Work Text:
Miguel irritably taps his foot as he peers down at the heap of files below him. He glances over at the several screens before him, then back to the files. He repeats this several times, only growing more and more bitter with each look. His eyes are heavy, his mouth is dry, and his stomach feels empty. And with all this work on his hands, he'd have no time to take a break and calm his nerves. It's not like he needed to, anyway. If there was one thing Miguel never focused on, it was his own well-being.
As he continues to flip through files and peer at screens, his mind begins to fill with his own past actions. Everything with Miles..how he just let him get away..the sheer, unadulterated anger he felt at that very moment..it wouldn't leave him alone.
His grits his teeth, flexing his claws as battered and heavy breaths escaped him. Miles..the canon events..the Spot..everything that had happened in the past few days suddenly hit him like a brick. With one swift move of his hand, he brings the heap of files to the ground, a low growl rumbling from his throat as he did.
His breathing is irregular, and his hands are balled up at his sides, his claws almost digging into his own skin.
He stands like this for a moment, before, suddenly, he picks up a scent.
..Baby powder..formula..and the faintest smell of junk food. He knew who it was instantly.
He snaps his head back, his eyes darting back and forth through the dark room until they fall onto his suspected person (or in this case, persons) of interest.
Several feet away from him stands Peter B. Parker and his daughter Mayday. The small child is held in Peter's arms, and a soft smile crosses his face once he locks eyes with Miguel.
Peter and Miguel had a sort of odd relationship. At the moment, they were seeing each other, but it was more of an 'only when we're at work', non-sexual type of relationship. Peter's wife was aware of their sort of on and off again status, and happily let him do what he wished to do while at work, as long as he was still faithful to her. Despite this, Miguel still felt a bit odd being with someone who was already in a happy relationship and had a family. Nonetheless, he couldn't be happier to be with someone again, even if he wasn't the best at expressing his emotions.
"You alright in here, big guy?" He asks, raising an eyebrow as he speaks. "Heard a noise from over here, and I thought about checking up on ya." He steps closer to Miguel, continuing to hold Mayday in his arms. "Course, I was already planning on visiting, but, y'know, I heard that noise and decided to-"
"I'm fine, Parker." Miguel says abruptly, his tone being rather cold. He doesn't want to come off as angry as he is right now, but with everything happening recently, it's hard for him to stay calm.
Peter steps even closer, looking down to the paper scattered floor. "You sure? Because there's a whole buncha paper on the ground, and I'm sure they didn't get there by themse-"
"I'm alright, Parker." Miguel says abruptly once more. He tries his best to lower his tone and attempt to sound just a bit nicer. "I'm just..stressed.."
Peter nods sympathetically. "The whole Miles fiasco still gettin' to ya? I understand. I'd probably be the same way if I were you." He stands just a few inches away from Miguel now. "Y'know, since you're stressed, I think I know a way to calm you down a bit."
Miguel raises an eyebrow, crossing his arms. "And what might that be?"
Peter's smile grows, and he holds Mayday out in front of the other man. "You could try holding May."
Miguel's eyes widen, and he looks from the child to the other man.
He gazes down at the small child, and his eyes immediately soften once he gets a good look at her. Her soft features, the childlike wonder in her eyes, her sickeningly sweet smile..it reminded him of his own little girl.
Oh, how he missed her..not a day passed where he didn't think about her or her mother. It hurt thinking about them, because he knew that no matter how hard he tried, or how many times he wished for the situation to play out just a little differently, nothing he did would ever bring them back. Ever.
But maybe..maybe he could mend the hole in his heart. Just for a while, at least. Maybe this child could help him feel..whole again.
He continues to gaze at May, his eyes soft and his lips slightly parted. Peter smiles softly at the sight.
"See? Seems to me like you're calming down already!" He hands May over to Miguel, and the other man absentmindedly begins to hold her in his arms.
"I'll go get us a quick bite to eat. Don't have too much fun without me!" He calls out before stepping away from the pair. He gives a short wave to May, blowing her a kiss as he walks out of the room. "Make sure she doesn't lose her day pass!" He calls out from the hall.
