You stare up at Miguel as you gently rub your thumb against the back of his hand that's on your face.
"Please say something, anything literally no one knows about this you're the first one to know" He says nothing as he stares at you. You really really hope you didn't mess things up by telling him this.
"How long have you known?" You shrug your shoulders. "I didn't know at first I found out by accident when I accidentally walked in on a meeting that he had with his men. But I genuinely don't remember when that was. I did whatever I could to forget all those memories" Slowly he nods as he pulls his hand away from your face but before he can break contact you take both of your hands to hold his. "P-please are you mad at me if you are please tell me or—or if you want me to quit then I'll go just-" He cuts you off with a raise of his free hand.
"No, you're not going anywhere just tell me...if I didn't ask would you have ever told me?" You slowly lower your head of course you wouldn't have told him anything you meant it when you said that this was something you were supposed to take to your grave. You begin to shake your head no. "I didn't think there was a reason to because he promised me that he would stop and I never heard from that side of him again. Please believe me when I say that I'm not a spy or that he didn't send me here-"
He cuts you off as he takes a small step back. "Just stop-" You begin to rapidly shake your head. You need him to believe you. You don't know what you would do if he didn't want to be around you anymore. He's helped you in more ways than you could count and if you lost him as a friend or if you just lost him in general you would be devastated. You feel tears beginning to fill your eyes at the thought of losing all of them. Of losing him. "I would've never come here if I knew I would put any of you guys in harm's way I care about you all so much I would never please Miguel I care about you so so much I wouldn't do that to you and-"
"I believe you" You stare at him in shock. "What?"
"I said I believe you. I don't think you are a spy I don't think you are a bad person....I know what he's done to you I know what you're running away from especially if he's your husband—ex-husband. It's okay." You nod along to his words eagerly as he lets out a deep sigh. "Okay...well thank you" You pause to give the hand that you're still holding a squeeze. "If you want me to leave for the day or for the rest of the week then I-"
He shakes his head. "You can't leave, he's looking for you" You take a step back he's what? So all of this chaos was because of you? "Oh, so I can't stay here if I'm putting you all in danger I need to leave Miguel I can't...I'm so so sorry" You turn around forcefully letting go of his hand as you begin to walk further away from him. Stepping onto the platform you begin to cradle your stomach with one hand as you begin to look for the button that lowers the platform. As you look you try to ignore the fact that Miguel is now on the platform as well. You continue to look around for it even after a month you still can't figure out how to work this platform thingy.
You are pulled out of your thoughts when you feel a hand lightly gripping onto your forearm. When you turn around he pulls you in until your faces are mere inches apart. "Like hell, I'm just going to let you leave. I mean it when I say you're not going anywhere. He already thinks that you're not here so you going anywhere else right now is putting you both in danger" You slowly nod. "But he's already been to where I live and now where I work it's only a matter of time before he finds us...Spidey I really don't want her to meet him like at all. He can't find us" You begin to wipe away your tears as you lean forward to rest your head on his shoulder.
"I'm sorry for crying I know how much it makes you uncomfortable"
"Stop apologizing and he won't find you I'll make sure of it" You nod into his shoulder but then pause when you realize you're missing someone. You immediately remove your head from his shoulder peeking out from his arm to see if she's okay. Your eyes grow wide with horror as you realize she's crawling on the ceiling.
You begin to rapidly tap on Miguel's shoulder. "Mayday baby please get down" He turns his head to see what you're talking about before turning back to face you. You look at him confusingly. Why isn't he doing anything? You move from hiding behind him. "Miguel she's going to fall we have to do something" You wipe your face as you walk over to her stretching out your hands and being prepared to catch her if necessary.
"She's fine, she won't fall. Are you forgetting who her father is? And put your hands down you are going to hurt yourself "
"Miguel this isn't funny, can you get her down, please I'm getting anxious just looking at her" You can hear him sigh from somewhere behind you as Mayday's laughter reaches your ears.
"I told you she isn't going to fall just calm do-" You let out a sharp gasp as you watch as Mayday loses her grip. You watch as Miguel rushes to catch her right before she hits the floor. You have to turn away to calm yourself down. Placing your hand on your chest to steady your breathing until you finally feel calm enough. Slowly turning around you place your hands on your hips as you stare at Miguel holding Mayday.
"I told you" You let out a sigh as you walked back onto the platform.
"This is the first time this happened"
"Uh-huh" You turn around to face him watching as he holds Mayday rather awkwardly while walking to you. Does he not know how to hold a child?
"Why are you holding her like that?"
"Like what?" You point at him while he holds her arm's length away like she's infected or something. "Like that you're huge I'm sure you can hold her with the palm of your hand alone so hold her properly" You pause as you stare at them. Mayday looks so out of place in Miguel's hand that it looks like she's been edited in. "You know what it's fine I'll just hold her" As you begin to reach out for Mayday Miguel slowly turns away from you. Uh, what is he doing? You reach for her again only for him to do the same thing.
"What are you doing?"
"She's heavy you shouldn't be carrying her"
"Well, she's better with me holding her than you" You watch as he finally changes the way he's holding her in his arms. "Was that so hard?" He walks past you and presses the button that lowers the platform. You guys stand there in silence until reaching the bottom floor and you are greeted by the rest of the spiders. Everyone looks so dazed and out of it multiple spiders have bruises all over their bodies and to say that this is all your fault is so heartbreaking. You caused all of this no one but you.
