If I Betray All Lonely Night
It's safe to say that a confession has not happened on either side and do not be fooled it is not because a lack of bravery, they're heros and so they're naturally brave, it's more because of a lack of confidence.
Peters case is understandable the guy he likes, from what he can tell, likes someone else who is not a guy.
And in Miguel's case, he likes someone. Truly a most troublesome conundrum.
Both of them have set up the perfect confession moment a few times and everytime they failed because of their own foolishness and the occasional pigeon.
This time Miguel was sure that he would confess his attraction to Peter. He was so sure because he had spent hours planning this out. Every detail considered and resolved.
First Peter would swoop in blab for a bit and he would make small flirty remarks that would be considered teasing because of his stoic nature. Then he'd fake a detected anomaly and they'd go in save the day and then they'd take a break in said dimension. Then he lay it on hard, yep, full emotional openness, because no matter how much he like likes Peter vulnerability was still too much for now.
Then he'd share a sad story, tell a few more jokes and then when the mood is just right, give Peter a little side eye and ask him to dinner in a way that got the message across but still gave him control over the situation.
It'd taken two months to get to this point and it took him another week to build up the confidence to even think that Peter meant him as his 'his', but as Lyla says.
"You never know until you try."
But as he told her.
"Dont try if you don't know?"
He was a bit of a pessimist but he finds himself to be more comparable to that of a realist.
He supposes none of that matters because it is currently 7:13 PM on a Wednesday and that means that Peter will be here any minute ready to gush about Mayday and a burger he recently ate. Miguel really has bad taste.
It not too much longer befor Peter to come crashing through like always and when he does Miguel feels a smile on his face from knowing the other so well. Part one of a multistage plan, is going well. Or at least he thinks, that is until he actually looks at the man and see a baby strapped to his chest.
Mayday.
Her name signifies a lot more than her being as he panics. He had gone through every scenario except for the one where Peter had his child with him.
This was stupid it is so stupid that his face drops.
"Hey Mayday."
He whispers and she gurgles at him.
"She says hi."
"Yeah I got that Parker." Miguel sighs.
Part one of a multistep plan had gone south so quickly but he could save this. Miguel let's the minutes play out and in no time Peter is talking his ear off and suddenly the plan is back on track. He does a great job at the flirting some of his best ones being.
"I mean have you ever seen anything so adorable?"
"Everytime it's in my office."
Or
"What would you do?"
Miguel in fact doesn't say anything but he looks at Peter in a way that says. "You."
And the man just blushes a bit before scoffing.
"Shut up."
"I didn't say anything."
"Yeah ok."
It seems as though everyone got the vibe of the the conversation, even Mayday who was excitedly watching the two slightly tucked inside the baby carrier. Everyone but Lyla who sent an alarm like they'd planned.
They both look at the alarm but only Peter is worried ther being a mission, only because he doesn't know that there's nothing there. Miguel is freaking out because ignoring the alarm would alert Peter that something was going on because Miguel was all work and no play, except for weekends. On the other hand going on would mean the plan would continue and he still hadn't recovered from Maydays presence. So weighing the options he turns to Peter and commands.
"Come on."
"Wait lets call backup."
"No time!" He urges pulling the man through the portal by the shoulder.
They arrive in the universe and Peter marvels at the view. There was a reason he picked this universe. Right now the two are looking at a star filled sky with colors cascading around them because if it's a multiverse anything is possible for convenience.
"Nice view." Peter says admiring the stars.
"Agreed." Miguel deadpans still looking at Peter.
"Let's go it's this way."
They swing their way across the cityscape until they see a bunch of objects glitching.
"You think that's it?" Peter asks already knowing the answer. I'm response he gets an eye roll. And ignored.
It takes them next to no time to catch a rogue villain that had transported there through, blah blah blah science garble, like all the others. When he gets out of Peters earshot he summons Lyla. "Where'd you snatch that guy from?"
"Earth 1218."
"Why? Nevermind."
