Entangled

Miles let out a sigh and leaned against his room chair. Ganke was visiting family; Jeff was on some Captain assignment with another city department close to Jersey. Conversely, Rio had to take up multiple night shifts to cover for a friend. This left Miles alone in the summer with nothing to do. 

The start of his summer was busy, criminals back to back, some events with his mom, and some with his dad, but now that a lot of stuff was over, he was bored. He thought about getting a summer job, but that and being Spiderman needed to work out better. So when he saw a familiar portal open up in his room, he grew excited and hopped off his bed.

"Miles! Hey!" Gwen hovered through the portal, jumping into his room with Pavitr behind her. 

"Pavitr! Gwen! Hey!" Miles did a simple handshake with Pavitr as Gwen hopped on his bed, crossing her legs. 

"So, what're you up to for the summer?" Gwen got right to the point, Pavitr looking around his room with a bright smile. 

“Ah you know…spider-man stuff…” Miles chuckled, trying to avoid talking about the most he's done that week was finish playing Final Fantasy for the tenth time over. 

"Yeah? Are you too busy doing Spiderman stuff to visit the beach with us?" Pavitr asked, crossing his arms and vibrating with excitement. 

"Aw man…you know…hell yeah! Is it just us?" Miles moved a little too fast around his now crowded room. Webbing a backpack to him along with finding him a swimsuit and things. 

"It's Hobie and his girlfriend that invited us! With some of the Spidermen being adults, they wanted the kid versions to have some summer other than almost getting killed by villains or criminals," Gwen pressed a couple of buttons on her watch, Pavitr standing next to her as they watched Miles get ready.

"Oh, cool! Wait, Hobie has a girlfriend? When did he get a girlfriend?!" Miles hung his bag on his shoulder as they went through the portal together. Miles felt excitement run through him; it had been a while since he went to a beach with anyone but his parents and uncle. 

They landed at HQ, all meeting by the cafe before heading to Gwen's universe.

"Oh, to answer your question, Miles, yeah! His girlfriend is like super cool!" Pavitritr stretched his arms, brushing his hair back as they arrived at her place.

"Oh yeah, she's like this cool older sister type, she taught me a lot of cool things, and she's like..the sweetest scariest person you'll meet." Gwen smiled, thinking about her newfound friend—an older sister figure. 

Miles was confused; he assumed their introductions were finished when he first met everyone. But knowing Hobie in his short time, it made sense that he wouldn't let that information come out so quickly.

"So… she's like from his universe?" Miles asked, setting his bag down.

"What? Oh no, she's also a Spider-woman! She comes from this bizarre, dark, tech futuristic dimension. She doesn't let anyone other than Miguel and Jessica go back to her dimension because of how dangerous it is; I'm telling you, she's legit," Miles could see clearly that Gwen liked Hobies girlfriend. He then realized the jealousy he felt when he first learned of Hobie was a little misguided. But after realizing that Hobie was like an older brother to him, he understood.

"Well, last time you said someone was cool, they kinda…attacked me?" 

Gwen gave him a look and shrugged, "I promise you she's not mean at all. You'll never meet someone as nice as her," 

Miles looked to Pavitritr to get a positive response from him.

"I think you'll be blown away! Literally! The first time I met her, I almost passed out,"

"That makes me feel so much better.." Miles mumbled, crossing his arms. Soon they could tell Hobie was making his way toward them alone. Hobie dipped down, doing a different handshake with Pavitritr and trapping him into another loose headlock; he then looked to Miles.

"Miles! My man, how you've been?"

"Ah, you know, doing stuff here and there,"

"Sick, sick," Hobie let go of Pavitritr, slapping their hands together before looking to Gwen.

"Where, Arabella? She's coming with us, right?" Gwen grabbed her bag, ready to go.

"Yeah, she's got some stuff to do so that she will meet us there. Your place, right Gwen?"

"Yep! We have record-high temperatures in the city right now, so the beach we're going to will be so cool! Arabella recommended the beach, and I don't think she's ever been to my universe,"

Miles clapped his hands, ready to get the summer back on track with friends. They arrived in her universe quickly, all gathering at her place as they decided to pack one bag for snacks, one bag for all of their phones and electronics, and one for extra clothes.

"Why do we need so much stuff?" Gwen asked, putting a phone charger in a bag.

"Ari said so; she said it would be better to be prepared than anything," Pavitritr hummed, sighing as he looked at a picture of Gayatri.

"Wheres Gayatri, Pavitr? I thought she'd be here with you, considering she knows everything," Miles looked over his shoulder and leaned against his back. 

"Yeah…her father has her for the summers, so we barely see each other, but she sends me pictures!" 

