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Chapter Text

          Miles shoved the rest of his stuff into his carry on bag and glanced at his phone to check the time. His flight was leaving in a few hours and he had to head out soon. He tried to not overthink everything and just feel happy that he was about to start collage but it was so far away from home he was starting to wonder if he made the right choice when he chose that school.

It would only be for a few years but that would leave his city without a spider-man. He hoped nothing too crazy would happen but at the same time he knew that he had to prioritize his life goals. The city was doing just fine before there was a spiderman so it would be okay for a few years. Besides his dad was the chief now and that eased his worries a lot. His dad would do just fine protecting the city.

He walked out of his room and his mom immediately wrapped him into a hug crying. “Mami…” he sighed but hugged her back tightly. She had been crying and hugging him a lot these past few days. He understood why, of course he did. He was going to another country to live on his own. Of course she was gonna be upset.

“I’m gonna miss you too” he said not letting her go or trying to pull away from the hug. He needed it. As much as he wanted to prove that he was an adult and he could take care of himself he was going to miss her so much. It wasn’t going to be easy not having her around to bring him up when he felt down.

Finally she pulled away and placed her hand on his cheek. “Don’t let anyone bring you down, You’re gonna do great things someday” she said and he just smiled and nodded doing his best to not cry. He didn’t want her to worry about him anymore than she already was.

He looked over at the front door when he heard his dad walk in. “Bags are all loaded in the car. . . You ready?” He asked and Miles could hear the sadness in his voice. “Yeah. . . I’m ready” he said softly knowing this was hard on his dad too. But they were both doing their best to be supportive. He kissed his mom on the cheek one last time and said his goodbyes to her before walking out with his dad. She wanted to go with them to the airport but she was called into work last minute.

The drive there was silent for a while, Miles couldn’t think of anything to say and neither could his dad. “Sooooo. . . “ his dad said being the first one to speak. “London. . . I heard there’s another spider. . . Person there” he said and Miles laughed lightly looking away. “Yeah. . .I’ve heard a little about him” Miles said awkwardly wishing this wasn’t the conversation his dad would lean into.

He never told his parents about him being spider-man. He tried but he just couldn’t do it. Maybe they would suspect it when Spider-Man disappeared as soon as he left for college but he wasn’t sure.

“I just gotta say, even though I’m not the biggest fan of the spiderman here, that London one makes me real glad we got ours” he said with a scoff. Miles rolled his eyes but didn’t comment on his dads clear dislike for spider punk. “I mean seriously! He’s not exactly a role model” he added and Miles looked over at him with a tired look.

“He never claimed to be one” he added and this time it was his dad that rolled his eyes. Miles was telling the truth when he said he didn’t know much about spider punk. He had done a little research on him when he got accepted to the university. But it was hard to get a good idea of who he was just based off what the internet said.

“Just promise you’ll steer clear if you come across him okay?” His dad said as he parked in front of the airport. Miles just smiled and nodded not wanting to argue before he left. After his dad helped him get his suitcase out of the trunk Miles took it and slung his carry on bag over his shoulder. “I’ll call you guys when I get there okay?” He asked and his dad just nodded before pulling him into a tight hug.       

“I love you Miles” he said and he could tell his dad was doing his best to hide how sad he was. “I love you too dad” he said hugging him tighter before he took a step back and readjusted his bag that was over his shoulder. “Thats a copy” his dad said smiling lightly and Miles couldn’t help but laugh and shake his head.

“Yeah. . . “ he said trailing off really not knowing what else to say. What do you say in a moment like this? Looking at the person that took care of you your whole life and now you were leaving to get on a plane. They looked at each other for another moment and it was clear that they were both thinking the same thing. There were no words to express exactly how they felt.

Miles nodded and turned to walk into the airport. Once he was checked in he walked down to the terminal his flight was at. He looked around and smiled seeing that Gwen was already there. She spotted him and jumped up waving at him. He walked up to her and gave her a small hug.

“Are you nervous?” She asked and he nodded “Yeah it’s my first time flying” he admitted and she looked at him systematically. “Yeah that’s rough but it’ll be alright” she said as they both sat down waiting for the announcement saying they could board.

“I’m not too scared honestly, just feeling a little guilty about leaving my parents” he admitted and she sighed deeply and he knew it was because she felt the same. It was a little worse for her he had to admit. Her dad was gonna be completely alone now that she was leaving. At least Miles parents had each other to lean on.

“He’ll be okay” Miles said trying to reassure his best friend. “It’s not forever” he added and Gwen smiled and nodded at him. “Yeah you’re right. . “ she said and they were quiet for a long while after that before they fell into a more casual conversation.

“Kinda sad though I won’t be able to update my blog” she said with a sigh and Miles rolled his eyes dramatically. She blogged about spiderman and posted all her theories about him online. She didn’t know it was him though. And he planned on keeping it that way. Not that he didn’t trust her but he knew she was better off not knowing. “You’re so obsessed with him” he said bumping their shoulders together lightly as he teased her.

“He’s cool! I mean seriously how lucky are we that we live in one of the two cities that has a spiderman!” She said and he just laughed and shook his head before responding. “London has a spiderman too. Make a new blog about him” he said and immediately regretted it when she smiled slyly at him.

“I already did” she admitted and he groaned loudly and leaned his head back dramatically. “Oh come on Miles!” She said immediately getting defensive. “If you met him you’d totally get the hype” she said and he shook his head not responding. “You always disappear when he shows up. . . “ she mumbled seeming to be deep in thought and he looked at her with wide eyes before looking away and leaned forward trying to act natural.

“Oh. . .yeah! Thats so silly! Huh Imagine that” he said in the most casual voice he could manage. “Yeahhh it’s just annoying. You always miss the good stuff!” She said slapping his arm playfully and he lightly breathed a sigh of relief that she let the topic move away from him potentially being spiderman.

“You better actually focus on collage instead of spiderman” he said giving her a stern look. She just rolled her eyes and leaned back in her seat. “And you better not overwork yourself like you always do” she said and he knew she had a point there. He took his studies very seriously.

Considering there was a spiderman in London he knew he’d be able to focus more. He planned on stepping back from being a superhero and focus on being just Miles. There was no reason a city should need two spidermen. Also he had no idea how this spider punk guy would react if he just swooped in and was like “Oh hey I’m here now deal with it”. He didn’t know enough about him at all and he wasn’t gonna risk pissing him off.

They both looked up when they heard that their flight was boarding. He looked over at her and smiled lightly.

“You ready to sit on a plane for seven hours?”

“Ugggg yeah, let’s get this over with” Gwen grumbled as they both stood up. Miles laughed lightly and looked out the window trying his best to not think about it too much. He was definitely going to miss Brooklyn.

———————

*a week later*

   Miles walked down the hall towards his next class checking the time to make sure he wasn’t running late. It had been a slow start for college but he was slowing getting into the routine. He had called his parents a few times since then and things were really starting to feel somewhat normal. London was gloomy but he didn’t mind it too much. He hasn’t had the chance to go sightseeing yet but he planned on it.

He walked into the lecture hall and glanced around the room for an empty space. He noticed a new person there all the way in the back but that wasn’t too unusual since the semester had only just started. He only noticed him because he was leaned back with his feet propped up on the desk in front of him. His hair was what stood out the most. Large wicks framed his face and Miles couldn’t help but silently compliment them in his head. They suited him well.

Then he took notice to all the piercing on his face and his very punk style. He looked like the guy your parents always tell you to avoid but Miles wasn’t as judgmental. But it didn’t matter much since he didn’t really plan on talking to him. He took his seat a small distance away from him and pulled a few things out of his bag.

“Hey. . .” He heard a thick accent say and he glanced behind him and noticed the guy in the row behind him. He raised an eyebrow at him questionably. “What is this class for?” He asked and Miles noticed he was now leaning forward on his desk. “I. . . You don’t know?” He asked feeling very confused by his question. All he did was shrug in response.

“Okay. . . Let me see your schedule card and I’ll let you know if this is the class you’re supposed to be in” he said holding his hand out to him. “What makes you think I’m in the wrong place?” He asked and Miles stumbled over his words feeling very confused and taken aback by what he said.