"Don't hate the player Miguel, anyways look where you two happen to be across the street from." Lyla points at a burger joint across the street.
"I know I totally hooked you two up, now go woo him."
It would seem as though Peter beat him to noticing the place because next thing he knows his hand is on his shoulder and he's coercing him across the street.
This was not part if the plan but who was he to say no. So they end up across the street sitting across from one another with an extra wheel in Peters lap. Miguel watches as Peter eats his burger and pouts.
"What're you pouting about I told you to buy a burger when we were at the counter." Peter says waving a fry in Miguels face before handing it over to Mayday who teeths at it for a bit.
They end up there for half an hour most of which is spent talking and trading stories. Obviously Peter has the better ones because he's not, "A brooding jerk who doesn't listen to people." As he puts it.
"I do not brood." Miguel argues.
"Yeah you do."
"Not."
"Do too." Peter laughs and Mayday mimicks the sounds looking at him with her stupidly wide eyes.
"Everytime you do it your entire face bunches up and you look like the little devil emoji." Peter days pulling out his phone to prove his point.
"Nuh uh."
"Are you guys just gonna argue all night?" Lyla ask popping up on Miguel's shoulder.
They opt against that and decide to leave both the restaurant and their current conversation for something else. Like stargazing because everyone need to see something pretty every now and again.
They've been quiet for so long mostly to put Mayday to sleep and Miguel feels like he's gonna supernova like the stars above him, but he doesn't say anything. All the confidence he'd built up destroyed in seconds. So he sits a few paces away from Peter criss cross like a child. He decided to try out the meditation thing that Ben had told him about. Something about divinity. After telling Jessica she had said something among the lines of needing an intervention. Before concluding he needed a ' divine' intervention. For what? He doesn't know, but you never know until you try. So he never tried, until now where he sits eyes closed and legs crossed attempting to clear his head.
He was angry, so angry that nothing had worked out tonight, so stupidly angry that he couldn't even talk to Peter without making a fool of himself.
Peter felt the exact same but you never know until you try and so he places a hand on Miguel's knee and knocks him out of whatever trance he was in and smiles at him.
"You doing OK up there?"
It comes out softer than he meant it too but the small smile it gets from the mannis enough to quell his worries.
"Yeah."
Silence carries over them and Peters hand never moves and Miguel never corrects him and so he leaves it there. Soft and warm like he's holding out an olive branch.
"This is nice." Miguel mutters and Peter hears it well enough to nod along agreeing about the view.
"The view is too, I guess."
Peter stops and his hand raises a bit as he looks at Miguel from the corner of his eye. He does so because seeing too much might make him think Miguel's means that in more than just a friendly way and there's no way thats true. Unsure he doesn't respond but his hand returns strong and resound this time tracing the digits in Miguel's knee.
"Yeah."
An hour passes and they decide to head back to his office. It's just past 10 and Peter decides to put Mayday down for bedtime before stopping to ask.
"Wanna come with. It's been a while since we've changed her room."
The invitation is thoughtful and though Miguel would normally say no, the idea of both of them inviting themselves inside MJ's house being too much, but he's tired and stupid so he agrees. Walking to Maydays room he first notices the glow in the dark stars on the ceiling looking down he sees the rest of the room.
"Whales? That's what you guys settled on?"
"I didn't have that much if a say but If I did I would've chosen ducks." Peter says tucking Mayday in her crib. They stand over it watching her sleep for a bit.
There's a look of love on Peters face the captured Miguel's heart and he can't help but copy it.
"She's the greatest."
"She's learned that from the greatest in her life."
"Me?" Peter asks.
"No, me," Peter scoffs. "You don't bring her around that often but she gets better after every hour she's around me."
"Whatever."
They laugh for a bit and Miguel laughs the loudest he has in years and Peter is quick to take notice his nose matching the color of his ears.
"I should go." Miguel says and it's an invitation for Peter to tell him otherwise.
"Only if you want."
"I don't think it's a want problem I think I should go. And you should too, just because you have a key doesn't mean you live here."
