Chapter 1
Miguel O'Hara was an enigma. At least to you he was. To everyone else he was stern, stoic, even unpleasant and harsh. To you he was... different. It's hard to ever imagine the man as soft, but with you he very much was. He was always making sure that you were alright, that your workload wasn't more than you could comfortably handle, that your mental and physical health stayed a priority to you. He even went out of his way to make sure you never skipped a meal, especially when you were so thrown into a project that you forgot what day it was.
You weren't even supposed to be there, in the Spider Society. You weren't a Spider-Person. You were an enhanced ex-Avenger from Earth-199999 that he'd... taken pity on? You weren't even sure why he'd initially invited you to join the Society. No one was, not even Lyla. You just knew that he had a habit of seeking out your proximity, even if neither of you said a word.
"Y/n! There you are! Get suited up! Boss man needs you on deck!" Peter B materialized in front of you as you worked on a random engine you'd found lying around, earning a small yip and a quick juggling of the wrench you'd been using. Mayday found it entertaining at least, giggling her cute little cheeks off and clapping her little hands.
"B, you're lucky I like your kid, 'cause sometimes I'd like to sucker punch you whenever you scare me." You were joking, of course, and he knew it too, chuckling as he stroked May's fiery mane.
"Oh no. Can't have me face the consequences of my own actions. That would end the world!" His sarcasm kept her little giggles going as he lifted her high in the air. You couldn't name the intense emotion blooming in your chest in that moment, it was consuming and aching, like a sailor's widow looking for him to return every day up on a windy cliff. It felt like something was getting sucked through your chest as your gaze on the little toddler turned melancholy. Peter B was many things, and surprisingly observant was definitely one of them, though he had more than enough practice when Mary Jane was pregnant. He knew longing when he saw it, and he'd seen it on you more than once when interacting with Mayday, though he could swear they were getting less frequent and less intense the more time you spent with his little bundle of joy. He knew your life hadn't been all sunshine and roses, he knew that you'd once been expectant of your own little bundle, but Thanos had brutally taken that from you to hurt your then husband. And when you thought no one was looking, he saw the glances you centered on Miguel. "They're gonna be ready to go here soon, so you should get a scuttle on." He hinted with a warm half-smile.
You snapped out of your daze with a solid nod, offering the Spider and Spiderling a warm smile before quickly making your way to Miguel's office, where you knew that the tall futuristic man liked to start from. It didn't take you long to get there, your mask in hand as his gaze found you over the heads of the others, warming to a garnet shade from its usual intense ruby "Now that we're all here, we need to get a move on. Remember, we're dealing with two different Doc Ocks this time." Everyone nodded to him in understanding, his eyes lingering on you for a moment longer before a portal appeared with a deep thrum.
The city on the other side was in chaos, several flipped and destroyed cars on fire, people running and screaming in all directions, understandably so. Jess already had wheels on the ground, waiting for you as you hopped on the back and crouched, ready for her to slingshot you at the closest adversary. Your Volto mask suddenly felt claustrophobic, cutting off part of your peripheral vision, but right then wasn't the time to fix it. The click of the gearbox was your only warning that you were about to be catapulted, Jess bringing the bike down to neutral as she kicked out the backend right as you jumped, sending you sailing through the air and into an Ock who looked like he'd come straight from a silent hill horror film. He cried out in frustration as you latched onto him, immediately dodging his bladed mechanical arms, coated in fresh blood as you began scrambling to disable the arms. "Get off of me you halfwit!" He snarled at you with a voice like gravel and grit, the flash of his teeth reminding you of a shark's.
"Not until you stop rampaging in the wrong Universe, genius!" You snapped back, ducking wildly to avoid getting scalped. Other Spiders joined you, red and white webs trying to take control of his arms so that you could work in relative peace. You had the tip of your knife in the neural link, prying it out of his flesh as he began crying in pain and fear, his arms whirring and snapping frantically, trying to get to you. A strangled cry was your only warning before something solid hit you like a freight train, sending you flying away from the fight, a weird pressure just under your right collarbone, one that simultaneously stung and felt cold. You didn't have time to contemplate why as your back made hard contact with a concrete pillar, knocking the breath from your lungs without mercy as you fell the short distance to the ground.
Your ears were ringing so loudly you almost forgot what sounds were, your eyelids too heavy to work properly as you struggled for breath. You were in pain, bone deep, radiating pain that made you want to curl into a ball and sleep for a year as you laid there on your side in the dirt. You tried getting up on your hands and knees in a bid for air and to relieve some of the pain, your ears still ringing and your eyes barely opening, but blinding, shooting pain on the right side of your chest stopped you in your tracks. You could hear someone shouting, you couldn't hear what they were saying as your fight for air became more desperate, something rattling in your chest with every attempt. Your eyes finally opened fully as hands made contact, large warm hands that helped to center you against the pain. Miguel was crouched over you, his mask still in place but you could see the panic in the eyes of it "...'me on! You can do it, Y/n! Just one breath." You were shocked at how panicked he sounded as the ringing dissipated, but your body obeyed, sucking in a ragged, greedy lung full of air before repeating the process over and over. "Good, good. Buena chica."
You watched as he shrunk in on himself, taking big breathes of his own, his relief clear "Miguel..." You breathed, licking your lips under your mask "did we..."
"We got 'em." He nodded, one of his hands petting your hair "Let's get you back home." He was gentle as he picked you up, cradling you as close to his chest as he could, not letting anyone take you when they offered. He was adamant that none of them could see how afraid to lose you he'd suddenly been, how afraid that he had lost you he'd been. He couldn't stop that small vibrating purr he made as your head tucked itself in the crook of his neck, his hands clutching you closer in silent response. He felt guilty, like absolute shit, that you'd gotten hurt because his web had snapped, that little voice that liked to reside in the back of his mind telling him that you needed to go back to your Universe and stay there, that you'd be safer there. But the more rational part of him reasoned that at that moment, he needed to focus on getting you to medical, getting you better. He'd deal with the after later. "Stay awake, Cielo. Need you to stay awake right now." He could feel your breathes beginning to deepen, feel you relaxing into him more than you should have as he stepped through the portal.
"'M so tired, Mig." You mumbled your argument, nuzzling your masked face deeper into his neck "'N you're so comfy."
Any other situation he would have found somewhere comfortable for him and taken a nap with you, held you the entire time. But you were hurt, concussion was too heavy a possibility for him to just let you rest "No, come on, Y/n. You need to stay awake a bit longer. We're almost there." He let his concern and fear temper his tone, trying to get your hurt brain to understand the severity of the situation.
"You worry too much, Mig." You hummed softly, your filter long gone and your ability to worry about it gone with it "You should relax, you're so pretty when you smile." He couldn't feel your dopey little smile, but he could certainly hear it, feel how it made his heartrate spike wildly. His mind felt frozen, unable to fully process that you at the very least liked his smile.
"You're delirious." He huffed as he quickened his pace, trying to pass off your words as just concussed nonsense.
"Maybe," You conceded "but it doesn't change the fact that I've had the biggest crush on you this past year." He wondered, in his stuttering thoughts, if you realized that you were admitting all of that to him, if you were aware of what that mouth of yours was doing.
He was relieved as he passed the threshold of the Medical Wing, several Spider-Doctors rushing to take you from him "We'll talk about this when you're better, Cielo. Until then, survive." Without another word he was passing you to the nearest medical professional and watching as they whisked you away as quickly as possible, talking in medical jargon that he couldn't fully understand.