Prologue
It had been a relatively slow Tuesday in the bustling, cold city of Neuva York. It was mid-November, so rain and sleet wasn't uncommon around this time- nor were chilling winds, seemingly going through your clothes and right to your bones. You were currently walking through the crowded streets near 5:30 on your way to pick up your daughter, Gabriela, from her football practice. Miguel was usually the one to pick her up but he'd offered to run some errands earlier in the day, and hadn't returned in time to pick her up, so you had begrudgingly set out into the cold to do so instead. Miguel was a police officer, and a week prior had been promoted to captain. You were so proud of him, and now as he was a higher rank he has more control of his hours, so he liked being able to do more casual things like running errands so you didn't have to- or just general things for the family he couldn't afford to do before because of his busy 9-5 24/7 schedule (less time on weekends, if he was lucky.)
A park came into view nearby; you walked through it, heading to the field in the centre with your hands in your pockets as you saw the small pinpricks of kids running about, kicking around a ball happily. As you walked closer, your daughter came into view and you smiled at seeing her slightly red face, probably from a mix of the cold and having been running around for quite a while now. You went to stand near some other parents, and shortly after, the coach of the team blew the whistle and the kids all came running to their parents. You saw Gabriela running towards you, and you opened your arms as she jumped into them to give you a hug. "Daddy!" She said, giggling, as she loosened her grip on you and looked up at your face. While she had Miguel's tanned skin, hair and eyes, there was something in her face that reminded her of you when she was younger. Of course, you'd transitioned as you'd become an adult, but you saw yourself in her in a way most others couldn't, apart from you or Miguel. Gabriela looked around briefly before looking back at you. "Is Papa not here?" She asked, innocently.
You smiled and shook your head as you stood up properly. "Sorry honey, he's busy, but he'll be home later. Alright?" The little girl nodded, satisfied with your response. You took her hand. walking her home as she recounted her football practice in its entirety. Gabriela was a mini-spider person, if you will, and was surprisingly good at keeping it a secret. She'd always had an aptitude for sports, being part superhuman. You'd been bitten by the spider as a teenager, around 15 when you developed your abilities- wall climbing, web shooting, night vision, superhuman strength, speed, and overall stability.
You'd met Miguel through your job. He'd only been a patrol officer at the time, but you often worked alongside police to catch higher-up criminals as having a superhero to help always made things easier for them. One night, you and Miguel were sent out on a lead that a big gang leader would be meeting up with some other well-known crime affiliates in the city- but it had turned out to be a trap. You and Miguel were ambushed and nearly killed. You'd blatantly refused to go to the hospital, being scared that your identity would be leaked by some clout-hungry doctor. Miguel had taken you back to his apartment and after about an hour of procrastinating, he'd gotten you to take your mask and parts of your suit off so he could patch you up. Miguel had told you later on in your relationship that that was the night he'd fallen in love with you. Before this night, you'd known each other for a few months- working beside each other often as spider-man and police man, and you worked together well. He'd been relatively cold towards you for quite some time, but after getting to know him, and him getting to know you- as much as he could, anyway, being anonymous and all- You'd even managed to get a smile out of him once or twice. On that night though, when you pulled off your mask you'd seen him properly for the first time, and not through the slightly clouded filter of your lenses. You were pretty sure you'd fallen for him not long after- and a month later, he asked you on a date. That was when you finally told him your real name- Miguel was and still is the only person you ever told about being spider-man, and after being with him for some time, you know he's trust worthy. Not only that, but the best father a daughter could ask for. And he was fucking hot, but honestly that as just a bonus.
Gabriela was not planned. You and Miguel had been married for less than two years when you started to notice some of your energy was lacking, and on missions your fighting was a little off. Before visiting a doctor, you decided to take a test anyway- just to get rid of the suspicion that was nagging at your brain, and to reassure yourself you were just overthinking. Boy had that gone sideways. Five tests later all showing up positive, you didn't know how to feel. You and Miguel had barely discussed children in the first place. Did you even want to keep it? Go through nine months of even more gender dysphoria than you usually would have? Having been on testosterone for so long, you'd thought this to be impossible. Apparently not. What the hell would happen to spider-man? He can't exactly just disappear for nine months- fuck, probably longer!