“I. . . You said you didn’t. . .know what the class was so?” He said trying to reason as to why he thought he wasn’t in the right place. “I don’t have a schedule card” he simply said and Miles pressed him lips together in a straight line as he thought over what to say next.

“You lost it?”

“No”

“If you’re enrolled here they should have given you one”

“Im not enrolled here” he said simply and at that Miles just stared at him in disbelief. “I. . . Then why. . .are you here?” He asked carefully hoping it didn’t come across as offensive. “You ask a lot of questions but didn’t answer my first one” he said bouncing around Miles question with ease.

“Quantum physics” he said simply not knowing what else to say to him. At that he nodded and leaned back and kicked his feet up again. “Are you like. . . Auditing the class then? Trying to decide on a major before enrolling?” He asked figuring that was the most likely answer.

“Naw mate” he simple said while placing his hands behind his head as he leaned back. “I’m just here. Don’t need some fancy piece of paper that proves I know what I learn” he said with a slight scoff in his voice. Miles looked at him for a while before he realized he was serious. “That. . . I mean if you want a good job in this field. . You’re gonna need to enroll” he said not really understanding why he would do things this way.

“I have a job” he said simply without looking back at him. “Whatever man” Miles mumbled turning and looking back at his notebook deciding that he was done with this confusing conversation. He tried to focus on organizing his notes while he waited for the class to start. “What’s your name?” He heard the mystery man behind him ask and he just sighed dramatically.

“Miles” he said without looking back at him as he wrote a few things down on his notepad. “Don’t get your knickers in a twist” he said and Miles looked back at him with a confused look. “What?” He asked with a bewildered look and he just smirked back at him.

“You’re definitely not from around here” he said with a light chuckle and Miles rolled his eyes and looked forward again just praying the class would start soon so he would stop talking to him. “I’m Hobie by the way thanks for asking” he said and Miles did his best to ignore him. But he really didn’t wanna come off as that rude so he looked back at him.

“Nice to meet you” he said simply before looking back down at his notes. Class had started and he really did try to pay attention but he could feel Hobie staring at him every now and then. He was definitely the weirdest guy he’s met but at the same time he seemed interesting. He didn’t say anything else to him during class and for that he was glad.

———————————

          Miles was happy to be done with classes for the day and he made his way up the stairs towards his dorm room. He opened the door and froze in the doorway. He knew he had a roommate but he hadn’t met him yet. He figured he was just late getting there or was just never there when he was. But he was there now and he was in the middle of handing up a poster on his side of the room. He was standing on his bed pinning the music poster above it. Miles didn’t recognize what it was.

He looked back when he heard the door open and he smiled and jumped down off the bed. “Hey!” He said while walking towards him “ I’m Pavitr Prabhakar, My flight got delayed so I’m a little late” he said cheerfully holding his hand out towards Miles.

Miles smiled at him glad that he seemed to be easy going. He had been a little stressed about who his roommate would be this past week but he could already tell he was going to get along with him. “Im Miles Morales” He said while he shook his hand before stepping away to throw his bag on his bed.

“I hope you don’t mind I took the right side” Miles said as he fell backwards onto his bed. “It’s okay. I don’t mind” he said with a shrug while grabbing another poster and jumping up on his bed to place that one on the wall as well. “We’re gonna get along great!” He said cheerfully as he placed the poster. “I know because I’m very good at reading people and you seem super chill” he said casually as he worked.

Miles laughed lightly and nodded “Yeah I agree” He said simply as he pulled out his phone to check his notifications. “Where are you from?” Pav asked as he sat down on his bed and leaned up against the wall to face Miles. “Brooklyn” he said sitting up and leaning against the wall to face him as well.

“Thats cool! We both traveled a long way to get here so we already have that in common, told you we’d get along” he said and Miles couldn’t help but smile warmly at him. He really was glad his roommate wasn’t some crazy person.

They quickly hit it off just like he said they would and Miles was happy. He was glad that this was all going by so well. Him moving so far away had been stressful but having everything turn out smoothly put his mind at ease. Although his interaction with Hobie was the first negative experience he’s had. It wasn’t the worst he had to admit but he was definitely confused about that guy. He thought that maybe he should avoid him for the rest of the semester. That is if he decided to crash any more classes. He wasn’t sure if he would. He was definitely a mystery.

“Have you gone out to sightsee at all?” Pav asked breaking him out of his thoughts. “Oh! Umm no not yet actually” he admitted and Pav jumped up and nodded his head towards the door. “Wanna tag along with me?” He asked and Miles smiled and nodded standing up and grabbing his coat.

———————————-

          Miles and Pav walked down that street laughing together as they joked about how random stuff. Miles was glad he was able to make friends with him so easily. It put his mind at ease. He had texted Gwen but she didn’t answer so he assumed she was still in another class.

“Oh yeah that reminds me of when I would take breaks to have a cup of chai with my aunty” Pav said in reference to what Miles said as they walked by a coffee and tea shop. “Oh yeah i love chai tea” he said and Pav immediately stopped walking and looked at him like he just kicked a puppy.

“Chai tea? Chai means tea bro! You’re saying ‘tea tea’ would i ask you for a cup of ‘coffee coffee’ with room for ‘cream cream’ ?!” He asked and Miles held his hands up in defense “Ok ok im sorry!” He said but couldn’t help but laugh at how defensive he got over it.

Pav rolled his eyes and they continued walking down the street. “Americans” he mumbled while shaking his head. “Hey! We’re not all that bad” he said but he laughed again when Pav pushed his shoulder while shaking his head laughing too.

They both froze when they heard a loud explosion and they ducked down as dust flew past them. Miles looked around feeling his spider senses go off like crazy as people ran past them screaming. “What was that?!” Pav asked while looking around and at the same time they looked up and saw a man flying around on a glider holding something in his hands. Miles quickly connected the dots and realized he was holding a bomb and that was the loud noise they had heard.

He couldn’t really do anything right now except get him and Pav out of there. He didn’t have his suit or his web shooters so he was left with nothing. Before he could worry too much about how he couldn’t help he saw spider punk for the first time since he’d gotten to London. He swung towards the goblin landing a kick directly to his face and he lost control of his glider briefly from the impact.

He dropped the bomb in his hand after being kicked and it fell to the ground causing another loud explosion. They both flinched from the loud noise and it took a while for the dust to clear enough for them to see again.

“We gotta go!” Miles shouted at Pav and pointed in the opposite direction. He nodded quickly at him and they both started to run down the street and Miles froze when he heard a woman scream. He looked back and noticed a woman trying to push debris away from someone and he quickly realized a little girl was trapped underneath. He looked up and realized that spider punk was occupied with the villain and hadn’t noticed the woman and her child yet.

Miles turned around and ran towards them ignoring Pav yelling at him that it was too dangerous. He reached them and pushed the rubbish off the girl and as soon as she was free the mother scooped her up and thanked him before running away with her.

“Awww a hero!” He heard a voice shout and he looked up to see the man on the glider above looking down at him. Before he could react or respond he flew down and reached out trying to grab him. He jumped back and he swooped down grabbing a hold of his ankle and immediately flying up high. Miles screamed and tried to reach up and hit him. He was really in a tough spot without his web shooters but he also couldn’t do much since he was still in public view.

“Put him down!” He heard a voice shout and he saw a flash of spider punk before the goblin laughed. “Whatever you say!” He said and then he did let him go. “Wait don’t!” Miles shouted realizing he was several stories above ground at that point.

He fell down fast and he had to think of a plan quickly. He reached out and grabbed a flag pole and he swung back and forth before settling down and he just hung from it. He looked down seeing that he was still about ten stories above ground and he could survive jumping down and land on his feet but there were people looking up at him. He couldn’t do that without raising suspicions about himself and he also couldn’t just crawl up the side of the building so he really was just stuck hanging from this pole.

Realistically he was okay just hanging there. But he was stressing about how he could get out of this situation without anyone seeing him do it in a superficial way. He hung there for a long time and eventually he didn’t hear any more explosions.

“Are you okay?” Someone asked and he looked up seeing spider punk clinging to the side of the building with a hand reached out towards him.