Before Miles could respond, there was a knock at the door. Gwen was the first one to launch herself up to open the door. Miles was at an awkward angle by her door to where he couldn't see the front, but he could hear Gwen get excited and another smoother voice from the door.

"So…you didn't tell me you had a girlfriend?" Miles looked to Hobie, who was finishing up painting his nails.

"I didn't? Oh well, guess you'll meet her; she's a riot," Hobie chuckled, standing up and leaning against Gwen's couch.

When Miles looked up to see Hobies girlfriend—Arabella— walk through the threshold, his entire body froze. He started feeling like he was in some video game or movie sequence. The apartment was cold, but he still felt sweat on his brow; needless to say, he was almost terrified. His wide eyes shot to Hobie, who only had a cheeky smile as he approached her.

Arabella was terrifying. She had an aura around her that was dark, like lightning mysterious. She was dressed in all black, a dress that reached the floor topped with a corset Her face was painted with a white foundation and designed with black spiders and spiderwebs. Her hair was braided into two long braids running down her back to her ankles, similar to a variant he's met before.

Miles watched as Hobie walked up to her and kissed her cheek; she was taller than him. That made him notice the chunky platforms that could've elevated her at least 5 inches off the ground, maybe even higher. 

He could barely see her expression under the makeup; maybe that's what made her terrifying. Thinking about it, Miles can understand that Hobies girlfriend was as calm and intimidating as him. He stiffened even more when her eyes fell from Pavitritr and Gwens to his. He wasn't sure what to say or do, feeling awkward. He needed to talk to Gwen about how she describes people before meeting them.

Miles watched her walk up to him, a crooked smile on his face. “Uh…hi im-“

"Miles! You're Miles! I've been waiting forever to meet you!" 

Miles felt like he got punched in the face. He wasn’t expecting the white smile that spread across her face nor the sudden pull of a hug from her.

"Oh, they've told me so much about you! You're so…Oh, you're so cute! Guys, you didn't tell me he was this adorable look at him!" Arabella took Miles's face in her hands, showing them to the group as she laughed.

"You're like a baby deer, just so adorable I'm so happy to meet you finally! I'm Arabella, Spider-woman, Eclipse, or whatever you want to go with. But Ari is cool," She let him go, leaving Miles to smile.

"Oh..oh yeah! Glad to meet you too, wow,"

"Yeah, you looked like you were going to piss yourself when I came in, dude. Are you okay?" She asked, hooking her arm around his shoulders and tugging at him. 

"Oh, I'm fine! I just. I wasn't thinking, but it's cool to meet you! Hobie didn't tell me—no one told me about you,"

"Oh yeah, I love to catch people off guard. Making men sweat in my presence is my only goal in life, but since you're adorable, you'll get the best of me," 

Miles could feel the happy big sister energy that Gwen was talking about, and it even got more intense as they made their way off to the beach. She reminded him of his mother when getting ready for trips. Arabella was adamant that everyone had their things together and that they wouldn't make any stops on the way to the beach. 

She had some technology that shrunk things, says she got it from some guy in her dimension that liked Ant or something. She shrunk everyone's items and kept them with her.

"Hobie, you're not bringing the guitar," Arabella scolded Hobie, glaring at him. It made everyone turn to them both before they went out the door.

"What? No, I gotta bring it,"

"No, Hobie, this is. Hazard. What if it gets wet? What if it gets sand all in its parts?"

"Then ill fix it like the other ones,"

"Hobie, you're not bringing the guitar,"

"Please?"

"No." 

"Hobie, leave the guitar."

They both stared at each other for a moment. Arabella didn't want him to break it; she knew he fixed it and made it himself, but she knew something would happen if he brought it.

"What if I need to lob some bloke's head off?"

"Hobie." 

"Fine, but can you shrink it and take it with us? …?" Hobie held his hands together, pleading with her and picking up the guitar.

"I can serenade you~" He smiled at her playfully, watching as she cracked.

She sighed, holding her hand out to take the guitar.

"See? See, that's why you're the best."

"Yeah yeah, whatever," 

Miles felt a smile on his lips; watching them was fun. He hadn't had friends like this in a long time, so enjoying the group's antics was healing. Especially since he became Spider-Man, all of them understood and supported him just like he would for them.

Not long after leaving, they decided to swing to the beach. Of course, a couple of people down below noticed, but it wasn't anything too crazy from them, considering they were New Yorkers, and the city was constantly being filled with web slingers, moon soldiers, or what.

In record time, they got to the beach. Arabella led the group like a kid's day at the beach. Arabell directed them to the changing rooms, ordering everyone to change as quickly as they could so they could find a good spot on the beach.