Looking back to that point in your life, you almost felt silly for having worried so much. You sent an anonymous letter to a big news company, as spide-rman, to explain why you'd be out of commission for a while. It didn't tell anything close to the truth, but it was on the front page the next day. And Miguel had been more than neutral at the news, saying he'd support you no matter whether you decided to keep it or go plan B. After a lot of thinking you'd decided to keep it and you'd never looked back. Gabriela was the perfect little girl. You'd honestly been blessed.
As you approached home- a comfortable apartment complex in the city. You were quite well off- surprisingly, being a hero did pay decently well, and Miguel was earning a decent amount too now he was captain. You walked into the building with Gabriela and took the elevator up to the second floor, heading to your apartment and unlocking the door. Gabriela ran to her room, and you called after her to have a bath. You had to turn the lights on when you came inside, so you assumed Miguel wasn't home yet. You checked your phone- no texts from him either. You shook off the weird feeling you were having and closed the front door behind you, walking into the apartment. You started on dinner- just an oven pizza as you felt lazy this evening. You sighed and bit your lip as you opened the messenger app on your phone again, opening the chat between you and Miguel. You read the last message he'd sent you a few hours ago again.
Miguel <3 - 3:17 PM
'I'm gonna go out and grab some things for tomorrow, and swing by the precinct to pick up a case file. I'll be home around 5, mi amor. <3'
You - 3:24 PM
'Alright! Be home in time to pick up Gabi. I'm still doing my rounds. Love you xx'
He had seen the message, but hadn't replied. It was now six, so like any rational husband would, you called him. Four times. No answer. It kept going to voicemail. He might've been snagged into a meeting at the precinct and couldn't check his phone. Yeah. with that thought in mind, still slightly uneasy, you went to go and help Gabriela get into her pyjamas.
--/--/--/--/--
10:37. That was when you heard a knock at your door, and your stomach leaped. Maybe Miguel had forgotten his keys? You got up from the couch and rushed to the door, and was slightly disappointed- and scared- to see detective Parker, one of Miguel's colleagues, standing at the door with a slightly solemn expression. "Peter," You said, blinking at him tiredly. "Uh... can I help you?" "I'm sorry to have come by this late unannounced, but... this can't wait until morning." You felt a jolt of unease in your stomach, but you nodded, letting him in and closing the door quietly behind you as you walked into the living room with him. You sat on the couch, muting whatever was playing on the TV.
"Oh, while you're here, have you seen Miguel at all? I haven't been able to get into contact with him all ni-" "Miguel's dead, Y/N."
The words took a minute to sink in. Dead? No. No, he just couldn't be. This was some horrible prank being played on you. He was probably still at the station. Right. Right? He had to be.
"Dead?" You echoed, after a couple of minutes with a blank expression, not replying to Peter. Your voice was shaky, and you felt sick. You made eye contact with Peter. In the dim light of the room, you could see his eyes were slightly red and puffy. He'd been crying. "Dead? No. Peter, he's not dead. H-he can't be. He... M-Miguel..." You finally let the tears that had been welling up in your eyes fall, as you sobbed quietly, looking down into your lap. Your numb brain felt the spot beside you on the couch move a little- Peter had sat down beside you. He placed his arms around you and pulled you into a hug, but it did nothing. Dead. Gone. Miguel was gone. This felt like a horrible nightmare. It felt like the bottom of your stomach had been removed, and your insides were squirming uncomfortably. You didn't want to be aware. You didn't want to be conscious. Nothing. you felt nothing.
Some time later, your sobs had subsided into dry sniffles and numb tears. "What happened?" You said to Peter, your voice scratchy. You wanted to know. You needed to know. Peter kept rubbing your back as he started to explain.
"Miguel came by the precinct to pick up a case file on a convict he was looking for with spider-man. One of the men that had been arrested had busted out of the holding cell with some weird metal-bending power none of us knew he'd had when he was arrested in the first place- he'd just been causing trouble at a local store. The guy managed to get a gun off of a police officer, and ran outside. We all followed, including Miguel, who didn't even have anything to protect himself at the time. He jumped in front of a young man when the perp tried to shoot him. Miguel died in hospital about two hours ago. They did everything they could to save him. The bullet hit him right in the heart."
There was heavy silence that followed Peter's story. You bit your lip. "The man with the gun. What happened to him?"
"Got killed too. Tried to run away into a busy street and got hit by a truck."
You refrained from saying something bitter, as you knew it wouldn't improve how you felt. You looked up at Peter. "Could you... stay for a while?" You said, your voice barely audible. Peter had nodded and pulled you into a hug. Miguel was gone. really gone. Life from now on wasn't going to be easy.