He looked at him seeing him up close for the first time. He looked much cooler in person honestly and Miles just stared at him in awe for a few seconds before he spoke. “Yep. Just peachy” he said reaching out and taking his hand. He honestly hated being rescued. Especially when he could have easily saved himself but he was in a weird position where he couldn’t expose himself to the public view.

He took his hand firmly and pulled Miles up against him before he shot a web and swung them up until they were standing on the top of the building. Miles immediately stepped away from him as soon as they were on the roof. “Thanks” he said simply and spider punk tilted his head looking at him curiously.

“You seem awfully calm for a bloke that almost fell to his death” he commented and Miles immediately realized that he was right. A normal person would be freaking out right now but this was like a normal occurrence to him so he was acting super calm.

“Oh! Well. . . I’m from Brooklyn so. . .  I guess I’m just used to this kind of thing” he said with a light nervous laugh. “Is Brooklyn like. . . Off the rails or something?” He asked and Miles hesitated before answering. “Well that’s where the other spiderman is so. . . I’m used to this” He said hoping that cleared it up enough for him to stop questioning him.

“Is he? Eh I don’t know anything about him. Didn’t know that’s where he was” he said shrugging and Miles had to try really hard to not act offended. How did he not know? There was someone out there just like him and he didn’t even know where? He also didn’t even seem to care for him and for some reason that irked Miles.

“Well. . . Yeah! Hes pretty cool” Miles said and he inwardly cringed at his own comment. He was literally talking about himself and if that wasn’t cringe material he didn’t know what was. “Well i guess that explains why you’re so calm. . .but still” he said slowly before going on “I still think you’re acting weird, You in shock bruv?” He asked and Miles immediately shook his head no.

“Ahh well if you’re good then I’m heading out” Spider punk said casually as he walked over to the edge of the building. “You’re just gonna leave me on this random rooftop?” Miles called out to him as he walked away.

“There’s stairs over there” he said pointing to the doorway to the stairwell without turning around to look at him. “Wow you’re so nice” Miles said sarcastically as spider punk jumped up onto the ledge and looked back at him.

“Just your friendly neighborhood spiderman” he said and he could hear the smirk in his voice as he jumped off the side of the building probably to go finish taking care of that goblin guy. Miles rolled his eyes and walked over to the door that would lead to the stairs.

“Yeah. . .so fucking friendly” he grumbled as he started to make his way down the several flights of stairs.

Chapter Text

          Miles walked into the lunch room and looked around spotting Gwen at a table in the far back corner typing on her laptop. He walked over and sat at the table next to her and she didn’t even look up at him as he did. He came and sat with her during lunch whenever he could since they were both too busy to see each other at any other point of the day.

They had different classes for the most part but did share one. “Let me guess. . . Blogging?” He asked and she looked up at him with a smirk. “Yeah! I still can’t believe you were caught up in that spiderman fight and didn’t call to tell me about it!” She exclaimed while turning her laptop around to show him a video someone had posted about it online. He saw the video zoom in on him handing from the flag pole right as spider punk showed up to get him.

He cringed at the video and shook his head. Guess he made the right call by just staying put and not climbing up the side of the building. Considering he was on video. “I mean it’s no big deal” he started to say as he opened his bottle of soda “We dealt with that kind of stuff at home too” he added taking a small sip.

“Yeah yeah but still” she said pulling the laptop back around to face her “You should have called. You okay? That must have been real scary” she added and he just sighed. “Yeah like I said, used to it” he added and she gave him a questioning look but didn’t say anything else about it.

“Have you met your roommate yet?” He asked as she closed her laptop and pushed it away. “Oh yeah I have, she’s. . .alright” she said and he noticed the hesitation in her voice. He looked at her waiting to see if she would elaborate without him having to ask. “She just doesn’t talk much, which is fine! But she’s always on her computer and I feel awkward being there sometimes” she admitted and he could understand where she was coming from. Talking to new people and making friends was always difficult for her.

“Just give it time, you guys will be buds before you know it” he said and she smiled at him softly. “She’s also kinda cute soooo” Gwen said looking down at her own drink as she spoke. “Oh I see i see. . .you got a little crush” he said poking her arm and she shot a glare at him.

“I do not!”

“You do!”

“Leave it alone Miles!” Gwen shouted as she smacked his arm. He just laughed and rolled his eyes “So sensitive” he teased knowing she wasn’t really mad at him. “But seriously you gotta start opening up around new people” he said and she sighed looking down. He smiled softly at her understanding that it wasn’t easy for her but he was still going to encourage her to be better.

“Enough about me though, how are your classes going? Have you made any friends?” Gwen asked and he immediately thought of Hobie. Which was weird because he wouldn’t exactly describe him or their interaction as the start of a friendship. “Made friends with my roommate yeah but there was this guy in my class yesterday” he started to say and Gwen was giving him a curious look so he went on. “He’s not enrolled here he just shows up, went on some rant about collage being a scam made by the government” he said and Gwen laughed. “I mean he’s not wrong” she said and Miles laughed to nodding his head in agreement. 

“He seems pretty cool not gonna lie” Miles added and she raised an eyebrow at him “Do you have a crush?” She asked and he scoffed and shook his head “No! I hardly know the guy, i mean yeah he’s extremely attractive and definitely my type but. . .” I said trailing off and sighing. “Besides I’m too busy with everything to even think of dating right now” he said and she groaned dramatically shaking her head. “You work yourself too much Miles we’ve talked about this” she said pointing at him as she spoke. “Fine! I will try to talk to him more” I said hoping that was enough to make her drop the subject. 

“I’m just saying it wouldn’t hurt to get to know him and then maybe ask him out” she said and he looked down thinking it over. “Maybe. . . Just maybe” i said giving her a stern look. He wasn’t sure if he actually would though. He hasn’t asked someone out in years and he wasn’t even sure if Hobie was into guys. It was all just uncomfortable for him to think about but maybe Gwen was right and he should try. 

———————-

          Hobie walked into the same class as a few days before. He sat all the way in the back and pulled his phone out as he kicked his feet up on the desk. He glanced up and watched when Miles walked in and he smiled lightly at him and waved before taking a seat. He waved back and thought about moving and going down to talk to him again but he decided against it. 

He remembered saving him the other day and he smiled lightly remembering the short conversation they had. He had seemed annoyed that he didn’t know about the other spiderman and he was curious about why he was so defensive. He was also pretty sassy and that interested him as well.

Another guy walked in and sat in the seat a little ways behind Miles but directly in front of him. He had noticed that guy before and didn’t particularly like him. He was your stereotypical jerk that teased and picked on people. And he seemed to pick more on everyone that was studying abroad. Hobie hated that, he noticed some of the stuff he said to Miles and it made him want to punch him but he didn’t want to get involved too much. Miles probably didn’t want his help anyways. He was capable of handling himself.

Hobie looked back down at his phone just scrolling aimlessly. He glanced up when he saw the guy ball up a piece of paper and threw it at Miles. He ducked down out of sight as soon as Miles looked back and his eyes landed right on Hobie. “Damn” Hobie thought as he realized what it looked like. Miles looked surprised but also a little sad before he scoffed and looked away. Hobie looked over at the guy who was laughing lightly. “Stupid American” he chuckled before looking back at Hobie and his smile immediately went away when he saw the glare he was giving him.

Hobie knew he was an intimidating person and he used that to his advantage as he glared at him. He hated everything about him and people like him made him really hate school. He didn’t say anything because he didn’t have to. The jerk got the message he was sending without him saying a word. He looked away and sunk down into his seat not saying or doing anything for the rest of the class.

As soon as the class ended Hobie stood up planning on going up to Miles to tell him that it wasn’t him that threw the paper. He noticed Miles quickly jumped up and started to walk out of class. Before Hobie could follow his phone buzzed and he looked down seeing the news feed showing something terrorizing things downtown. “Fuck” he grumbled under his breath knowing that he had to be quick and get down there. Explaining things to Miles was going to have to wait until later.