"Gwen, here. I got this earlier. It's waterproof tape and should last the whole day. I have some already, so keep this one, and if you need more, let me know," Arabella took a large roll of tape out of her standard-sized bag. A wide smile spread over Gwen's face.

"Really?! Thats cool! I've tried to find some like this, but they're all expensive! Thanks!" Gwen took the tape from Arabella's hands and ran to change into her swimsuit. 

"And Pavitr! Before you go, make sure you use double the sunscreen, got it?" 

Pavitr saluted to her as he went to change, leaving Miles digging for his swimsuit and Hobie leaning against the changing room walls.

"She's pretty resourceful. Is she always like that?"

"Always, she takes care of people,"

"Ah…you do that too,"

"Eh," Hobie brushed off the sentiment. Miles watched he'd as he turned his face, knowing he was grinning in some. Before Miles went to change, Arabella stopped him.

"Hey, do you want me to do your hair?"

"My hair? How?"

"Just a simple cornrow style; you can take it back out tonight and give it a wash," 

Miles found himself nodding, going to change, leaving the other older two outside. Miles got ready as he could, wearing simple black swim trunks. He caught Pavitr adding sunscreen to the scars on his chest a hum.

"Sunscreen?" Miles asked Pavitr; he shrugged and nodded.

"Gotta keep these bad boys moisturized and free of radiation, man,"

"Right," 

As Miles and Pavitr exited the changing rooms, Gwen was already down towards the beach, setting up their towel and spots. As they reached her, they didn't see Hobie or Arabella.

"Where'd the other two go?" Miles asked,

"Dunno, I think they're changing, but I don't overthink about it anymore,"

"Hm, so how did you guys meet Arabella? She's cool,"

"Oh, I met her shortly after I met Hobie! I think Jessica didn't want to tell me about her because she dislikes Arabella. But she popped up when I stayed with Hobie, and we bonded. I love how the darkness follows her everywhere, and she's so understanding. But I did think she was going to kill me when I was staying with Hobie," Gwen lathered herself with sunscreen, then lay on her towel and got Miles to help her with her back.

"Yeah?"

"Pfft, oh yeah! I walked in with Hobie one day, and she was sitting on his sofa. I did not know who she was, but she scared me. I thought she would bite my head off, and instead, she just…hugged me. And I told her about my dad and everything. Then she told me about her Gwen or Glenn. So I'm happy they're together and that she's super cool," 

"What about you, Pavitr?" Miles asked, rubbing the rest of the sunscreen across her back and sitting down on his towel.

"Oh? I told you, I almost passed out when I met her! Although I can see it was a pretty cool entrance! She takes the whole 'I make men quiver in their pants' to a new level. I met her when I was in Peter-Porkers universe! Everything was so cute and friendly and adorable! But then she came up behind me, thinking I was someone else that she was looking for! Let me tell you; she scared me more than anything in my life; it was even worse than Aunt Maya's death glare! Actually…who knows. But I thought she was the anomaly until she trapped me in her web; they're pretty cool, organic!" 

Miles nodded while he listened, hearing the sound of music get closer to them. They all looked up; Hobie and Arabella were on their way with a small speaker that played music with Spider-Ghost popsicles. Hobie wore matching black and pentacle swim trunks, while Arabella wore a black swimsuit with straps.

She didn't have makeup so that he could see her features and piercings. She had a lot and wondered how they looked like it was a part of her face so naturally. He liked the sandals she wore; they were huge and chunky with upside-down crosses and blood charms.

"Hey, guys! Sorry, we're late; I had to get some treats! Go ahead and eat these before they melt!" Arabella smiled, handing out the popsicles and having herself one.

Miles stared at the both of them. Then he watched Arabell pull out a giant black sunhat that fit over her head and a long velvet duster.

'Can they get any cooler??' He thought to himself. 

"Miles come here, let me do your hair," He went over to her, seeing as she sat on a towel next to Hobie, who was happily pulling out his guitar.

"You're not hot in that? It's like a million degrees out here!"

"Oh, I don't ever get hot. And I don't sweat,"

"What? You sizzle?" Miles Jokes, sitting between her knees as she pulled out a rattail comb.

"Actually, yes!" Miles rolled his eyes and kept his head back. Pavitr and Gwen had already headed to the ocean, splashing each other and trying to swim out.

As Arabella said, it didn't take long, and he was surprised at how soft her hands were. Typically when his mom used to do his hair, all the tugging, pulling, and braiding was painful.

"Done already? That didn't hurt…" Miles mumbled, watching her pull out a square mirror. He held the mirror up to his head and smiled wide. 

"Yooo, this shits pretty good," He turned the mirror to look at the sides and back. Four simple cornrows reached to the back of his neck.

