Work Text:
Miles had a problem. No, scratch that.
He was fucked , actually.
He’d gone through a lot in his 16-year-long life, being Spider-Man and all. The most recent incident from just over a year ago including having to go against almost the entire spider-verse with angry, vampiric, and quite frankly terrifying Miguel O’Hara leading them and also some fucked-up looking guy who seemed to have a personal vendetta against Miles specifically, which somehow motivated him to become a multiversal threat? (The guy really should’ve just talked to a therapist, in Miles’s opinion. He’s heard there’s a good one at the HQ.)
But this? This is somehow worse than all of that. Because right now, Miles found himself in the middle of a makeout session with a certain British punk from a different dimension, which, yeah, sounds pretty fucking nice, before taking into consideration the two unexpected figures standing in his doorway. Miles’s parents, who were supposed to be out for at least an hour more, and are currently looking at the two with extremely shocked expressions (that would be hilarious in any different situation, by the way). And, oh yeah, both he and Hobie (who is actually sitting in his lap, holy shit , Miles still can’t really wrap his head around that) are wearing their work attire.
Not good, like, at all.
He clears his throat, still a little breathless from the previous activity.
“Hi, guys. I thought you were supposed to be back at 12?” he says, laughing nervously, and pinches Hobie’s hip, where one of his hands is still resting ( holy shit ). The other boy straightens his back, removing his hands from around Miles’s neck but still not changing his position.
“Hello, Ms. Morales, it’s wonderful to meet you” he greets the short, light-skinned woman in a surprisingly respectful tone that, less surprisingly, immediately changes to an unimpressed one as his eyes land on the woman’s husband. “Officer” is all he says to the man.
“I can explain” Miles tries, but his parents, who now have a mixture of confusion, anger, and worry written on their faces, just give him a pointed look and leave the room, making it clear they want to boys to follow them.
Yeah, he is so fucked.
<33
How did he even end up in this situation? He wonders, sitting in his living room and holding Hobie’s hand (he’s never getting used to that, holy shit ) as they mentally prepare to be interrogated by the married couple.
Well, he actually doesn’t have to, wonder, that is. He remembers every step that brought him to this exact moment very clearly.
<33
He was out patrolling.
The evening was a quiet, uneventful one, so he took some time to sit on his favorite rooftop, quietly taking in the view of a moonlight-showered New York. And Hobie.
See, he and Hobie hit it off instantly when they first met during The Spot Incident, as they call it now. Miles being pretty much in awe of the Brit, his edgy, punk style and defiant persona, and Hobie immediately recognizing Miles’s more hidden rebellious side and admiring his dedication to doing what’s right and fighting for his cause, even if it goes against what everyone else believes. They quickly became good friends.
But in the last year, the friendship grew even more with the boys making sure to see and visit each other as often as possible, way more than they did Gwen or Pavitr. There was a special bond between them that even they didn’t exactly understand but knew damn well they weren’t letting go off.
So, Miles was currently marveling over the work of art that was Hobie Brown (and God, he really wishes he had his sketchbook on him). Sure, he was very aware of his bisexuality and the (not so) little crush he developed on the older boy, but, in truth, it didn’t take a genius or a love-struck idiot to see that the man was just pretty.
He was awakened from the trance-like state by a sudden movement next to him. He turned his head to see the punk, now sitting beside Miles.
“What’re ya thinking about so hard, mate?” he questioned in that annoyingly charming British accent.
“You know, just… stuff.”
“Just stuff?”
“Yeah.”
“Sure.”
Hobie let his head rest on the younger’s shoulder as they fell into a comfortable silence. He was a remarkably tactile person, especially with Miles, having his hands on him as much as possible. Which, while wary of at first, he’d grown used to after spending this much time with the Brit and even started, to some degree, yearning for that touch. His hand instinctively went around Hobie’s shoulders. The punk hummed at the action but didn’t move, what Miles took as an approval.
They stayed quiet for a bit, just enjoying each others company. After a short while Hobie noticed that the other boy seemed to be lost in a thought, again. He was worried about him, recently Miles seemed to be distant, always wandering away somewhere in his mind with that uneasy expression on his face. He wanted to help, so he did the best way he knew how to.
“Alright, mate, what’s going on with you lately?”
By asking straight forward.
“What do you mean?”
“Don’t play dumb with me, Morales” Hobie reprimanded the other, getting a bit frustrated now. “You constantly doze off to some other place and judging by your face it’s not a good one. I don’t like seeing you like this, love.”
Miles’s stomach definitely didn’t do a backflip at the pet name.
“Aw, you’re going soft on me, Brown?” Miles light-heartedly snarked, trying to avoid the topic at hand. Hobie wasn’t having any of it, though.
“Quit taking the piss, I’m being serious.”
“I know, I just… It’s stupid, honestly” the younger boy said, focusing his gaze on some random building, trying to look at anything but his friend.