—————————————

         Once Miles went back to his dorm he sat at his desk and started working on an essay. Pav had left the tv on but he wasn’t there. Miles left it on just for some background noise as he worked. He tried to forget about what happened in class. It didn’t matter. He was starting to get used to other students being rude but for some reason it bothered him that Hobie was like that too.  He didn’t even go here but he was a bully? He didn’t seem like the type and that’s what bothered Miles so much. He had misread who he was and he hated that he thought he was a good person.

He worked for a while before the tv caught his attention and he glanced over at it seeing it was a live news feed of an incident happening.

He saw a blurry video of Spider punk trying to fight another villain and Miles looked more closely trying to see who it was. His eyes widened when he recognized venom. He groaned and stood up watching the live news more intently. He’s fought him before and he didn’t understand why he was here now. Maybe he noticed that he wasn’t in Brooklyn and came here to fight with the other spiderman. He seemed pretty determined to kill him so it made sense that he would wanna kill spider punk too.

Surly spider punk would be able to handle him. He didn’t wanna get involved but the more he watched the more he saw that it was definitely an unfair fight. Especially when spider punk didn’t know what his weaknesses were yet. Miles groaned and reached under his bed and pulled his suit out quickly throwing it on.

He opened his window and jumped out swinging through the city trying to figure out the street signs so he could find where the fight was. He felt out of place not knowing where he was. He was so familiar with the streets back home he could swing through the city with his eyes closed.

He heard a commotion in a semi build building. It was still under construction and was just metal and concrete right now. He swung towards it and landed on the level he could see the fight was on. Spider punk swung his guitar at venom and it connected to his face and he was thrown several feet away.

Venom quickly jumped back and lunged at spider punk pinning him down to the ground. He held his guitar above him using it to try and keep venom from literally biting his head off. Miles reached down and grabbed a metal pipe and swung hitting it against a metal beam causing a loud noise to ring out. Venom immediately screamed and for a few seconds you could see the symbiote pull away from the body.

Spider punk kicked him off while he was distracted and jumped up looking at miles with surprise. Miles looked at him and shrugged not knowing what to say. Venom recovered quickly and lunged at him angrily. He jumped up and onto a metal beam and watched as he fell down a few stories down. Spider punk quickly caught on that Miles was there to help and they fell into an easy pattern fighting venom.

It was honestly kind of cool how they worked together so well without ever speaking a word to each other. Miles was broken out of his train of thought as he was slammed into a wall by venom and he groaned in pain but placed both hands on his arms. He charged up electricity in his hands before zapping him with just enough electricity to hurt him and not the person underneath the symbiote.

He screamed and fell backwards and the symbiote separated from the unconscious person and quickly went down a drain and escaping.  “Damn it!” Miles shouted as he looked down the drain and shook his head. Thats pretty much what happened last time he fought this guy. He still needed to find a way to finish him off but for now he knew he was gone. He always kept his distance when he didn’t have a person to control.

“Okay start talking” he heard spider punk say and he looked up at him. He had his arms crossed and was staring at him with his head tilted to the side. “Just passing through, I’m. . .  On vacation” Miles said lying not really wanting to say he was in school. He didn’t wanna reveal too much about himself.

“Vacation? So how long are you gonna be around?” He asked in a calm voice and Miles was surprised he was so chill about him being there. “I. . . A while actually” he said not wanting to say too much. But with how well he was taking this Miles couldn’t help but think he would be able to help and work with him.

“With how well you fight i wish you would move here” spider punk said with a laugh and Miles laughed too and shrugged. “I’ve fought him before. . . Hes a real pain honestly” I said and looked down at the unconscious person and realized it wasn’t Eddie. The guy venom was usually controlling. That might be an issue honestly. Not knowing where he was, Eddie was just as bad as venom since they worked together.

“Get this guy to a hospital” He said to spider punk and he turned to leave. “Venom is still around but you wont see him for a while. Keep an eye out” he said and shot a web swinging away not waiting for a response.

—————————-

          Miles sat on top of a tall building letting his legs hand over the edge as he looked around thinking over everything that just happened. Maybe he wasn’t going to take a break from being spiderman. He didn’t even realize how much he missed it until he was in the middle of that fight. There was just something amazing about it, yeah the fights were hard and he was always sore from being tossed around but he loved it. Loved the feeling of swinging around and just being carefree. It was like taking a break from all the stresses of his day to day life.

“I have more questions for you” he heard a voice say behind him and he glanced back seeing spider punk. He didn’t say anything and just watched as he came and sat next to him letting his legs hand over the edge too. Miles took notice to how long his legs were. It was kinda intimidating that he was so much taller than he was.

“Brooklyn right?” He asked and Miles nodded at him. “You legged it pretty quick back there” he commented and Miles just tilted his head confused by his words. He sighed and shook his head “You ran away” he explained and Miles just hummed a response meaning that he understood what he meant now.

“Didn’t see a reason to stick around” he said shrugging and looking away. “What’s your name?” Spider punk asked and he looked over at him and shook his head. “Not telling you that” he said and spiderpunk sighed. “Yeah I figured that, cant blame me for trying” he said and Miles couldn’t help but smile lightly.

“Thank you for helping” He said and Miles looked over at him and nodded. “Of course. . . It looked like you needed it. I wasn’t planning on stepping in but. . “ he said his voice trailing off as he didn’t know how to phrase it.

“How long have you been here?” He asked and Miles thought of lying to him but he had to be honest about some stuff. “Little over a week” he admitted.

“And you’re only showing yourself now?” He asked and Miles sighed thinking of what to say. “I did say i was on vacation. . . Sorry i wanted a break from this stuff” he said meaning he wanted to not be spiderman for a while. “But that break was short lived. . .i definitely missed it” he added knowing that he would never be able to stop being spiderman. It was a part of him just as much as anything else important in his life.

“Will I be seeing more of ya?” He asked and Miles thought for a long time before he nodded. “Yeah. . .but only if that’s alright with you. This is your city” Miles said looking over at him and he seemed very relaxed. Like he already trusted Miles completely. “I think I could get used to a cutie like you helping out” he said and Miles could hear the smirk in his voice.

Miles scoffed and looked away from him. “You don’t even know what i look like” he shot back and the other spiderman laughed. “Show me then” he said in the same flirtatious voice. Miles sighed dramatically and stood up from where was was sitting. “You’re gonna be a pain I can already tell” he said as he stepped down off the ledge they were sitting on.

“So mean to me” He grumbled but he could hear the humor in his voice. “We’re gonna work together but let me make this clear, no telling each other who we are. Our identities are to remain a secret” i said crossing my arms as i looked at him.

“Why though? Surely we can trust each other with the same secret. I’ve never met someone else like me” he said and Miles sighed understanding what he meant but he was still determined to keep who he was secret. “It’s not about trust” he said and spiderpunk tilted his head to the side questionably.

“I need to keep this life separate. . . I don’t want my personal life and hero life to mix together” he said feeling very strongly about it. Spider punk jumped down off the ledge and looked down at him and Miles looked up at him hating how much taller he was. “Whatever you say cutie” he said and Miles narrowed his eyes at him through the mask.

“Stop calling me that”

“No”

“You’re annoying. . .”

“It’s part of my charm” He said in the same flirtatious voice as before. Miles just laughed and shook his head as he turned to leave. “I have to go. . . Look forward to working with you” He said as he jumped back up onto the ledge.

“Not as much as I look forward to it” Spiderpunk said and Miles shook his head and shot a web swinging away and back towards campus. He didn’t know what he expected him to be like but he definitely surprised him. He had a unique personality and Miles found it endearing but at the same he was confused. He smiled lightly happy that he had someone that was like him in his life. Even if it was just on occasion.

——————————-

         Miles walked into class the next day and noticed Hobie was there again. He sighed and took a seat a little ways away from him. He was in the middle of pulling a book out of his bag when he heard someone sit next to him and he looked up seeing that Hobie had moved to be next to him. He just stared at him for a second before looking back down and pulling a few more things from his bag.

“Hey about yesterday-“ he started to say and Miles shot him a glare. “Leave it” He said interrupting him before he could say anything else. “I get it, you think I’m just a dumb American but do you really have nothing better to do besides coming to a school you don’t go to just to mess with people?” He asked and ignored the frown Hobie had on his face now.

