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Miles shifted in his chair, rocking back and forth, as he half-heartedly watched Kung Fu Panda play. His parents were huddled together on the couch opposite him, and he could practically feel the judging looks. He knew he looked suspicious, some people would even say he looked nervous, but Miles wasn’t nervous, he was just carefully deliberating on how to tell his parents important, big news. Miles wasn’t nervous, he was nervous when he was five and was standing in front of his class during his very first show-and-tell with a thoroughly loved stuffed bunny in his shaking hands. But now, when Miles was seventeen, and about to come out to his parents, no, he wasn’t nervous. Not one bit. Not at all. He really wasn’t, his hands were just sweating because it was not, and his feet were tapping against the ground, not because he was nervous, but because he had too much caffeine. That was it. Miles nodded to himself. He let out a shaky breath.
Ok. He was nervous. Oh my god, he was so nervous!
But who wouldn’t be when coming out to their parents, and then telling his parents he had a boyfriend, his boyfriend of three months, that he wanted to invite to dinner next week? His boyfriend was also from another dimension and also Spider-man. But those were just details, very very very trivial details.
Miles leaned back in his seat, glancing at his parents once again. As he looked over, he made eye contact with his father, Miles froze. Then he jumped in his seat, turned straight towards the screen, and sat stiffly for all of ten seconds. He heard his father let out a huff and with a quiet click, the movie was paused, Po frozen on the screen surrounded by his panda family.
“Alright, Miles. You’ve been fidgeting all night. Are you alright?” His father’s voice was gruff but worried.
“Is there something you need to tell us? You know we will always be here to support you, baby.” His mother’s voice was soft. Her hand was held by his father’s as they both moved to be facing Miles. Miles tried to smoothly turn towards his parents, but instead of looking nonchalant, he moved jerkily, with an uneven smile on his face.
“I’m alright, just, uh, you know,” His voice teetered off, his hand rubbing the back of his neck. Then he sucked in a deep breath, put his hands behind his head, leaned back, and spat out the words he’d been meaning to say all night, “I’ve just got somethin’ important to tell you.”
His eyes flicked to his parents’ face’s who nodded and looked between each other and turned back to Miles with encouraging expressions. Silence stunned the room for a few minutes as Miles tried to find the words, going over how he was going to say it. As soon as he thought he knew what to say, worry clouded his mind and he scrapped the idea. Thoughts flowed a mile a minute, and Miles could not keep up, so instead of saying something smooth and cool, like he usually does, like he always does because he is always cool isn’t he, instead his confession stumbled out in a mess.
“Well you know, um, there are you know, gay people, they exist,” Miles winced and glanced at his parents who both looked baffled, “ but there are also bi people. And I think, I know, well I don’t know, but I’m pretty sure, no I know that I’m, uh, bi. Bisexual, you know. Yeah. Right. Ok. And, that's what I wanted to tell you guys, so, uh, yeah. That's it.”
His parents stared at him with puzzled looks, his mother’s eyebrows raising, and his dad’s lip quirking. Then all too quickly, the silence was gone and his parents burst out laughing. His father looked about ready to double over, and his mother had small tears in her eyes. Miles thought that this was how evil villains were born, like the Sinister Six he always fights. If he wasn’t already a hero, this moment would be his villain origin story. He had always imagined what his villain story would be if it ever happened, but now he knew it was this moment. When he was smaller he would have thought it would be something epic like getting kidnapped by a secret organization, but no, it's now, with his parents laughing at him after he came out.
Miles buried his face in his hand and mumbled, “Don’t laugh at me, pleeease. It isn’t funnyyyy.” His parents laughing quieted down and he quickly felt the cushions next to him sink as arms were wrapped around his back.
“Oh don’t be embarrassed Miles, we are so proud of you for being so brave. We didn’t mean to laugh at you, we just didn’t expect for you to be so nervous.”
His mother’s voice was soft, and in response, Miles spoke in his hands, “I wasn’t nervous, I was really cool about it.”
“You were really cool about, son,” His dad laughed as he spoke, rubbing a hand against Miles' back, “We were just caught off guard, that's all. Your mom and I love you so much, and we support you no matter what Miles.”
