What’s up danger
It was also not such a pleasant trip back,for Hobie just wouldn't let Miles go so early.
"So you really can't tell us apart? Hm?"Hobie's hand wrapped around Miles, a gesture that should have been incredibly intimate but was ruined by his firm grip on his shoulder. It was a possessive, sovereign gesture, combined with the prowler's remarks about how Hobie had found him--
But Miles didn't feel anything different. He didn't feel disgusted, not even the anger or any discomfort of having his privacy violated. If anything, he feels...safe, secured, even reassuring when he finds out that Hobie cares about him this much that he basically breaks his personal rules, which is his respect for personal freedom, just to make sure Miles' alright and if by any he needs help, Hobie would be there in time.
....It actually not that toxic as it sounds.
The definition of love varies greatly from one to another, and for Hobie, it looks like love is simply the sinking of free will.
Despite all that, the awakening and awareness of how much Hobie cares about him, Miles still gotta answer the question.
He avoided all the possible eye contact with Hobie, looking at his wrist stubbornly as if he had never seen it before:"Well it's--it--I mean it is complicated...y-you can barely blame me for--I mean you two looked identical! You're basically twins, there's quite the possibility that you even share the same genes--And i-it doesn't work like that!"
Miles swallowed and keep defending himself:"My instinct--my spider sense kept telling me something went wrong but... I just choose to ignore it coz I thought the Prowler was you!"
"So you kissed him just coz you were taking him as me? Awww. Look how touched I am."
Miles raised his head, he would really want to see Hobie's face, but he can't--
Spider-punk kissed him on the eye, forcing him to close his eyes. The kiss was moist, tender, and Miles can feel his eyelashes gently brushing Hobie's lips, staining them with wetness.
"Now can you tell us apart, from the way we kissed you?"Hobie teased him as Miles was still breathing heavily.
"Okay c-can we stop talking about how I was kissed by another guy?--for the last time I thought he was you!"
……………………………………………………………
They made it to the HQ. Most of the Spider-Men did not even realize Miles was gone. Lyla was filled with guilt for the mistake--the machine doesn't go wrong. Usually.
Peter, Gwen and Pavitr were all very glad to see Miles; they tried to ask where he had been, how come he never got in touch with 'em the moment he arrived at the wrong place--or as Pavitr asked,
"You did not realize something was wrong??? Like bro, it's a whole another dimension! How could you not know??"
Miles blushed.
He looked to his right and left to avoid the question, and his eyes turned to Hobie for help - Spider-Punk didn't even look at them, but stood alone thinking about something thoughtfully. Peter finally realized what was going on and took Miles aside with him: "Come on you guys! Go easy on him, the kid just got back--"
Peter led him to another place, they met Miguel on the way, Miles slightly nervous to greet each other, Miguel did not react to this, even did not take off the mask; in their brushed shoulder Miles heard each other's words: "Good to see you back kid--Miles."
"Is everything alright kid?"
When it was just the two of them, Peter worriedly began to check on Miles; he circled him twice to make sure he wasn't hurt or anything; and Miles was confused: "Yeah I'm-I'm fine.
"Huh," Peter looked at Miles with a similarly confused look:"Nothing . I guess just...well you do know that Hobie's the first guy realized something was wrong with you--and you didn't, like get back to us. I-I mean the rest of us never thought things would go wrong....so, just to make sure, everything, alright with you?"
"...Yeah. Yeah I'm good. Hobie's found me. Thanks Peter..."
Peter's laconic expression indicates that he wants to say something else, but Miles is too tired: he has faced extreme chaos in less than two days, and now he just wants to go back to his house to rest and return to normal life. At least for a while, and then continue to be a friendly neighborhood Spider-Man in New York City.
.............................. ..............................
Miles did return to his normal life for a while. For about three days, he tried to get to school on time, fought some crimes every now and then, still debating whether to confess his secret identity to Rio and Jeff, and maintained a frequency of about one hour of messaging with Hobie through his watch.