“But it wasn’t. . “

“Just leave me alone” He mumbled turning away from him and crossing his arms. Hobie was silent for a long time but eventually he sighed and stood up and walked out of the class. He watched him walk out and he couldn’t help but feel like he was too harsh. But what was he suppose to say? He didn’t owe him anything and he had every right to be angry. This wasn’t high school it was college and if he wanted to act childish Miles wasn’t going to give him any attention.

Miles did his best to pay attention during class but he kept thinking about Hobie. Why was he so upset? Was it because he was hoping he could build a friendship with him? He thought he did but he wasn’t so sure anymore. And he couldn’t figure out why he was trying to talk to him today. Was he trying to make him trust him so he could continue messing with him? Logically that’s what it seemed like but he couldn’t shake the feeling that he was misreading everything.

Class ended and he sighed hating himself for not paying attention. He shoved his books back into his bag and walked out of class. He just wanted to get back to his dorm and forget everything that happened. Maybe he could talk to Pav about this, he might be able to give him a different perspective.

He walked outside and stopped at the top of the stairs leading down into the main park in the middle of campus. His dorm room was in the building all the way across but it was raining really heavily. He groaned realizing he would have to walk through it and he stood there wondering if it was worth it to just run or walk and deal with getting soaked.

He noticed Hobie walk out and he stopped and looked at him. He was holding an umbrella and he waved at him lightly. Miles looked away from him and crossed his arms. Hobie sighed and started to walk away but he stopped and glanced back at him. “I just wanted you to know that I wasn’t the one that threw that paper” he said with a sincere look on his face. “I swear” he added and Miles just looked at him realizing that he was telling the truth.

“I’ve never been to school before and I’ve never had friends. . .this is all sorta new to me” he said softly as he held the umbrella out towards him. Miles stared at him in surprise for a long while before he reached out slowly and took it, their hands brushed together and for some reason that make Miles heart skip a beat.

Miles stared at him not knowing what to say but then the umbrella fell down around him and he heard Hobie start laughing. He must have accidentally hit the button when he took it and Hobie found it hilarious. He pushed it back up and was going to say something about Hobie laughing at him but he couldn’t say anything because he immediately fell in love with his laugh. He laughed too just watching how Hobie looked when he laughed. His laugh and the way his face lit up made Miles feel like there were butterflies in his stomach. How cheesy was that.

“See you tomorrow” Hobie said before turning and walking away down the stairs. Miles watched him before realizing he hadn’t said anything this whole time. “I. . .uhh huh see you to- tomorr- tomorrow!” He stuttered waving at him as he left “uhh why am I stammering?” He mumbled to himself and shook his head to clear his thoughts. He felt his face heat up when he realized how Hobie was making him feel. He hadn’t had a crush on anyone is so long he didn’t even recognize the feeling at first.

He smiled lightly glad that they were on good terms now. And hopefully they would start getting to know each other better. It felt nice and the thought of him and Hobie being friends made him happy. He couldn’t stop smiling the entire way back to his dorm.

Chapter Text

           A couple weeks had passed and things were starting to really shape into something good. Hobie continued coming to class and he even showed Miles around the city a few times. He got along with him easily but he had to look away to hide the blush on his face constantly whenever Hobie was around him.

Both Hobie and Pavitr fit into him and Gwens friendship duo easily and the four of them hung out together whenever everyone’s schedules lined up right. Over the past weeks Miles had gotten so used to Hobies smile and his laugh. It made him happy seeing how well Hobie fit in with them.

Right now he was watching him and Pavitr playfully punch at each other after having a disagreement on something small. He leaned back against the park bench and watched them fight for another second before looking over at Gwen who was next to him and also watching Hobie and Pav fight. “What are they even fighting about?” Miles asked lightly and Gwen glanced at him and shrugged “I have no idea but Hobies winning I think” she said and they both laughed seeing Hobie hold Pav in a light chokehold.

After a second they broke the fight up and laughed and pushed each other playfully before Hobie walked over at sat down next to Miles. “Another great victory for me” he said with a smirk and Pav just scoffed and sat on the other end to the bench next to Gwen. “Not my fault you don’t play fair!” Pav scoffed but they all laughed despite everything. It was just playful banter and Miles had gotten used to it.

Hobie leaned back and looked down at Miles and when he looked up to meet his gaze he suddenly couldn’t find any words to say. “You good?” Hobie asked and then he felt Gwen elbow his ribs after he didn’t respond for a few seconds. “I…Oh! Yeah I’m totally chill” Miles stuttered trying to play off his awkwardness by acting cool. It didn’t really work though since Hobie just laughed and shook his head at him.

“Yeah super chill mate” he joked but he wasn’t making eye contact anymore so Miles felt like he could actually breathe again. Miles looked over at Gwen and she gave him a knowing look. She had definitely picked up on how he liked Hobie. I mean that was expected she was literally his best friend he couldn’t get anything past her. She kept trying to encourage him to ask him out but it wasn’t that easy.

He was nervous obviously but there was also something else keeping him from doing it. Even if they started dating how long would he be able to keep his double life a secret? Would he ever get to a point where he felt comfortable telling him? And if he knew how would he take that? Hobie was very opinionated and he had no idea how he felt about spiderman. And honestly he was too scared to ask him about it.

Also Miles had no intention of staying in London after finishing collage. Would they be able to handle a long distance relationship? Miles wasn’t sure but he also knew he was thinking of it too much. Why bother thinking about the possibility of a relationship when it was something impossible and out of reach. He had to relax and stop day dreaming.

Hobie glanced at his phone and stood up abruptly. “Hey I gotta run. . .something came up” He said and the three of them looked up at him disappointed. “You said you would come get lunch with us though!” Pavitr exclaimed and Hobie just gave him an apologetic look. “I know . . .  Next time yeah?” He said as he started to walk away. Miles noticed that he was walking away a lot quicker than usual. He seemed to be in a rush for something and he had no idea what.

“He seem off to you?” Gwen asked and Miles looked at her after he couldn’t see Hobie anymore. “Yeah. . .you think he’s okay?” He asked and she just shrugged and sighed. “He’s a mystery honestly” she said as she stood up. “Let’s just go for lunch, text him about it later” she said looking right at Miles as she spoke.

“Why you looking at me when you say that? Why cant you text him?” He asked defensively. “Shut up Miles I'm just giving you an excuse to talk to him more” she said teasing him and he groaned and stood up from the bench. “I don’t need you to be a wingman ya know?” He teased back and she just laughed while the three of them started walking out of the park.

“Miles you have like no game you definitely need a wingman” Pavitr said with a laugh and Miles shoved his shoulder playfully. “Oh come on! I have rizz i swear!” He exclaimed defensively.

“I think you left all your rizz back in Brooklyn” Gwen laughed and he just rolled his eyes and shoved his hands into the pockets of his hoodie.

“That implies he had rizz to begin with!” Pavitr added with another laugh. “Ha ha you guys are so funny” Miles mumbled sarcastically. They continued to walk down the street and Miles lost track of the conversation and just nodded along.

Hobie had left abruptly and it did make Miles wonder why. Was it actually something he should worry about or was he just overthinking it? Yeah he must have been overthinking it. Hobie had a life outside of them he understood that. But at the same time Miles had no idea what his outside life was like. He never talked about himself really.

Miles wanted to know more about Hobie so badly but he didn’t want to be that person that poked and prodded for personal information. He didn’t even know where he lived. When they would all hang out it would either be in Miles and Pavs dorm room or somewhere in the city. The park kinda became their main hangout spot. He didn’t know how it ended up like that but it was nice. Getting away from campus just to hang out was a nice change of pace.

Although Miles didn’t know any personal details about Hobies life he has learned a lot. His personality was loud, just like his music and it drew Miles in like a moth to a flame. And when Hobie would start talking about something he was passionate about he couldn’t help but just stare at him in awe. His whole face just lights up when he’s talking about certain things and Miles couldn’t help but fall for him.

