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It came as anticlimactic for Miles to return to Visions Academy after all he’d been through in the past week. As if all he’d fought for had been for the opportunity to do math problems or elude his Spanish teacher again. A swing or two around the block of Miles’ neighborhood was just what he needed to reset his mind. After all, he could never pass up the opportunity of being Spider-Man. Not even in his most petty moments. Sometimes a breather was all he needed. In this case, the transition back to school when he’d just been stranded across worlds two days before was jarring. Fortunately for him, this was the end of the school day. A relaxing evening was ahead for him.
He continued his casual swinging in the city, breaths aligned with his movements, nearing the school again. At this point in his Spidey career, Miles was well enough acquainted with his abilities, strong enough to deal with the likes of the Spot and Kingpin. They were the crowning achievements of his short-term portfolio. He didn’t need to worry much for how he stuck the landing, since he trusted the fall. But, even with this experience, he still didn’t expect the quiet pitter patter of his web shooters failing, when his raised arm fell first. His body followed shortly thereafter, fingers desperately tapping the ‘thwip’ button.
“AHHHHHH!” he screamed, coming out more shrill than he would’ve hoped.
It was the first time he’d sounded that scared while swinging since the first month of being bitten by the 'glitch' spider. The one which, evidently, helped strand him in Earth-42. It took him a couple seconds of flailing to use his other hand to swing up, ascending in the air once again. He sighed, taking the second chance to swing onto a rooftop. He’d forgotten exactly how long it’d been since he changed out the web cartridges, but he knew the last few days had seen no shortage of swinging around.
Flipping out his web shooters, he checked the cartridges for irregularities. He approached the edge, sitting on the side, testing his web shooters in the air. Meanwhile, 3 feet behind him, a screeching, otherworldly noise erupted. It was a noise Miles was all too familiar with by then.
His head spun around fast, not before a dark silhouette came into view that was also quite familiar. He went through the list of potential candidates behind them, thinking of who might want to attack him at that moment – only Miguel came to mind. Even though they'd cooperated to take down the Spot, any kind of future alliance was not in the books. The thought was enough for him to leap off the rooftop, with his web shooters currently unloaded. He couldn't take the chance of being caught off guard, considering his experiences with his recent foes. In an instant he realized what he'd done was a terribly stupid idea.
“WHOA!” he attempted to control himself in the air, to no avail. He was about to hit the sidewalk when the rooftop he’d jumped from bloomed with light in the afternoon overcast. A figure came forward, clad in an iconic blue, pink and black outfit and a hood to finish the look. It seemed they didn’t have to think twice as they leaped forward in Miles’ direction, arms outstretched.
“Gwen?” he half-whispered, hesitating to try his web shooters again.
“MILES!” the figure yelled, a woman, shaken by Miles’ sudden flight.
She shot out a web towards his chest, shooting another to a nearby building. The impact bounced her back, while Miles, on the other hand, hung about 30 feet off the ground, attached to the Spider-Woman’s web. He held back a sigh, looking between the impending pain he was about to face, and then upwards to a concerned Gwen Stacy.
“Hey, Gwen,” he greeted, maintaining a less-than-serious attitude. She shook her head, pulling the web towards herself.
“Are you okay? What happened?” Gwen asked, both worried and confused. Her voice picked up a much heavier tone, much like in Mumbattan when she thought he’d been hurt.
“I was switching out web cartridges, as you do,” he explained, gesturing to one of his hands, “Then the portal came and surprised me.”
“I didn’t mean to give you a shock.” she said, bringing him closer to be face to face. He could tell she was smiling under her mask.
“It’s fine. Still, I’ve had enough travelling through universes to last me a lifetime.” he joked, hand tensing on the web. The two hung parallel, the gap between them allowing them both to smell the deodorant and perfume they used. As Pavitr had said, and continued to say to an annoyingly teasing effect, the tension was palpable.
“You could say that again.” They stayed quiet for a moment, analyzing each other's movements, subdued, acknowledging the crowd of people amassing below who had no doubt been watching them for the past 2 minutes. Now they were both smiling, Miles was sure of it.