When your eyes finally land on Peter you walk back over to Miguel getting ready to hand Mayday back to her father.
"I believe she was looking for you," You say as you hand Mayday to Peter.
"Thank you so much truly" You watch as he begins to rock her back and forth before putting her in the carrier. You move back standing next to Miguel as all of the Spiders begin to crowd in his office. To think that his office is big enough to hold so many Spiders is insane to think about. Soon all of the Spiders begin to talk amongst themselves throwing questions at Miguel...
"What are we going to do?"
"Why are they attacking us?"
"I thought he was dead"
As the list grows the more unsettled they become. Everyone wants an answer. They want to know the cause of all of this but they don't know the problem is standing right in front of them. You steal a glance at Miguel wondering if he's going to manage to quiet them down.
"Today's attack was a surprise for all of us. As you may know, Spinebreaker is one of the toughest villains we've faced. He's smart and all his moves are calculated. We need to be one step ahead of him at all times. So for now let's just repair any damages that have been made and I'll tell you my next steps when I manage to figure it out. You all need to be on high alert for any changes or anything that you may think relates to Spinebreaker you are to report back to me immediately"
"Wait, I heard that they were looking for someone. Who were they looking for boss?" You try your hardest not to look at Miguel because as of right now he's the only one that knows the truth. Would he tell them? You can feel his eyes on you as you turn away looking at the floor.
"No, I don't but all we do know is that person isn't here that's why they were beginning to retreat" You silently thank him in your head as the crowd begins to disperse going away to deal with the aftermath of today's attack.
You listen as the crowd begins to talk amongst themselves. Peter, Gwen, Hobie, Jess, and Pavtir, one of the new spiders that you've met recently, walk up to you and Miguel. Jess comes over and you gently touch her forearm. She's way closer to her due date than you are. "How are you feeling?"
"I should be asking you that question you had to hide with Mayday" You nod. " I did but I'm fine I just can't imagine having to fight while I'm 34 weeks pregnant you're amazing Jess really. Everything okay with the baby?" She nods as she rubs her stomach. "They're fine, we're hungry but fine, and with you guys?"
"We're fine, just hungry too. The last thing we ate was ice cream. My sciatica was acting up though and it was beyond painful like I really don't want to imagine how contractions are" She sighs as she rests her hands on her hips. "Girl don't even remind me but it'll all be worth it in the end—oh and how's the baby shower planning going so far" Oh...you were waiting for this question.
"No baby shower for us I'm afraid" You turn your head to the sound of Peter's voice. "Why not? That's like one of the best parts: free gifts, free food, and moneyyy" You can't help but laugh at his words. He's not wrong but he forgot one important part: hanging out with people who you want in her life. The only people you can think of are the people in front of you and other than that you quite literally have no one.
You sigh as you look down at your stomach. "No, it's just us apart from you guys. I don't really know that many people and to plan my own baby shower by myself...that's too much. So I'll just skip that tradition this time around"
"That sounds sad as he-" You watch as Gwen elbows Hobie to prevent him from speaking anymore.
"Well, I'm sorry to hear that I'll make sure to get you a gift hun" You begin to wave your hands in dismissal. "Oh no please don't-"
"Me and my girlfriend will pitch in to get you something" You send Pavtir an appreciating smile right as Gwen chimes in.
"And me and Hobie can maybe pitch in for something too" You try not to laugh as you see Hobie roll his eyes but he sends a subtle nod your way.
"Mayday has a lot of clothes she hasn't worn. I'll tell my wife to make a basket for you" You begin to look all around the room and suddenly you feel overwhelmed with the amount of support from this group. It honestly feels like you've never really had this much support. Especially coming from people you've just met in a matter of months. You feel your eyes beginning to fill with tears. This is what you've wanted for her since the minute you found out you were pregnant. You wanted a group of people who cared for her way before she would even get here. Whispering a gentle thank you as you look around the group when your eyes finally land on Miguel you find him already staring at you. The longer you stare at him the more you realize there are more pressing matters to deal with. You let out a sigh before giving him a nod. The change of moods was fun while it lasted.
He gives you a nod back before he talks about the next steps they should take. You don't know how you didn't realize it from before but Peter, Jess, Hobie, Gwen, and Pavtir are like a subunit amongst the rest of the spiders. Miguel speaks to them the most when it comes to the really important stuff. You wonder how this came about, you're positive it wasn't always like this. But whatever it is you're grateful for it.
•°~°•
It's very late. It's later than you usually come back home from work. It's almost 9 pm but you and Miguel both agreed that it'll make sense if you lay low for the time being. However, that's easier said than done since you're 28 weeks pregnant and there's no way to hide your bump. You slowly trudge up the stairs with Miguel behind you. You're wearing the zip-up sweater that O'Hara gave you all those weeks ago when he uh...when he kissed you. You've just never given it back.
As you go to unlock your door you stop when you feel a hand on your wrist. "Are you okay?" You shrug your shoulders to be honest you don't really know how you're feeling right now.