“Miles. . . Helloooo?” Gwen said waving her hand in front of his face and he looked over at her and laughed nervously realizing that he had zoned out. “Oh. . .sorry” he mumbled and she raised her eyebrows at him. “My bad” he said laughing nervously and she teased him lightly but let it go without saying too much.

He made more of an effort to pay attention to the flow of conversation as they got lunch. They all sat at a table in the corner and laughed and joked about random things. Miles was starting to relax and fall into the conversation easily before he glanced at the tv on the wall in the corner of the restaurant. Once he looked over at it so did Pavitr and Gwen.

It was playing another live feed of spiderpunk fighting a villain and Miles mentally cursed him. How did these fights always start at the worst time? That was just spiderman life he figured but now he had to come up with an excuse to get away from Pav and Gwen.

“Another villain?!” Gwen gasped and looked over at them. “We should go get a closer look” she said and Miles shot her a glare. “Absolutely not! You got a death wish or something?” He asked and she just shrugged. “It’s only a few blocks away Miles” she said and this time Pavitr spoke up.

“Miles is right, last time we got caught up in a fight we almost got blown up” he said and Miles nodded and looked at Gwen with a ‘told you so’ look. Gwen rolled her eyes and leaned back in her seat knowing she couldn’t argue with both of them.

Miles sat up coming up with his excuse as he spoke. “I have a paper to study for. . .so I’m heading back to campus before that villain destroys the whole block” he said stepping away from the table. “You guys head back too okay?” He asked before looking right at Gwen “and YOU . . .  Stay away from that fight!” He said before turning and walking out of the restaurant without waiting for them to question him about his quick getaway.

He ran into an alleyway and pulled his cloths off to reveal his suit he was wearing underneath. He tossed all his stuff behind a dumpster to come back for later. He pulled his mask on and crawled up the side of the building until he was at the top. He scanned the area trying to see where the fight was happening. He couldn’t see but he heard the commotion and he jumped off shooting a web and swinging towards where he heard the sounds.

He landed on another roof top and looked around confused. He could have sworn he heard the sounds coming from here but he couldn’t see anything. His spider sense flared up and he turned around just in time to see spiderpunk appear out of nowhere and crash into him. Whoever he was fighting had thrown him and of course he collided right into Miles.

They both rolled onto the ground together and Miles groaned in pain before he realized he was pinned underneath the other. He propped himself up and looked down at Miles. “Oi. . .you’re late” he said and Miles rolled his eyes even though he couldn’t see him do it.

“Sorry I have a personal life”

“You implying that i don’t?”

“Can you get off me now?”

“Why? You blushin’ under that mask?” Spider punk said slyly and Miles scoffed and pushed him off and stood up. “Just fill me in on this” Miles said looking back at him seeing that he was already on his feet too.

…….

          Once he was caught up they didn’t say much to each other and just focused on finishing the fight. Miles had to admit that having help made fights easier. Of course he still payed full attention and never let his guard down but two against one made a huge difference in terms of fighting off your average villain of the week.

After the villain was webbed up to a telephone pole and clearly wasn’t a threat anymore Miles breathed a sigh of relief. “Hell yeah” Spiderpunk said and held his fist out towards him and Miles laughed and fist bumped him. It had kinda turned into their thing after every successful battle. Police cars pulled up sirens blaring and Miles noticed how Spiderpunk immediately swung away as cops jumped out to arrest the bad guy.

Miles was just about to follow him when he caught a glimpse of Gwen watching him. He sighed dramatically but really he wasn’t surprised. She never listened to him and he was used to it. But he still worried that she’d get caught up in the wrong fight some day and get hurt. He couldn’t overthink it too much in that moment since he had to leave the scene before the police tried to arrest him too.

He swung away and looked around wondering where the other spider had gone. He spotted him sitting on top of a building and for a second he wondered if he should go up there or just leave. They usually chatted a little after every fight but it was always him that followed behind Miles to do so.

Miles decided to open up a little and swung up and sat down next to him without saying anything. They sat in silence for a while and Miles started to wonder if following him was the right choice. He was usually very talkative so this was definitely out of character for him.

“You legged it out of there pretty fast” Miles said using the slang spiderpunk had used weeks ago when he had left the battle scene abruptly. At this he laughed and broke his silence. “Using my slang now? You really are warming up to this place” he said laughing again.

“It was only a matter of time” Miles said softly laughing with him and they both went silent again for a while. “So why did you leave so abruptly?” Miles asked and he just shrugged. “Don’t particularly get along with the police” he said and Miles nodded understanding.

“Yeah. . . I get that” he mumbled looking down at the streets below them. “It’s no biggie. . . But i got something else on my mind” he said and Miles looked over at him curiously. “You said we can’t tell each other about ourselves? Our personal lives yeah?” He asked and Miles tensed up and slowly nodded.

“You said it ain’t about trust. . . And i get that but you’re lying to me and i know it. And that is about trust so what? You don’t trust me?” He asked and Miles didn’t know what to say for a long time. “I. . . I do trust you. We’ve been working together for a while but. . I don’t know man” he said looking away with a sigh.

“How long are you going to be here?” He asked suddenly and Miles hesitated before he answered him. “A couple years” he admitted with a sigh.

“You said you were on vacation?”

“Yeah. . . “

“Pretty long vacay if you ask me” He commented and Miles realized that was the lie he was caught up on. He was expecting that though. What he didn’t expect was what the other was about to say.

“When you showed up, you said you were here for a week. And when you look at the dates that lines up to the beginning of semester at that pretentious collage. You’re not here on vacation you’re in school” he commented and Miles looked at him with wide eyes. He had expected him to see past him and realize the vacation thing was a lie but he didn’t think he’d figure out he was a student. He even narrowed it down to the exact college he was at.

“Damn. . . You’re more observant than I gave you credit for” Miles mumbled looking away from him knowing there was no way to lie his way out of it. “I have my moments” he said but Miles continued to not look at him. He felt called out, of course he did but he realized he didn’t care. Who cares if he knew he was a collage student? He knew he wasn’t going to tell anyone. He really did trust him but did he trust him enough to know his identity? No. . .not yet at least.

“Okay so you figured me out. Now what?” He asked finally looking over at him. “I don’t know. . .guess just make the most out of the time we have left working together?” He said phrasing it like a question. Miles smiled and nodded. “Yeah. . .make it count” he said softly.

“It’s only a matter of time until you fall for me” he said slyly and Miles groaned dramatically “And there it is” he muttered sarcastically. It was always a matter of time until he said something flirtatious. Miles couldn’t tell if that was just his personality or if he genuinely liked Miles in that way.

“You can’t resist my charm for long” he said and Miles rolled his eyes and shook his head. “Oh I definitely can. You’re so insufferable sometimes” he said and the other spider just laughed loudly. “Bit harsh don’t ya think?” He asked and Miles shrugged. “Nope” he shot back not stepping down from his statement.

“Whatever mate. . . So if you don’t like me who do you fancy? Anyone here catch your eye?” He said bumping their shoulder together and Miles wondered if he should really answer him. “No. . .  Well kinda but I’m not telling you!” He said and spiderpunk looked over at him and for a second he wished he wasn’t wearing a mask so he could read his facial expression.

“So you do fancy someone?” He asked again and Miles groaned and buried his face in his hands. “He’s just a friend” he grumbled and then he glanced over at him again and now he really had no idea what he was thinking. He was usually pretty easy to read and Miles could get a good grasp on his mood but right now he had no idea. He didn’t say anything for a long time and Miles was starting to wonder if he would even comment on it.

“Whoever this friend is. . . I doubt he’s good enough for you” he said and Miles just shook his head but he went on before he could respond. “You’re amazing. . . I don’t even know who you are and I can see that. So whoever you are behind that mask has gotta be pretty good too. So yeah I don’t think anyone can compete with that” he finished and Miles just stared at him in shock for a long while.

He was used to getting compliments from him, hell he expected it every time they saw each other. But they were always flirtatious or sly and made in passing. He didn’t usually just compliment him so intensely like this. He was literally left speechless and he didn’t know how to respond to that.

He was about to say something but his phone started ringing and he pulled it out and saw that it was Pavitr. “Damn it” he cursed under his breath and jumped up not letting the other see his screen as he backed away. “I have to go. . . Catch you next time” he said before jumping off the building and leaving quickly.

