Unintentional (Not Really)
Miguel O’Hara x Gender Neutral! Reader
When on a mission between just Miguel and yourself, things go not as planned: not at all. Miguel thinks he might lose the reader, and finds he's more attached to you than he thought he was.
Leave it to this movie to break me out of my writing break, haha! Fastest I’ve ever written a one-shot this long. Enjoy! Also on AO3 here.
WC: 4,125k
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Miguel was… well, to put it concisely, very interesting.
The very last thing you expected was to become a Spider, and even less than that did you expect there to be a hub of Spider people all in one place far in the future… to be honest, you were more surprised about there being a (very much needed) therapist Spider-Man and a kitchen-café-food-area-thing than you were to know that there were multiple dimensions in which each Spider dealt with. You were subtly appreciative of being in a universe where technology had had plenty of time to improve, granting you the luxury of fanfic. No one needed to know that was why you were able to understand the concept of Canon events so quickly.
You had just wrapped up a mission containing an anomaly, silently snacking on a banana you snagged on the way to Miguel’s office as he oh so slowly descended from his platform. He may be cute, but you were tempted to tamper with the damn thing if it meant you didn’t have to waste precious seconds waiting for him to speak. Who was he, Batman? He was also lucky the back view while you waited was so visually appealing… you made sure to keep your face calm, lips twitching to smile like a gremlin at your thoughts.
You had been partnered with Mr. Spider-Punk himself. While you and Hobie got along swimmingly, you knew you would always be delegated debriefing duty when it came down to speaking to Miguel. It was both a perk and a massive disadvantage when you were tired and no longer felt the urge to speak for the rest of the day. Today was one of those days, though you will pat yourself on the back for not growing too impatient today as your thoughts traveled to your comfy bed, it’s soft sheets you recently washed, pillows fluffy and decadent—man, you were tired. You’d probably be hangry too if you hadn’t snagged that banana. It would have to do for now. You could swear you hear Hobie snicker behind you, as if he could read your thoughts.
Glancing lazily over to the ever slow platform, you’re mildly surprised to see that Miguel is looking right back at you, eyes glowing a subtle red in the low lit room. You straighten out, swallowing your bite of banana before speaking.
“It almost feels like you came down quicker today,” you start, tone friendly. “Everything went as usual. Or, ideal, I suppose I should say.”
Miguel’s face was in its usual slight frown, the pout of his lips appealing to your eyes as always. “You closed a tear in a universe’s most frequently trafficked area and that’s the extent of your report?”
You swallow another bite of banana, blinking. “I could go into detail on how I almost fell into said tear—in which I did thank Hobie for saving me—but I don’t think that’s very interesting or relevant. I’m quite tired, your majesty.”
Miguel sighs, fingers rising to pinch the bridge of his nose.
“I’ll read your report later, then.”
“Mhm.” You hum, eating the last section of your banana, chucking it in a nearby trash can. Perks of spider-sense, you didn’t even need to look.
“Dismissed, then?” Hobie chimes in, rising from the table he snuck over to lay on somehow during your conversation.
“..Dismissed.” Miguel sighs again, already turning back towards his holographic monitors. Hobie needed no more words as he nodded his head at you in goodbye before beelining for the doors.
“I keep telling you you’re going to have even more wrinkles on that pretty face of yours if you keep sighing and frowning all the time,” you call out before he can start rising back up. Miguel stills for a brief second, a quarter of his face hidden from your view as you smile slightly. “And get some rest while you’re at it. I know I will.”
“The fate of the multiverse—“
“Yes, yes, I know, O’Hara. Goodnight.” You wave over your shoulder as you depart, hand raising to your mouth to cover the yawn you let out.
Your relationship with Miguel was probably no different from everybody else. You had your moments where you’d feel you’d become amiable at the very least, given how often you had to speak to the guy. He made you nervous at first, being a terribly attractive person, but he was intense. There was an air around him that seemed to push others away—subconsciously, instinctively? Maybe both. It didn’t help that he seemed to align with your (questionable?) type of men. It was also hard to continue to be nervous when he had a baby crawling all over him whenever Peter B. swung by, and even less so when his serious moments were broken by his AI, Lyla. Miguel was surprisingly… cute. You could imagine the multitude of others that know him looking at you as if you had grown two heads and four arms. What’s not to like about fangs? Tall men? Very muscular, quiet, brooding, men?
Hm. You were starting to see why they might look at you that way.
One thing you learned from your still short experience as a Spider, however, was the importance of time. You—well, thanks to Miguel, you kind of can—never know when the last time you will be able to speak or see someone is, and unfortunately one of the reasons why is death. It breaks your spirit just to reminisce on what could have been.
