Work Text:
Miles:
Two months! Two months!
Miles slammed the door behind him, anger from his earlier fight with his parents evaporating to exasperation.
“Pfft,” he scoffed, leaning against the door. “Im Spider-Man! Im not grounded!”
Dragging his hands down his face, he snatched up his headphones. He started forward, but tripped over something on the carpeted floor. Grunting, he scooped down to pick up his drawing book. He smiled softly as he gazed at the page it was opened to.
Gwen.
One of the many drawings of her, Miles’s way to let out how much he missed the girl. Sighing, he chucked it on his blankets before the tears could form. Switching on his music, he flopped down on his unmade bed, closing his eyes and humming along.
Hummingbird, hummingbird.
Too engrossed in his music, Miles didn’t realise that the air around him was shifting, his stuff floating silently. That is, he didnt realise until a painfully familiar voice echoed in his head.
“Miles?”
Wait, not his head…
“Miles!”
He peeled his eyes open, jaw dropping in shock. A multicoloured portal swirled on top of him, and standing in the middle of it was none other than the girl he had been thinking about for years.
“You gotta minute?” Gwen called down, smirking.
“Wha- uh-” Miles stuttered, fumbling to get his headphones off. He jolted upright as Gwen leapt gracefully out of the portal and onto his bed, gazing around his room with an adorable smile on her face. Multiple clangs and crashes sounded around them as the portal disappeared, sending all the floating stuff clattering to the ground.
“How did you-how-how did you-where did you-?” Miles was interrupted by a pair of warm arms wrapping around him in a tight embrace. “How have you been?” He finished, awkwardly patting Gwen on her back, hoping she couldn’t feel his pounding heartbeat. Gwen responded by squeezing him tighter. Miles looked down with a frown. “Gwen? Are you ok..?”
“Shut up and let me hug you for five more minutes,” the spider woman muttered into his shirt.
Now this was a side of Gwen Miles had never seen. And he loved it.
“Oh yeah alright,” he said softly.
The sat together, entwined, for what felt like mere seconds but was really minutes on end. Miles felt himself melt into Gwen, the world around him fading away, until she gently wriggled out from his arms. She looked away, cheeks red with embarrassment, and tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear. The nervous habit had become more apparent on the last few hours before she returned to her dimension, and Miles couldn’t help but grin as he realised-
“You kept the hairstyle I gave you!” He said triumphantly. “I knew you liked it!”
Gwen laughed, her pink tipped hair flopping over her face, obscuring the cute gap between her front teeth. “Yeah, well,” she chirped, “It just-grew on me. Literally.”
It was Miles’ turn to laugh. Gwen grinned at him and got to her feet, casting her curious gaze at the Miles’ bedroom. She shook off her orange patched jacket, revealing her black, white, and pink Spider Woman suit. Miles noticed the small changes in the style, and instantly liked this suit better than the last. Gwen drifted around, and Miles hurriedly shoved stuff under his bed when her back was turned.
“This is the room you grew up in?” She breathed, examining a poster on his wall.
“Yes,” Miles responded quickly, throwing a pink stuffed toy out his door, “but my dorm room is very adult.”
“I bet,” Gwen shot back playfully. She bounced over to the cluttered shelf above the drawing desk, setting her sights on a rare collectable.
“No way! I used to play with these!” She squeaked, pulling it off its place in the shelf. Miles grinned at her excitement. “Why is it still in its package?” She continued, her fingers reaching for the plastic.
“It’s highly sought after!” Miles interjected before she could rip it from its box.
Gwen shrugged and placed it back. She turned to him with a teasing smile, and he returned it with a dopey grin. He gazed at her sky blue eyes, before freezing as they flicked towards his bed.
Shit
He shot a web to his drawing book, which was lying open and forgotten on the foot of his mattress. His heart stopped as Gwen’s web snatched it out of reach into her hands.
“Are these your drawings?” She asked, strolling to the window.
Miles lunged forward. “What? Nooo,” he said in an unconvincing tone.
“They’re so good!” Gwen praised. Her fingers deftly flicked through page after page of art, every single one consisting of her in some way. “Wow. There’s… so… many,” she said slowly.
Miles shrank beneath his skin. His life was officially over. He crept towards his friend, dreading the thought of the look on her face. But when he risked a peek, all he saw was a soft smile.
“Awww, I love this one,” she murmured, stopping on a picture of her cuddling her favourite penguin toy, the one she had told Miles about on the bus to Aunt May’s. She closed the book and handed it to him, warmth and amusement in her voice. “Missed you too.”