"I'm okay as I can be in this situation" You stare up at him leaning on the door as he releases your wrist. "You're not going to like this but you can't be at work every day" You sigh as you rest your hands on your stomach you figured this was going to happen one way or another. "Yeah I know is my pay going to be-"
"No, your pay will remain the same you'll come in only on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays so there's space in between each day. I'll send O'Hara with the box that you're working on and the computer to give to you" You nod as you take a deep breath you've only been working here for not even 3 months yet and now your time here is coming to an end. You just wished you had more time you enjoy working with them. You enjoy working with him.
"Will you let me go once she gets here?"
"What are you talking about?"
You begin to rub your palms on your pants. You don't know why but you aren't really prepared to hear his answer. "I just don't think I'll be able to work right after I have her but I know I'll still need a job but then I have to worry about who can watch her so I don't really know how all that's going to-" He cuts you off with a raise of his hand. "You still want the job right?" You nod, what kind of question is that? "Then you'll still have it you can just work from home you'll always have a place here until you're ready to leave"
"Really..."You watch as he nods his head while fixing his face mask. Your body moves on its own and now your arms are wrapped around his neck as you pull him into a hug. "Thank you so much you have no idea how much this means to me" You laugh into his neck when you feel her moving. "And how much it means to her too apparently" Silence falls between the two of you and you debate on whether or not you should pull away since he's not returning the hug. This is the 2nd time you've hugged him and this is the 2nd time he hasn't returned it. Maybe he's uncomfortable...?
Slowly you begin to pull away right as you feel his arms rest loosely around your waist. You smile instantly. "And here I thought you didn't know how to give hugs"
"And here I thought you weren't going to let go"
"I wasn't.....but I was waiting to see if you were going to hug us back but then I realized you weren't so I was just going to let go" A beat passes before he speaks again. "I don't really get hugged that often anymore"
"Any more?" He says nothing as he hums in response. Although you don't want to, you slowly begin to pull away your hands lingering on his neck just a little while longer.
"Are you coming to my graduation on Friday?" You feel your mood go sour when you see him shrug his shoulders. You should've known especially the way things are going right now you don't even know if you can go with your ex looking for you.
"Oh, I don't know why I asked, I know you're busy so..."
You watch as he juts his head in the opposite direction. "He'll be there though"
"I know but what about you?"
"I don't know I'll try but I can't confirm anything" You gently rub circles on his neck before slowly removing your hands. "Okay well, I'll see you on Friday well hopefully...if not I'll just stop by HQ"
"To do what?"
Yeah to do what exactly just to say hi...? That seems a little much no. But you really want to though....you wouldn't mind going from school all the way to HQ just to see him and tell him about your day. "Um, you know what I have no idea so I might not even come after all" You nervously tuck your curls behind your ears yeahhh it's time for you to leave. "Well have a good night then" You take a step back realizing that his arms are still loosely hanging around your waist. Before closing your door you decide to send him a little wave and surprisingly he sends one back.
•°~°•
Miguel decides to stay on the rooftop of your apartment for an hour before finally making his way back to HQ. Surprisingly he's tired from the day that he had the only thing that's on his mind is finding Spinebreaker and getting some sleep.
He's been in his office staring at his screens looking at cameras all over Nueva York trying to see if there's anything unusual. Trying to see if anything will point to Spinebreaker's whereabouts.
He watches Lyla phase in next to him. "Incoming" He turns his head as soon as Jess and Peter walk into his office.
"Miguelitooo we have a proposition to make"
"No, we actually have a favor to ask you"
As he listens to them he can already feel his head beginning to hurt. "Don't care whatever it is the answer is no"
"Oh you might say otherwise"
He rolls his eyes. "Doubt it but okay"
"We want to throw her a baby shower" He doesn't even have to think about who they're talking about he already knows.
"Okay"
"And before you say no—wait okay? Just okay you're not going to protest or anything" He watches as Lyla pops in and phases in between Jess and Peter. "Nope because she got him wrapped around her little finger and she doesn't even know it" He lets out a deep sigh as tries to focus on his work. "Yeah but he's still lying to her"
"Jess stop, we already got him to agree let's not get him upset okay?" Jess lets out a sigh before she nods reluctantly. Miguel's surprised Peter is trying to be the mediator in all of this usually he would just add fuel to the fire.
"And we would like to have it in your office" Miguel stops what he's doing and slowly turns around to face them. "I don't want all these people in my office and you know that Peter"
"Yeah I know but it's for her" He doesn't really need to think this over because he wouldn't dare rob you from having this experience he knows you want this.
"You get 4 hours and that's it" He turns back around to face his screens. This is the best that he can do for right now amongst other things. "Okay so since you most likely aren't going to go out and get any decorations we decided that it'll be better if you take her out after work and then we'll call you when to bring her back"
"And where are you expecting me to take her"
"I don't know you're the one that spends the most time with her-" Peter stops when Mayday begins to stir in her carrier. "It's almost 11 I need to get her home Jess discuss the rest of the details with him please" When Peter leaves he watches as Jess walks over to the screens and begins to inspect them.
"All this has something to do with her right"
"I don't know what-" She cuts him off. "The attack Miguel had something to do with her right?" Deep down Miguel knows she means well but he really doesn't want to tell her anything just not right now at least. "I don't know Jess"
"Okay but....you know you have to tell her the truth one way or another you can't continue this charade that she's interacting with 2 different men" He nods trust and believes this is something that he knows and thinks about daily. Jess places an encouraging hand on his shoulder and he says nothing as he listens to her leaving his office.