“It’s just that, sometimes…” he cut off, thinking about what he was trying to say. Hobie waited, he didn’t try to push and Miles was extremely grateful for that. He needed a second to collect his thoughts.
“Sometimes, I go back to The Incident, not the fights or whatever, I’m used to that stuff. But…” he sighed. “I think about what Miguel told me, how I’m a mistake and shouldn’t have become Spider-Man in the first place and I just… What if he was right?”
“Well, he wasn’t” the punk responded knitting his eyebrows together. He didn’t understand how Miles could think even for a second that any of that could be true. “Do you even hear yourself, mate? Cause you sound like a proper nutter right now.”
“I just feel like I keep fucking everything up, y’know? No matter how much I try to do good, something always ends up going wrong” he stood up and started pacing around the roof. “And all these people, they love me and they count on me, and I just feel like keep letting them down. Maybe the superhero thing just really wasn’t meant for me, maybe I’m just a fraud? And-” Miles’s self-deprecating monologue came to a sudden end when Hobie appeared in front of him, holding both of the boy’s hands in his own and sitting them both down.
“Listen to me, okay?” Hobie says and his voice is the softest Miles has ever heard it. “ All that bullcrap you’re chatting about? It’s just not true. You’re the most spectacular fucking person I’ve ever met. All these people do love you, it’s hard not to, and it’s for a good reason too. You’re so determined and passionate about what you’re doing, you always put others before yourself and try to help everyone as best as you can even if it’s not good for you, not everyone is capable of that. Sure, sometimes it doesn’t work out, sometimes you mess it up, like everything in life, but the fact that you try so hard in the first place is what matters. And Miguel with his minions? They might be superheroes, alright, but it takes way more than fancy powers and cool tech to be a hero . And you, Miles Morales, are a bloody hero if I have ever seen one” Hobie finished his monologue, and Miles stayed quiet for a while, the whole world seemed to be gone and for a second it was just the two of them.
And then, he finally snapped. He leaned in and kissed Hobie Brown (holy shit) . Who can blame him, honestly? How could he not kiss the boy after he had just told him all that with the most sincere look in his eyes? Miles couldn’t even fully wrap his head around how someone like Hobie could think these things about him , but it made his heart swell.
For a few seconds, Hobie was frozen, and Miles was terrified he messed up, but then the punk wrapped his hands around his neck, and all the worries disappeared. He realized his hands were still uselessly at his sides, so he put them on Hobie’s waist.
They kept kissing for a while, it was a little messy since neither of them was exactly experienced, but it was theirs, and to them, it was perfect. At last, they broke apart, needing to catch their breaths. They put their foreheads together and smiled at each other.
“So, I take it the speech was good?” Hobie said, smirking and still a little out of breath.
“Yeah, it was” it really was, Miles realized. All the worry and fear seemed to be forgotten, his brain was no longer screaming, everything was calm. It was a bit scary, how this one boy could have that effect on him, turning off all his negative thoughts, killing his mind . But Miles found he didn’t mind it.
They continued to just look into each other's eyes before this world’s Spider-Man pulled the other into a grateful hug.
<33
They ended up in Miles’s room. Hobie, as always, despite already being there many times, looked around curiously. It was cute, really. Eventually, they sat down on the bed. Hobie once again leaning his head on the other’s shoulder. But this time, it was different, more intimate.
“So, what do you wanna do? My parents should be gone for at least a few more hours, so…” Miles questioned, realizing only after a moment how suggestive that sounded.
“Wow. At least take me out to dinner first. Honestly, love, do you think I’m that easy?” the Brit remarked sarcastically, making him roll his eyes and slightly blush. “Nah, but seriously I think I just wanna go to bed” when Miles raised his eyebrows at him, he quickly added, “To take a nap, knobhead, I’m knackered. Take your mind out of your gutter” though he tried to sound scandalized, Miles could see the laughing spark in his eyes. He suddenly remembered when he first met Gwen, trying to talk to her all smooth and failing miserably. But he wasn’t that awkward 13-year-old anymore, and this wasn’t a random girl at school he developed a puppy crush on. No, this was Hobie, his closest friend, who he loved, trusted, and felt fully comfortable with, there wasn’t anything awkward about this. So, he decided to be a little adventurous. He leaned over his ear and half-whispered.
“Well, I guess I can always buy you dinner next time, and we’ll see how that’ll end, huh baby?”
And, yes, Miles decided, seeing the intense blush on Hobie’s face was definitely worth getting smacked in the head five seconds later.
<33
They didn’t end up going to sleep, obviously.
So, here they are now, sitting in front of Miles’s parents, about to be flooded with questions, not only about their relationship but also about the whole Spider-Man thing. And Miles definitely wasn’t shitting himself.
“So, would you like to explain all of this to us, hijo?” his mother asked in a stern but warm tone.
He squeezed Hobie’s hand tighter and turned to face him. He was met with a look of reassurance and support, immediately calming him down in a way clearly only the boy was capable of. Miles looked back at his parents and took a deep breath.