Miguel seems to be frozen in place for a few seconds, before he snaps back to reality, his gaze still fallen on the child. He holds her by her armpits, and his face contorts into a look of confusion. Not because of the fact that he's holding a baby, seeing as how he obviously has experience with children. Rather, he was confused at the fact that Peter just willingly allowed him to hold his child, let alone leave the room without her.
Mayday tilts her head at him, and quickly shows him her toothy grin. Miguel feels reassured by this, glad to know that she wasn't entirely afraid of him.
He softly sets her on the ground, and sits down next to her. She quickly gets adjusted to her surroundings, and crawls wherever her little legs can take her. Occasionally, she hooks onto a nearby object and uses it to swing to and fro around the room. Despite her very young age, she appears to be aware of the potential danger she could cause, so she doesn't swing from objects that were higher up and hard for her to reach.
Miguel watches her closely, greatly fascinated by her agility. Such a tiny girl, yet such a diverse range of abilities. She really did remind him of his daughter..
Originally, he wanted to have nothing to do with Peter nor his child. He was a busy man with work to do, and he didn't want some unkempt father and his fussy baby annoying him while he did so.
That was what he thought about the pair upon their first encounter.
But now? Now..merely being away from Peter for a few minutes made him almost queasy. It seemed like that man was the only thing keeping him from truly snapping.
Well, him and his child, given these recent events.
In fact, simply seeing May crawl and swing across the room fills him with a strange sense of happiness. It's almost like his daughter is right there, doing all of the things May has done. It's almost like..like he has a family again.
With a contented sigh, he continues to watch the small girl carry on with her antics, resting his chin on his hand as he watches over her.
Several minutes of this pass, and May slowly begins to cease her antics. She softly drops back to the ground, and crawls over to Miguel. She looks up at him, blinking slowly.
Miguel raises an eyebrow, and picks Mayday up, now cradling the girl.
"What is it, mija?" He asks, knowing he won't get a coherent response. May simply lets out a quiet coo, followed by a long yawn.
Miguel couldn't help but chuckle at this, and he moves the hair from her face with his hand. " You must be exhausted from all that running around.." He says in a whispered tone.
She lets out another coo, and wraps her small hand against his much larger finger. Miguel almost feels his heart skip a beat at this, and his eyes soften. He smiles softly, petting the girl's hair with his free hand. "I can see why Peter nevers says no to you.."
After a minute or so of May's continuing to slowly blink, she lets out another long yawn, and her eyes flutter closed.
Miguel's smile only grows at this. May's grip on his fingers loosens, and soon, her small hand falls to her side. Miguel takes his opportunity to gently lift the girl up, resting her head against his chest as she sleeps. He steadies one hand on both the back of her head and her back, letting the rest of her lower body sit on his thigh.
Surprisingly on time, Peter waltzes his way back into the room, two bags clutched in his hand.
"Hey, I'm back with the.." Peter's voice goes quiet as he takes in the sight before him. He drops the bags and walks over to Miguel, kneeling down to get a better look at May.
"Huh..usually it's a lot harder for her to get to sleep. She must really like you." Peter says quietly, a grin on his face.
Miguel chuckles. "Well, she was swinging all over the place while you were gone. She didn't make a fuss at all, actually."
"Not even a single tear?" Peter also chuckles. "Impressive.." He sits down next to Miguel.
"Y'know, she reminds me of someone special.." Peter whispers, slowly looking up at the other man. "Someone you might know.."
Miguel nods, his smile dropping for a moment. "I miss her. I miss her everyday, Peter.."
Peter places a hand on his cheek. "I know you do..but now..now you've got someone to protect, just like you did with her. You can do with May what you always wanted to do with her." He chuckles yet again in an attempt to clear the tension between the two. "You're basically her second father at this point."
Miguel's frown reverses, and now he's smiling again. "I suppose I am.."
A few seconds of silence fall between them.
"Does that mean I can call ya Daddy-"
"Not in a million years, Parker,"