•°~°•
Despite recent events, you wake up on Friday feeling excited and energized as you begin to get ready. You can't believe you're graduating. You've waited for this moment since the second you started school. You've worked so hard for this day all of the long nights are finally paying off. You're wearing a short and loose light pink off-the-shoulder dress to go with your white sandals with the bows. You've decided to leave your curls as is and keep your makeup minimal, only having clear gloss to coat your lips instead of your usual red lip. Your graduation starts at 10 am and it's already 7:55. You need to leave now if you want to get there early.
You quickly grab a banana and your car keys but you stop as you hear a voice coming from your watch. "Are you ready?"
"Huh, Miguel is that you?"
"Who else would be calling you on your watch?"
"Uh, is that a trick question?" You can hear him sighing on the other side. "Just come downstairs" Before you can say anything else he hangs up the pho—watch. You check to make sure you have everything before you hear Lyla speaking through your watch.
"He told me to check and make sure you have everything" You nod. "I think I do"
"What about your cap and gown hun?" Crap how can you forget that. That's the most important thing. "Damnit thank you, Lyla" You quickly make your way into your bedroom closet to get your gown. You spray a dash of perfume checking yourself in the mirror for the last time before heading downstairs.
When you finally reach you find Miguel standing there with a bouquet of pink roses in his hand. You walk up to him with a big smile on your face. He's wearing black slacks and a white button-down top. He has his cap on with a face mask and sunglasses. He looks good...even though you can't see his face he looks good. But just seeing him here is putting a smile on your face. It's just that you really thought he wasn't going to make it.
"Hey you, what are you doing here?"
"Someone said they wanted me here....and so here I am" Finally standing in front of him he hands you the bouquet of roses. You take a small whiff of it before you stand on your tippy toes to give him a hug.
"Especially with everything going on you're not busy or anything?" He shakes his head. You highly doubt that but you're really happy he could make it. "Well, I'm glad you're here" You begin to hand him your car keys as you turn around walking to your car. "Come on big guy that car isn't going to drive itself" You hear him scoff from behind you. "Since when did I become your designated driver?"
"Since you've been driving me to and from work for like what a month" You slowly begin to walk backwards so you can face him. "Oh and let's not forget about the supermarket visits mister—you know O'Hara does the same thing when we go to the gym he never lets me drive. I guess that's one of the things you guys have in common among other things" You turn back around deciding to walk forward till you reach your car. You watch as he walks in front of you grabbing the bouquet and cap and gown from your hand and placing it in the back seat. When he's done he holds the door open for you while holding a hand out to help you in.
"Your Highness" You laugh immediately while grabbing onto his hand. "Is this you making a joke? Well thank you good sir" He closes the door gently as you rest the banana on your stomach. You watch as he gets in the car and begins to drive out of the parking lot.
"Are you hungry?" You nod your head yes as you point to the banana on your stomach. "We've been craving fruits since last night like I want a big bowl of fruits with pickle juice" You watch as he shakes his head.
"Everything is with pickles with you so it seems"
You point to your stomach. "Yeah I know don't blame me blame her"
"Well let's get you some fruits then" You guys sit in comfortable silence for the rest of the ride. He brings you to the store and gets you fresh mixed fruits and a small jar of pickles so you can pour the juice over it. By the time you reach your school, you're well-fed and your heart is filled with joy. Miguel helps you out of the car before going in the backseat to get your cap and gown.
"Can you bring my flowers please?"
"But you saw them already"
"I know but I want you to give them to me when it's over...I don't remember the last time I've received a bouquet I feel like a little girl getting makeup for the first time" He pauses for a moment before retrieving them. "You deserve this and more" You feel your face heating up at his words as you whisper a quiet thank you to him. He helps you put on your Gown before you both walk into your school venue. You give him a quick hug before you make your way to your seat.
•°~°•
After sitting there for almost 2 hours they finally end up calling your name. Before you get up you take a deep breath whispering to your stomach. "That's us baby" You get up and place your hands on your stomach as you feel your eyes fill with tears. You've been waiting for this moment forever and to know that it's finally here honestly feels like a dream come true. If you were still with your husband you're positive you would've had to stay home. There's no way you could have been gone for so long without him demanding to know where you're going. When you'll be back etc. Even if he wasn't in the house even if he wasn't in the city one way or another he would've found out and you would've been in trouble.
You push those thoughts to the side the minute you get on stage. You almost stop moving when you hear people cheering for you. You turn your head to the sound only to find Jess and the rest of the gang standing up clapping and shouting out your name. Although this is the opposite of staying low-key right now you really don't care.
As you walk on stage you shake hands with your professor before pausing to take a picture with the dean. As you smile you lock eyes with Miguel.
......
He took his sunglasses off. As you begin to walk off your eyes remain locked on his and the closer you get to your seat the closer those eyes become oh so familiar.
Wait, that's....
As you pass by him you quickly give his forearm an encouraging squeeze before waving excitedly at the rest of them.
When the graduation is finally over you make a beeline towards them and apparently they have the same idea because you meet them halfway. You immediately give Jess a tight hug despite the big stomachs you both have.