Peter shrugs before agreeing with him and they both go their separate ways.
Miguel sits in his bed rethinking the day over and he finds himself becoming a mess thinking of it all. He had felt so warm all over that he couldn't think of the touching moments as touching. And he groans for as long as he can.
"This is stupid."
He says to no one. And for once Lyla doesn't retort back and it makes him feel dumber. He thinks she did it on purpose.
In this moment Miguel relaizes three things.
Number 1. He can not face Peter again after his shameless flirting.
Number 2. Mediation is dumb.(But maybe he was doing it wrong)
And number 3. Both Ben and Jessica(but mostly Jessica)were wrong and he shouldve known that they were wrong because divine intervention doesn't work for the devil, and it wouldn't work for Miguel either.
Miguel is a man that sticks true to his word, most of the time. So when he vows to not see Peter he means it. He knows it pathetic and even more stupid than just confronting his consequences but there something so hopeful in him that he has to crush or else he might end up embarrassing himself again. Even though he was the only one who seems to feel that way.
He tries to tell Jessica and Jessica goes to Ben, ommiting the important stuff, and Ben goes to Peter and Peter goes to Gwen who is seriously concerned about his lack of friends, so she tells Hobie who tells Pavitr who tells Miles and then those four scold Peter so he goes back to Miguel who refuses to see him.
Its more than confusing and it hurts more than either would care to admit but one of them has to be the bigger person and after almost a week of this Peter breaks first so he decides to be that person.
Slinging into Miguel's office he is met with an unusually hardened face so he tried to pat the look away.
"Relax guy, don't wanna pop a vessel do we?" Its an attempt at resolving whatever the hell happened between them and it doesn't work.
Miguel sits there and tells him to leave, and while Miguel doesn't want to drive away the one person who actually likes him he doesn't know how to cope with everything so he settles for the cold shoulder.
Peter is visibly saddened after dozens of minutes go by without a change in his expression and so he asks.
"Will you just please tell me what I did?"
Miguel ignores him.
"Youre just, never this guarded and I don't even know how to fix what I did or whatever happened."
Miguel ignores him feeling more sorry than anything and he stays that way for a while. He just about ready to turn and sigh and finally open up when Peter scoffs.
"Seriously I don't know what's up with you. And now you're upset at presumably me but you won't even work with me!"
It's a loud admission if his guilt for who knows what and it stings at his eyes.
"I'm not mad at you for anything." Miguel clarifies.
"Then what the hell is this huh? Do you just give everyone that's your friend the silent treatment.
'That's why I don't have friends'. He imagines Lyla saying but he's spent enough time in his mind to know when he was projecting internally. Externally was a different thing.
"I'm sorry that sometimes I want to be left alone."
"You could've just said that! There was no reason to just, ghost me."
"I didn't want to deal with you when you got upset."
"I'm a grown man Miguel, I can handle being by myself for a few days. And I wouldn't even be upset if you just told me you wanted be left alone."
"Fine then. Leave me alone, I don't mind you in small doses but that hasn't been the case lately."
"So what I'm a lot handle!" Peter yells confirming this his arms going up.
" You're too much to handle. And I'm tired of doing so. At least for now." Its a soft let down and a complete lie but only Miguel knows it so Peter just turns to leave.
"Fine. My bad."
Miguel feels bad and so he attempts to fix his whoopsie daisy.
"Give me a few more days." He says knowing that he won't be able to even look at Peter for a while.
"You know what Miguel. You take as long as you need."
There's a maddening whiz in the air surrounding Miguel and he creaks his chair back in forth. He feels stupid and more vulnerable than he ever had and Peter had the perfect chance to chew him apart and show him why he should never be open again. But he doesn't.
Miguel wants to chase after the man and beg for his forgiveness that hes sure will not come easy but there's something about his guilt that steadies his self discipline. It steadies it so well that he doesn't even get up to move or to call out to the man.
"Nice job dummy."
"Lyla I really dont need your input."
"Dont come crying to me when he won't talk to you again."