"How did you get it so clean?" He asked, watching Arabella pull out a small device.

"Margo gave it to me, and I added some of my tech. It helps with lines and parting, and then I do the braiding myself, which is why it didn't hurt. I'm tender-headed, so I try to be soft when I do hair."

"Yeah, she's got hands of mass destruction," Hobie popped into the conversation, plucking his guitar strings.

"Hobie."

Miles rolled his eyes, giving her the mirror back. 

"Alright! I'm ready to go," 

"Oh, did you put on sunscreen?" Arabella asked, pulling out her irregularly large sunscreen bottle.

"Huh? I don't need sunscreen. I'm already…." Miles's words trailed off, his eyes wide as she glared at him.

"Boy. Get over here and put this shit on," Arabella reached for him, making him stumble.

"I hate that shit, 'don't need sunscreen cause Ii'm already dark' Excuse me, just because you're black doesn't mean you don't need sunscreen. Nonsense," Arabella ended up lathering him in sunscreen. He felt like a baby during their first time at the pool with her lotioning him down. Hobie had begun to laugh as he watched the scene go down. He remembered the first time he said something like that, and Arabella had a whole lecture about it.

"This sunscreen doesn't leave a cast; you always want to try to find the highest SPF of sunscreen. You have to keep yourself safe," She finished wiping down his face and stood with her arms and other hips.

"See!" 

Miles flattened his lips. He was glowing in the sun's shine, urging Hobie to laugh even more.

"She got you good, mate. This is why I never say no to her, always right," 

"Okay, okay, I get it," Miles mumbled. He could admit that it smelled good and didn't feel sticky. 

Suddenly a tiny scream ripped through the air; all turned to the ocean to see Gwen pointing at a jellyfish.

"No! Pavitr, stop. Get it away from me!" Gwen screamed,

Arabella's eyes widened, “A jellyfish?! I've never seen one hold on!” Arabella shot up, taking her sandals off and running towards the ocean. Miles couldn’t help but watch as she went, biting the inside of his cheek until he felt a light slap to the back of his head.

“Hey! What was that for?”

“Keep your gaze respectful,” 

Miles mumbled, sloping his shoulders until he started running after them, wanting to see the fuss.

The day went by quickly; the sun was ready to set, and a nice cool breeze also set in the air. Arabella hummed, moving her hat as she moved her fingers gently against Hobies face. He laid on his back with his head against her stomach, her body propped up with their bags.

Miles and Gwen sat close to each other, with Pavitr hovering over them as Gwen played a game on a switch.

"Mm, I had fun today," Arabella hummed, looking down at Hobie as he tilted his face up.

"See? I told you, you have to trust me sometimes,

"Sure, okay. They're so cute, though; I've never had siblings before, so I like the vibe I'm giving,"

"Really? It suits you," 

Arabella smiled, pulling his face back to kiss him softly. 

"You guys are adorable," Gwen's voice hung over them, making Arabella lift and shrug.

"And that's the last time we show affection in front of the kids,"

"Pfftt were closer to adults than kids, come on," Miles stretched, rubbing his eyes a little and leaning back on his towel.

"Oh well, but Mom and Dad over here say we need to take you all home, so hurry up; let's get to packing!" Arabella joked, moving Hobie off of her.

As the sun settled, the night seemed slower than expected. Everyone was too tired to web home, so they decided to take the train, everyone squished together on one row of seats. Arabella and Hobie sat at opposite ends, looking at each other as Pavitr, Miles, and Gwen ended up dozing off together. 

Dropping Gwen off at her place was quick and easy; Arabella carried her up the side of her apartment and set her down in her bed, leaving a little note against her door in case her dad got worried.

Pavitr was next; he could walk to his place from where they landed. Hobie had a light conversation as he took him up to his home. Next was Miles, who seemed pretty awake, but they could tell he was fending off sleep.

"Miles, you are fighting demons right now," Arabella chuckled as they walked through the portal to Miles's condo door.

"Yeah yeah, just some sand in my eye. But thanks for letting me come with you guys; my summers have been a little slow for me lately," Miles shrugged, looking at both of them.

"Well, I think kids should be able to be kids, you know? Not always deal with being spider-men and having fun. Hurry up before your mom gets home," Arabella waved him goodbye, making a portal while holding hands with Hobie. 

Miles smiled the whole way into his room, unpacking his bag and ensuring he didn't forget anything. But when he did, he found something that was only sometimes there. It was her sunscreen bottle.

I checked that they don't have this in your world, so keep it for now and wear it daily. I will haunt you - Ari<3

Miles smiled to himself, shedding his clothes, and the last thing he could remember was face-planting into his pillows.