Miles relaxed, taking the book back. She continued towards the window, stretching luxuriously.
“Sooo..,” Miles began cautiously. “How did you get here? I mean, I thought I’d never see you again.”
Gwen didn’t answer. She sat on the windowsill, leaning outside ever so slightly. “Wanna get out of here?” She said instead.
Miles gave her a lazy smirk. “Im…grounded,” he informed her.
Gwen smirked back. “Bummer.” She did a graceful backflip out the open window from where she was sitting. Miles ran over, scared that she had left, and stuck his head out to the warm autumn air. Gwen was standing on the wall with her mask on, facing him.
“Is, Spiderman, grounded?” She asked simply, crossing her arms and straightening her impeccable posture slightly.
“Well-,” Miles said hesitantly, “I mean-“ he pointed back at his room. What would his parents say if he went out while he was grounded? “I-“
Gwen raised her eyebrows, the shiny eye covers on her mask rising with them. Miles dragged a hand down his face. “Fine. But when I get whooped, it’s your fault.”
Gwen:
He's coming.
Gwen couldn’t suppress a sigh of relief as Miles disappeared to find his suit. What would she tell him? About her father, the spider verse, Miguel, his spider, her feelings for him?
Everything She decided.
Apart from the last one. Not yet anyway. As she was thinking, a web thwipped over her head, carrying with it a boy in a black and red spider suit. Miles landed gracefully on the building across the bustling road. Gwen leapt and shot a web to the spot next to him mid air. She snorted as she took a good look at his suit. Miles straitened up and put his hands on his hips, looking like a classic super hero. Gwen choked on her laughter.
“You’re not the only one with a fancy new suit!” He proclaimed proudly.
Gwen doubled over in hysterics, punching him lightly on the arm. “Yeah, but I don’t look like I’m bleeding from the armpits!”
Miles widened his eyes in mock hurt. He slapped her playfully and jumped off the other side if the building before she could retaliate.
“Hey!” Gwen called, still giggling. She grinned under her mask and started off in pursuit.
Meanwhile in Miles’s flat…
“Miles! Your father is ready to listen now,”
Rio called out encouragingly. She gently pushed open the door to her son’s bedroom, her husband following close behind.
What...?
Rio looked around the empty room in disbelief. He’s gone! While he was grounded!
Jeff made an mixed noise of shock and anger behind her. Rio slipped into the room, eyeing off the open window. Something orange caught her eye, and her face fell in shock as she turned to see a jumper hanging on the bed. She picked up the soft patched thing in her hands. This definitely didn’t belong to Miles. Or any boy.
Her son had run off with a girl.
“Thats three months!” Jeff shouted, flinging up his arms and stomping off in a storm.
Rio just stood there, shocked still. That boy is so dead.
Gwen:
“Wow,” Miles muttered. “Thats…a lot to take in.”
Gwen let out a breath she didn’t know she was holding, dodging a pigeon that hared blindly around its fleeing friend. She had just finished telling him everything that had happened scince they had parted, including all the convoluted spider verse stuff. So far, he was handling it well, for someone who had just been told his life was basically a so called ‘lie.’ They were swinging over Brooklyn, the wind from their speed evident even through the suits.
“Just so you know,” she whispered, “I don’t care if you’re supposed to be Spider-Man or not.”
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Miles give a start and look at her hopefully.
Smiling, she went on. “I’m glad that spider bit you, and as far as I’m concerned, Miguel can go sit on a cactus.”
Why was that so sappy? What was Miles doing to her? The Gwen Stacy canon events flashed in her mind, and she shoved them out again.
“Let’s get some food!” She said, deliberately changing the subject. She swung wide around a corner, swooping low to snatch a hot dog from a market stall. Miles took the hint and grabbed one too, webbing the money to the owners shirt.
“Keep the change!” He called over his shoulder to the bewildered man. “Hey,” he said to Gwen.
It was a simple word, but sent her spiralling back to when he had gotten his hand stuck in her hair and she’d had to shave half of it off. How that day had changed everything….. Miles’s voice jolted her back to reality.
“…its a really cool thinking spot, I’ll show you!” He was saying.
“Uh huh,” Gwen said meekly, trying to remember what he had said before. They swung for a while longer, chatting and joking comfortably while munching on the hot dogs, until Miles poked her and gestured to a tall building. They veered towards it, and Gwen recognised it as The Williamsburg Bank Building. It looked slightly different from her dimension, the view was still breathtaking. She landed on the side of its top dome in the classic Spider-Woman pose, grinning as Miles stumbled slightly.
