𝙸𝙽𝚃𝙾 𝚃𝙷𝙴 𝚂𝙿𝙸𝙳𝙴𝚁𝚅𝙴𝚁𝚂𝙴

Chapter 18*

Miles watched from the roof of a building as his father silently cried over his brother's body. Hesitantly, he left them behind. Back in his dorm, he took off his mask and threw it away, his breathing heavy. His hands tightened into fists. 

Out of anger, he began throwing his belongings this way and that, creating a mess in the small space. The floor was now littered with books, both from school and the comics he'd been referencing. His journal fell to the floor too in the process. It was left open on a certain page.

Expectations

It was the graffiti sketch he had drawn in it. The very one he and his uncle had tagged on a wall in the subway. He glared down at it before shutting it and throwing it out the window as hard as he could. He turned his body, shaking from the anger he felt. 

He then heard a noise behind him and saw the journal flying back in through the window like a boomerang. He rose an eyebrow and kept his gaze on the window. A pair of hands grabbed the window sill. He recognized the masked person as they climbed in through the window.

"M/n..."

M/n reached up and took off his mask, giving Miles a sympathetic look. Miles' brown eyes trailed down to the bloodstain that was on M/n's suit. "Y-Your wound--"

"It's okay..."

Miles' gaze flew back up to meet M/n's, who had his arms wide open. He hesitated a little, making the (h/c)-ette lower his arms. Miles looked away and lowered his head, tears pricking the corners of his eyes. M/n stepped forward and reached out to him. "Miles... Look at me."

The shorter male slowly looked up to meet the (h/c)-ette's e/c eyes. Just before he could open his mouth and say anything, the others climbed in through the window behind him. They both turned to face them, seeing the sympathetic looks on all of their faces. M/n lowered his hand, but his worried expression never left. 

Peter stepped forward and placed his hand on Miles' shoulder. "Hey, bud..."

Miles wiped away the stray tears. "You okay?"

M/n's (e/c) eyes turned to Peter for a second, sending a quick glare.

Does it look like he's okay?

Miles remained silent, only letting out a shaky sigh but never meeting Peter's gaze. "We've all been there..."

That one sentence made Miles look up a little. "You know, for me... For me, it was my Uncle Ben."

Noir stepped up, letting out a small sigh. "For me... it was my Uncle Benjamin."

"For me..." Peni spoke next, her voice growing smaller as she looked away in sadness. "It was my father..."

"For me, it was my best friend..."

Miles looked away from Gwen and looked towards M/n, seeing a hint of sadness in his e/c eyes. The others also turned to M/n, only silence coming from him. M/n's gaze met Miles'. "For me...it was my parents."

"M/n..."

"Miles," Spider-Ham began. "The hardest thing about this job is... you can't always save everybody."

"Look, it was my fault. You wouldn't understand."

"Miles."

He looked up at the h/c-ette who spoke. "Who do you think we are? We're probably... the only people who understand each other's pain... more than anyone else."

Just then, there was a jingle of the door lock. They all turned to it with alert expressions. "Oh, no."

The door opened, revealing Miles' roommate. He walked in, jamming out to the music that was blasting in his ears loudly.