pictures stumbled upon. The ring randomly slipped out of one as he was stuffing them in the storage closet. Intrigued, he brought it over to Rio who explained the history behind the piece of jewelry. The now forty-one year old woman put the finishing touches on her make-up and smiled fondly as she recalled how she wore the ring everyday for five years straight until they got married in ’06. It was a funny coincidence that Miles stumbled upon it on the exact day it was originally gifted to her. Being that she hadn’t worn it in ages and wouldn’t really miss it, she offered it to her seventeen year old son thinking it’d be a sweet thing to gift his girl. Just like her and Jeff at the time, Miles and Margo had been together for a year and a half. Although they were a couple years younger in age, both teens were mature fr their age- that’s usually what came with being a superhero, she supposed.
Miles held the ring directly under the LED lamp and smiled in amazement when the dark teal/blue color shifted and turned violet. Margo immediately came to mind as he frequently associated those colors with her.
“I think it would suite her well.” Rio stated, slipping on a pair of high heels “Plus if it doesn’t fit you can always put it on a chain so she can wear as a necklace.”
“There’s a lot of history behind this thing. You’re sure you won’t miss it?” Miles asked suspiciously. Rio gave him an easy smile and a dismissive wave. It was no sweat especially since she had a high affinity towards Margo and recognized how well Miles meshed with her. There was likely no way in hell she’d be so generous if Miles was dating someone she didn’t like. It was far too early to tell if Miles and Margo would one day get married, but their relationship was wholesome and promising. It was one of those partnerships where even it they parted ways (god forbid), they would still mean so much to each other.
“Yeah you’re supposed to pass stuff like this down. It’s a…como se dice…” she snapped her fingers repeatedly thinking of the right word “…heirloom. And it’s niche, how many people nowadays are giving their girlfriend a promise ring? Nadie, I feel bad for girls in this generation.”
Miles looked at the ring once more. It was surely more sentimental than any of the gifts he brought. In typical Miles fashion, he went all out. A large arrangement of her favorite flowers, a giant Kit-Kat bar, a fleece Nike pullover, a customized t-shirt with his name and face on it, a YETI tumbler (fuck a Stanley cup), and an a customized beanie with her name on it. Jeff and Rio could only watch in mortification as their impulsive son spent a whopping three hundred dollars- aka all of his savings- on a grandiose array of presents. It was the lord’s work that Margo expressed to Miles that she wanted to spend Valentine’s Day indoors because the spider teen was now flat broke and couldn’t afford to take her out. Speaking of a night out…
“Babe, the car is warmed up!” Jeff called from the living room. Miles and Rio exited the master bedroom to find him trying to fix his tie. “We got a little bit of time, but the traffic is bound to be crazy-
The police captain immediately paused when he caught a glimpse of his wife through the reflection. He wore a wide grin as he turned around and took in Rio’s appearance. She dawned a sleeveless crimson jumpsuit that featured a mesh, corset bodice and flared bottom pant.
“Wow.” Jeff nearly spluttered, causing Rio flush as red as her outfit.
“Smooth as always, Dad.” Miles quipped, patting the large man on his shoulder. Rio smirked as she sauntered towards her husband.
“Jeff, you’ve been with a baddie for the past twenty-two years. Will you ever get used to me looking this good?” she asked airily.
“Mmm nope. Never.”
Rio grinned at his correct answer as she put on her matching mini blazer and grabbed her purse. Miles checked the time and began to rush his parents out the door.
“Y’all should get going, don’t wanna lose that reservation.”
“Okay well call us if you and Margo need anything at all-
“Mami, we’re meta humans, we can handle almost everything.”
“Hmm… well you two have fun, but por favor…not too much fun.” Rio wagged a warning finger before waking out the door. She waited in the stairwell when Jeff snapped his fingers in recollection.
“Speaking of which, you saw what I left you? On your bed?”
Miles’ hand tightened on the door knob as the tips of his ears turned warm at the mention. It was condoms, his dad had left a pack of condoms on his bed. If Jeff Morales was anything, he was cautious and practical. Miles nodded and breathed a sigh of relief when they were finally gone.
It wasn’t long after they left when Miles heard a gentle knock on the door. The spider teen licked his lips and checked his coils in the mirror before swing the door open. His jaw immediately dropped when he was met with the biggest, most radiant sunflower stalk he’d ever seen. The stem was almost as tall as he was and beautiful green leaves flourished out from the sides. There were little buds emerging from the soil in large biodegradeable peat pot.