“So, back to make sure no anomalies have come through again?” he asked, half-hoping she was there to see him and that was it. Judging from her still-quiet fixture on him, it seemed as if she was searching for an answer that couldn’t quite make itself out of her mouth. She swallowed, looking away for a moment, before returning her gaze.
“Actually, Peter’s on that. Miguel sent him. So far, no alerts,” she finally said, fingers loosening on the stretching web. Instead, she looked down, appearing shameful to say her next words. “I wanted to see you. To talk.”
Miles’ smile grew wider. “Well, I’m always available.”
She chuckled, lowering her and Miles to the ground slowly. The crowd of spectators began to disperse. “I'll book an appointment.”
Once Miles reached the pavement quietly, Gwen dropped down, offering a hand. “We can go anywhere.”
“I have an idea.” he took her hand, brushing himself off. She looked around the block, waiting as Miles greeted the people on the street.
“What is it?” she asked. Miles turned to her.
“You’ll see,” he stated proudly, patting his legs down before stopping to check his web shooters again, “I might need to go back to mine to get some cartridges, though.”
She offered her hand again, tilting her head affectionately. “Let’s go, then. Stop by for a pizza after?”
He laughed. “Sure, Gwen.”
He took her hand, and Gwen swung with Miles back to his dorm at the academy. Entering through the window, being extra cautious of his surroundings so as to not arouse suspicion from the people in the street, he passed Ganke with a smile and a wink, who sighed in response. He picked up a couple spare web cartridges from his dresser, fixing them into his web shooters, while checking his suit for tears and spraying some deodorant under his neck and armpits before meeting Gwen outside by the local pizza store.
It took about 20 minutes to finish their pepperoni pizza since he and Gwen were so distracted by themselves, choosing to stay at the store as their eating took up the time. He watched her laugh and giggle at him, making him only reciprocate the emotions. He had thought about the fact that this moment was the only time they’d ever really spoken like this, for so long and so normally. Their friendship was no longer held down by the restrictions of their dimensions or threatened to be torn apart due to the manipulation of Miguel, or the destruction led by the Spot. They were simply free. If he could have this everyday, with a friend he cared about and understood his secret identity like no one else, he could be Spider-Man forever.
As they wrapped up their meal, the gathering of fans in the store moved out of the way. In the street, Miles and Gwen discussed the details of the city cleanup, walking side by side. Gwen’s eyes lingered on Miles, less on his face, but more his shoulder. She was still surprised to see him grow up this much in the time they had spent apart, in more ways than one. She worried the circumstances would weigh on his conscience, turning him into a bitter person with the perils of being Spider-Man. But he’d only become more resilient and mature, owing to the hero’s name, and the Spider-Man before him. He would live up to his reputation, no doubt, especially after how he handled defeating the Spot. Regardless, she trusted him with her life, no matter who he was. He was her best friend. She could admit that.
As they turned the corner of the block, Gwen struggled to talk, as Miles studied her curiously. “Gwen? Something wrong?”
She shook her head. ‘What is wrong with me?’, she thought. “No, nothing.”
He nodded, looking ahead again. “So, like I was saying, Ganke’s thinking about college, and I was looking at getting into some scientific field on dimensional, universal travel, that sorta thing.”
She smiled, but then her ears perked up suddenly. “Wait, universal travel?”
“Yeah, I know what you’re thinking. Maybe it’s something I shouldn’t go into...” he trailed off, shrugging away the meandering thoughts that he’d rather not have about school at the moment.
“Is it something you're actually interested in? After everything? Because if it is,” she said, pausing for him to turn to her, “well, I’d totally make some jokes about it since we both know it’s possible, but it’s not like we know everything about it yet.”
Miles pondered for a second, wondering about all the craze of the multiverse he’d already seen. Would he really want to study it for a living, knowing the nooks and crannies and the suffering he’d gone through in dimensional travel before, and the fact his real reason for pursuing the career anyways was to see Gwen again?
He walked to a halt, Gwen immediately noticing the movement and stopping for him. He could feel her eyes on him.
“It was before,” he said bluntly, meeting her look. “I was going to find a way to travel universes to see you.”