"You did good mama congratulations"
"Thank you" By the time you give them each a hug tears are running down your face and when you finally reach Miguel you're grinning ear to ear. You don't know how to explain it but just him being here and just his presence alone makes you feel so warm and safe. As you stand in front of him he probably gets the memo that you want a hug so he opens out his arms for you.
You laugh as you pull him in. "I think this is the first time you've ever offered to hug me. I'm always the one initiating it" You can feel him nod as he rests his chin on top of your head. "I told you I don't really hug people that much....or at all for that matter"
"Are we changing your mind?" He sighs before he answers. "Maybe" You slowly pull away from him, your arms lingering on his shoulders just a little bit before you fully break contact. "A hug a day keeps the sadness away" He snorts. "No one says that"
You smile as you begin to look around. "Well I just did—oh did O'Hara tell you that he wasn't going to make it I don't see him" You watch as he puts back on his sunglasses. "No he didn't tell me anything....sorry" You sigh. "There's no need to say sorry it's not your fault it's just that he told me he was coming but it's okay at least you're here right"
You turn around and feel a little hand on your shoulder you let out a squeal of excitement once you realize it's Mayday. You take her from Peter and give her a little hug. She places a small hand on your cheek while handing you a card. "Sorry we missed it Mayday was being a little fussy this morning"
"It's fine I'm pretty sure she wouldn't have wanted to sit through this whole thing either. Thank you for being here" You boop her nose before handing her back over to her father. Everyone says goodbye and goes their separate ways while you and Miguel walk back over to your car. He places the flowers and cards you receive in the backseat before holding the door open for you.
"I have somewhere I want to take you....if you don't mind"
"You can take me wherever you want" You pause as you let the words sink in for whatever reason that sounds so dirty like really dirty.
"Sorry that sounded so dirty I swear I didn't-"
"I know what you meant there's no need to explain" You nod as you tap your face hoping to calm yourself down why does everything you say sound so dirty when you talk to him? You stare out the window as you wait patiently to reach your destination.
When you finally reach there you look around confusingly when you realize where you are. You're at Michaels, the arts and crafts store. As he parks the car you look at him confusingly. "Why are we here?"
He mumbles under his breath. "I need help with something" You slowly nod as you both make your way inside the store. You follow him as he walks around the store before stopping in the yarn section. You fold your hands in front of you resting them under your stomach as you watch him look for something.
"If I wanted to make something big then what would I get?"
"Huh?"
You watch as he begins to rub the back of his neck. "I know someone who is trying to make something and they ask me to get stuff for them. I think they're making a blanket. I wanted to know what yarn to get them" You look at him confusingly that doesn't sound made up at all.
You begin to walk over to the section with the fluffier yarn. "Um well if I was making a blanket I would choose bigger yarn it's faster that way" You point to it and you feel him come up behind you. "Which yarn should I get—for them of course...they want it to be pink" You point out a few of the pink yarn that they have available but then he asks you which one you like the most. You turn to look at him and then you realize just how close he was. You feel yourself grow nervous just at the sheer fact that he's so close to you. You quickly point to the ones that you like and he places a hand on your waist as he reaches for them.
You tell him the amount of yarn he should get as well as everything else he would need if he's making it although he didn't tell you that he is you have a very very high feeling that he is. As sad as it sounds you really don't think he knows a lot of people apart from the ones at Spider Society. As you both begin to walk away he pauses and turns to you. "Get something"
You fold your hands across your chest. His tone sounds very demanding. "And how do you know that I want something"
"I saw you pick up like four things but you put it back down"
"How if I was behind you?"
"I have eyes in the back of my head" You roll your eyes as you let out a small laugh. "No one says that"
He shrugs his shoulders. "Well, I just did" You smile as you realize he's basically repeating the same thing you said not too long ago. You slowly walk over to him leaning forward a little bit. "Even though Lyla said that with time I'll become grumpy as you right now I just feel like you're picking up all my habits" He hangs his head low as he looks away from you. "Go and get something"
"Okay but just don't go falling in love with me now Spidey" You pat his shoulder before walking away to get what you want.
•°~°•
It's been weeks and he's managed to find nothing on Spinebreaker. It's annoying knowing that you're in danger and there's nothing he can do to keep you safe. He is trying though... he's only allowing you to come into work at certain times. Getting your groceries for you instead of him tagging along with you. He isn't trying to limit you from doing things, he's just trying to keep you safe. He would beat himself up relentlessly if he failed to do that. He just hates that even after all this time Spinebreaker is still one step ahead.
He sighs as he stares at the orange screens in front of him. It's like it's no use he can't find anything nor can he track anyone down the henchman that he managed to get his hands on apparently knows nothing turns out he was brainwashed. He doesn't even remember how he got there.
He checks the time on his watch and realizes that you'll be coming up the elevator at any moment your shift is now over. Today's the day of your surprise baby shower. Is it weird to say that he's excited to take you out?
...
.....
........