“I see your landings need work,” she teased, straightening up as they both peeled off their masks.
Miles pouted, sporting a fake expression of hurt. “I like to come here to think,” he said, gazing at the surrounding towers.
Gwen began to walk around the top. Miles followed and they slipped into friendly chatter, doing endless laps on the dome.
“This is a pretty cool thinking spot,” Gwen commented.
“I know right? Who needs a treadmill when you have the Williamsburg Bank Building,” Miles joked.
Gwen chuckled, fruitlessly trying to shake the hanging strands of her hair from her face. She did a smooth backflip onto a ledge below, tying it up in a high ponytail instead. There was a soft thump as Miles jumped down behind her.
“Maybe,” he started inquisitively, “If I told my parents-“
“Don’t!” Gwen interrupted, slowly walking sideways until she was underneath the ledge. “Trust me on that.” She sighed, staring at the upside down world, and curled up on the concrete. She knew her spider powers would make her stick, but even so, the canon events scared her enough to make her web herself down. There was a beat of silence. Then-
“Well,” Miles said softly from above, “maybe some things were meant to be just for us.”
Gwen hummed softly. “Thats a nice way to think about it.”
Miles gripped the edge of the building and hung down behind her. “Im just a really emotionally intelligent guy, beyond my years,” he said jokingly.
Gwen huffed affectionately, then chuckled. “You know it’s always so good to talk to you,” she whispered. She heard Miles scramble up next to her and shifted to make room.
“Yeah?” He pressed hopefully.
“Yeah,” Gwen responded softly, “I mean, how many people can you talk to about this stuff? Not just Spider stuff, but- it’s just so easy to talk with you about everything.”
She felt Miles lean over slightly. “You don’t even know,” he said, letting his gaze meet hers. “But I guess you have Hobie..” he added experimentally.
Gwen laughed, picking up on his hidden message. “Thats different,” she assured him, “Hobie is a brother to me, but you, and me…” she trailed off, thinking about her canon event.
Oh forget it, fuck canon.
She closed the distance between them, laying her head on his shoulder. She heard the spider mans breath shift as he slipped his hand into hers. They sat like that, watching the world pass by in a bubble of peace, until Gwen’s stomach shattered it with an unbelievably loud rumble. Miles laughed.
“Come on,” he said, amusement lacing his voice, “let’s get some food.”
Miles:
Miles stuffed another plátano into his mouth, though his speed was nothing compared to the girl beside him. Gwen was furiously shoving food in her mouth as if she hadn’t eaten in years. In her hands was the sketchbook, which she had practicality begged Miles to give her. They were in causal clothes, suits underneath, standing under the water tank on the rooftop of Miles’s apartment, the party raging behind them.
“Mmm,” she mumbled, trying to swallow the mouthful she had just chowed down on, “feelings make me hungry!”
Miles laughed, enjoying how easily they talked around each other. “These plátanos are just deep fried feelings,” he joked, picking up another from the plate before Gwen ate them all.
She giggled, flipping the page over to what must’ve been the 15th picture of her she’d seen. If it weren’t for the upward curve of her lips and her enthusiasm at looking at the drawings, Miles would’ve abandoned all hope of her looking at him the same way again.
“This one brings out the sparkle in my eyes,” she said dramatically, leaning into him and lifting up the book to show him a sketch of her doing ballet.
Miles laughed.“Ok, ok I get it, I’m sorry,” he said. It’s not like he meant to draw her so many times. 47 and counting. Really…. Totally….. not on purpose…….
Gwen paused with her hand halfway to the platter of food between them. She gave him a long look, and didn’t react when Miles took this opportunity to grab his sketchbook back.
“What?” He asked after a second of silence.
“Nothing,” Gwen said, tearing her gaze away. “But you don’t have to apologise.” She snatched the book back while Miles was momentarily flustered.
“Hey!” He protested, making a shot for the book. Gwen twirled out of the way and his web latched to the food instead. “Eh,” he said, shrugging. “Win-win.”
Gwen laughed again, and Miles couldn’t help the stupid grin that fought its way to his face. They chatted for a little more, joking around and playing tug of war with the sketch book. Eventually, they settled down, Gwen with the food and Miles with her watch. He leant against the railing and turned it over in his hands. The futuristic orange glow seemed to seep into the air, and there where so. Many. Buttons! He sighed, jabbing at another one only to be awarded with being locked out.
“Shoot,” he muttered, “sorry Gwanda.”
Gwen frowned playfully at the nickname. “It’s cool Spider-Boy,” she teased.