Her eyes widened ever so slightly, poised for reply. He almost looked embarrassed at his own admission.
“To see the whole Spider-Gang?” she questioned.
“Yeah,” he nodded, as he blurted out, “them as well.”
He closed his eyes, wondering if she would push on the reply. She seemed to drop the subject, which he was thankful for. The topic of their relationship was not an easy one for casual talk, which he liked more that way since it meant she probably cared as much as him about being careful. They couldn't rush themselves.
Focusing on the storefronts behind them, he let the air mull out the quiet, drowning out the cars and pedestrians. Eventually, Gwen spoke up.
“Do you want to know what I think?” she said, reminding Miles of their conversation. “I think you’re a brilliant person. You have so much inspiration to give, so much love to show, and you express that in your art. I mean, you could make something out of that, right?”
He looked surprised, nodding along, trying to register her comments between 'flirting' and 'benign talk'. She may, or may not have said the nicest thing anyone had ever said about his work, in everyday or Spidey-related life: the fact it came from her was a lot more gratifyimg than expected.
“Yeah, I could.” he simply said, meeting her eyes again. He thought about hugging her. It’d be a first, coming from him. But what if she pushed him back, rejected him? She hugged him when they reunited, but considering that happened prior to a certain climatic multiversal event, he didn’t want to come off as too aggressive. Like he was taught by Uncle Aaron, subtlety is key. Apart from the occasional shoulder touch, of course.
Underneath his mask he bit his lip, deciding on a quick ‘thank you’. “I, uh, really appreciate that, Gwen. Thanks.”
'Smooth, real smooth', he berated to himself.
She cradled the back of her neck anxiously at that moment. Despite whatever qualms she had before about sharing her feelings, something had definitely changed between the two where she no longer protested accepting her underlying emotions. She sputtered a small laugh, making small attempts at eye contact.
“Sometimes, we don’t hear these things enough. But we deserve to.” The two met eyes, a gesture of smile that could be sensed beyond their faceless masks. For a minute, they felt like the only people in the world. Their feelings were boiling to the surface, and Miles contemplated closing the gap.
Then, someone coughed behind Miles, maybe a bit louder than necessary, breaking them out of their trance. Gwen veered her eyes to the civilians making paths around them, espousing polite apologies for blocking the way. Miles huffed, managing to shirk his disappointment. He thought back to what he'd said prior, peering to the city’s high-rises in the distance. He pointed at the horizon.
“So, you remember I had an idea? A place to go?” he said, trying to sound as confident as possible. Gwen grinned at his attempt.
“I remember. Want to go now?” she asked, letting Miles breathe in the cold air. “Only if you’re ready.”
He sniffled. “Yeah, I’m ready. Follow my lead!”
They made their way into the big city, web slinging up the great monoliths of New York. The collapsed structures during the big battle had been reduced to a minor convenience thanks to the Spider-Society, assisting in the rebuilding of the state. The allure of the city that drew Miles in, from the culture and living, to the grimy, underground network of criminal activity, made him hope it’d be easy for Gwen to indulge in his city, considering the differences of their universes, if only for getting around easier as long as she would stay, or if it was easier to tell himself it was only for that purpose.
Swinging downtown, Miles led Gwen to the subway channel where he’d enter to get to his ‘base of operations’. At the current time, it was densely packed with people, filled to the brim as a train or two arrived every now and then. He and Gwen used the ceiling to their advantage to avoid the attention of bystanders, walking down the track’s wall when out of range to get to Miles’ spot. Gwen kept an eye raised as she followed Miles inquisitively, reaching the end of the tunnel where they came across a chain link fence. With one swift jump, Miles vaulted over, letting her bask in mild approval for him before he opened the gate.
“Impressed?” he asked as she approached him, hands on her hips.
“Oh, I’m bewildered.” she remarked, holding her pose. He nodded, showing with a grand gesture a dark room, only barely emitting any light from a train passing by.
“Don’t worry, there’s more to come,” he replied, before stepping to the left and fiddling with a switch on the wall. “Make yourself at home.”
She smiled, removing her mask. She took a long breath in, clearing her throat. Miles turned to see her sweep back her hair, squinting into the pitch black. He turned back as she walked towards him, imminent questioning in the air.
