Arañita dormilona
Being bitten by a radioactive spider that gave you powers was pretty cool. Being able to become invisible, to control electricity, to have a pretty fast healing factor, to have a sixth sense that told you if there was imminent danger was great, but all good things had to come with bad things.
Autumn was coming to an end and the cold temperatures were arriving along with the long awaited Christmas.
Since the thermometer had dropped below 20 °C, Miles had started to eat too much. It was normal for him to eat in larger quantities, as his super metabolism required it in order to keep functioning, but he had started to eat more than he should. Much more than he should.
This caused him to start getting tired much more often, falling asleep for short periods of time in unusual places. Ganke had told him that he had fallen asleep standing in the middle of the hallway last Tuesday.
Miles wanted to know what was wrong. That's why he'd prioritised answering that question over starting the Spanish essay he'd needed to write for the past month.
He had searched the library, he had searched curious online doctor's websites, he had discreetly asked his mother, but nothing could clarify what his problem was. He was even forced to ask Google (it was a last resort, don't judge him) and it answered that he had sleep cancer. What did that mean?!
He hadn't found anything, and every day that the temperature kept dropping, Miles kept getting worse.
Having found no logical answer to his ailment, Miles didn't think much of it and justified the fatigue with his work as Spider-Man. Recently, there have been more missions than usual, and he related his tiredness to the endless battles between dimensions.
As each day passed and the holidays approached, the temperatures dropped lower and lower. Miles, along with his friends and others, were in a meeting to assign more tasks, as the number of super spiders had dropped exponentially. Miles didn't know the reason for the drop in numbers. Or, well, he did, but he was so asleep in that meeting that he didn't hear.
Maybe it was his imagination, but the room was getting colder and colder. His eyes couldn't stay open for more than 3 seconds, his heart felt slower and slower, and so did his breathing. Miles was almost aware that what was happening to him was not normal, but he felt so comfortable wrapping himself in that warm blanket that he let it take him to the world of dreams, not to open his eyes again for a long time.
(…)
Miguel hated this time of year.
Since that fateful day, he has never looked favourably on this holiday again. The fact that just by feeling the chilly autumn air, Miguel knew that these last few months were going to be a pain in the ass for him and the organisation.
Since he'd founded the HQ to get every Spider-Man in the multiverse to help with anomalies, Miguel thought he knew everything about them. But every day he was surprised to discover that while each variant of the Spider-Hero shared certain characteristics, each individual was unique.
And he realised that when a significant number of Spider-Men were absent because they had to hibernate.
Miguel felt out of place when he first heard that, how come they were going to be gone for 3, almost 4 months because their bodies were asking them to hibernate?
What kind of nonsense was that?
But with Lyla's help, he was able to understand that for certain species of spiders it was essential for survival.
And even though it didn't happen to him, Miguel sort of accepted it and let them stop working, so he could do what his spider instincts were telling him to do.
And just when he thought he was going to be another year oblivious to the whole hibernation thing, the troublesome Miles Morales dropped dead in front of him.
Everyone froze as they heard the dry sound of the young spider's head hitting the table.
His friends, after coming out of shock, came to his aid. “Miles?”. The blonde, better known as Gwen Stacy, rushed to the teenager's limp body. “Miles!”. She began to shake him slightly, hoping that he would wake up. The young woman's face was completely disfigured into one of panic. She had no idea if her friend was okay or not.
Some individuals who were also in the room began to call some spiders who were in charge of the medical wing to check on the teenager. Each was concerned about the boy's condition. Some already suspected what was wrong with him, but others, like Miles' friends, had no idea and believed their friend was dead.
“Wendy, watch out his head.” Hobie Brown, the anarchist spider, approached the blonde and put a hand on top of hers, stopping the jerky movements she was making at Miles.
Miguel knew that the medical team, when they arrived, would have everything under control, but that didn't stop him from worrying about the boy. It had been a few months since he had met the Puerto Rican, and to be honest, their relationship wasn't the best. They were always clashing and fighting over pointless things, Miguel was always angry at Miles for being so reckless, for throwing the first punch and then thinking. He just didn't want him to get hurt, and that kid didn't understand. That's why he tried to make him understand by yelling at him.
That boy was so unconcerned about his well-being, and it drove him crazy.
But he loved him. He loved him like he loved her.
When the medical team arrived, Miguel watched as, after he was taken away, his friends, along with Peter B., left after him.