As you became more comfortable around Miguel, you began to test the waters on what to say and how he’d react. Tomorrow is rarely ever guaranteed in your line of work, so if you had to push past a massive spring of nerves to flirt with your hot coworker you might never see again, then dammit that was what you were going to do. He wasn’t really one to react much outwardly to your small advances, but he wasn’t exactly protesting them completely either. One time when you were out for about a week due to your own universe’s conflicts, you could’ve sworn you felt the man staring at you longer than usual when you were silent upon your return. You were eating at the Spider-Cafeteria, and was surprised to see Miguel there. There was always a 30/50 chance you’d see him anywhere except his office, the odds rising to 50/50 on empanada days. There wasn’t really much to say, but as you got up to put your used dishes on the return rack, he spoke.
“No drink?”
Your eyes widen a bit as you turn back around to face him, pleasantly surprised. You smile. “Nah, but I guess I could grab some water. It’s not really something I think of when it comes to soup.” You chuckle for a few seconds.
“Here.” Almost like a magic trick, Miguel slides a small bottle of water towards you, silent as you blink back at him. Well, he is Spider-Man. You guess there could be other things to be more surprised by.
“Oh. Thanks, Miguel.” Your smile widens a bit more as you take the bottle from him, your hand brushing against his (you totally did that on purpose).
“I think he liiikess youuu.”
The two of you jump at the sound of a new voice, eye contact breaking.
“Lyla.”
“I had to say something. This tension is drawing out a little too long for me–”
“LYLA–” Miguel swats at where she floats in between the two of you, large hands just a millimeter away from yourself. You briefly wonder how the size of said hands would compare to the size of your waist. Lyla appears in a different spot behind Miguel, smirking.
“Outta hereeee.” She winks at you before disappearing completely. You’re greeted with the delicious sight of Miguel’s shoulders and back sagging slightly, muscles contracting with his movement. You honestly found it pretty cute how despite how many times Lyla has no doubt teased this man to hell and back, he still reaches to grab her as if she has a physical form to do so. You keep your giggle to yourself, smile betraying your lack of laughter. You decide to give him a break today, turning back around to get rid of your dishes.
“Thanks again for the water, Miguel.” You shake the bottle over your shoulder as you walk away, confidence and mirth fueling each step.
– –
Well… damn.
You’re actually pretty pissed that this rhino out of all the other ones you’ve seen and dealt with is giving you this much trouble. It was only yourself and Miguel on this mission, so it seemed pretty low difficulty. That difficulty was raised the moment he decided to plow through the city and onto one of its main bridges, surrounded by cars and–you guessed it–people. This Rhino was actually quite smart compared to the others. You heave a sigh as you swing around gathering another group of civilians to safety, narrowly avoiding a large chunk of building that flew your way as the Rhino surged forward elsewhere. That was Miguel’s problem until you completely cleared the area. Times like this made you appreciate that your universe wasn’t surrounded by skyscrapers like this one was. The more damage the Rhino did, the more nervous you subconsciously got.
The fucker was pretty strong too. Every time either of your webs hit or tried to wrap around him, it’d almost immediately snap off, either because of the velocity of how fast he was running, or something he must’ve had added to his suit that would burn it off, leaving useless wisps in its wake. You both needed to find a solution, and fast. It would be hard to find a way to trap him in open terrain, and no point in really trapping him if he can just break through (so far) every damn thing. Your mind was scrambling to find solutions amidst the chaos, temples pulsing. You’d likely have to brute strength it out. You let out another sigh.
You were sure he didn’t need you to tell him, but it’d look like Miguel would need to get as close as he could in order to bite him, leaving the Rhino paralyzed and motionless for capture. Miguel was actually keeping up a great pace with him, it was the whole not killing innocent civilians thing that comes with being Spider-Man that was making things difficult; placed in a crowded city to boot.
You’re grateful the next group you escort is the last, spider-sense not picking up anything else for now. You swing around two nearby twin towers, using the antennae sticking out from the top to catapult yourself to Miguel.
“It’s bite time!” You yell out, getting straight to the point as you swing to keep your momentum, right behind Miguel. “We’re gonna have to brute force our way out of this.”
“I know!” He responds, swinging in tandem. “I think we’re going to have to rely on all these now empty cars coming up. My signal.”
You look forward, the end of the bridge the only thing in sight. While the bridge wasn’t over a large body of water, you weren’t keen on falling off the side today if the plan falls through. The bridge transitions into a narrow tunnel, tight, but not impossible for the Rhino to fit through at all. You couldn’t see inside it, but there were a good amount of rocks outside it, connecting to a surrounding mountain.
You had worked with Miguel often enough that you didn’t need to verbally communicate when in battle, him turning to nod to you being all you needed before grabbing as many cars as you could and pulling them together with your webs to make obstacles for the Rhino in attempts to slow him down. You couldn’t help but laugh at the view you had from up above. This must be how scientists feel looking at their rodent subjects.