“This is nice,” she said, before stepping into a puddle of muddy water. She groaned, mumbling about staining to herself as Miles chuckled, grabbing a lever on the wall. “How’d you find this place?”
He stopped, turning slightly to see her eye-to-eye. “Uncle Aaron found it. Uh, my Aaron, from this universe I mean,” he sighed, grasping the lever tighter. “He took me down here once, and now, it’s like my own hideaway for when I need a break from the world.”
He pulled down the lever, initiating a loud creaking from above as the lights shutter on. In front of the two, a mural appears showing the paintings of the Spider-People, including Gwen. Her mouth opened in amazement, eyes wandering on each depiction, landing on herself in the middle. Under her image, she could see the letters of a word, even within the diverse mural's art. She followed the outlines, reading out ‘expectations’. She inspected it closer. A black figure had been spray-painted over it, way too similar to an enemy they had fought recently to ignore. She wrapped her arms around her body as Miles flipped two other switches, allowing the lights from the ground and nearby barrels to turn on. He walked up to meet Gwen when he was finished, appreciating the art on display. She only had praise to share, knocking his shoulder as he closed their distance.
“What’d I tell you? You’re great at this, Miles.” she peeked from the corner of her eye at him, watching Miles silently take in everything. She breathed in hastily, inching her hand close to Miles’ at his side to test the waters. 'He wouldn’t notice, would he?', she asked herself.
Her hand retracted when he moved obliviously to sit down on the sofa in the middle of the room, closing her eyes. She settled down beside him as they looked up at the art, and Gwen listened to the trains through the pipes.
The pair of them sat apart on the corners of the sofa, Gwen to the left, Miles to the right. While she played with her hair, anticipating a response from Miles, he stayed silent, his hands wringed together. She turned back to the art, double-checking Miles every few seconds to see if he was doing the same.
“I guess I don’t need to ask you what you think, then,” he said finally, admiring her reaction, “unless I’m reading you wrong.”
She was almost breathless. “It’s beautiful. It really is.”
He chuckled. “You’re just saying that because you’re up there.”
She returned the gesture, with a gleeful smile to boot, motioning to her portrait. “Well, it looks like you put a lot of detail into my face.”
Instantly, Miles’ eyes widened, mood morphing to nervousness, mirroring when she looked at his sketchbook. “Oh, I do that with everyone. You’re in the center, though, so…”
He rushed to brush off the compliment, letting his skittish nature subside. By the looks of it, his excuse had worked to buy him some time to smoothly transition to another subject.
“How’s your father? Is he okay?”
She shrugged, not arrogantly, but casually. “Oh, he’s fine. We sorted things out when I was booted back home.”
His confident vigor returned to him, a grin creeping onto his face. “I’m glad.”
Gwen turned to Miles, fingers curling into her waist when he looked back with his trademark smile. “I, you know, got some help from him. But I came back for this, as well.”
Under his gaze, she took a moment, taking a picture from behind her to show to Miles. He looked closer at the photo, scanning the indents and curves of the background and the subjects, before recognition settled on his features. He took it delicately as Gwen let herself breathe.
“It’s the polaroid we took. I thought it got lost,” he said, smirking at the memories rushing back from the photo. She took pride in his expression, leaning in. “It was on the bus, remember?”
She nodded, a little too excitedly, her head almost touching Miles’ own. “Yeah, I remember.”
It was his turn to lean in, making their shoulders touch together. Her breathing hastened as Miles put the picture out for the both of them to look at.
“You haven’t changed much. Your hair is… pinker, still.” the words dry up on his tongue, remembering the ‘threat’ from Gwen about his comments on her hair. He remembered it was a sensitive topic for her.
But then, miraculously, she giggled quietly, leading off with a sigh. He held the photo closer, angling against the reflection of the ceiling light. “I didn’t think you'd keep the haircut.”
Gwen opened her mouth, momentarily flustered, a bang falling in front of her face. She moved to wrap it back, laughing awkwardly. “Well, it wasn’t so bad. Plus, it had some pretty good memories attached to it.”
Miles snorted, laughing back. “Oh, did it?”
