The following morning, Rio and Jefferson Morales held hands as they returned to the ICU, both knowing that their son's life... no, this whole family... was about to be changed forever. When they found Miles in his bed, exactly how they left him, he had Gwen sleeping next to him under his sheet again, keeping true to her promise with her arms and legs hugging him protectively.
The parents were touched by this scene, especially with early sunrise spilling in from the unveiled window, which goldened the room and painted them in a warming marvelous landscape. They almost didn't want to wake this young couple, but time wasn't on their side, if it ever was to begin with.
On this day... on this very date... Rio was here on a mission... the most important one of her whole life... it was her turn to save her son... her Spider-Man... and her precious little angel.
Approaching the bed, she shook the young girl, who gave a little resistance, until she stirred out of her slumber soon after. When she squinted up and saw Mrs. Morales looming over her, she almost jerked at her sudden presence.
"M-Mrs. Morales...?" Gwen rolled onto her back, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.
"Good morning, mija."
"Good... morning." she yawned before sitting up, stretching as she came out of her daze. "How are you guys?" she then asked, noticing Jefferson as well.
"We're okay." he answered while glancing away. "And you?"
"A little better." Shrugging, she turned to Miles, who was still fast asleep, as shown by his beeping heart monitor. "I think he likes my company... it's probably what's keeping him alive."
Gwen quickly regretted the words as they left her mouth when Rio concurred. "I appreciate that." She took note of the girl's appearance. "You look nice today, except for the sleep."
"Thanks..." she chuckled, fluttering to tidy her long hair, "... you too."
Dissolving her smile, the woman gazed longingly at her son... he looked so peaceful.
"What is it?" Gwen suddenly asked her, noticing her dark look.
"Huh? Oh." Gathering herself, Rio wiped the growing wetness from her eyes then cleared her throat; she had lost herself for a moment there. "Can I... talk to you outside for a moment?"
"What is it?" she repeated nervously.
"Come on." Rio motioned to the doorway, smirking now.
Gwen glanced at Jefferson, who simply shrugged back, before she planted a kiss on Miles and followed her out into the hallway, a fair distance from earshot. Finding a good spot, they leaned together against a wall to have their conversation.
"How truthful were your words to my son yesterday?" Rio questioned with her arms crossed.
"All of it." Gwen answered straight away.
"So..." a smirk drew across the woman's face, "... where's the ring, then?"
"Excuse me?"
"You said you wanted to marry him." She bounced her eyebrows.
"Uh..." Gwen blushed like a tomato, hiding her face in embarrassment.
"What? You don't think my son's good husband material?"
"N-No, I..." she turned even redder, sweating now. "... God."
"It's okay." Rio snickered at having pulled this girl's strings. "I think you're great for him..." she assured, which eased the young blonde, "... I really mean that."
Gwen sighed, relaxing again. "I do want a future with Miles... whatever it may be." she stated this calmly while staring ahead. "I love him more than life itself, and I would die for him as much as he would die for me." Her eyes were shining pink when they shifted back to the mother. "But this, it seems, is as close as I'm ever gonna get with him... it's better than nothing, I suppose."
Rio lowered her head, taking this all in.
"I really wanted us to write our own story."
"What if I told you..." raising it again, she dimple-grinned at the teen, "... that you still can."
Gwen mixed her confused frown with curiosity, which got her to ask, "How?"
Facing her in front of the wall, Rio placed a hand on her shoulder and the other on her own chest. "Here is my blessing..." her eyes were now beaming with hope, which began to nervously excite Gwen, "... I want to give you two that chance to find that happy ending."
Gwen was almost lost for words. "But how?" she asked, staring into this woman's eyes until she lowered her gaze and saw the placement of her hand, which was now in a closed fist... pausing for the longest time, she pieced it all together and felt a blizzard in the pit of her stomach. "No..." she almost lurched, "... no, no, no, no, no! You can't!"
"Mija..."
