Chapter Text
Miles had been so desperate to see her, see them. So desperate he planned to base his career on trying to find them. Only to realize they’d been able to visit the whole time. Miles wasn’t able to forgive her, forgive any of them. Gwen had betrayed Miles and now she was paying the price. She understood it was deserved but, it still hurt. Miles had brought so much light into her life and taught her so many things she didn’t know she needed. She wanted more than anything to thank him. But, of course, she couldn’t.
Losing Miles was like being in the midst of a storm when every light bulb flickers out. There was uncertainty about when or if it would come. But, despite her hopes that it wouldn’t come, she knew it was inevitable.
“Miles?”
It was going to come sooner or later but that knowledge didn’t make it any less dark and scary.
“Where are you going?”
“Home,” He said coldly as he stepped closer to the ledge, facing away from her and looking to the city.
Gwen stood a few feet behind him, facing his back. “Miles, don’t go. I-”
“I know Gwen” He interrupted. Inhale. Exhale. Pause. “I need time.”
“Miles-”
“I’ll see you” Those were his last words before he plunged into the night and swung away. Gwen rushed to the ledge. She was going to chase after him. Apologize over and over, get all the words out of her brain. But to do that meant disrespecting Miles’s wishes. She hated it but he was justified in leaving in cutting contact. So, she wasn’t going to push it even if it felt like her guts were bursting out of her.
—
It’d been 8 months since they last talked. Not a single day went by when she didn’t think about him. Whether she was fighting bad guys or waiting for her exhaustion to take over while she lay in bed. Miles had a way of popping into her thoughts. The good moments they shared but even more prominent, the bad ones. She just wanted to set things right but every time the thought came up to visit, more and more doubts appeared. One in specific that always deterred her: Would he even want to see her again?
Then the perfect opportunity appeared.
Jessica stood in front of her while she fidgeted with her watch. After a couple of seconds of contemplation Jessica was able to spit out her new task. “Gwen, we need you at Earth-1610.”
Gwen’s head snapped up, her attention caught. Those numbers were all too familiar now. She’d almost punched them into her goober about a thousand times. “1610? That’s Miles’s universe, why would you need anyone there? Let alone me.” She slurred her words together.
“Just an anomaly that showed up,” Jessica dismissed.
“But why are you sending me?”
Jessica hesitated for a moment “Miles has been out of contact with the society for months now, you know that. Only one other person has communicated with him and they’ve refused the mission, instead, they suggested you do it.”
Only one other person has communicated with him? Who's been in contact with him?
“Look, I know your…current situation with him but, nobody else wants to take this mission…And the boy would definitely react better if it was you who he saw.” She attempted to reason.
The idea of seeing Miles made her nerves spark up. But this meeting had been far overdue. One thing she’d learned from Miles was that running away wasn’t going to help her. She needed to see him again and tell him everything. Even if he shooed her away and told her he never wanted to see her again. (Though she knew it wasn’t in him to ever do that) It didn’t matter. She needed to tell him and here was the opportunity to do just that, it was right in front of her.
Gwen met Jessica’s eyes. “So, who am I looking for?”
A soft grin spread over Jessica’s face.