He didn't follow them, although he wanted to, he had to continue with the meeting. So, letting out a sigh, he resumed his Stoic posture and continued with the meeting. And as he spoke, he discreetly asked Lyla to turn up the heat in the facility and let him know when Miles' tests were ready.
(…)
“Peter!”. Gwen approached the adult who was coming out of the infirmary. “How's Miles? What happened to him? Is he hurt? Does he need us to get him anything? Is it serious? Is he going to be all right?” Peter put both hands on the frantic girl's shoulders to calm her down.
“Breathe, Gwen. Miles is going to be… fine. As far as I can tell.”
“What do you mean?” Pavitr joined the conversation.
Peter looked at the four teenagers and sighed. “I'm no expert on the subject, but Miles is going to be unconscious all winter.”
“What?” said the exasperated spiders at the same time.
“Didn't you say it was all right, mate?” Hobie, who was leaning against a wall, looked at him with a raised eyebrow and crossed arms.
“So it's serious?” The Asian asked again.
“Look.” He put his hands in front of them in an attempt to calm them down. “I've heard of this happening to one Spider-Man or another, but I'm not really up to date on the subject, since it's never happened to someone so close to me. Have I explained myself?”
“You haven't explained anything, man.” Hobie pointed out the obvious.
Peter sighed and spoke again. “What the doctors explained to me is that Miles is hibernating.”
“Hibernating?”
“Yes, Gwen. Apparently it's to do with his spider side. For survival, spiders become inactive, their heart rate slows, and their breathing slows to conserve energy because food isn't as readily available.”
“And why doesn't this happen to us?” Pavitr looked at Peter in confusion.
“That doesn't happen to all spiders, Pav." Margo had been looking into Miles' condition since the moment Peter started explaining. She'd heard about the problem from the countless complaints Miguel gave at this time of year. “From what I've found, this happens to a very small number of spiders. The one that bit Miles must have been one of those.”
“And there's no cure?” Gwen couldn't get the worried look off her face. Even though she knew Miles was out of danger, she still felt uneasy in her chest.
“Not from what I'm reading.” Margo couldn't take his eyes off his holographic screen.
“That means he's going to be in a coma for three, almost four months.” Gwen clutched her hair in frustration. Her best friend was going to be bedridden and unable to move for a long time.
“Not exactly, blondie.” Hobie had been discreetly reading the screen of the bow-tied spider. “I quickly saw an article that said that spiders start having symptoms after the temperature drops to 20 °C. Their subconscious is programmed to start the whole hibernation process from the moment it senses that the temperature has dropped, as they associate the state of the weather with food. In the cold season, food will be scarce, so they will eat more and go to a warm place to save energy to survive the winter.” Hobie explained quickly. Everyone else looked at him as they processed what he had said.
“It's going to be like him taking a long, restorative nap.”
“You do understand.”
“That means something can be done.” Pavitr said after a moment when everyone had fallen silent, looking at each other.
“What are you talking about, Pav?” Gwen looked at him, waiting for him to develop the idea.
“Hobie had said it.”
“Did I say it?” He raised his eyebrow.
“Yes.”
“When did I say it?”
"It doesn't matter." Pavitr waved his hand dismissively and walked over to the semi-transparent screen and began to read something. "The spiders begin their hibernation process when temperatures drop to 20 degrees Celsius." he reads it out loud "Which means we can raise the temperature so Miles wakes up, because as it says there, he'll go to sleep if the temperatures drop."
"And wouldn't that be bad for him?" Peter wasn't convinced. "There's a reason Miles has to hibernate. If we take it away, we don't know what the after-effects might be."
"Peter's right, Pav. Something bad could happen to him."
"But, Gwen, we could try."
"Let's not do something we know for sure." Gwen squeezed his shoulder with her hand and gave him a small smile. "Besides, it's not like he won't wake up again. He's just taking a long beauty nap, like Margo said."
With nothing more to say, Gwen walked into the room to see him. The others understood that Gwen needed a moment alone with Miles and let her go in. Then they could see their friend and make sure he was comfortable.
Seeing Miles lying there in bed was a recurring image. And even though she saw it almost daily, the pain in her chest every time he was in that position would never go away.
She never wanted to get attached to Miles. She hated the idea of being friends with Miles. And don't get her wrong, her Peter's death left a big mark on her heart and she didn't want to go through that pain again. But her luck was never good; Miles always put her through it again and again.
