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After the events of saving Miles in Earth 42 and working together to stop Spot and save Miles’ dad, Gwen had made it her mission to make amends and sought forgiveness for the betrayal. Although he easily forgave her, she was not satisfied and would go to great lengths to be worthy of his forgiveness. In part since they were supposed to be great friends and also…she felt something more for him than only friendship. The feelings she felt were exemplified with her being an alpha and Miles being an omega. Though she knows better than anyone that Miles was a strong and capable person who just happened to be an omega, it still didn’t stop her from wanting to protect him and cater to his every need/want.
Though she did have to hold back from time to time since he told her to calm down with the acts of service and the small gifts she would give him. Since he thought that she was trying to make amends for what happened, which was how it started, but now…it was something more than that. She was trying to court him. Subtly since she wasn’t sure how he felt about her. They might be young, being 16/17 respectively, but she knew that she wanted to spend the rest of her life with him, as mates. Okay, she was getting ahead of herself. First she had to make a grand gesture to truly get her feelings across. Well as grand a gesture a teenage girl with a limited allowance can give.
She was currently in the school’s library writing down ideas for a proper gift that she wanted to present to Miles. In her universe, it was customary for an alpha to present a potential mate with a proper gift. She had never done this before, so it was both exhilarating and terrifying. What if he said no? What if he didn’t like the gift and he threw it at her face? (She’s aware that he would never do that but when your mind is taking leaps to think of worst case scenarios it will come up with anything) She looks down at what she had brainstormed in the last couple hours.
Flowers
Chocolates
Shoes?
Art Supplies
Jacket
Ring
She groaned and slammed her head on the table with a loud thud. What generic and stupid gift ideas. She ripped the paper from her notebook and threw it to the trash can but missed. She gave an annoyed growl and stood up to pick up the crumbled paper. Not wanting to get lectured by the librarian who might’ve seen. She grabbed her notebook and decided to head home. She has already spent the last couple hours scrolling through her phone for ideas and her dad would be home soon. She’ll keep brainstorming ideas on her walk home, maybe something will come
to her.
The autumn chill was welcomed after being in a stuffy room for the last couple hours. She hummed a melody she had been working on with Hobie the last time they hung out. As she walked, someone bumped into her shoulder and as she turned to give the stranger a piece of her mind, she noticed something in the shop’s window. Her eyes widened. Maybe that could work.
A few days passed. She had asked Miles if they could hang out and grab a movie and dinner since she remembered he wanted to watch some movie about a bug or whatever. He was thrilled and even set up that Friday when he was going to be back at his parents from Brooklyn Vision. Her room looked like a clothes tornado crashed into it and her dad had scolded her about cleaning her room. She waved him off and agreed to clean it as she was setting the coordinates for Earth 1610.
She arrived at his parents' place and tightly clutched her bag. She gave a knock at the door. She was more familiar with Miles' parents now and Miles even lectured her about calling his parents by their first names. This didn’t mean that they liked her. Their scents of disapproval have turned to scents of tolerance, so she could count that as an improvement. Didn’t make her any less nervous that they might not approve of her as their son’s mate. Thoughts of how to gain his parents’ approval were quickly squashed when the door opened.
Rio opened the door and gave a polite smile.
“Hi Gwanda. Miles will be ready in a minute.”
Gwen awkwardly waved her hand. “Hey Ri-Mrs. Morales.”
Rio gave an unamused look, but at least she seemed pleased enough that she stopped herself. She ushered Gwen inside and closed the door.
“Miles! Gwanda is here! Apúrate, nino!”
Miles entered the room and rushed to hug Gwen, but stopped himself before his mom could give them a questioning look. He patted her shoulder.
“Hey, Gwe-anda. Are you ready to go?”
Gwen grinned and nodded. “Yeah. It was nice seeing you, Mrs. Morales.”
Rio gave a knowing look and smiled. “Have fun you two…but not too much fun. Bring him home before 10 pm! I don’t want a repeat of last time!”
Gwen gave a sheepish smile and nodded. “Yes, ma’am.”
Miles rolled his eyes. He turned to his mom and gave her a peck on the cheek.