Well okay he doesn't mean take you out out like on a date or anything but still and of course, there's only so much you can do since you're trying to lay low. Over the past month, he's found himself being relaxed whenever you're around. He's figured out that he's a morning person since he's been picking you up for work. He's found himself dreading the moment he drops you off at home. Even on the days you don't come to HQ he creates a reason just to talk to you. He convinced himself that it was just to check in with you because he does so around lunchtime and in the evening as well. But then why do you guys end up talking on the watch for at least an hour...Well, more so it's you talking and him listening. You've always been a talker, he knows that, and instead of being slightly annoyed like he was in the very beginning he finds himself eager to know what you're going to talk about next. He finds himself hanging onto every word you say. When he's on the "phone" with you it feels like he's listening to a podcast.
And honestly, he finds himself feeling....happy just knowing that you're both doing okay. And yes happy is a word that he honestly thought he would never use again and yes that word does sound weird coming from a man like him but it just makes sense.
When he thinks of you he's happy....at first it took him a while to realize it since he hasn't truly felt happiness since...well since you know who. Sometimes it feels like he's betraying her. Since you've started working here he hasn't really been looking at the videos of his babygirl. He would look at them at least once a week but now he doesn't even remember the last time he's done so. He feels even worse in the little moments when he finds himself feeling rather eager to meet your baby. He's not trying to replace the one that he's already lost but he knows what it's like to have a family. He enjoyed every second of it but it got ripped out of his hands too quickly. He really doesn't know what to make of it but when he accompanies you to the yoga class and he gets the chance to actually pretend that he's the father it just feels like he's been given a second chance. But it's all in his head because he knows that his relationship with you isn't like that. There's no romance, no love, teasing moments sure and yes he kissed you but it only happened once and yes he does remember the way you taste but it was only to help you out. There's nothing more at least he doesn't think there is.
But of course, this also made him think about how much he needs to tell you the truth. It's unfair to you now. It's been months almost half a year since he's met you and it's been half a year since he's been living a double life. It's....just not right. He decides he's going to tell you today when he's out with you. He just hopes you can understand why he wanted to keep his identity a secret. He just hopes it doesn't ruin anything.
He finished changing into his outfit for your baby shower right as the elevator doors opened. Jumping down from the platform he walks up to you and he observes you from head to toe. Your stomach has gotten a little bigger now that you're 32 weeks pregnant. Although things aren't going the best for you right now despite everything you still manage to have a smile on your face. You're happy you always are.
"What are you wearing?" He looks down at his outfit and takes in his pink shirt and his pink cap. It's not too much right?
He folds his arms against his chest. "I'm wearing clothes"
"I mean I can see that but why pink—you know what Never mind, it looks good on you" He lets out a deep breath as he gets your car keys from his pocket. "Let's go"
When finally reaching your place he leans against the wall as he thinks of how he's going to ask you out. It's now or never. "I wanna go somewhere" Yeah that's really smooth.
"Oh well, where do you want to go?"
He shrugs his shoulders as he rubs his neck. "We'll figure it out but you need to change we should...I dunno probably match or something"
"Oh! You want me to match with you" You pause as you let out an excited squeal. "Okay okay come on and help me choose something" He doesn't even have time to protest because you're already pulling him through the door and leading him to your bedroom.
You force him to sit on your bed so he can help you pick out an outfit. After what feels like forever you both decided on a loose pink baby doll dress. It's also the one that makes the most sense since he's going to be taking you to your surprise baby shower.
He walks you back to your car and finally decides to take you to the beach. Since the first day when he saw you wanting to catch the sunrise he just thought that since the sun is going to set soon maybe you'd like to see it.....
He takes you to the spot where he knows there is mint chocolate ice cream on the boardwalk before leading you to a spot on the beach where there are chairs. He's made sure that they would be empty by the time he gets there so you can be comfortable.
"Is this where you wanted to go?" He nods his head. "This is very nice, it's calming. It's a good thing there's not a lot of people here because we probably couldn't have come here if there were" He takes notice of the subtle change in your voice as he looks at you.
"It's nice to be out of the office it can be suffocating at times"
"That's understandable, you're there more than I am. I don't even think I've ever seen you get lunch" He says nothing as you playfully nudge his shoulder. "Not really no" Silence passes between the two of you as you listen to the waves.
"Can I ask you something?"
"Go for it"
He watches as you begin to fiddle with your spoon poking at the sand with your feet. "I feel like you know a lot about me and I don't really know that much about you...I want to learn more about you" He sighs as he looks out into the horizon. That is true he doesn't even know if he's told you anything much about himself and he feels like he knows all of you. It can't be that bad right telling somebody about himself even though he doesn't remember the last time he's ever done that. But it's with you so it should be okay. "Well, what do you want to know"
"Everything I want to know everything about you...or you know whatever it is you want to share is fine" He nods his head right as he sees you moving your chair till you're sitting in front of him. He looks at you through his sunglasses and watches as you give him a small smile. How can he say no when you look like that? Slowly he takes off his sunglasses and he watches as your smile gets even bigger. Dammit, how could he ever say no....?
•°~°•
You don't know how long you've been sitting here with Miguel but you do know that you hope this night doesn't come to an end. Your feet have been resting on his thighs since they started hurting and now he is gently rubbing your ankles. "I know I shouldn't laugh but I can't believe that's the reason why you're afraid of horses"
"It's not funny"
You pause as you let out a laugh resting your hands on your stomach "You're huge are you forgetting that and besides horses are extinct now"
"It's still not funny, they're just weird" Resting your hands on your stomach you lean forward just a smidge as the rest of your laughter dies out. You slowly back up as you realize the sky is changing colors. The sun is setting. You quickly pull out your disposable camera and begin to take a picture. As you've gotten closer to your due date you've been taking videos and pictures of your pregnancy each day trying to savor these memories. Slowly you turn around to face him and quickly take a picture of him.