And she hated it. He hated being so incompetent and unable to protect the one person he loved most in the entire vast multiverse. She hated not being able to keep Miles from getting hurt, she hated not being enough to deserve Miles, and she hated Miles every time he made her worry like this.
She knew Miles wasn't doing it on purpose, but she couldn't help feeling all those emotions. She didn't want to cry at a grave again. She wasn't going to let that happen.
"Miles..." When Gwen sat down, she gently stroked his frizzy hair. "Are you comfortable?" Gwen giggled as Miles smiled ecstatically at the pampering on his head. "Apparently you are." He smiled at her for a moment, but that smile quickly faded as he remembered the position his friend was in. "I know I don't have to worry. I know it's something you have to do to make you well, but..." He sighed as he felt that nagging pain that came whenever he wanted to cry. "I can't help it if it hurts to see you in this state." She looked carefully at every part of Miles' face. He wanted to make sure he wasn't in pain. She wanted to see with her own eyes that Miles was going to be all right. "I feel like the worst friend in the world for not being able to do something to stop you from suffering. I know you're capable of taking care of yourself, I know that." She grabbed his hand as she continued to stroke his hair. "And I love that you're like that. But I hate it. I hate seeing you like this, I hate that you do this to me, I hate loving you, I hate that you love me." She was already crying. It was getting harder and harder for Gwen to go on. Why couldn't she be happy with the ones she loved the most? Why did this have to happen to her? She was just asking to stop suffering. Was that too much to ask?
She removed her hand from Miles' head to wipe away the tears, but they wouldn't stop. She needed to get it off her chest. A few months ago, she almost lost Miles because of her. It was a small mistake, she hadn't calculated well what she was going to do and when she saw the mistake she made it was too late, Miles was on the floor bleeding to death at high speed.
She wanted to scream, she wanted to hit something, she wanted to hit Miles. She wanted to rip out her heart to stop living every day with the immense pain she felt. She wanted to stop feeling. But what she wanted most of all was to stop loving Miles.
The bad thing was that she knew she couldn't do that.
When she calmed down and the tears were still flowing, but not as abundantly, Gwen gave him a little kiss on the hand that was still wrapped in hers.
"I'll get you some clothes to change into. You must not be comfortable with a leotard cutting off the circulation to your butt." She smiled at the silly little thing she said. I expected Miles to laugh, but that didn't happen. The tears threatened to come again and she sighed to try to calm herself and got up. "I'll come back later."
And she walked out the door without looking back.
(...)
Miguel waited until everyone had left. He watched all the commotion from the cameras. He couldn't help it, Miles' safety was very important to him and he didn't give a damn if he looked like an obsessive stalker. Miles was precious to him, even if he didn't express it and everyone believed he wanted to see the boy 10 feet under.
When he had made sure the infirmary and its surroundings were clear of anyone, Miguel headed off to watch over Miles for the remainder of the night.
Loving Miles Morales was a very complex job. That much was known to everyone connected with him. Miles was a very exceptional person, his mind, and his heart made him a wonderful person, but those two characteristics condemned him to worry those who loved him.
He was very careless, always jumping into danger to protect his own, and that was to be his undoing. He was very stubborn, and that caused the people who loved him to get tired and angry with him.
Miguel knew that all too well, and he wanted so badly to get Miles out of his heart, but he was never going to do it.
Miles Morales was like a son. And he was going to do whatever it took to see him healthy, safe and happy.
When he entered the infirmary, Miles was no longer on his back, he had rolled onto his side to continue sleeping.
Miguel smiled when he saw how the boy's cheeks bulged from the position they were in.
He asked Lyla to take as many pictures as necessary to portray the tenderness that radiated from Miles at that moment. With several taunts to Miguel, Lyla did as requested.
By reputation, Miguel is going to pretend he never asked Lyla to do that.
Miguel sat down in the chair that lay next to the frizzy-haired kid's bed and put a hand on his cheek to caress him.
"You're a pain in the ass, pulga" Miguel frowned in disapproval, but it vanished instantly and was replaced by a small smile. "Someday you'll give me a heart attack from the scares you give me. So stop doing it." He scolded him falsely.
"What fun I'd have if I stopped..."
Miguel sighed in disgust at the boy's comment. It seemed Miles was never going to stop responding to him like that, even under those conditions.
"You've got us all worried, Miles." Miguel looked at him seriously as Miles planned to reply with another sarcastic response. He realised what kind of conversation he was about to have and rolled his eyes.