“That’s spiderMAN to you,” Miles shot back, smirking. He tossed her the watch, admiring the way she caught it, put the food down, and slipped over to his side in one fluid movement. She pressed her shoulder against his, a warm smile etching her features. Miles realised how close they where, and they where only getting closer. He could feel her breath on his cheek, see her eyes catching his.
They were so close that their lips could’ve touched.
The thudding of his heart drowned out all other sound as Gwen leaned in, her eyes fixed on his lips. Gwendolyn Maxine Stacy, the girl Miles had been pinning on for so long, was going to kiss him.
What. The. Fuck.
Gwens eyes fluttered closed, his following suit.
“Hi!”
Miles yelped in fright and he and Gwen lurched apart.
Oh god.
Rio clambered over the edge of the water tank railing, a dangerously bright smile plastered forcefully on her face.
“Oh no,” he whispered, just loud enough for Gwen to hear. She shot him a scared look and he sidled over to her side for comfort, which was the last thing she was bound to feel. As his mum helped his dad over the rail, he took the opportunity to get a fleeting word in with Gwen.
“Don’t worry, we’ve handled Kingpins collider and Doc Oc, I’m sure we’ll survive this,” he whispered, albeit unconvincingly.
Gwen shot him an equally unconvincing smile, which quickly faded into a look of horror. Miles followed her stare to his Mami’s hands. She was holding Gwen’s jacket.
They were so dead.
“We are so dead,” Gwen muttered to him, reading his mind, “aren’t we?”
“Eeeeeeh, I’d say we’re dead, boiled, grounded, and fried,” he said.
Rio overheard and shot him a glare, before putting on a smile and turning to Gwen, extending the jacket out for her to reach.
“Hi, I’m Miles’s mom,” she started, “lovely jacket, we found it in his room, so-I guess you must’ve been there, huh?”
Gwen awkwardly took the jacket back, sliding it on. “Rio! Hi! I’ve heard so much about you!” She said, visibly trying her best to be presentable.
Miles mentally facepalmed. “Never use the first names,” he murmured. “Mami, this is my friend Gwanda,” he added, turning to face his parents. Gwen unconsciously shuffled a step towards him, realising her mistake to late. Sure enough, Rio was looking at her with disapproval.
This was not going well.
Gwen:
This is not going well!
Gwen had somehow messed up every word she had spoken to Miles’s parents. He was negotiating with them now about why he went out why he was not supposed to, while Gwen reminisced about her embarrassment.
Jeff- sorry Lieutenant Morales as he had firmly told her- was eyeing her off with distrust. She couldn’t blame him, after all, he had barged in when she was about to kiss his son.
Gwen winced.
She had been SO close to doing what she had been dreaming of ever since the collider.
Beep!
Oh no.
She slapped her hand over her watch in an attempt to smother the sound. “That’s my dad!” She said, her voice a pitch too high, “He’s-calling…me to…. Let me know that the movie I was going to take Miles to is on. Now.”
Miles shot her a glance, both inquisitive and grateful.
Rio huffed and studied them both for an excruciatingly long moment. “Fine, you can go Miles, but you’re still grounded when you come back! And we love you,” she said finally.
“Oh thank you Mami!” Miles said. He hugged his parents. Gwen tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and waved awkwardly.
“Come back by 9! And no funny business!” Jeff called after them as they clambered down the ladder and ran to the stairs flowing down the side of the building.
Gwen shrank beneath her skin at his words. They chucked off their clothes as they went, revealing their suits. Gwen tugged her mask on, grabbed Miles’s hand, and swung them to her destination.
“It’s the Spot isn’t it.” Miles stated more than asked, obviously recalling what she'd told him earlier.
Gwen nodded wordlessly, shooting another web. She glanced over at him and found herself lost in feel of his hand in hers. Her spider sense went haywire, and she snapped back to reality to see a wall looming in front of her. She gasped and Miles yelped, trying to tug her away, but she slammed into the wall at full speed.
“Owww,” she grumbled, peeling herself off the wall and continuing swinging. “Not a word,” she added to Miles.
He looked as if he was desperately trying to hold in laughter, the lenses of his mask all scrunched up, but he her patted her back sympathetically all the same.
“Look,” she said, gesturing to the blown up apartment in front of them. Bright beams of golden light circled it and cops crowded beneath, their cars blaring multicoloured light.
“Shoot,” they both said in unison. Gwen thought fast and shot a web to the handbrake of a cop car. It rolled backwards, smashing into the other cars. The cops spun around, distracted and distressed, giving Gwen and Miles the chance to swing into the destruction. Gwen hissed furiously at the smashed and cluttered furniture around them.