"What are you doing?"
"C'mon smile for me I know you're photogenic" He shakes his head no. "I'm wearing a mask you can barely even-"
"Please I want to show her these pictures someday" You watch as his eyes lock on yours before giving you a subtle nod. You count down before snapping the photo. You then hand him the camera, throwing your ice cream cup in the garbage before moving your chair to the side so you can take a picture. "Take a picture of me pretty please" He nods before standing up to his full height. You hold your bump and smile as he takes the picture.
"How do I look?"
His answer is immediate "Pretty....very pretty" You smile at his words as he hands you back the camera. "Wait let's take one together" To your surprise he doesn't protest he just stands next to you. You put your hand around his waist closing the distance between the two of you. "Do you mind?" He shakes his head no and you lean in resting your head on him you begin to smile as you feel his hand go around your waist.
"You ready?" You rest a hand on your stomach while nodding. When he hands you back the camera you can't help it as tears begin to fill your eyes. "She's going to think I'm so cool knowing that her mom and Spiderman are best friends" You quickly wipe away your tears of joy. You turn to look at Miguel. "She'll like these right?"
"Yeah she'll love them" Placing your camera back into the bag you pause when you feel a hand cradling your face. He takes a step closer to you till there's no room left. "There's something I have to tell you"
"Oh...yeah go ahead" Your voice ends up sounding smaller than you liked. He slowly begins to take off his cap. "I just want you to know that I was never trying to deceive you or anything....I...care about you and-" You intake a sharp breath and immediately draw closer to Miguel clinging tightly onto his shirt.
"Shit is something wrong? Is it the baby?" You shake your head no as his both hands are cradling your face. "No no she's fine I—I think I heard him"
You watch as he angrily runs his fingers through his hair. "Dammit okay well then let's go. Keep your head down." You nod as he grabs your hand and begins to lead you back to the car.
•°~°•
Instead of driving directly back to the house Miguel decided to drive around just in case anyone was following you guys. Somewhere along the line, you ended up falling asleep so you didn't realize he was driving back to HQ. He takes your hand in his as he walks you through the building. You're too tired to even ask why you're back here so you just allow him to lead you wherever it is that he's taking you. You trust him.
"Hey, you awake?" You nod your head. "Barely I'm kind of tired but I'm fine. Why are we-"
"You'll see" You continue to follow him until you reach his office. "Why is it so-"
"SURPRISE!"
You jump back immediately at the sound and begin to hide behind Miguel's arm. You don't have time to react as he steps aside and pushes you forward. "W-What is this?"
Jess walks up to you and grabs your hands pulling you further into his office. "This is your baby shower girl" You begin to look all around the room taking in the pink balloons, streamers the pink fairy lights the whole room is basically pink. Your eyes begin to fill with tears as you look at the crowd. The room is probably half full of Spiders that you interact with daily. Even the Cat Spiderman is here. How in the world did Miguel allow them to turn his office into a pink wonderland?
You turn to look back at Miguel and you open your mouth to speak but he just shakes his head and uses his hands signaling you to keep going. You nod your head and follow as Jess leads you to the rest of them.
•°~°•
For the next hour or so you talk and play baby games with the Spiders. Although not everyone stays for the entirety of it by the time you're ready to open your gifts only a few are left. You begin to walk over to where the gifts are set up but you're stopped when you feel a hand on your wrist.
"I knew you looked familiar" You pause as you stare at the blonde-haired man. "Do I know—Oh you're the guy from the bar what are you doing here?"
"Uh, I work here" He makes a gesture at his suit. Right of course he does. "You know I had a feeling you were the same woman at the bar I just didn't want to say anything in case I was wrong"
"I've been here for over 2 months...but I get it. Well, it's nice seeing you"
"Nice seeing you too pregnancy looks good on you. You look even more pretty than the last time I saw you" He nudges your arm playfully as you let out a nervous laugh.
"Thank you but you sure I don't look like a huge whale. My face has gotten ten times bigger, I look huge, and not to mention my feet"
"You look great trust me"
"Well I was going to get ready to open my gifts are you-" He cuts you off.
"Yeah, I'll help you" Oh...that's not what you were asking you were going to ask if he was staying but you guess that this is okay? You wanted to ask Miguel if he could help you though since they put two chairs behind the gifts. You don't know why they did that since it's usually reserved for the mom and the dad but by now they should know that it's only you.
You sit down on one of the chairs and you watch as Miguel walks up to the man before he has a chance to sit down. "That's mine"
"Excuse me?"
"The chair Ben, it's mine, you're about to sit in my seat. Move"
"Oh she didn't tell me anything"
"I know so I'm telling you now move" Ben looks at you and you give him an apologetic smile. "Sorry"
"It's okay I'll be over here beautiful"
You turn your head as you hear Miguel sighing. "Did you actually put this chair here?"
"Yes, these gifts are heavy you can't be carrying this stuff" You slowly nod your head as you begin to fiddle with the ends of your dress. "I was planning on asking you to help me anyways" He nods before getting everyone's attention so that you can open your gifts.