She couldn’t hold in her chortling, bouncing her shoulder off of him. “You bet.”
After they settled their shared laughs, Miles exhaled, handing the polaroid back to Gwen, who didn't respond to his gesture. He put the polaroid aside, seeing Gwen's head currently laying on his shoulder. She was stuck in this state; eyes half-closed, resting on Miles, trusting him in that moment more than anyone else in the multiverse. She'd relaxed into him, so much so she hadn’t realized he'd been shaking her arm for the past 30 seconds, believing she fell asleep.
“Gwen?”
Her eyes fluttered open, head turning to meet Miles from an angle. “Oh, sorry. Should I…”
He swallowed, shaking his head, relaxing into the cushioning. “No, it’s okay.”
She let a long smile form. Her tongue became tied from an oncoming anxiety that the both of them related to, and at that moment, they were under that building again, celebrating being reunited. Only closer now than ever before. Gwen couldn’t be happier for it.
She linked her arm around Miles’, putting their hands next to each other. She hesitated to go all the way by taking his hand, opting to instead trace his leg with her finger. Miles looked down at her, their faces separated by about 2 inches of space, where he couldn’t control his eyes wandering amongst the cloud of freckles on her face or her the sparkles in her wondrous eyes. Gwen’s lips rolled together. She remained still as rock, scared about if what he was doing was the lead up to a kiss, a hug, or rejection, but she couldn’t shy away now. Not now after she was so close to him. In the other way, for Miles, he was past rejecting how he felt. He accepted he cared about her beyond friendship, as if he wasn't clear enough up front with the mural. It was his opportunity. Someone had to move first.
Just as he was about to close in, a sound came from Gwen’s watch, blaring an ‘ALERT’ warning. She cursed to herself, shoot, dammit, crap, the whole mini-swear vocabulary, as she sighed, taking herself away from Miles’ shoulder and the doe-eyed face she’d been so close to to check her watch. Next to her, Miles seemed to wallow in the same disappointment, placing the polaroid on the sofa rest. He slumped into the sofa as Gwen followed, scratching the back of his head.
“That was the society calling me back for the night,” she whined, pinching the bridge of her nose. Miles watched her prepare herself to not let out a stream of less-than-kind phrases, letting out a temper-filled sigh. “Man, I had no idea it was already 8:00.”
He blew out frustratedly, thinking to himself. “Since when do they have a curfew?”
Gwen shrugged, grabbing her mask from the couch. “It’s important after we just had the Spot situation. Miguel wants us to be scheduled on and off regularly. Someone else takes my place, then I take theirs…”
He was in disbelief. “On and off? Does that mean I’m not going to see you for a bit?” He eased up on the annoyance piling up in his tone.
Gwen sighed, scrambling for the right words. “It’s just for a short while, until the Spider-Society clears up any potential anomalies. I’ll be back in a couple of days.”
He breathed in, looking at the mural. “You shouldn’t have gone back to them after what they did to you.”
Gwen shook her head as she lifted her legs onto the sofa, shifting towards Miles.
“Today, I should’ve been scouting around the city. That’s what I was told to do. But you deserve more than a hello,” she stopped, briefly sitting over Miles’ set aside mask. She took the it into her hands, placing it in his lap. “You just need to be Spider-Man for a little longer. I’ll be back soon.”
He sneered, glancing at the mask, and then her, slipping into a light, jovial smile. “C’mon. Don’t treat me like a kid.”
With a sigh, she took the mask back, closing in. “I would never.”
Miles opened his arms for her, as she crawled into his embrace. She saw his eyes go through multiple stages of surprise, denial, and confusion when she reached up to cup his face. It became readily apparent to Miles how helplessly unprepared he was, that he wasn’t expecting her to go in for a kiss and actually make it to his lips. She could guess he was hoping for a hug to cap off their goodbye, but she couldn't let go of the moment just a minute before.
She guided him through the motions, leading their heads, allowing Miles to relax into the kiss. It’s sloppy and awkward, but it’s rewarding to Gwen, and to Miles, everything he hoped it’d be. They pause, as Gwen backs away, panting. Her eyes are tearful, she’s happy, and she’s blushing as red as a tomato. Miles isn’t too far off, but she notices a glint of uncertainty in his blinking eyes.
