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“Oh right, I’ve been meaning to give this back.”
Miles is, admittedly, surprised. In the few months since the Spot’s defeat, his life has kind of been all over the place, with classes, being Spider-Man, having his parents know he’s Spider-Man, the occasional dimensional hop for a villain takedown (or babysitting Mayday), and he’s been a bit distracted.
Which is why he’s so surprised when Gwen pulls out his jacket.
The one he’d been wearing the day everything with the Spot went down. In the rush of confessions and danger and disproving canon again and again, he’d kind of just forgotten about it, and never questioned where it had gone. And now here it was, nicely folded and in Gwen’s hands.
He remembers to actually react and takes it from her. “Oh, uh…thanks. I was wondering where it was.” If it had been the two of them, that’s where it would’ve ended. But they weren’t alone.
Pavitr and Hobie had joined the two of them in Miles’ dimension, just because. They had all been doing the standard Spider fare, and eating takeout on top of an improbably high surface with a great view, when Gwen revealed her surprise.
Now Hobie had an eyebrow raised, looking interested in something. Pavitr just looked a bit confused. “Wait, that’s his jacket? I thought it was yours?”
Gwen startles at the question, suddenly looking off-center. “Oh, I forgot you’d never seen him with it.” And it’s true. Despite how close the four of them are, they had only truly met a few months ago, and learned something new about each other every time they met.
(Like the time Pavitr asked about the flag on one of Gwen’s bags.)
Miles’ brow furrows a bit. “How did you end up with it anyway?” He feels like his Spider-sense should be activating at the dangerously amused expression on Hobie’s face.
“I told you about how I crashed your dimension, right? I needed something to cover my suit, and it was the first thing I could find.” She looks away, fingers drumming a nervous beat. “And then after everything…” They all make a face at the implied everything. “I kind of just forgot until now. Sorry.”
It makes total sense. Miles himself hadn’t even remembered, so he couldn’t exactly blame her for forgetting too. He could’ve ended it there, moved on with the conversation, and taken his jacket back without question.
But hey, he’s always done his own thing.
(And sometimes, you just need a leap of faith.)
“How did Pav know about it though? Have you been wearing it?” Almost instantly, the air changes. They can all feel it, based on Pavitr’s increasing confusion and Hobie’s increasing amusement. Gwen’s eyes narrow a fraction, before smoothing.
Whatever verbal parry she prepares is interrupted by Pavitr suddenly re-entering the conversation. “Oh sure! I thought it didn’t fit her style, but she seemed to like it a lot!”
“Okay, Pav, that’s-“
“Like, she even wore it when it was so hot one day! She was melting in the thing!” Pavitr’s innocent amusement seems to only make Gwen tap her frantic drumbeat faster. She looks like she either wants to throw him off the building or melt into the floor. Possibly both, in that order.
“Huh. How often have you worn it?” He can see her thinking fast.
“Just a few times.”
“Couple dozen.”
Hobie’s immediate response makes her jump. Gwen’s expression screams of betrayal, but he only shrugs. He may be a fiercely loyal friend, but he said himself he doesn’t believe in consistency.
“Not that often! It gets cold in my dimension, and it is a nice jacket!” Miles decides to show her some mercy, for reasons entirely unrelated to his big fat stupid crush.
“It’s okay. I get it, really.” Okay, maybe one more. “But if it’s that nice, you can keep it, y’know?” He holds it back out to her, which somehow makes her look even more panicked.
“No no no no no! It’s okay, really! I don’t wanna steal your jacket!”
“It’s fine, I already bought a new one.” A complete lie. “Here, take it!” He smiles, trying to make it clear that the offer is totally genuine. Apparently, this convinces her, and she takes it back, looking uncharacteristically shy about it.
“…Thanks, Miles.”
“No problem, Gwen.”
There’s a pause.
Hobie clears his throat. “So, have you seen the latest pics of the little anarchist?” They probably have, but just to be sure, everyone takes the cue and immediately gathers around Hobie to view the newest Mayday photo of the day.
-
A little touch of space-time distortion later, and Gwen lands in her room. She absentmindedly straightens all the displaced objects, desperately ignoring the events of the afternoon.
She enjoyed seeing everyone, she really did, it’s just…
She looked at the jacket that had started everything. She tries to do one good deed, and this is where it gets her…
“Dang it, Pav. Dang it, Hobie.”
She slips it on anyway.
-
Ganke, at this point, is more than used to Miles’ odd coming’s-and-going’s. So much so that he doesn’t even blink as Miles crawls in through their shared window.
(He drew a line a long time ago about opening portals inside the dorm.)
What does catch his attention is how dazed his roommate looks. He was pretty sure nothing had blown up in the city, and Miles didn’t seem injured. So he decides to do his roommate duties, pausing his game. “Hey, you alright?”
Miles seems to startle a bit, like the question caught him off guard. “Oh yeah, I, uh…” He trails off for moment, before picking back up. “Say someone steals your jacket and wears it around a ton. What does that mean?”
Ganke raises an eyebrow. “I mean, that’s supposed to be a romantic thing, right?”
“Cool, cool cool cool…” Miles mutters, looking decidedly uncool. “Welp, ‘night.”
“It’s like 7:30.”
Miles already has his headphones on, and he can just barely hear his playlist already blaring from across the room. Ganke just shrugs and unpauses his game.
Seriously. It’s just a jacket.