Always and Forever, My Friend (Miles Morales [Dim. 42] x F! Reader)

Chapter Six

"Wait, isn't she grounded?" Rio questioned as she turned around and turned off the stove, splitting her attention between her son and her cooking.

"Yeah," Miles nodded, smirking to himself as his voice filled with a certain fondness. "But you know her. She's a little troublemaker."

Rio laughed, sitting down at the table next to her son.

Usually, she wouldn't condone such behavior, much less laugh it off as a joke. After all, in her own household, if she had ever caught Miles doing such a thing, he would instantly regret it. But, as it would turn out, Rio was also not a fan of Y/n's father and the way he allegedly treated her and her mother. So to her, this was more of a "stick it to the man" situation than a disobeying a parent's orders.

"Ah, sí, qué alborotador. Sin embargo, tienes que amar el espíritu," Rio spoke softly, speaking as though Y/n were her own child. "Es un poco impresionante, si lo piensas."

"Definitivamente," Miles chuckled, his smile broadening the more he thought about her. "Ella siempre ha sido muy impresionante."

Rio glanced at her son with a raised eyebrow, her lips twitching into a teasing smirk.

"Solo dices eso porque crees que es bonita," Rio lowered her voice, nudging him lightly as she chuckled.

Miles tensed up immediately, his face burning with embarrassment at the truth of his mom's words.  For a moment, he was left speechless, too flustered to come up with a response.

It was true, his mom was aware of his feelings toward Y/n.  In fact, she was aware of them before he was.  Still, he never liked when she pointed it out so bluntly.

"¡Mamá!" was all he managed to mumble, unable to face his mother's gaze as he attempted to hide in his hoodie.

"What, you know I'm right!" she grinned at him, tilting her head and mumbling something in Spanish under her breath.

"Whatever," he rolled his eyes as he muttered into his palm, his face and neck burning as he internally screamed, silently cursing his mom and her ability to  always make him embarrassed.

At his response, his mother softened, chuckling to herself as she watched her child's expression.  In that moment, as she observed her flustered child, she couldn't help but see her husband hidden behind his hazel eyes.  From the way his eyes lit up when he talked about Y/n to the way he flushed at his mother's teasing, the similarities were undeniable. It was almost as if she were looking into the past.

In fact, everything about this situation reminded her about her and Jefferson when they first met.  The way he looked at her, the way he smiled at her every time they saw each other, she couldn't help but see Miles looking at Y/n the same way.  And while it did make her sad at times, reminiscing on when the love of her life was by her side, the happiness she felt for her son overpowered it every single time.

"Oh, how's the painting going?" Rio shifted the subject as she stood up from the table, walking back over to the pot on the counter and stirring its contents.

Miles perked up at his mom's question, a grin creeping back up onto his face as he began speaking. He began to describe all the details he had added and little adjustments he had made to make it more realistic, and the entire time he had the goofiest grin on his face. He spoke so fast at times that it was hard to keep up with his words, but even if Rio wasn't able to tell what he was saying, she simply nodded along. She just enjoyed the sound of her son blabbing about something he was passionate and joyous about. And she would do anything to keep him talking like this.

It was very rare that she heard him so excited, so emotional and passionate about anything. Ever since his dad died, he had been more closed off. He became stoic and emotionless, his eyes losing the gleam of childhood innocence as he became aware of the brutality and injustices of life. He had been forced to grow up so fast, and Rio wasn't able to stop it, no matter how much she prayed that her little boy would be okay. She simply had to stand to the side and watch him as he slowly faded from her giddy little boy to a serious and responsible man within a matter of a year.