You hit the ground for a second for more stability as you grab another car with both webs, using the leftover momentum to spin yourself and throw the car in the Rhino’s direction, a grin stretching across your features under your mask as it successfully hits. You flinch as it explodes. You forgot cars might do that. Hm. You were just glad it wasn’t you.
Miguel flies through the explosion smoke, using the distraction as a chance to get close as the Rhino staggers. He lands on his back, sinking his talons into his skin to make sure he wasn’t going anywhere.
The Rhino yells out, trying to shake Miguel off to no avail. Miguel stays low, avoiding the Rhino’s horns from touching him as you see his mask fade away. You couldn’t help the excitement that flared up in you no matter how hard you tried at the sight of Miguel’s fangs. You always thought they were pretty cool, not that he needed to know that.
Just as Miguel goes in to bite, your senses jump to alert, spotting the reason a second too late.
This Rhino also had a self-destruct in its suit. Great.
You don’t even get to yell out a warning before light is all you see, your body flying back hard into something also oh-so-unluckily for you, harder. Yeah, you weren’t a fan of the big city at all.
You blearily feel around for your surroundings, crying out at the sudden sharp pain that emerges from your abdomen. That can’t be good.
You keep blinking until your vision clears, immediately searching for Miguel. You spot him not too far from the Rhino, also on the floor, but relatively unharmed. You sigh in relief. The Rhino also looked unharmed for the most part, to your dismay. He was however, now left without a suit, which meant less obstacles for Miguel. You weren’t too far from them either, but you definitely weren’t close. They were stopped right in front of the entrance to the tunnel, still gathering their bearings. You could tell the Rhino would get up and keep moving soon.
You attempt to move again, but the pain is too intense. You finally glance down to assess the damages, a sharp intake of breath leaving you motionless.
You had collided with a nearby abandoned car, and were very much inside of it via a damaged windshield. Shards of glass surrounded and were inside you, some minor, some probably very bad. You reach up cautiously to your face, feeling parts of your mask torn as well. You take a breath to steady yourself and try not to panic. You were going to catch that fucking rhino whether it was on your last breath or not. It was extremely personal now.
You manage to maneuver yourself until your front is sticking out of the windshield, trying not to aggravate the pieces of glass that you deemed too dangerous to take out. You spot a nearby car and spray out your web, dragging yourself out on your back. You’d have to ignore the stinging for now. You see Miguel starting to get up as well, and call out to him.
“You have to go NOW, O’Hara!” You cough, body running cold at the taste of iron in your mouth. “Quick!”
His head snaps over at the sound of your voice, body stilling as the words he had ready to say die on his tongue. It takes a blink from you for him to land in front of you, on his knees as he cradles your head.
“What,” He attempts to compose himself, and you can’t help but let out a small puff of a chuckle at the sight. You may have wanted him to hold you at some point, but definitely not like this. “What did you–what were you–” He takes another breath. Your heart aches at the slight tremor in his voice, and the feel of his talons digging slightly into your skin that he doesn’t seem to have noticed has come out.
“I.. definitely didn’t plan on flying into a windshield today.” You attempt to joke. You hated seeing him so upset. You had never seen him like this before, and it was starting to scare you. You must look pretty on the brink of death. Your breathing starts to pick up at the thought.
You catch movement in the corner of your eye. Oh, man.
Your eyes flick back to Miguel. “You need to move.” His face remains tight, expression at a loss for what to do. “Just do what we usually do: kick ass.” Your attempt to smirk is interrupted by another blood filled cough.
“Hey.” You try again, your hand finding his. You grip it as tight as you can. “I’ll be fine. Take me out on a date after this and we’ll call it even. I don’t know what’s gonna happen after this, so make it a good one, okay?”
Before he has the chance to respond back you move your head out of his lap, rolling over sharply to aim at the rocks surrounding the tunnel entrance and pull, the pain in your abdomen nearly causing you to black out. You fall forward back onto the ground, stomach down. Your body seems to make the choice to knock out for you this time, the sound of crashing rocks and the feeling of blood rushing out of you is the last thing you remember.
– –
Beep. Beep. Beep.
Beep. Beep.
Bee–
Your eyes snap open, greeted with the sight of white walls and ceiling.
You were alive, great! But damn did your body hurt. You felt the pinch of an IV in your arm as you shifted to get more comfortable, looking around. They must’ve had you on some pretty good pain killers if a small ache in your limbs was the extent of your pain thus far. Looking down, you see a hospital gown donned on your body, and bandages were wrapped practically everywhere. You hated that the first thought that came to your mind was wondering how you were going to pee. You don’t think there were any bandages down there…
You take a peek under your gown.
All good.
Taking an even longer survey of the room, you realize you got lucky. No one else was there. Yet. You were aware of how close you were cutting it at the time. If Miguel’s face before you passed out was any indication, there was at least someone that was tasked with doing rounds on your location. You just hoped you hadn’t been out for too long.
