Against All Odds ~ Miguel O'Hara X Reader

6 - Footloose

A/N: I'm ngl I got the idea for this chapter after rewatching GOTG

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When you woke up, you felt something weighing you down. You fluttered your eyes open to find an arm wrapped around your back. Miguel was lying on top of half your body, one of his legs intertwined with yours. As you regained consciousness, you felt his steady breath on your nape. He was still asleep. 

If you could have, you would have stayed like that forever, but you needed to pee. You mentally cursed your bladder as you used your arms to prop yourself up, pushing your back against his body to lift it. But he wouldn't budge. Still unconscious, he wrapped the same arm around your waist and twisted his body to place you on top of him. The back of your head fell against his shoulder and you turned it to see his face, which was the closest it's ever been from yours. Even in his sleep, his eyebrows were furrowed, and he was mumbling something incomprehensible.

Your bladder began to hurt. The added pressure from Miguel's arm pressing on your waist didn't help. You reached an arm up to gently slap the side of his face a few times and mumbled his name. This jolted him awake. He sat up and practically threw your body off the side of the bed. You landed with a thud, groaning as a result.

You heard a soft, barely audible, "Sorry," from above you as you carefully got up. You turned to look at him, but he refused to make eye contact with you, staring blankly into space in front of him.

You didn't say anything as you made your way to the bathroom, trying to make sense of the sequence of events that just happened.

~~~~

After changing back into your suit, you reached the living room, where Pavitr and his Auntie were drinking chai. You felt your eyes get teary at the sight of them, memories of your own aunt rushing to your mind. She offered a cup to you, but Miguel didn't give you a chance to reply. He grabbed your arm to get your attention, letting go after a second. He gave a nod towards the door before facing your hosts, "Thanks for everything, but we have to go. The watches are working again."

"Okay, don't hesitate to come by again!" Pavitr waved goodbye as you stepped outside, being greeted by the sound of heavy traffic.

Miguel opened a portal, allowing you to cross it first. Before doing so, you asked, "How are the watches magically working again? Did you fix them?"

"No, but I think I know who did," he replied, and you knew exactly who he meant. Once you were through, he stayed behind to call her. "Lyla, care to explain yourself?"

She tried to avoid his question and smiled innocently, "I don't know what you're talking about."

"The watches, Lyla," he said simply. "I know you messed with them."

She groaned, "So what? You should be thanking me! The Miguel-Y/N-relationship-o-meter is at 38% now!"

Miguel looked utterly confused, "The Miguel-Y/N-what-now?"

"The Miguel-Y/N-relationship-o-meter!" She repeated. "I gave it a name! Although admittedly it could use some polishing," she scratched the back of her neck nervously.

He pinched the bridge of his nose, "You know I could still delete you right?"

"You wouldn't dare!" She teased. "What would you do without me?"

"I'd have peace of mind, that's what," he said before finally crossing the portal.

~~~~

When he saw the state of the Spider Society, he sensed a migraine would soon be in his future. Music was blasting, everyone was dancing, and there were streamers hastily thrown around. By the genre of music that was playing, he knew exactly who was behind this. Spider-Punk.

Almost as if Miguel had summoned him with his thoughts, Hobie came soaring through the hall, playing his guitar. As he landed, he slid against the floor on his knees, stopping right in front of Miguel. His right eye was twitching as he looked down at Hobie.

"I was only gone for a day!" Miguel shouted loud enough to be heard over the music.

You were close enough to hear him so you ran over in hopes of calming him down, Peter and Jessica following behind you.

"Hey Miguel! We thought you finally decided to go on vacation or something," Peter tried to lighten the mood.

"You two!" He pointed a finger at Peter and Jessica. "You let this happen?" 

"Come on, Miguel, don't go all Footloose on them!" You interjected, placing yourself between them and his accusing finger. "A little fun can't hurt right? It'll boost up morale or whatever."

"What's a Footloose?" He asked. Did he input the wrong coordinates? Did he somehow end up in a dimension specifically made to annoy him?

"Huh, I guess that movie doesn't exist here. It doesn't matter, my point still stands."

Hobie finally joined the conversation, "Yeah O'Hara, don't ruin the vibes." 

"The vibes? The vibes?!" Now he actually wished he was in a different dimension. "Are you serious right now? Clearly not, because apparently I'm the only one who takes things seriously around here," he said incredulously. Mayday giggled in her carrier; even through her earplugs she could still hear Miguel.

You placed a sympathetic hand on his shoulder, before walking away with the others to keep dancing. He shook his head in disbelief and went to stand in a corner, crossing his arms. Clearly, no work would get done today.

As much as Miguel disagreed, this was a nice change of pace. You didn't realize how much you needed to wind down until then. You checked on him every once in a while, and every time he looked as stoic as a statue. After the fourth time, Jessica noticed what you were doing.

"He might never confess it, but he needed someone like you in his life," she said close to your ear so her voice could reach you. "I've never seen him this upbeat."

You looked over to him once again, and he was as serious as ever. Were you seeing the same Miguel? But then you paid closer attention, and you realized he was swaying the littlest bit to the music. A smile spread across your face at the sight of it. Spider-Woman shoved you in his direction with her elbow, offering you a smile to encourage you. You rolled your eyes, trying to hide how nervous you were as you walked over to where he was standing against a wall.

His eyes flickered to yours as you approached him. "Do you need help holding the wall in place?" You joked, but it went to waste because he couldn't hear you.

"What?"

"Never mind," you said, louder this time. You reached out your hands to him but he only looked at them, raising an eyebrow. You sighed and grabbed him by the arm, pulling him over to your previous spot near Hobie, Peter, and Jessica. They were surprised to see him but didn't say anything in fear of discouraging him. 

You started dancing again, hoping he would do the same, but he stayed still. You got tired of his attitude and grabbed his forearms, forcibly moving him to the rhythm of the music. You expected him to resist so you were surprised when his body actually followed your movements. And you were equally as surprised when he let out a chuckle.

He finally continued his swaying, more noticeably this time, shifting his weight from one foot to the other and bobbing his head up and down. You grinned and jumped in victory, closing your eyes and letting the music take over your body. You felt your worries slip away, not noticing when Peter left to change the song to a slower-paced one.

You tensed when you felt an arm wrap around your waist, rapidly opening your eyes. Miguel removed his arm lightning-quick at your reaction. But when you realized it was his, you grabbed it and moved it back to your waist, edging closer to him. Why did you suddenly crave his touch? A few days ago you hated him with your guts, and now all you wanted was to be near him.

Your faces were now mere inches apart, and it felt like you were the only ones left in the entire Spider Society. Your head found a spot on the crook of his neck, and you felt his grip tighten around you. You couldn't tell when Lyla appeared behind you, holding up a 5 on one hand and a 4 on the other. Miguel rolled his eyes at her, but he couldn't stop a smile from forming on his lips when he figured out what she meant. Your chances of being together were at 54%.