"You can't!" Gwen didn't think it was possible for anything to take her by surprise anymore... she was once again wrong. "I can't make you do this!"
"Nobody is making me do this!" Rio declared, squeezing the girl's wetting cheeks between her palms. "I'm choosing to do this!"
Gwen was intruded by another daunting realization. "The canon... it's you!"
"Fuck the canon!" she cussed aloud. "This is life!" Ignoring their awkward onlookers, she heaved a sigh. "Miles Morales is the greatest gift of my life... and so... I offer my greatest gift... to both of you... the gift of my everlasting love."
"Oh, Rio!" Forgetting how to address this woman properly, Gwen wept into her shoulder, muffling her cries as best as she could. Just how much more punishment could her own heart take? Rio held and caressed her smoothly, their hearts breaking for one another.
When Rio Morales returned to her son's room soon after, she took Gwen's place on his bed next to him. Miles was going to be healthy again, but she wasn't going to be alive to see it; instead, she would have to make do with this final sickly image of him.
"My son..." she whispered, skating her fingers across his resting face, "... my beautiful baby boy." He looked so peaceful... almost angelic in her eyes. "I've carried you into this world... fed you... changed your diapers... brought you up as a fine young man... how am I so lucky?" She had so many more things to say, yet all she could get off her chest was, "You have made me the proudest madre in the universe, and I am eternally grateful, and I love you forever."
*****
Somehow... somewhere... at some point in time... Miles and his mother stood hand-in-hand in front of a door, each holding a balloon, while waiting for it to be answered. Her balloon was perfectly round, floating from a straight thread, while his was all pudgy, discolored, and barely a foot off the ground... it was clearly near the end of its life.
"What are we doing here?" asked Miles to his mother.
"Hold on to it just a little longer." she referred to his broken balloon, which only puzzled him more; she had this strangely airy expression on her face.
"Okay, but what are we doing here?" he repeated less calmly.
Rio didn't answer as she faced the door again. They heard footsteps approaching from inside. When it creaked open, a long-lost figure greeted them.
"Hey." He was tall, bearded, and bald.
"Uncle Aaron!" He charged at the man with the tightest hug around his waist that he could muster. "I missed you so much!" he cried into his stomach.
"I missed you too, nephew." He tousled the boy's afro. "You say hi to your Pa for me?"
Pulling back, Miles screwed up his face... he had forgotten. "Oh, um..." he sighed, "... sorry."
"Eh, don't worry about it." Waving it off, his uncle invited him in. "You'll get your chance."
"Hey, mom—whoa!" When he turned to where his mother was supposed to be... she was gone. "Where did she...?" He looked around the corridor; she was nowhere to be found.
"Don't worry, kid, she'll be fine."
Facing Uncle Aaron again, he slow-walked into his apartment and sat down on his couch. Aaron started his record player, which blared jazz through the interior, before joining him... it was just like old times... back when everything made a little more sense in his mind.
"I've been here before..." Miles hunched forward pensively, "... haven't I?"
Aaron raised an eyebrow. "The hell are you talking about? You used to come to my place all the time?"
"No, I mean..." the boy thought harder, bouncing to jog his memory, "... I've been here before, in this time." Recollections of his last visit finally came back. "You fixed my balloon... told me not to lose it until I got a new one."
"I did?"
"Yeah!" he persisted. "What? You don't remember?"
Aaron didn't drop his questioning gaze when he shrugged. "I guess I did." He then took note of the boy's balloon. "That looks pretty nasty from where I'm looking."
"Can you fix it?" asked his nephew eagerly, almost like a child begging for a candy bar.
Aaron shook his head, pointing at its ghastly condition. "That cannot be fixed... only replaced."
"So..." Miles looked around his apartment, "... do you have any others?"
"Sorry, man." He shook again, watching the boy as he wandered about. "If I did, I'd give it without hesitation... trust me on that." He gravely patted the sofa to sit him back down.