They looked no different than usual. Miles would complain to Hobie about school or New York, and Hobie would show him his world, except now, at the end of each of their chats, Hobie insisted on sending a kiss emoji.
Miles chooses to pretend he doesn't know anything.
Like today, a Wednesday lunch break, he was lying on a deserted windowsill just finishing up a conversation with Hobie when he told Hobie that at least a dozen people were asking him about Hobie after prom, and the other guy just typed a few words indifferently.
Hobie💋:Their affection to me just increased to idolatry, which is herd behavior.
Miles:Yeah... I don't understand a word...so you wanna me give your number?😈
Hobie: Cute. Have a good day darling.
Hobie:💋
Miles closed his phone. It was noon, and Hobie's sleeping habits had always been at his whim. He was lying on the windowsill in the sun, the warmth of the daylight making him squint lazily, so he didn't notice the latest unread message on his watch from Earth-138.
And that's when Miles saw HIM.
A purple figure, standing right at the window of the building across. The person wearing a purple cape was tall, slim, his face covered with a mask.
"Uncle Aaron??" Miles jerked to his feet, he wanted to see more clearly, but the other person had already disappeared from the window.
Miles didn't hesitate to go after him.
It was still ten minutes before the end of the lunch break, but he didn't care; he had to find out who the man in the prowler's uniform was and why he was here.
Miles opened the window, the distance between the two buildings was the farthest he had ever jumped; his faith and super-powered body supported him through the maneuver, without the condition of his web shooters; Miles climbed through the window and just as he landed he saw the purple figure stop briefly at the stairway and then disappear again; Miles chased after it regardless, he grabbed the railing and looked up and down. Finally spotting the other side a second before the purple clothesline disappeared up the stairs above.
"No--wait!! Stop--uncle Aaron stop!! Can you just--stop? I just wanna talk--"
Miles chased the figure all the way up; he climbed about seven or eight flights of stairs, even he ran so fast that he almost missed an empty classroom - but eventually Miles' spider sense made him stop in time to backtrack.
As he stepped closer to the empty classroom, Miles' heart beat faster and faster; he subconsciously closed his eyes the moment he stepped into the classroom, took a deep breath, and then opened them: "Uncle Aaron?
"Uncle Aaron?"
Miles called out tentatively, the purple figure did not move; as Miles stepped closer, he also became more and more nervous.
"Is that you Uncle Aaron?"
The other man remained motionless, only his cloak swaying gently with the wind from the window.
Miles could no longer resist. He swooped up and wrapped his arms around the prowler's waist, burying his head in the other man's chest. Tears fell down his cheeks on his uniform, staining the original color darker.
"I-i miss, I miss you so much..... You don't even know how much... You don't even know how..." Miles choked as he said and tightened his arms even more, his tears were making it almost impossible for him to open his eyes, so Miles rubbed the tears off hard on the other man's chest:" I-I really, really miss you...how did you--? Is this a dream? If you didn't die--why do you never contact us??"
"You never, ever failed me. Not even once. You're the-the best uncle I could ever ask for...and the best friend. Please...don't go this time, after I found you, please..."
Miles looked up, his tear-filled round eyes revealing longing and confusion; his voice sounded pitiful and helpless enough that he knew something was wrong, that this was most likely not his uncle, but he needed this so badly that he preferred to ignore all the dissimilarities and doggedly persuade himself that this was his uncle, that perhaps his life was not in danger after Kingpin had shot a bullet at him -- he was the prowler.
"Please. . just say something. .you don't know how much I miss you..please?"
The man in the cloak met his expectant gaze and removed his disguise, allowing Miles to see the familiar face hidden beneath the mask.
Miles' eyes widened.
The person under the mask surrounded his arms around Miles, then he lowered his head, buried himself in Miles’ neck and said——
"Hello Bambi."
—————————TBC—————————