His mother’s muffled laughter met his ears and he started to sit up, Miles sunk back into the couch. His shoulders were hunched, and his parents looked at him with loving smiles. Miles rubbed his cheeks, still jittery from the earlier nervousness.
“So you don’t mind that I’m, you know, bi. Or that I could have a, um, boyfriend?”
His father chuckled and shook his head, “Of course, we don’t mind, Miles. We love you and will support you no matter who you love. Do you understand that?”
“Yeah, I know, I was just a little worried.”
“A little! You could hardly get the words out, baby,” His parent’s laughed and Miles smiled, grateful that he had such supportive parents. He knew, deep down anyways, that his parents would support him, but there is always a slim chance that things can go wrong.
At the thought of things going wrong, Miles immediately tensed up again. He had told his parents about his sexuality, but he still had to tell them about his boyfriend and make dinner plans with them. He glanced between his parents, a guilty smile on his face.
“I actually need to tell you guys something else too.” His nervous laughter echoed and mumbled words echoed through the apartment until his parents confused shouts rang through the air. Miles didn’t think it could have gone any better.
“Mrs. Morales, Mr. Davis, it is wonderful to meet you.” Hobie’s voice was relaxed as he introduced himself to Miles’ parents. His shoulders sagged under his denim vest, pins rattling slightly as he sat down at the table. In comparison, Miles’ shoulders were hiked up to his ears, muscles as tense as a rock, and Miles’ could swear that the fate of the multiverse depended on this dinner going well.
Miles’ could only remember two times that he was more nervous than he was now. The first was when Hobie and he were on their first date. Miles had worn his favorite pair of Jordans, but as soon as he had met Hobie for their date, he’d noticed a terrible stain on his left shoe. The stain had sent his already nervous brain into a frenzy, that left Miles clumsy and stumbling for words the entire date. Miles had tried to play it cool, but there was only so much he could try to show off to Hobie, who Miles deemed the coolest person in the multiverse by far. The only other time Miles was more nervous than he was now, was when he’d accidentally spilled a whole tub of expensive laundry detergent into the bin of his parent’s whites when he was a child. Needless to say, he had been grounded for life and the shirts were all stained an odd light blue in a tie-die sort of fashion.
Miles sat straight in his seat, hearing his dad mumble under his breath about how respectful Hobie was, but the praise was quickly gone from his father’s mouth as his dad gave Hobie a scrutinizing look. The two stared at one another, but Hobie just leaned back in his seat and gave Miles’ dad a small grin.
“How was your day, Mr. Davis? Good, I hope.” Hobie’s accent was strong and his father took a moment to put the words together. Watching as the teen adjusted his locs and fiddles with his ear piercings.
“It was alright, son. Made a few arrests as per usual, but overall a slow day for Brooklyn,” His words were slow and deliberate, “But tell me more about yourself. Where in England are you from? Are you staying in New York with your parents? What do your parents do for a living?”
“Well, I often go back to London, where I was born and raised, love to play a quick show whenever I go as well. I stay with my mum, Shawna. She’s an absolute dear and I adore her, makes a smackin’ Shepherd's pie, she does. She mostly stays at home, but sometimes she helps around the neighborhood babysitting kids.”
Miles watched his dad analyze his boyfriend’s words before continuing to question the other teen. Occasionally Miles would glance at his mother who was in the kitchen preparing dinner, he would catch her giving her father amused looks. That isn’t to say his mother wasn’t interested in hearing about his boyfriend’s life, Miles, with his super-hearing, could hear her hums of approval and questioning, and disapproval from the other room. The questioning went back and forth for twenty minutes going something like this until his mom hollered at his dad to help her carry the plates of food to the dining table.
“And how is your relationship with your mother?”
“Yeah, me and her and like best mates, rocking to concerts together. Me and my mum actually went to a Dead Kennedys concert the other week.”
“What are your grades like in school?”
“I get to school when I can, I ace all the tests and my grades are alright, but showin’ up at protests is more important. Gotta give them fascists hell.”
“Do you eat healthy every day?”
“Well, I eat whatever’s easiest, but always gotta support the local farmers and businesses.”