“Nos vemos al rato, Mami! Te quiero!”
Rio smiled and returned the kiss. “Que Dios los bendiga y te quiero mucho, nene.”
As they walked to the theater, Miles talked about the villains he fought that week and drama from school. After saving the multiverse, Miles had gained a lot more confidence and has now made more friends in school. She liked seeing Miles who was confident in his spot in the world. That even if there wasn’t a place for him, he carved it out for himself and would do the same for others. Even someone who’s hurt him as badly and brutally like Gwen, Peter B., even Miguel, still had a spot in his world. Another thing that Gwen admires about him is that he doesn’t easily forgive, but that doesn’t mean you’re dead to him. If he thinks you’re worth it, he’ll still be there for you and still see you as a friend.
As she was caught up admiring Miles' character, Miles noticed that she wasn’t listening and got a little worried.
“Hey, you okay? Coz I was just talking about the affair between my English teacher and the gym teacher and you did not react. Like come on! That’s a little weird. We all thought that the gym teacher was with the cafeteria lady.”
Gwen blushed and looked away. “Sorry, I was just thinking of that movie we’re gonna go see.”
Miles' eyes lit up and he grinned. “Yeah! I heard it was really good and it was directed by a Puerto Rican! Gotta support our people!”
They arrived at the movies and after getting into a fight over who paid for the tickets (Gwen won by discretely using her webs to pull Miles card from the card reader long enough for her to use hers, but Miles won at the concession area and got the drinks and popcorn by pulling the same stunt as Gwen. Gwen was not pleased to have her own trick used on her), they sat at their seats.
The movie was a lot better than she expected and Miles talked about the comic book lore regarding the main character. She was happy to listen to him talk passionately about something that interested him. Even if she was a little lost. They headed to a little hole in the wall that Miles talked of as Peter’s favorite place for burgers. He didn’t get the appeal. The food was alright, but Peter made it sound like they were burgers handcrafted by the Gods and not just a middle aged fry cook who looked like he just got out of prison that morning. Gwen had to agree with Peter on the burgers. They were pretty good! Miles just smirked and rolled his eyes.
As they left and talked on their way back to Miles’ place, Gwen’s anxiousness had been on the rise all day. Now she was wiping the sweat from her hands the closer they got. As they reached the front door and walked in, Gwen noticed that it was empty. Miles mentioned that his mom was working the night shift and his dad wasn’t getting home until midnight. Miles asked if she wanted a coffee or something and she took him up on the offer. It was obvious that neither one wanted this to end. Miles came over with two cups of coffee and a couple of plates of leftover cake from his mom’s birthday a couple days ago. She took them with a soft thank you.
The tres leches was really good and she groaned. “Bro, this cake is so moist, like I could just drink it!”
He smirked. “Yup! We always get our cakes from this panaderia cuz they're just so good!”
She cleared her throat and set her empty plate down. It was now or never. If she didn’t pop the question before his dad came home…she might not be able to confess and it would be a waste.
“H-hey. I know that I’ve apologized deeply for keeping you in the dark in regards to everything. I even started to apologize through my actions and stuff, but y’know…” She took a deep breath, “that wasn’t the only reason I’ve been doing all that…there was another reason…”
Miles looked worried and anxious, his soft sunflower smell turned into a grassy scent. She wiped her hands and reached for her bag, “Miles…you’re so important to me. You were my first friend after losing Peter. You were always on my mind even when I started working for Spider Society and wasn’t allowed to see you. I’m honestly not worthy of your forgiveness, but you always inspire me to be better and I can’t thank you enough for all you’ve done for me and the others. I could go on and on about how much you mean to me and I wasn’t always a good friend. I’m really sorry. I can’t say it enough.”
Miles reached out to her and was about to reassure her, when she stopped him. “Please. Let me finish. This is all to say that I will work hard to never hurt you again. And also that…I love you, Miles. Not just as a friend, but…as a mate.”
She pulled the teddy bear holding a sunflower, Miles' eyes widened when he noticed that it smelled strongly of Gwen.
“I know it’s not much, but will you be my mate?”
He was speechless as he accepted the bear and held it to his nose. Gwen’s strong cedar scent told of protection, love, and more.