“Wow.” Miles whispered in awe. Margo, who was holding the plant popped her head out from the side and grinned at him through the healthy, green leaves.
“Precisely the reaction I was hoping for!” She wobbled inside the Morales residence and placed the plant outside of Miles’ bedroom door. Before Margo could dust the excess soil off her hands, Miles grabbed her and wrapped her into a passionate embrace. Her head was pressed firmly against his chest which she didn’t mind at all. He silently thanked every divine being for having such a thoughtful girl in his life who just like him, always made things happen. Getting a fully grown sunflower plant must not have been easy.
“Happy Valentine’s Day to you too.” Margo giggled. Miles slackened his hold, but kept his sinewy arms around her waist as he peered down at the object of his affection. She turned her head and nodded towards the plant. “I knew a bouquet was gonna die eventually so I decided to get you something more substantial. I figured you could make some space in your bay window area to give it some natural lighting, maybe put it next to your storage crates. It would flourish so nicely along that wall and you could always put a saucer tray under it to avoid the mess and use a…”
She trailed off as soon as she realized she was rambling and began to laugh at herself. Miles couldn’t wipe the grin off of his face and unknowingly to him, his eyes dilated at seeing Margo’s face turn plum under his intense gaze. She extracted herself from his grasp when she saw the flowers and giant Kit Kat bar on the coffee table. In hindsight, Margo shouldn’t have been surprised considering her man had a tendency to over board with the gift giving, but she couldn’t help the amazement that took over.
“You got all of this for me?” She reached into the themed gift bag and gasped when she pulled out the YETI cup and Nike apparel. Miles’ heart soared at the elated expression that crossed her face the moment she pulled out the t-shirt with his face on it. He smiled sheepishly as he toyed with the ring in his pocket, still debating on whether he should give it to her or not. What if she became overwhelmed? Or just thought it was over the top and corny? There was only one way to find out.
“Is it too much?” Miles asked, carefully watching Margo fold the t-shirt and hoodie back into the bag.
“It is…” Miles immediately felt his stomach drop “…more than i’m used to, but I love it.”
Margo wrapped her arms around his neck and planted a gentle kiss on the corner of his mouth. He smirked and placed a hand at the small of her back.
“Well in that case… you should start getting used to my excessive gift giving.”
“I really should because now I feel out done.” She said, gesturing to her plant. “But I guess I have all night to make up the discrepancy…”
Margo pressed the front of her body firmly against his causing Miles to take a sharp, shuddering breath full of want. The warmth quickly disappeared when she went to sit on the olive love seat.
“Later though, you said you were gonna put me onto this new show so…” Miles remembered his bold claim and chuckled.
“Oh you mean ‘Flavor of Love’?” Margo made a face at the name. “They always show reruns on Valentines Day.”
“Is…that some kind of cooking show?”
VH1’s Flavor of Love was not “some find of cooking show”. In fact, Margo could only describe it as peak reality television. For the past four hours, her and Miles have been cuddled up on the couch, eating Jamaican take out, and watching multiple girls compete for the attention and affection of the retired world famous rapper(in this dimension): Flavor Flav. Miles wasn’t a psychic, but he knew Margo well enough to know that she would have many opinions on the show. She didn’t disappoint because her commentaries had him beside himself with laughter.
“What is with his obsession with clocks?”….”She’s sus for calling him her soulmate on the first day.”.…”It’s real objectifying how he’s giving them nicknames instead of learning their actual names.”…”The one who’s going around calling people ‘ghetto’ won’t last day.”…”The girl :’Hottie’ does know that it’s not really his mansion right?”
Eleven episodes of pure brain rotting shenanigans had Margo hooked. So hooked that by the end of the last episode, she was outraged. Miles couldn’t hold back his laughter at her incredulous expression.
“Is he dumb!? No seriously!” Margo exclaimed “How could he choose Hoopz over New York? She clearly was’t even all that into him, plus she barely talked throughout the whole season.”
“Well, New York was the villain.” Miles reasonably pointed out. He chuckled again as Margo rolled her eyes.
“I mean, she wasn’t that bad. We deal with Miguel O’Hara on the daily bases.”
“No facts.” Miles admitted through his laughter.
“I’m just saying, New York stuck around even after that white lady spit on her- if that’s not true love and devotion, I’m not sure what is.”
“True, she was also rating’s gold. They brought her back for the second season.” Margo gasped at his admission.
“There’s a second season!?” Miles nodded and she looked scandalized “So he didn’t stay with Hoopz?”