One by one he helps you open them you received, a bottle washer, a car seat, diapers, bottles, and pacifiers. Honestly, the list goes on and on not to mention the big basket of clothes Peter got you. Plus Jess got you items to add to your hospital bag. You take notice of the last gift that's tucked behind the rest of the open ones. Getting up you reach for it checking the sides for any signs of who it can be from but there's no name.
"Oh, this one doesn't have a name guys I don't know who it's from" You lift the gift to show it to everyone but they just shake their heads and shrug their shoulders. Slowly you begin to take out the pink tissue paper and pull out the box that's inside. It's a medium-sized pink box with a pink bow. Unraveling the ribbon you hesitantly open the box only to reveal a pink blanket...? The closer you look at it you realize that you've seen this yarn before. You immediately pull out the blanket and turn around to face Miguel.
His right leg is bouncing up and down and he's rubbing his neck repeatedly. "Since you made me something I thought—I don't know, I just decided to make you something in return" He begins to fold his hands against his chest. "I don't know how you do it, that hook is too small for my hands. It took forever to just figure out how to hold the damn thing properly. And it was my first time so I know I made mistakes but-" You immediately get up causing the box to fall to the floor and go to hug him. Totally forgetting that he's sitting down you end up sitting on his lap as you wrap your arms around him.
You rest your face into the crook of his neck as your tears coating his skin. "This has to be the loveliest thing someone has ever done for me and you had the nerve to say someone sent you to the store" You pull back and place a hand on his cheek. "This is beautiful Miguel." Before he can say anything you hear a few whistles, you hear a few people saying "Get a room" and you even hear a couple of "aws" from the crowd. You really need to consider your surroundings before reacting. You should not be in Spiderman's lap right now while there are at least 15 people in his office.
"I'm so sorry guys this is beyond inappropriate" You scramble back into your seat inspecting the blanket. You can see the few parts where the stitching is a little off but you couldn't possibly care about that he handmade this for your babygirl this is more than enough. "Thank you so much truly and thank you everyone for all of this. I don't know how you managed to pull all of this off I was just here a few hours ago. But thank you guys she's going to love this" You slowly get up and begin to hug everyone some people leave while some stay and begin to start cleaning up.
You walk over to Miguel with the blanket in hand getting ready to tell him something right as Lyla phases in between the 2 of you.
"Miguel I really need to talk to you...like right now" Immediately taking in Lyla's tone of voice and realize that something's wrong. "Lyla is something-"
"No hun it's fine I just need to borrow grumpy man for a second, yeah and you'll get him back" You take a step back. "Of course, you don't even have to ask Lyla" Miguel tucks a loose curl behind your ear. "Go and take some snacks to go home I'll start packing the stuff up in the car when I'm done" You nod right as he begins to walk away you just hope that everything's okay.
•°~°•
Miguel follows Lyla to a secluded part of his office before Lyla turns around to face him. "Promise me you aren't going to cause a scene please"
"Does it have something to do with her-"
He watches as she begins to fiddle with her jacket "Miguel listen-" He cuts her off he hates it when she tests his patience. "Lyla. Tell. Me. Now" She sighs as one of his orange screens pops up in front of him. "What am I looking-" He pauses the second as he begins to read it.
"Lyla you have 10 seconds to explain to me when I'm looking at right now"
"So you know Spinebreaker is really strong and he's almost impossible to beat one on one. Right? Well, apparently there's a way to beat him."
"Lyla-"
"It says she's supposed to run into Spinebreaker a-and he's supposed to take her and it's going to dawn on him that he's going to become a father and he's supposed to beg for her forgiveness and then while his guards are down we have to attack. It says that You're supposed to kill him. I'm surprised that you haven't said anything about this"
"Lyla are you even hearing yourself right now"
"I know it sounds crazy but if we actually have a chance that-"
He begins to walk away from her but she phases walking alongside him. "Lyla I can't believe you would even suggest this you're supposed to be her friend"
"W-What Miguel I would never it's a canon event" His movements come to an abrupt stop just has to be some sick joke. "What do you mean it's a canon event how come I've never seen this before"
"I don't know but-"
"But nothing it's wrong that man could never come to his senses he doesn't care about her"
"Miguel how can you of all people say that a canon event is wrong? This could maybe actually work"
"Listen Lyla leave me alone he's not taking her that man used to fucking hit her do you know that even while she was pregnant he doesn't fucking care about her. So no over my dead body is that man touching her" He begins to storm away making a beeline for you. This is wrong there probably is a glitch in the system Lyla doesn't know what she's talking about. There's no way history is going to repeat itself he won't lose another person he cares about again.
"Miguel just wait a min-"
"HE'S NOT TAKING HER AWAY FROM ME" His chest is heaving up and down as his hands ball into fists. The room goes deathly silent. He feels a gentle hand over his and he has to strain to calm down because he knows it's you.
"Spidey is everything okay?"
"Are you ready we're leaving I'm going to start loading up the car now" Not waiting for your response he brushes past you and begins to get the gifts. He doesn't bother pausing to listen to Lyla either.
"Think about this you of all people know what happens when you mess with a canon event" He grabs as many things as he can before making his way out the door. Trust and believe he knows and trust and believe when he says that will never happen again.
Never.