She was getting more nervous the longer Miles took to respond, but his scent didn’t seem to show discomfort. Still, it wasn’t lessening her anxiousness. He took a deep breath and his lips pursed as his big brown eyes grew watery. “I…I love you, Gwen. Y’know…I always thought you were so cool and strong. I still think that. I envied how you stood tall and even when you were scared, you still stood your ground. How even when I was angry at you, you still went out of your way to help me. I was scared of losing you again after all that, but I’m happy and relieved I didn’t.”
He gave a wide smile and hugged the bear tight, basking in the scent of Gwen.
“I’ll be your mate if you are mine.” He said in a playful manner.
The breath she didn’t know she was holding was released. She grinned and her eyes began to tear up. She lunged forward and hugged him tightly. He returned the hug just as tight. They remained like that for so long that they didn’t notice when Jeff arrived and was surprised by the scene in front of him. “Uh, hey Gwanda.” They quickly unattached and sat stiffly on the couch. Gwen gives a small wave and greets Jeff in a respectful manner. Jeff gave her a suspicious look when he noticed the bear on Miles lap. She stood up quickly and grabbed her bag.
“Sir, I know that I haven’t been the best in the past, but I solemnly promise that I will always care and love your son. I’ll protect him with my whole being.”
Jeff gave a defeated sigh and nodded. He was already aware of what was happening. He was a young alpha courting his wife at one point and was quite aware that her parents didn’t really approve of him since he and Aaron weren’t exactly upstanding citizens as teens. Tagging every flat surface, running from the cops, and being made to clean graffiti from local shops because they had gone to their parents over it. So he had some sympathy for Gwanda. Rio might be another story, but that was for another day. He offered his hand to Gwen.
“You better. I’m holding you accountable for even a hair misplaced on his head. Got it?”
She nodded quickly and took his hand in a firm handshake. “Yes, sir.”
They gave one last hug under the judgmental eye of Jeff, but at least they didn’t have to hide their blossoming relationship. Unlike they had to do with their secret lives as Spider-Man and Spider-Woman. It was a little liberating. She took her bag and he followed her to the top of the building as she opened a portal back home. She said one final good-bye and as she headed to the portal, a hand grabbed hers. She turned with a surprised look and Miles leaned forward to her and gave her a chaste kiss on the lips. His soft and plump lips felt like velvet to her dry and cracked ones. Her eyes closed after the initial surprise. She begrudgingly pulled away and with a deep grin and rosy cheeks walked into the portal. She felt lighter than air as she walked home where the portal dropped her off in her universe.
When she arrived home, her dad was scrolling through his phone with the television on and cold takeout on the coffee table. He grinned and turned to her when he smelled an omega scent on her. “So…how was the date?”
She dropped her bag on the ground and sat next to him. “It went well.”
She sat up straight. “Wait. How did you know I was on date?”
He rolled his eyes. “At one point I was a teen alpha trying to court. I think I know the signs of a teen in love pretty well.”
She blushed and groaned as she covered her face with her hand. “I don’t want to know of your courting days, dad…” She gave a soft smile and sighed,” but I think it went well. He said yes.”
Her dad pulled her into a one-armed hug and chuckled. She giggled and leaned on his shoulder.
That night, she went to her bed and laid down. Her chest felt like it was going to burst from all the love and giddiness she felt. She grabbed her headphones and started listening to music as she drifted asleep.
She was suddenly awakened by something next to her hand and a soft yellow light disappeared as quickly as she noticed. The something next to her was a teddy bear that had pink and blue bows on her ears. A note was under the bear and she quickly grabbed it and looked it over. It contained a sketch of the bear she gave Miles and the bear on her bed holding each other's paws.
We had the same idea it seems. I forgot to give her to you since y’know… You never gave me an answer…so, will you be my mate? 😏
She rolled her eyes and snorted. The wide grin on her face never left her face. She hugged the bear and it smelled of him. It smelled of love, admiration, and warmth. She fell back on her bed, holding the bear tightly to her chest and the letter clenched tightly in her hand. She would have to give him a proper response, she mused as she fell back asleep with Hummingbird playing from her forgotten headphones.