Another Me - Miguel O'hara

Ten

As it always was whenever they two seemed to cross paths it was late, the sun long set as streetlights flickered overhead. Vanessa had just finished a shift and wanted nothing more than to feel the sweet release of warm water running across her skin, washing away the sweat and pain from the day when she found Miguel leant against her apartment building. She furrowed her brow at the sight.

She couldn't recall the last time she'd seen him look so casual. He wore jeans and a loose fitting white T-shirt, or rather it was supposed to be loose fitting however the girth of his biceps made the sleeves appear tighter than usual. His hair was pushed back from his face, the dark curls looking deliciously soft as he ran a hand through them. 

Miguel was staring down at the floor when he noted a second, smaller pair of shoes stepping into his eye line. He looked up, gaze meeting with Vanessa as his eyes roamed her face. She smiled slightly, tilting her head to one side as she began to speak. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"I wanted to talk to you."

She raised and eyebrow, small chuckle breezing through her lips as she did so. "Woah, what a surprise! Whenever I see you that seems to be the first thing that comes out your mouth." He remained silent as she watched him stand fully before her. "So what did you come to talk about this time? And why couldn't it wait till tomorrow, you know we have a training session anyway."

"I know," he said taking a step towards her. "But most of the talking we do then is just yanno, smack talk." She let out an amused huff moving to rest her body weight onto one leg. "So I thought I should get it done now, while I was here."

"While you were here?" She questioned. "What were you doing here in the first place?"

Miguel shook his head. "Nothing. Can we take this somewhere, more private?"

"Why you wanna jump my bones or something?"

She noticed the subtle blush that spread up his throat as he looked away. She smiled slightly at the sight, enjoying the embarrassment that run through him. "No. I just don't wanna have this talk on the street, in the dark, at night."

Vanessa shrugged. "Why not. That's where most of our conversations happen?"

He growled in response, his brows furrowing as he shot her a glare. "Do you always have something to say?"

"Wasn't that something you used to love about me?" She asked grinning as she side stepped him, moving to walk into her apartment building. "Sígueme chico araña."

Miguel silently obeyed, following along behind her as she took the stairs up to her apartment. Along the way he couldn't help but to admire the way her body looked, the black denim shorts and shirt she wore hiding little to nothing. His eyes traced the cuts and scratches that along the backs of her thighs, her calves and her arms as she moved, watching her body slowly heal from a previous battle as the spider side of her mended itself without the need for medical attention. Miguel stared at them, picking out a handful that would soon turn into milky white tiger stripe scars as he refrained from reaching out and tracing them with the tip of his fingers.

Before long Vanessa was unlocking her door and pushing it open, revealing the same apartment he'd spent countless nights in. His eyes darted around the room, cataloging the changes she'd made in his absence. There were plants littering the floors, pushed against the walls, framing the entrance to her measly balcony with her largest's arial roots running across the floor. Her couch was messy, cushions dented and a throw haphazardly laid across the back.

Miguel watched as she dropped her keys into a bowl on her way in, kicking her shoes from her feet upon entering and moving slowly toward her kitchen. She leaned against the counter, opening the fridge and pulling out a partly drunk bottle of rose as well as two glasses from the cupboard above her head.