For a minute, they sat in silence with music in the air.
"What's on your mind now?" Aaron asked, taking his nephew's shoulder.
"I'm just... remembering something else." He squinted upwards. "I had a conversation with my mom... I think it was before I... we came here."
"You... wanna talk about it?"
The boy scoffed at himself. "That's the problem... I can't remember it!"
Aaron frowned. "So why are you getting upset about it?"
"Because I remember getting upset about it!" Miles sighed through his hands in annoyance. "I don't even know if it was an argument or a simple disagreement over something whatnot!" He turned back to his uncle. "I'm not making much sense, am I?"
"Maybe give it time." he said simply.
"Time..." Miles mulled until another question popped into his head. "... hey, unc."
"What's up?"
"If you had a chance to start over... what would you do differently?"
"What would I do differently..." he leaned back on his cushion, pondering, "... not much." he stated.
"Not much?" This earned a disbelieving scowl from his nephew. "Are you serious?"
His uncle shrugged. "I can't be sure, except... well, I'd try a little harder to fix things between me and your pops."
"You wouldn't try to not be the Prowler," Miles prodded, "even though it got you killed?"
"Kid, I won't lie to you." He arched forward, facing the floor. "I did a whole lotta bad... some to those who deserved it... but many to those that didn't." Lifting his shadowed face, he looked back to Miles with a sad smile. "But... some good things happened too."
"Good things?" Miles couldn't believe his ears. "Like wha—? Are you kidding me right now?"
The teen shot up from the sofa and swiveled his head... his Uncle Aaron was now gone, having vanished into thin air like his mother; he was all alone now with his stupid balloon.
"Now, what...?"
With nothing else to do, Miles thought back to his last conversation with his mother. Pinching his temples, he remembered waking up next to her... she was laying in his bed stroking his hair... before some doctors wheeled him off for surgery.
But what did we talk about before that?
What did she say to me?
The rest of the details were still sketchy, and it pained him. His brain felt like a puzzle that was missing a key piece; once he found it, everything else would connect... so where was it?
Just then, a knock was heard at the door. Since no one else was around to answer it, Miles took it upon himself. When he opened the door, expecting to at least see his mom who he last saw out here, there was nothing outside... literally nothing.
This, he realized a split-second too late, as he toppled through the doorframe into this pitch-black barrenness, screaming, tumbling, and flailing in vain against gravity. He had no control over his fall whatsoever... or anything for that matter. He could literally see nothing now, and he couldn't tell what terrified him more... whatever was waiting for him at the bottom... or when he was going to hit the bottom.
"Hang on, kid!" echoed a man's voice; it sounded young and... familiar.
Just then, he heard a spray of a web, and then an arm seized him by the waist. Suddenly, he was whooshing sideways instead of plummeting down, saved from imminent doom.
"I gotcha!" spoke the voice again; it was right next to him now.
"P-Peter!?"
Before Miles knew it, the darkness dissipated as he was landed safely on an elevated platform with yellow railings. He struggled to his feet and waited for his head to quit spinning before he got a bearing of his surroundings and realized where he was now.
He was inside a giant cylindrical chamber full of hexagons... he was in the room with the supercolliders... where he first met his Spider-Man... the one who died here.
Why am I back here...?
Dusting himself, he turned to see a classically suited Spider-Man perched on the railing... this one was noticeably thinner around the waist with a fitter build. The boy's suspicions were immediately confirmed when he unmasked, revealing a blonde and younger face of Peter Parker, the same one he saw in that rubble, instead of the older stubbly variant that he was used to.
"Hey, kid." He smiled warmly.
"H-Hey..." Miles' jaw flew open, "... how are you here?"
"Let's find a better thinking spot." Peter suggested.
"Like where?"
"How about..." he shrugged, "... your clocktower?"
Miles hesitated for a bit. "Okay... but how do we—? Whoa!"