If the questioning had gone on any longer, Miles was sure his eye would have started twitching. As soon as plates were filled, the questions eased into an easy conversation. It was like having lunch on the first day of school, exciting because you get to see all your friends again, but awkward since you’ve been apart so long and don’t know each other as well as you had months ago. Miles tiptoes the conversation with ease, slipping in funny comments when he could. He and Hobie would knock shoulders every couple minutes, a show of support that Miles appreciated.
His boyfriend knew he was nervous about this meeting, Miles had given Hobie a strict list of rules to follow nights before the dinner. Miles knew his boyfriend couldn’t be perfect for his parents, it just wasn’t who he was, but Miles would never ask Hobie to change who he was just to have a nice dinner with his parents. Miles could just wish that his parents liked Hobie enough to invite him back. And Miles really hoped they would invite him back because Miles could hardly imagine not having Hobie in his life.
The way Hobie would always bring him random trinkets was something he looked forward to every time they went on a date. Or the way Hobie would try and dress Miles up in denim vests, and decorate his face with dramatic makeup. Miles couldn’t imagine not agonizing over what snack from his dimension he should bring to Hobie, or how he’d never be cramped in some basement with a small band playing their first gig with Hobie by his side. Miles might be a little dramatic sometimes, but he really thinks he would be depressed forever if he lost Hobie.
Needless to say, Miles considered this dinner very important.
“I think Finnick just needs an extra guiding hand, and an extra fifteen hours of training before he comes back into the field.” His father complained, not that anyone would ever say it was complaining to his face, about some coworker that drove a squad car into a construction site.
“He seems like a riot, but it's never any good to destroy the works of hard laborers.” His boyfriend's voice said nonchalantly, but Miles could hear the slight disdain as he ridiculed the man, Finnick. If there was anything his boyfriend was passionate about, it was appreciating retail and hard labor workers. Miles had heard plenty of rants about the importance of sticking it to the politicians for workers’ rights.
“Now that I can agree with, some people just don’t seem to appreciate the work we nurses do, always preaching to the surgeons but we don’t get any thanks.” His mother added.
Hobie was quick to console her, “And isn’t that a shame? You, nurses, are the ones doing the brunt of the work, you are the hospital's foundation.” His mother gave an appreciative hum, and a totally secret, but approving, glance at his father. Miles, if it wouldn’t have looked like he was losing his mind, would have let a big smile creep across his face. Now that his mother liked Hobie, at least a little, his father would have to put up with Miles’ boyfriend. Not like his dad could tell his mother she was in the wrong, or that he disapproved of her opinion, lest he wants to sleep on the couch until he needs dentures and a cane.
Now that the night had officially gone well, Miles leaned back into his seat, only a little because he still needed to look good, and let out the strained breath he had been holding since Hobie had walked through the door. Now he could relax. A little bit. Miles could relax a little bit.
As Miles’ sunk into the couch he could feel the hard gazes of his parents. He had just said bye to Hobie, watching as his boyfriend jumped back to his own dimension, and went to the living room to relax and celebrate his successful night. Now, he is realizing he should have gone to his room to avoid whatever conversation his parents had waiting for him.
“Thank you, Mama, for the lovely dinner.” Miles thanked her, he really was grateful, but he also wanted to start and end this conversation as soon as possible.
“Your welcome, Miles. We are just glad you introduced your boyfriend to us. Though I’ll be honest,” His mom laughed, “He wasn’t what your father and I were expecting.”
His father’s eyes crinkled with laughter, but as he saw Miles’ look of confusion he explained, “Your mom and I just never thought you would end up dating a punk. Your personalities are so different.”
Miles digested the information with a soft ‘Oh’, but his father quickly cut in with another comment.
“I just can’t believe you are dating a cop hater Miles.”
That had Miles wincing. Everyone has traits that will never change and being anti-police is just one of Hobie’s traits that he will forever have. And Hobie is proud of that trait. Very proud.
“Well nobody's perfect Dad.” Miles tried to play it off, letting his face relax into an easy smile. He heard his father huff as his mother patted him on the back.
His father had a rather explosive, and dramatic, response to that. It was followed by a round of laughter that lasted well into the evening. Miles spent the rest of the night letting all of his pent-up anxiety dissipate. His mother and father smiled between themselves that night, watching their young man go to bed. They couldn’t have asked for a better son.