Once he landed back in the alleyway where he left his stuff he answered the phone. “Miles! You said you were coming back to the dorm? Where are you?” He asked and Miles groaned and cursed himself for not coming up with a better excuse for leaving. “I got sidetracked is all don’t worry I’m on my way back” he said as he threw his jacket on over his suit.

He managed to convince Pav that he was alright and once he ended the call he walked out of the ally. He sighed and shook his head as he thought back onto the conversation him and spiderpunk had. Did he really think that highly of him? And why did he? They’ve definitely gotten closer in the past month but not enough to have him say something so sincere.

Miles was confused by it but he pushed it to the back of his mind. He had the next few years to understand him more. And strangely enough that excited him a bit. He really has grown to like him. In a “we work together and i enjoy your company” type of way of course. Nothing more than that.

——————————

          Miles shoved a few more things into his suitcase before zipping it closed. Break had started and he promised his parents he would fly back home for two weeks. He felt nervous about leaving but it was just two weeks. He looked over his shoulder at Pavitr who was also packing a bag. He was flying home as well and all he could talk about was how excited he was to see his girlfriend again. Miles was happy for him but he was kinda envious. He wished he could have someone in his life like that.

It felt so far out of reach for someone like him. Someone that lived a life as dangerous as him had to be cautious. But despite him telling himself that he was willing to throw all caution out the window for one person. And that scared him a little.

Miles felt his phone buzz and he pulled it out of his pocket to read the notification from Hobie. “Come to the library” it read and Miles was confused but shrugged it off. He had a few hours before he had to head to the airport so he had time. Even if he didn’t he would have found a way to make time for Hobie.

He walked into the library and looked around until he spotted Hobie at a table in the back away from everyone else. He walked over to him and sat across from him. “Hey. . .what’s up?” He asked not knowing why Hobie had asked him to come down here.

“You were really gonna leave for a whole two weeks without saying bye?” He asked tilting his head to the side as he looked at Miles. “Oh. . .well i mean it’s only two weeks” Miles said softly and Hobie just rolled his eyes and kicked his feet up onto the table. “Only” Hobie repeated as he stared Miles down. “I’m just saying. . . Gonna miss you” Hobie admitted and Miles had to look down to hide his blush. “Yeah. . .I’ll miss you too” Miles said and Hobie just hummed in response.

“So that’s why you texted me? You just wanted to scold me for not saying goodbye?” He asked and Hobie just shrugged “Naw I just wanted to give you something before you left” he said softly.

“Oh?” Miles asked curiously as Hobie pulled something out of his pocket. “Nothing crazy just a pin” he said as he handed it to Miles. “You’re always staring at my vest so i figured you’d like to have one” he commented and Miles had to try really hard to not blush more at being called out for staring. If only he knew why he stared so much.

Miles took it and looked down at it. It was one that he wore on his vest, he recognized it immediately. “Punks not dead…very cool” Miles said before looking up at him with a big smile on his face. “I love it” he admitted and then Hobie smiled lightly at him. “Don’t lose it yeah?” He asked as he looked down at his guitar and played a few cords.

“I won’t. . . Also you cant play your guitar in a library”

“Says who?”

“The. . . Librarian?”

“Eh who cares” Hobie mumbled but he did stop playing. Miles rolled his eyes but he was used to Hobie breaking rules. It’s not like he could get expelled so why not. Miles checked the time then stood up. “I gotta go. . .or I’ll miss my flight” he said.

Hobie nodded and smiled lightly at him as he stood up to leave. “Try not to miss me too much” he said and Miles nodded not looking away from him as he took a few steps away. “I’ll do my best” he said before waving goodbye to Hobie and walking out of the library.

Chapter Text

          Miles walked out of the airport feeling exhausted after the long flight. He definitely wasn’t looking forward to the flight back after his break was over. He looked around and he spotted his parents. As soon as his mom spotted him she ran up and pulled into a tight hug. He laughed and let his bag drop down off his shoulder as he hugged her back.  “Missed you too” he mumbled softly. They hugged for a long time before separating and he looked up and hugged his dad too.

The car ride home was long but was filled with lots of questions about school from his parents. Miles smiled along and answered all their questions easily. Talking about school was easy enough. But he knew it was only a matter of time until his dad questioned him about spiderman. He was prepared for it. He knew he had gone public with him fighting in London and he knew it made him look suspicious. Especially when his dad already seemed suspicious of his double life.

Miles walked into his room as soon as they had gotten home and he was surprised that his room looked just the same as when he left. Cleaner but still mostly the same. He collapsed onto his bed and sighed the exhaustion hitting him hard now. He took a deep breath as he relaxed and he was asleep within seconds.

——-

The first week of break seemed to rush by quickly and he wished he didn’t have to go back. He didn’t realize how homesick he had been until he came back. He was surprised by the rush of emotions but he brushed them off. He had missed home but now that he was back he couldn’t help but miss something else. Or a better way to say that is he missed someone else.

He had grown so attached to Hobie in the short amount of time he had known him it was like a punch in the gut being away from him. But that was crazy right? He had known Pavitr for about the same amount of time and yes he missed him too but it wasn’t like this.

This was a new feeling for Miles and he didn’t really understand it that well. Part of him wanted to text him and tell him he missed him but at the same time he couldn’t bring himself to do it. Hobie hadn’t texted him at all this whole week and he didn’t want to be the first one to reach out even though Gwen had tried to talk him into doing exactly that.

He was brought out of his train of thought by the sound of a text notification and he sat up in bed quickly and looked down at his phone. For a split second he hoped it was Hobie but that hope went away when he saw that it was just Gwen. Not that he didn’t want to talk to his best friend just he wished Hobie would reach out first.

He opened the text and saw that it was a link and he clicked on it curiously. It opened up to a news article from London and he quickly realized it was something about spiderpunk. He rolled his eyes but read through it anyway. Of course Gwen would continue to keep tabs on him even when we were back in Brooklyn.

As he read though it he noticed a section mention how he wasn’t seen during the fight and it had speculation about why he was missing. He rolled his eyes and closed out of it. He looked up when he heard a knock on his window and he watched as Gwen opened his window and climbed in.

“Did you read the article?” She asked as soon as she was in his room. Miles groaned and shook his head. “You’re obsessed” he commented and she just waved his comment off and sat next to him on his bed.

“I’m just keeping up to date on everything!” She said defensively “I texted Hobie asking about it but he’s real weird about spiderpunk talk” she said and he immediately looked over at her. “You‘ve talked to Hobie?” He asked and she just nodded.

“Just text him Miles. He is your friend I don’t understand why you’re being so weird about it”

“I’m just. . . Playing it cool” He mumbled while looking down at his hands. “Didn’t you say he gave you a gift right before you left? I mean come on thats gotta be a sign that he likes you” She said and he just gave her a look that showed he didn’t see it the same way.

“It wasn’t like that . . You’re looking too much into it” he said and she rolled her eyes and shook her head. “He didn’t give me a goodbye gift” she commented and Miles didn’t say anything he just kept looking down at his hands.

“It was just a nice friendly gesture. FRIENDLY” Miles said reiterating the friend part of his sentence. They were both silent for a long while. Miles glanced over at her and sighed. “Why are you here anyways? Did you just want to talk about that article?” He asked just looking for a way to drift the conversation away from Hobie.

“Oh yeah! Almost forgot about that” she said as she pulled out her phone. “I was doing some digging and I found it weird that our spiderman was absent” she commented and Miles stood up from his bed and shook his head. “Maybe he was just. . . Busy” he lied hoping and wishing she would stop looking so far into it. If she didn’t stop he knew she would figure him out eventually.

Of course he changed the conversation from one thing he didn’t want to talk about to another think he definitely didn’t wanna talk about. He thought back onto how Spiderpunk had figured out he was a collage student just based off when he showed up the first time. And if he figured that out he was sure Gwen was probably thinking the same thing.