“I’m– I’m sorry…” she started, as she wiped her eyes. She stumbled back, waiting as Miles locked eyes with her. “I thought… I thought it'd be okay. Did I make a mistake?”
Miles had been worried he’d made a mistake before in trusting Gwen, but that was in the past now. He’d forgiven her. This was making it official, and confirming they both had the same feelings for each other that they couldn’t give up.
“No,” he chuckled, “that was pretty good.”
The two of them reconciled in their close proximity, with their feelings fully out in the open to explore. He brushed back his hair, making sense of where he was again. “I didn’t think it would happen.”
She sighed, sitting cross-legged in front of him. “Ever?”
He shrugged. “I don’t have a good track record with my crushes being anything but crushes.”
“Well,” she cleared her throat, adjusting her posture, “me neither.”
They had to keep their eyes off of each other, distracting themselves with the mural or the booming sound of the rumbling train tracks to settle back into the world. Miles shook himself, remembering he still had to patrol the city later, which he figured would be quiet anyways, while Gwen remembered she had to return back to her home world before she was personally retrieved by Jess or Miguel. Only, she especially didn't want to deal with Miguel's onset paranoia after the universe's near-collapse. It could lead to her being kicked out of the Spider-Society again if she wasn't careful. But that didn’t mean either were willing to leave just yet.
“That was a first,” she said in a collected tone.
He nodded, keeping his head down. “I could tell.”
She opened her mouth in fake surprise. “Take that back.”
“It was the breath. Definitely the breath,” he squeezed his nose, “couldn’t tell if that was a kiss or a chemical attack.” To her shocked expression, he offered a cheerful pat on her shoulder.
“When was the last time any of us brushed our teeth?” she muttered.
“It’s not all your fault, I got lost in the multiverse for two days,” he stood up, taking the polaroid. “But you came for me.”
"I did," she said, standing. Gwen held his mask in hand, looking up at Miles, who was sporting a wide grin. “So, what does any of this mean?”
They faced one another, as Gwen gave a look of satisfaction, the corners of her lips raised up in a smile, eyes yearning for more. Miles came closer to her, working his hand towards hers but stopping. “I think I like you.”
She took his hand firmly, playing with the digits of his fingers. “You’re not so bad yourself," she murmured, in a low voice he almost didn't hear.
Gwen tugged him gently to her level, where he was a hand’s width away from her face. She leaned in, hesitating before he bobbed his head to give him a peck on the cheek.
She parted from him, as she handed his mask over. “I should get going then?”
He reluctantly took it from Gwen, swaying his arms. “Are you asking me?”
They stared into each other's eyes for a while, the reality of their kiss setting in. Now they were a thing, or at least, Miles hoped they were. Gwen worried about the complications that might entail their interdimensional relationship, but she ignored the prying thoughts if only to enjoy his attention for longer. When her watch beeped in reminder a minute later, she let Miles go, finger by finger, as she headed to the gate.
“If it wasn’t Miguel's call, I’d stay,” she paused, scanning Miles for understanding. He only smiled, bolstering her confidence. “I’ll be back, as soon as possible.”
“Be safe.” he waved at her as she left, turning to the mural behind him, taking a gander at the art one last time. He stopped on Gwen's art, able to be glad he didn’t have to rely on her portraits anymore to remember what she looked like, now after defeating the Spot, and emotionally, defeating their love-life limbo.
He wore his mask again, webbing out of the tunnels. Above, in the city, he swung with the renewed tenacity that their relationship had changed, and that the secret which burdened him about how much he cared for Gwen was one he'd never have to hide from her again. As for her, she spent the rest of the night in bed wondering about her next encounter with Miles, and the massive road of possibilities that came with the new milestone in their relationship, beaming at the revelation he felt the same way about her.
All they knew for certain was it was the last battle for a while, a perilous one they'd both being fighting for years, and now having finally triumphed, couldn't wait to explore the realm of the unknown together, bracing for whatever danger wished to come, and their love to fulfill them as they always wanted.