Almost as if you had summoned said person, your senses alert you of someone’s presence a second before the door slowly opens, the door’s shadow growing larger before thinning out again. Lo and behold, it was an exhausted looking Miguel, his eyes unfocused. The dark circles under his eyes looked more pronounced, his lips pressed together in an even tighter line. Another wave of ache runs through your body at the sight. You couldn’t help but want to immediately alleviate the tension that lay thick in the air.
Miguel walks over to one of the sinks in the corner, setting something you couldn’t see down. He had closed the door softly, quietly, still unaware you were watching. You see his shoulders rise and fall as he lets out a sigh, turning on the faucet to splash his face with water.
What time was it? A quick dart to the clock above the door alerts you to the fact that it’s 3am.
There wasn’t much light throughout the room, but it wasn’t as if the two of you really needed it to see each other. You can almost see his face in clear detail as the man stills at the sight of your eyes, open, meeting his.
You attempt to speak, but a sharp dry sensation attacks your throat, leaving you to cough instead.
You blink and Miguel is already at your bedside table, turning the low light lamp on as he pours you a cup of water from a nearby pitcher. His hands completely envelope the small glass, careful as he hands it to you. You take it gratefully, greedily enjoying the brief warmth his hands provide.
“Thanks,” You finally say, not sure where to look. You truly didn’t know what the man was going to say. “I—“
“What you did was stupid.”
“Alright…” You muttered. Getting right to it, then.
Miguel takes a seat in the only chair next to your bedside, eyes seemingly more red in the low light of the room. If they could burn through you you were sure they already would have. Tiny little ___ bits…
“Trust me when I tell you I didn’t go out with the goal to end up punted into a windshield.” You start, tone flat. “And excuse me for following your protocol: getting the mission done. I know it was stupid. I also knew you were going to keep me safe.” Your eyes flicker up to meet his.
“And if those were my last moments, yeah, it definitely would have sucked… That would’ve meant no date.” You truly didn’t know what else to say. What happened, happened. You can’t really say you regret it, either. Classic Spider antics.
Miguel runs a hand through his hair, brows furrowed in frustration as he mutters in Spanish under his breath. “What is this, some sort of game to you? This is serious.”
“And also part of the job.” You respond. You pause to really take him in now, curiosity driving forward in your mind. You were honestly surprised he was even here right now. And if the natural way he had maneuvered around the room was any indication, he must’ve been the one checking in on you. You didn’t want to jump to conclusions, but this was definitely nowhere near the usual lecture you’d receive for doing something he didn’t like. “What’s up with you?”
Looking at Miguel, you could almost see the turmoil going on inside his head. He opened his mouth before closing it again, lips pursed, jaw tight. If it weren’t for the tension in the air as you waited for him to speak, you would’ve said the man looked adorable, almost pouty. Now, though, it was almost like pulling nails out of concrete.
“When you… when I saw you on the ground like that.” Miguel’s tone was low, deep. It was his turn to look away now. “I felt… helpless. Weak. I haven’t felt that way since—well. I’m sure you can guess. I wasn’t expecting to feel that way. Wasn’t prepared to.”
You were left speechless.
“If I had gotten close faster, sunk my fangs into that fucker’s throat… I kept thinking, over and over again.” It was as if the floodgates had opened, Miguel getting any and everything he could on his mind out now. “I froze. And when you pulled away, fell to the ground, it felt like I was running with her in my arms again. Then she was gone. You were gone.”
“Miguel…”
“So, yeah.” His eyes meet yours once more, heavy. You wait for him to say more, but he doesn’t. If he was going to bear his heart to you in this way, you were going to too.
“I… never really was joking, you know.” You start playing with the blanket on your lap. “Pretty sure you already guessed that.” You chuckle softly.
“I can’t ever know what it’s like to lose something like that, but I want you to know I am here for you. I really just wanted to see how you felt about me; really didn’t have much to lose... I’m not really sure what to do now—“
Your words are cut off by the sensation of lips meeting yours, warm yet hot at the same time. Your hands grip the sides of Miguel’s hoodie, the IV in your arm preventing you from reaching higher. You feel Miguel’s hands hold your head in place as his lips continue to tangle desperately with yours. His fangs brush against your bottom lip and you shiver.
When you part, you’re almost gasping for air, stomach tingling. Woah.
“If you’ll have me, I promise you I won’t let go.” You whisper, earnest.
Miguel looks surprised as you say this, like he wasn’t the one to initiate your heart to heart moment. His thumbs caress your cheekbones as he moves close once more.
“Yo también,” He pecks your lips. “mi cariño.”
You rest your foreheads against each other, basking in the silence and comfort of the moment. A beat passes.
“How do you feel about bowling?”
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