All he did was blink once... and he was abruptly viewing the New York city skyline from upside down... during dusk... where he and Gwen always sat. His balloon was still hovering off his hand, unable to decide if it wanted to float or fall.
"D-Did I just... teleport?"
"When you dream big, you can literally do anything."
Pete was already sitting in Gwen's spot and inviting Miles to join him. As he did, the boy quickly noticed that he himself was wearing his first ever Spider costume, the shoddy one he bought from the dollar store.
"Quite a view, isn't it?"
"Yeah, it is." To Miles, it felt strange, dirty even, sitting next to this Peter. "Do you regret dying?" he asked without looking at him.
Peter dropped his smile and raised an eyebrow at the boy. "What kind of question is that?"
"I don't know." Miles fidgeted as he continued. "Do you think you would have lived and stopped the collider in time if I wasn't there?"
"Why do you blame yourself, Miles?" The older Spider's tone had a serious gentleness.
Miguel's words echoed in his head, and he trembled. "I'm sorry, Peter... I never wanted you to die." He held it together, not wanting to cry while sitting upside down, especially in front of his hero. "If I hadn't been bit, you would have lived..."
"Miles..."
"... you would have stopped the collider before it ever went off."
"Miles."
"Instead, you died... saving me."
"Listen to me, Miles!" Pete spun the boy so that they were facing each other. "None of that was ever your fault! I saved you because I chose to! Nothing was guaranteed that night!"
"What makes you so sure?" Miles retorted, pulling back away. "You're just a figment of my dream telling me whatever I want to hear right now."
"I wouldn't be too sure of that." Peter remarked, unoffended.
"Maybe you're right, but still..." he sighed while shutting his eyes, "... I can't help but wonder how everyone's lives would have turned out if I never got bit by that stupid spider."
Pete proposed another idea. "Why don't you make a pros and cons list?"
Miles paused for a moment, frowning at this man, but then got to it. "Okay..." he gathered his thoughts, "... first, the bad. I wouldn't have created the Spot... my Uncle Aaron wouldn't have got shot by the Kingpin... and my Earth 42 counterpart might have been able to save his dad with my Spider powers, as well as save his own city from being taken over by that Sinister Six cartel."
"And...?"
He pouted, thinking some more, then shook his head. "That's it."
Peter scoffed. "That's all?"
"Hmm... yeah, I can't think of anything more."
"That should be a good sign." He smirked at Miles, which got him a chuckle back. "It doesn't matter, anyway. You didn't do anything just because you were there."
"I'll move on to the pros then." Clearing his throat, he began listing them. "I became a hero... I stopped the Kingpin..."
"Good."
"... I managed to save my mom and dad, as well as the whole multiverse..."
"Go on."
"... and I disproved Miguel's canon theory." Another pro lit up in the boy's head right then. "Oh, Peter... different Peter, from Earth 616B... I got him to hook back up with his MJ after he mentored me and even have a kid with her!"
"That's great!" The younger Peter smiled at this. "Glad to hear that!"
"Her name's Mayday, by the way. She's super cute!" Miles gushed before realizing. "I'm sorry you didn't get that chance with your own MJ."
"It's not your fault."
"I know, I know..." he clarified with a handwave, "... I'm just saying."
"What else?" Peter prodded. "That can't be it."
Gazing back at the orange city skyline, Miles quieted until a certain blonde Spider-Woman projected her smile in his head. "Gwen." he stated simply.
"Gwen?" This piqued the man's curiosity. "What about Gwen?"
"After she lost her Peter, she didn't really do friends... until she met me." Miles thought hard and carefully of what to say about her next. "She dealt with a lot on her own... until she met me. It kinda surprised me when she told me all this, because she always seemed like the kind of girl who'd have lots of friends."
"Yeah?"
"So, uh... she also had some issues with her dad that she seems to have now resolved... she said I had something to do with that too." He smiled even brighter, which boldened his dimples. "But also... I helped her find love and happiness... something she never thought was possible." After listing that last point, his smile diminished, the reality setting in. "It was good while it lasted, huh?"