"Miguel, I'm too tired for you to scold me now." He yawned. "When I wake up, we'll talk, shall we?" He wanted to remove his hand from the boy's cheek so he could talk better, but Miles quickly stopped him. "Don't... don't take it off." He put his hand on top. "It's warm and comfortable."
Miguel raised an eyebrow at that. "Are you cold?" Miles nodded. "If you want, I'll turn up the heat." He spoke softly as he watched Miles close his eyes again.
"Mmm... no..." Miles slurred his words. "With you it's enough."
He smiled warmly and fell silent as he watched Miles lose consciousness. "Rest, kiddo." He stroked his cheek gently with his thumb. "But you're not going to save yourself from the scolding I'm going to give you."
(...)
He opened his eyes when he felt an extra weight on top of him.
He felt a little disoriented. He didn't remember putting anything on top of him when he sat down on the sofa to take a nap. Sleeping in the chair was going to be very uncomfortable, so he decided to move away from Miles' body and sleep on the couch.
When he was able to focus his eyes with the help of the dim lights that kept the darkness from taking over the room, he saw a Miles Morales lying peacefully sleeping on his chest. He smiled warmly, and with the blanket that was spread out beside him, tucked him in so that he would not feel cold.
He was about to close his eyes again, but a sleepy voice prevented him from doing so.
"Did you know that you're very comfortable to sleep in?" Miles spoke with a smile on his lips and his eyes closed as he curled up. "You're like a big, burly teddy bear. I could sleep on top of you for the rest of my life. So warm and so comfy."
Miguel laughed a little at Miles' incoherent ramblings. He wanted to tell him to stop talking and get some rest instead, but he refrained. "I'll keep that in mind when my most troublesome spider has trouble sleeping again."
Miguel waited for Miles to answer, and when he didn't, he assumed he'd fallen asleep again, but the sound of his voice made him wrong.
"Am I... am I your favourite spider?"
"Not favourite. Troublesome."
"Same thing." He rolled his eyes at that and rearranged the blanket that had fallen off again.
"Stop wasting energy talking nonsense and go to sleep." He wrapped Miles in his arms. "You're just as stubborn as Gabriella. She was a pain in the ass too, you know?"
"Really?" he asked in a whisper.
"Yes..." He let out a small, sad laugh. "She always distracted me when she didn't want to do something she didn't like. And she was good at it. I always fell for it."
"Ha, ha, ha, ha... And what did you do when you realised she was fooling you?"
"I'd get mad at her." The memories came back to Miguel in surprise. He put on a sad face, but the smile didn't go away. "But those deer-in-the-headlights eyes of hers would unsettle me, and she'd end up winning."
"Weak."
"Yes... yes, I am weak." Miguel remembered the beautiful face of his sweet girl and managed to get a small tear that he let trickle down his cheek.
"Were her eyes pretty?"
"Phew, the most beautiful eyes. Those eyes contained whole galaxies, innocence, and bravery radiated strongly every time you saw them. Those eyes were the most beautiful eyes you could ever see in your life, and I was the luckiest man to be able to witness them." Miguel remembered those big brown eyes that looked at him with so much admiration and so much love. "Your eyes are just like hers. Just as beautiful, and that's why I still feel like the luckiest man alive to be able to see them all the time."
Miles didn't know what to say, so he kept quiet and let Miguel continue.
"I miss her so much, you know? She was my everything, my entire world. And when I lost her I didn't feel like moving on, I wanted to end it all. Without her, I had no purpose." The tears began to come more frequently. "But you came along, Miles. You, unbeknownst to you, helped me to move on. You became a very important person, and I learned to love you as I did to her so long ago." The tears had ended, and the smile had never faded. "I'm not trying to make you the new replacement for my Gabriella, not at all. I love her in one way, and I love you in another." Miguel hugged him a little tighter. "You are two such incredible people, and you are what I love most in the world."
"I would have loved to have met her…" He spoke softly as he settled back for more warmth.
"You two would have got along very well."
"Yes, I think so."
And that was the end of the conversation. The two remained in a comfortable silence. Miles listened to Miguel's heart with his ear, and he listened to Miles' breathing. They were both calm and happy to be near each other.
Miguel felt a little happier that he had said those things. He wanted Miles to realise that he loved him, that all he wanted was his well-being. And Miles knew that.
The two of them loved each other the way a father loved his son.
And they didn't need words to prove it.
Because they already knew it.