Another Me - Miguel O'hara

Seven

Weeks had flown by since the incident in Miguel's office and Vanessa had been trying her best to keep out of his way, wary of the man's ever changing emotions and impossible temper. During missions she acted cold, taking a harsh tone whenever she was required to communicate with him.

Though, she knew he could feel the discomfort radiating off of her whenever he was near, seeing the slight twitch in his features when he noticed it. She could feel his frustration and annoyance building because of it and knew it was only a matter of time before it boiled over. Missions together were becoming harder to bear and Vanessa had been spending as much time away from HQ as possible whenever she knew he was there, she'd begun to think that maybe coming back wasn't quite the right thing to do.

She'd been trying desperately to do something, anything to take her mind of the situation she'd found herself in. And it was growing to a point that Vanessa as injuring herself in the process, praying Miguel or any other spider-person for that matter would find out.

Though, unbeknownst to her, she did nothing without Miguel's knowledge.

Currently Vanessa found herself in the gym, daylight long gone as the sounds of her punches rang through the room. Music played through her headphones as she pummelled the bag in front of her, subconsciously going along to the beats as beads of sweat collected across her skin.

It was late. The halls of the facility were silent as most if not all spider-people were trying to rest, going home to their own universe while others remained within the handful of apartments within the facility. If not for the isolation around her Vanessa may have found someone to spar with, allowing her to improve upon her fighting in ways she couldn't alone. After all, you can hit a punching bag as much as you want but it's never going to fight back.

Taking a breather she pulled the headphones from her head and dropped them softly onto her gym bag. Grabbing a towel from the bench beside it she wiped some of the sweat from her skin.

"You know you're just gonna hurt yourself doing this every night."

She jumped at the sudden intrusion onto her peace, her head snapping in the direction it echoed from. Her wide eyes met with his deep gaze briefly before she began scanning his looming figure. He held his hands behind his back, his shoulders looking impossibly broad as he did. For once he wasn't wearing his suit. Instead a pair of grey sweatpants hung from his hips as a white t-shirt clung to his torso, the fabric giving away the definition and cut of his abs.

"What're you doing here?" She asked, her voice coming out breathier than intended.

Miguel's hands moved from behind his back as he took a few steps toward her, his eyes tracing her body as he did so. "Was just coming to get a last minute hit."

She eyed him carefully as she took a swig from her water bottle. "At this time of night?"

"Ironic."

"How so"

He gestured to the punching bag that was still swinging slightly back and fourth. "You've been giving that one hell of a beating Torres." She cringed slightly at the sound of her surname on his tongue. Though before she could snap back with some snarky response he was already too close. She could smell the faint reminiscence of his cologne mixed with his body wash. "You haven't been wrapping your hands properly," he remarked. She quickly looked down at them. The white cloth that covered her skin had begun to collect the blood that now ran down her knuckles.

"I was nearly finished anyway." She shook him off, her voice sounding cool and collected while her throat tightened as she picked up her gym bag deciding to leave the shower until she got home. She didn't want to spend another second she didn't have to in his presence. "Enjoy your workout."