Pete looked at Miles confusedly. "What are you talking about?"
Miles mirrored him. "What do you mean? Ain't I dying?"
This earned him a chuckle. "You don't know what's going on, do you?"
Hesitating, he shook his head.
"The rest of your life is only starting... don't you remember?"
"Remember what? I..."
Just then, his brain clicked with a new puzzle piece... back in his bed, after waking up next to his mother, she had told him something... some good news?
*****
"G-Good morning... mom." Miles mumbled through his respirator.
"Good morning, mijo." She was still brushing him with her fingers. "How are you feeling?"
With a deep sigh, he decided to lie. "Better... I sup... pose." In truth, he felt like dying, his fighting spirit having finally given up on him, but for his family's sake, he was determined to keep up a front. "What's... up with... y-you?" he asked her then.
His mom seemed different this morning... he just couldn't pinpoint why.
She broadened her smile, eyes gleaming brightly. "I have some good news... you're getting a new heart!"
The young patient took a few seconds to process what was just said to him, and then his eyes widened. "A new... heart?"
She nodded tearfully. "Si, mijo! A new heart!"
For the first time, all over again, he felt his spirit reignite... he was alive again. "That's great!" he managed to exclaim, overwhelmed with happiness.
Rio slid across the mattress to hug her son for what had to be the longest time; her hold only tightened while rocking him gently. His mother's love was radiating, and Miles absorbed all of it until something.. a tiny mild suspicion... got him to lightly nudge her away.
"Who's... the... donor?" he questioned her intently, studying her reaction.
Taken by surprise, she flinched a little and blinked a few times too rapidly before trying to cover it up with a clear of her throat... which was all he needed.
"Mom..." his voice grew louder while his face darkened, "... who... is... the donor?"
*****
BANG! An explosion, with a discharge of air, rang in Miles' ear, and he was jolted out of his memory... he traced the string in his hand to find that his balloon had finally popped.
"Oh, no..." panicking, he grasped for the shredded rubber, at a loss for what to do now, "... no, no, no, no, no! I can't lose my—"
"Hey!" A man suddenly grabbed him... it was Uncle Aaron again. "It's okay!"
"It's not!" Miles held up the destroyed balloon. "What am I gonna do now!?"
"Miles!" another voice called to him, and he turned to see his mother with her own balloon, which was still fully intact. "It's going to be okay." She walked over and held his shoulder. "It's almost done now."
Once again, the teenage boy was confused. "What's almost done?"
As he pondered, he checked around his new surroundings to see that they were now standing on the rooftop of his family's apartment. He remembered how refreshing it always was to be up here when there weren't any large gatherings of people, and he calmed down.
"Mom, I'm sorry." He bowed his head, dangling the string in his fingers. "I tried..."
"It's okay, baby... I got you a better one anyway."
With a wink, she held her own balloon between her hands and started to compress it.
"Mom, what are you...?" He reached out to try and stop her, but Aaron nudged him back.
"It's okay." he assured him. "She knows what she's doing."
"But what is she doing?" Miles demanded frantically.
And so, he looked on with great bewilderment as her balloon started to glow... and glow... and glow... until it maxed to a blinding degree, which forced him to squint and shield his eyes. At the same time, which Miles could barely see, its size was shrunken to that of... a heart.
And then he heard it... the beating.
Ba-dump...
Ba-dump...
Ba-dump...
Rio approached her son with this glowing heart, cupping it in her hand like a present, and then phased it through his chest before he had a chance to debate.
Ba-dump...
Ba-dump...
Ba-dump...
The beating was now emanating from inside him... it felt amazing... it's like he was reborn.
"This feels amazing!" he voiced his thoughts, feeling it with his hand. "What is this?"
This mother beamed brighter than the sun as she said, "Your new heart!"
Miles' delight vanished within seconds, replaced with suspicion... and then horror. His mind, in that very instance, had finally pieced everything together.