“Whatever the reason is I’m sure spiderpunk is handling his own. He was just fine before I - I mean our spiderman showed up” Miles said mentally cursing himself for his mix up of words. Luckily Gwen didn’t seem to notice his almost slip up, or at the very least didn’t comment on it. This whole secret identity thing was harder that he originally thought it would be.

“Never said he couldn’t hold his own I’m just curious” Gwen said with a shrug. “But you’re right. Besides we go back next week and I’m sure i’ll get some more leads eventually” she said and Miles just sighed and nodded as he tried to think of ways to keep her from figuring it out.

Eventually both topics of conversation were dropped and they fell into their usual back and forth banter. They chatted and just hung around Miles room for a long time before Gwen left to go home and check up with her dad. Miles laid on his bed for a long time after she left and his mind drifted back to his dilemma with Hobie. Should he confess to his feelings or not? Would it be better to just text him or should he wait until he was back in London.

He cursed under his breath and sat up and threw his suit up and climbed out his window. He hadn’t intended on going out as spiderman during his holiday break but he needed the fresh air to clear his mind. He wasted no time in jumping off his fire escape and before long he was swinging through the streets of Brooklyn effortlessly.

————————————

Hobie collapsed onto his couch after tossing his mask onto the coffee table. He sighed deeply as he stared up at the ceiling. He couldn’t stop thinking about the other spider that had shown up in his life months ago. He thought he was amazing and was easy to talk to. Even though he was always giving him snarky comments about his flirtations. But that was okay for Hobie. He liked the back and forth banter he had with him. It was almost endearing in a way.

Maybe he was so interested because of his blatant dislike. Not that Hobie was a player by any means but he was used to people fawning over him whenever he showed even a speck of interest. But him? He could care less and that was. . .  Interesting to Hobie.

His thoughts drifted to Miles and thats what was starting to really bother him. He liked Miles too. But that was weird right? Liking two different people at the same time? Was his feelings split in two or was he just imagining the feelings he had for one of them. Also he couldn’t even tell if Miles liked him in that way. He seemed close with Gwen so maybe they have a thing going. They claim to be just friends but Hobie had heard that excuse enough to know it wasn’t always true.

Also Miles hadn’t texted. And he was starting to wonder if he had made him uncomfortable by giving him one of his pins. Maybe he had overstepped too soon. In all honestly he hadn’t known Miles for very long but he also didn’t know his new spider friend that long either. Actually now that he thought of it he met them both around the same time. That was a funny coincidence he thought to himself but he brushed it off.

They acted completely different there’s no way Miles was spiderman. Miles was shy and guarded and the other spider was confident and. . .almost cocky in a way. Hobie rolled his eyes as he thought everything over and then he sat up wincing lightly from the new bruises he had gotten from his last patrol.

He had handled this spider gig by himself for a long time before the other showed up. But if he was being honest he had really gotten used to having his help. Maybe too used to it since today he had the first real big fight without the other spider and well, he got his ass kicked. He still won in the end but he really got a beating in the process.

Suddenly he got a text and he pulled his phone out and was shocked to see it was from Miles. He opened it to a picture he had taken in front of his mirror and after a second Hobie noticed he had the pin he had given him on the front of his jacket. He couldn’t help but smile lightly seeing him wear it and his earlier concerns about being too forward died down a bit.

“I was torn between putting the pin on my jacket or my backpack but I think it looks good on my jacket. What do ya think?” Miles texted him along with the picture that Hobie was still staring at. He was inspecting all the things in the background noticing Miles had taken the picture in what looked like his room. His childhood room. Hobie looked at everything hoping there were things that could show him a little more about his personality.

Like the clothes thrown on the floor and the desk in the background that was covered in his artwork. The shelf with collectibles and a few pictures of what Hobie assumed were family members. He even took note of his headphones hanging off his lamp. Hobie realized he was staring at the picture for a long time and he finally closed out of it to text him back.

“Looks great on ya sunflower” he texted back and Miles responded quickly. “Sunflower?” He asked and Hobie smirked lightly as he responded.

“Yeah”

“Why?”

“It’s that song you’re always humming. Don’t like the nickname?”

It was a while until Miles responded and he took notice of the three dots coming and going showing that Miles was taking his time coming up with a response.

“It’s better than when you call me Peter Pan so I’ll allow it” Miles responded with and that made Hobie laugh out loud and shake his head. He couldn’t stop smiling at his phone and he realized how much he missed Miles in that moment. He didn’t get this giddy with anyone else so did he like him or did he just see him as a really close friend? Hobie had always been iffy about relationships and feelings so he did his best to ignore them. His life was too hectic to pay any mind to that anyways.

“Allow it? What are you the boss of me now?” He texted back and Miles responded faster this time. “Someone has to be. You’re a loose cannon” he responded with and Hobie laughed again loving how witty Miles seemed today.

“I’ll allow it” Hobie texted back still smiling widely at his phone.

——————————

Miles looked out the passenger side window as his dad drove him to the airport. He couldn’t help but feel a little deja vu as he sat there. The ride was quiet at first just like the first time his dad had drove him. But just like before he finally spoke up and started a conversation.

“Spidey hasn’t been around here” He said simply and Miles glanced over at him cautiously. “Yeah. . .he’s been in London” He said simply being carful of each word he said. His dad just nodded while keeping his eyes on the road as he drove. “You know. . . I thought I would like that. Not having him swinging around” he started off with saying while glancing over at Miles.

Miles looked back out the window and sighed not knowing what to say. His dad went on with what he wanted to say. “It’s been weird. Things don’t feel right. Kinda like how it feels not having you at home” he said and with that Miles looked over at him.

“Change can be. . .scary” he finally said and his dad just laughed lightly without any humor in his voice. “Yeah. . .scary is one way to put it” he mumbled before going silent again for a while. Miles glanced over at him again trying to figure out what he was thinking by looking at his face.

His dad has always been hard to read. And part of him wished he had picked up that skill but instead Miles felt like he was an open book. There was no hiding anything, at least hiding his emotions that is. And hiding things from his parents? Don’t even get him started on that.

“What’s scary is realizing your kid is out there risking his life” he said suddenly and Miles entire body tensed up. “I. . .What?” He asked looking over at him surprised by his comment. He parked in front of the airport but still didn’t look over at Miles. “I’ve been a cop for a long time. Solving mysteries and connecting the dots on hundreds of cases” he went on to say and Miles just kept staring at him not saying anything.

Finally he looked over at Miles and god he wished he could tell what he was thinking now. What emotions he was feeling in this moment. Miles couldn’t think of anything to say he just kept looking at him. “And you’re a terrible liar” His dad added and with that Miles looked away.

“I’m sorry. . .” He mumbled and his dad sighed deeply. “Just. . .promise me something?” He asked and Miles nodded quickly glanced over at him. “Just be careful” he said in a small voice and Miles could hear the worry and fear his dad was trying to hide as he spoke.

“I always am” he said and they were both silent for a long time after that. Just staring at each other. Part of Miles had seen this coming. Hiding things from his dad has always been a challenge. But he was surprised he had actually confronted him about it. And that he waited to do it right before he was set to get on a plane and leave again.

He wondered why he wasn’t getting yelled at. Why his dad wasn’t lecturing him or scolding him for making such a reckless life decision. Maybe it was because they couldn’t really ground him when he didn’t live at home anymore but he didn’t think that would stop them from trying to.

“How long have you known?” Miles finally asked and his dad laughed and gave him a knowing look. “Since you left and Spider-Man disappeared with you” he said and Miles opened his mouth to argue but his dad held his hand up to cut him off. “I had suspicions before. That just confirmed it” he added and Miles just sighed and leaned back against the passenger seat.

“You’re gonna miss your flight” his dad said and Miles looked over at him and frowned “You’re not mad?” He asked cautiously. “Oh no I’m mad. But I’ve learned that stopping you from doing what you want is impossible” he said while rolling his eyes. Miles chuckled lightly and nodded slowly “Sorry. . .again” he said and his dad just smiled lightly at him.

“See you when you come home again. . . . And you better come home” he said in a stern voice and with that Miles smiled and nodded quickly before getting out of the car and grabbed his bag. He waved goodbye before he turned to head back to London after what felt like the quickest two weeks of his life.