“Nah, season two came out less than year later. I doubt they even lasted a month after the show ended.”
“I mean that tracks. Hoopz was nice and pretty, but the chemistry just wasn’t there.”
“One thing about reality TV is that it’s super fake.” Miles informed.
“Yeah, I figured.” Margo said with a sigh. They no longer produced TV shows and movies in Earth-22191. Why would people pay to watch actors playing a role when they could play whichever roles themselves via virtual reality simulations? In Margo’s opinion, said simulations were quite energy consuming.
“He chooses New York next time around right?” Despite the show airing before he was born, Miles has seen all three seasons multiple times throughout his childhood- even though a child had no business watching it. He put on a smug smile and shrugged.
“Nuh uh, I’m not spoiling it. You just gotta see for yourself.”
Margo bristled excitedly. She put her styrofoam plate down and wiped the oxtail gravy off her hands before getting up from her spot.
“Ok ok! Let me hurry up and go to the bathroom before they play the next season.” She was gone in a flash, leaving Miles to grin fondly to himself. If it wasn’t clear, Margo loved his universe and Miles loved how much she loved his universe. He enjoyed getting to share his favorite pieces of media with her and seeing her fall in love with them because they had similar taste. Miles took his mother’s promise ring out from his pocket. Because Margo wasn’t much of a ‘ring’ person and preferred to wear necklaces, he found a silver chain and intricately looped in through the ring so it wouldn’t flail about. He moved the cursor on his smart TV and saw that it was half past eleven.
‘Dang’ he thought, Mile planned on giving Margo the last gift earlier on in the evening, but there goes that. Thankfully, his parents would probably out later than usual tonight- allowing the two teens to have more time alone. Had this been a ring he picked out recently, Miles would’ve been less nervous. However this ring held so much sentimental value, it would be crushing if she didn’t love it. Maybe it was sheer anxiety, but as soon as he heard the bathroom door open he jumped from his spot on the couch and bent down on one knee, holding the ring/necklace out to the girl exiting the bathroom. He didn’t realize the significance behind his stance until he saw the color drain from Margo’s face.
“Miles…I don’t know what to say.”
Miles stood up and brushed his knees off, stammering an apology. Margo took a better look at the ring in his hand.
“No…I know… it was crazy of me to do that. It’s not what it looks like,” he pointed to the ring in his hand “It’s actually a-
“You got me a promise ring too?” She gently took the piece of jewelry from his hand and watched as the color changed from teal to purple, purple to teal with every movement under the LED lighting of the TV. “Miles Morales, you’re gonna spoil me rotten! How much did this cost?”
Miles was not expecting her to know what a promise ring was. Relief filled him as a stunning smile graced her face.
“Actually… it’s a memento. My dad gifted it to my mom when they were dating in the 2000’s.”
“It’s beautiful…” Margo marveled, she then fixed him with a serious gaze “…and she’s ok with you giving this to me.”
Miles snorted.
“Mamí fucks with you heavy, Margo. She’s the one who suggested I give it to you. Plus, she knows how serious I am about you.”
Margo’s cheeks turned magenta for the umpteenth time that night.
“Help me put it on?” she asked, her voice low and sultry. Miles swallowed as she turned around and pulled her long passion twists over her shoulder, giving him room to loop the chain around her neck.
“I want you to have this because I remember a very brief period in time when out of hundreds of people, you were the only one on my side.” He allowed his fingers to brush over delicate brown skin as he clasped the chain together. Memories of the day they met rushed to him quickly. “Even after two years, your loyalty hasn’t wavered and I know that it probably never will.”
Unable to help himself, Miles leaned in to press a gentle kiss just below her hairline. The aroma of mango and blossoms made him want to run the tip of his tongue along her skin just for a little taste, but he refrained. It was ok though because he got to taste her when she swiftly turned and brought their lips together, wrapping her arms around his shoulders to pull him closer. The into to Flavor of Love season two began to play on the television, but neither Miles or Margo cared.
The answer to Rio’s earlier question was simple, people didn’t give their S.O’s promise rings anymore cause everyone was so flaky nowadays. They were flaky back in the day too, but that generation feared loneliness (to the worse possible extent) so they made false promises of love and marriage to people they were incompatible with. Miles knew his parents were the very few lucky ones to have found each other in this city, in this world. Meanwhile Miles’ dream girl was from a whole different dimension and the circumstances that allow them to cross paths shouldn’t have happened. But they did and technically, that made Miles lucky too.