*****
"M-Mom!" he was shouting now. "Who... is... my... donor!?"
He stared into this woman's anxious face, hoping to God that what he was beginning to suspect wasn't true.
Don't say it's you... please!
Even if it's a lie, just tell me it isn't you!
With a heavy sigh, Rio shut her eyes dolefully, and glints of tears could be seen from her lashes. "Miles... I'm sorry," she whispered ever-so-faintly before opening them again, "but I love you too much to let this go any longer." She couldn't lie to him, even if she tried.
"No... please!" Miles felt a cold knife being pierced through his already hurting heart.
"I love you, mijo."
He shoved her hand away when she tried to stroke him again. "Don't... do this!" he begged through tears of his own. "Ma! I... love you!" He wanted to run... wanted to fight... wanted to scream... but all he could do was let out a guttural moan.
"I love you!" Rio pulled her sick son into her arms again as they sobbed together.
Gwen and Jefferson ran into the room soon after, having both heard the disturbance. When they paused in the doorway, their own hearts wrenched at this scene.
"I love you! I love you!" repeated the mother over and over again. "I love you!"
Miles tried, even in his weakened state, to wrestle out of her grip, even thumping her with his super-powered fists, but she bit through the pain until she could take no more and shouted, "Enough!" Her sharp voice filled the room, even echoing out to the hallway.
Relenting, his hands fell limp while his loud cries faded into quiet hiccupping sobs. Rio, refusing to let him go, rubbed his back as soothingly as she could.
"My son..." she began whispering into his ear, "... you are my greatest gift. What did I do on this earth to deserve such a precious boy?" Miles sobbed harder. "So now... I give you my greatest gift." Pulling away, she held her heart in front of him. "I've taken care of this handsome boy for fifteen years, but now... part of me will take care of you forever."
Knowing that she had more to say, Miles took a few breaths to calm himself, as much as he dreaded whatever he was about to hear next.
"I want you to take care of this boy for me, okay?" She lifted his chin, smiling crookedly. "Promise me?"
With a heavier heart than ever, he nodded.
"I need you strong. I want you to never forget where this little boy came from or doubt that he is loved." She brushed his cheek. "You are so loved... mommy loves you... daddy loves you... Gwen loves you... never forget."
"I... promise."
"Good." she nodded firmly. "And one more favor, listen carefully..."
With his full attention, Miles readied himself for his mother's final request.
"Wherever you go from here... whatever you decide to do with your life... just promise me one thing..."
*****
"You're giving me... your heart!" stated Miles, snapping back to reality; everything in this 'dream' made sense now. "I'm in surgery, right now!"
"Coming out of it, actually." she answered quietly, lacing her hands delicately.
A wormhole had opened itself in the sky above their building, spreading the clouds apart. It was swirling like a magnificent tornado, vibrating and bathing the top floor in its iridescent glow... it was time for him to go, he realized.
Tearfully, he pulled her and Uncle Aaron into one final hug. "Goodbye." he choked out.
Aaron patted him. "See you around, nephew."
"I'll say hi to pa for you this time... I promise."
Brushing his face, his mother pecked him on the cheek. "Goodbye, my angel."
Pulling away for the final time, Miles looked sadly at them before he faced up to this wormhole. Spreading his arms wide like an eagle, he allowed it to take him.
As he ascended through this passage, he was hit with euphoric waves of nostalgia. A spectral corridor of memories flashed before his eyes... as well as visions of his possible future, especially with Gwen, whom he swore he saw in a bridal dress at one point... all passing by in quick succession. It filled him with tears of every possible emotion known to man, and he allowed them to soar out of his ducts freely... because why hold them?
This... is what it means to live.
This... is what it means to love.
And at long last, his mother's final request boomed like a voice from God...
"Take care of my heart."
*****
A/N: Sorry, guys... maybe in another story.
What music did you imagine playing during this part?