“Shoot,” she groaned.
Miles pulled off his mask and grimaced. “Is this my fault?” He murmured.
Gwen widened the lenses of her mask. “No Miles!” She assured him, sliding underneath a fallen pillar.
“Think about it,” Miles went on, “I couldn’t catch the spot the first time, and he’s out to get me, and the only reason you didn’t catch him is because you came to see me. Not that I mind,” he added.
Gwen snorted. “Miles, it was my choice to go see you, and I’m saying this with all my honesty, I wouldn’t change it for the world.” Her mind flicked back to that moment under the water tank.
I would never change it for the world.
“Go invisible,” she ordered aloud. Miles leapt to the pipe-ridden ceiling, activating his powers. Gwen pressed a button on her watch, and the piercing orange beams of light scanned the rubble, revealing traces of dark matter everywhere. Shoot. She hit the replay button, but the light only showed the figure of Spot for a second before it sputtered out.
“Shoot shoot shoot shoot shoot shoot shoooot!!!!” Gwen cursed as the watch spat out a fizzling sound and died with an impressive show of mini fireworks. The was a soft thud behind her, and she turned to see Miles, visible again.
“That’s not what’s supposed to happen is it?” He asked, wringing his hands.
"No!” Gwen cried, her voice rising in panic. “I must’ve smashed it on that wall I ran into on the way here.”
This was not good, no way in hell. Without that watch, Gwen was stuck here and unable to catch the spot and take him back. She couldn’t communicate and ask for help, she may even start glitching. She looked up into Miles eyes, warm and brown. He had his mask in one hand. She took off hers. “We need to get out of here,” she realised suddenly.
Miles gave her a confused look. “Why…..?” Gwen started fiddling desperately with the charred wires in her watch.
“Because,” she began, “I don’t know.”
“What?”
“I don’t know,” Gwen repeated, “I don’t know what to do or if we’re safe here or why I want to just be with you longer.”
Miles widened his eyes at the last statement. He glanced around seemingly at a loss for words, then gasped. “I know a place!”
“Wha-“
Gwen barely had time to react before Miles grabbed her wrist in a deathly tight grip, pulling her out of a hole in the wall behind him. The world passed by in a blur, snatching Gwen’s breath from her lungs as Miles continued to tug her to a mystery location. He swung them away from the wreckage of Spots apartment, purpose clear in his movements. Eventually, he dragged her down to a train station, halting at the platform. Gwen grabbed him as he made to enter the train tracks.
“Let me catch my breath!” She gasped, chest heaving for air as she leaned on Miles for support.
The people milling around the station shot them curious looks, but none made any comment.
“Right,” Miles said apologetically, rubbing her back awkwardly, “I’ll remember to go slow in the future.” Gwen had regained enough air to snort, breath becoming more even. She straightened up but subtlety refused to take her hand off of Miles.
Someone in the bustling crowd shouted at them to ‘kiss already!’. Blushing so hard she wouldn’t have been surprised if the pink showed through the spandex, Gwen took a step away from Miles. She glanced over to see him cringing awkwardly.
“Ladies first,” he mumbled, managing to keep his usual charm despite the embarrassment. Gwen chuckled to lighten the mood, and jumped down onto the path next to the train tracks.
“Very polite,” she teased. “Lead the way, Spider-boy!”
Miles:
Maybe taking Gwen to his secret ‘hideout’ hadn’t been the best idea, given that the walls were practically a tribute to her. Unfortunately, he only realised this as they neared the place.
“So,” Gwen pressed, slapping a hand on the wall and swinging around it with a grace only she could have. “Where are you taking me again?”
Miles grinned. “Why don’t you see for yourself?”
The spider woman shot him a questioning glance that quickly morphed into shock as she stepped under the archway and into the mural filled space.
“Ta-da!” Miles said awkwardly as they took off their masks.
Gwen gazed around, eyes wide. “Did you draw all this?”
Miles nodded, watching her nervously.
A spy grin spread across her face. “Was I an inspiration? Cause I can see myself four- no five- times.”
Miles gulped and looked down, shuffling his feet and cringing inwardly. He glanced up and was met with Gwen’s smiling face, a hair's breadth from his.
“I love it,” she whispered. Something else escaped her lips, and Miles could’ve sworn it was “I love you,”.
He leaned forward slightly, and their noses touched.
“Yeah?”
“Mmhmm” Gwen murmured.
And then she kissed him.