Work Text:
“Miles, luv?”
Miles looked up from his sketchbook.
“¿Si?”
Hobie hesitated, fiddling with the nets around his wrists.
“I was wonderin’- ‘ave – ‘ave you told your parents about us yet?”
Miles frowned. “No... I don’t – I don’t know how to. I haven’t even told them I’m bi! And I’d have to tell them about Spiderman and I just-”
“Woah, why’d you gotta tell ‘em ‘bout that? We could just, y’know. Lie, ‘bout how we met.”
“Well, yes, but then they’d never accept you, us. This.”
“Why?” Hobie asked.
“Well, y’know. The punk thing is already bad enough, let alone the laces,” Miles said.
He looked at his boyfriend. Hobie had a neutral expression on his face, but a hurt look in his eyes.
Miles’ eyes widened. “¡Ay, Dios mío! ¡No! ¡No es así! I don’t think it’s bad, it's not bad, fuck. Shit, no, Hobie. I don’t think it’s bad,” Miles panicked. He grabbed Hobie’s hands in his own.
[Oh my god! No! Not like that!]
“Fuck, how do I say this without hurting you... You’re not- No, you don’t look like the type of person parents want their children to date. I’m not saying you are that type of person, because you’re not. You’re lovely, you’re caring, gentle, kind, y te amo. Pero, if you don’t know you, you look... Spikey. Scary.”
[and I love you.] [But,]
“Kids don’ seem t’ think so.” “Yeah, ‘cause you’re good with them and most kids are good judges of character. Adults aren’t. They’ve already been indoctrinated by all kinds of ideas.”
Hobie snorted. “Y’re starting t’ sound like me,” he grinned. Miles grinned back.
“‘nd what ab’t the laces?” Hobie asked.
Miles deadpanned “Mi papa es a cop, hermoso. He knows what blue laces mean. Mi mami y mi papa could get over your looks once they get to know you. Tendrán que. Pero, the laces? No way. Not unless I explain where you’re from. And they’re not stupid, they know that my dimension’s London isn’t as messed up. So, I’d have to explain that you’re from a different dimension. And how am I supposed to explain that ‘oh, yeah, my boyfriend’s from a different dimension’? I can’t just say that without explanation, they’re gonna wanna know how in god’s name I met a dude from another dimension. They’re gonna insist on getting an explanation and then I’ll have to tell them about Spiderman.”
[gorgeous] [They’ll have to.]
Hobie huffed out a laugh.
“Y’ got y’rself inna hell ‘ffa position luv.” Miles hummed in agreement.
“Ten paciencia conmigo, por favor. I want them to meet you and like you but they need time. I need time.”
[Be patient with me, please]
Hobie smiled softly at his favourite person in the multiverse. “‘course, luv.”
————————————————————————
It was a Sunday morning and the Morales household was quiet. Mrs. Morales and Mr. Davis were having breakfast with their beloved son, Miles Morales. The boy was quiet. He seemed to be gathering his courage for something.
"Mijo, que pasa?”
[My son, what’s wrong]
Miles sighed.
“I gotta tell you something... Multiple things. And you’re gonna hate at least two of them,” he added the last part quietly.
“Miles, don’t say that,” his father chastised gently.
“We’ll never hate you, chico,” his mother added.
[Boy]
“Maybe not me, but definitely what I’ve done.”
“Then tell us,” his mother told him. “We’ll prove you wrong.
Miles took a deep breath.
“I’m bisexual, I have a boyfriend for five months and I’m Spiderman.”
It was deathly silent.
“You have a what for how long and you’re who?!” his father exclaimed. Miles flinched and looked down at his plate. “Lo siento,” he whispered.
[I’m sorry]
“Ay, mijo. No te arrepientas. First off, we still love you, okay? Nothing will ever change that. Siempre te amaremos.”
[Don’t be sorry.] [We will always love you.]
Jefferson nodded. “We don’t care that you’re bi, or that you have a boyfriend. We do care about the fact that you’ve kept it secret for so long.” He sighed. “Almost half a year!” he exclaimed. Jefferson grimaced. “I suppose it’s the age.”
Miles copied his father’s expression.
“Well, it has more to do with- uhm, me- me being Spiderman.” Sharp inhales rang through the room.
“Cierto, esa parte,” his mami mumbled. “How did that happen?”
[Right, that part.]
Miles shifted around on his chair.
“So, uh, I got bitten by a radioactive spider while out, which changed my DNA and gave me powers. Then, I met Peter, who got brutally murdered in front of me, yay! I promised to take up his mantle. And then some things happened, I got chased and almost killed by the Prowler, who turned out to be uncle-”
he swallowed. Was he really about to tell his father that his brother nearly killed his son?
“uncle Aaron, who then got shot. Anyway, remember those sightings of strange spider people? They’re from different dimensions, because the multiverse is a real thing and that’s also how I met my boyfriend. Well, I met him like, two years after that happened, but that’s another story that I really don’t wanna get into right now, please.”
His parents nodded numbly. It was quiet before his mother started talking.
“Ay, mi hijo. You went through all that on your own?”
“Well, not completely. I had the other spiders.”
“Yeah, for how long?” his father said sceptically.
He shrugged. “I dunno, like, a week, maybe? It’s been a while.”
His parents looked at him, an indescribable sadness in their eyes. The kind only parents who realized that they failed their child can have. How did they not notice. He must have been hurt so often without having anyone to take care of him. Rio sighed.
“This is almost like with the old Spiderman. Logically, I know that there is someone under that mask, but it doesn’t hit you until you see it. And now, that someone is our hijo.”
Miles kept avoiding his mother’s gaze.
“You promised me to take care of that little boy, Miles.”
“Lo he intentado. I’ve gotten better at it, a while after I met Hobie. He and some other spiders helped me.”
[I’ve tried.]
“Your boyfriend?”
“Mhm.”
“He’s also a spider?”
“Si.”
“He’s taking good care of you?”
“Si. Es increíble.”
[yes. He’s amazing]
“Can we meet him?” Miles smiled brightly. “Of course, he’s been asking to meet you, but I wanted to tell you all... this first. Though... I should probably- tell you some things about him-”
“Why?”
“He’s- his dimension is really shitty-”
“¡Lenguaje!”
[Language!]
“Crappy. He lives in London and the government is really corrupt. All the normal people are suffering. Hobie’s dedicated himself to helping them. Pero, his world is very violent, and doesn’t react to peaceful actions. So, he’s- he has killed people. He killed their prime minister and he- well, he had blue shoelaces.”
Jefferson frowned.
“Dad, por favor. He- their government is terrible and is killing his people. He’s doing what he can to protect them. Police works for the government, papa. Papa, I’ve visited his world. I’ve been on patrol with him. I saw- I- they were all a bunch of horrible sadists. Five, five cops were beating up this woman because she stole some food while her children were standing there, being held back by two other cops. If we hadn’t stopped them, they would’ve killed her in front of her kids because she just wanted her kids to have food for that evening. They were younger than ten, both of them. Pero papa, when the cops are the bad guys, there is no prison to lock them up. Hobie, he’s doing what he can even though he’s starving himself most of the time. Papa, mami, por favor.’’
[Please]
His parents looked at each other. They sighed and looked at their son.
“Alright,” Jefferson grumbled. Miles sighed in relief.
“Gracias, papa y mami.” They smiled softly at him.
“So, chico, tell us. What is your boy like? What are his hobbies? What does he look like? Come on niño, tell us.”
[child]