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jqnehr · 8 months

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trial and error | Miguel O'Hara — part 2

you hate your life as spider-woman. you hate how demanding it is—yet, a chance meeting with three others who understand sets you on the path to redemption from pain—but a certain Head of the Spider Society seems bent on making sure you know just how much he hates you.

pairing: miguel-o'hara x f!spider-reader warnings: sfw, angst, enemies-to-lovers, eventual fluff, mean Miguel, etc word count: 3.9k note: welcome to part two! a lot happens in this chapter, so buckle up y'all. but we're not even getting started on the story 🤭 there is much more to come.

! not proof read

! do not copy, redistribute, translate, or use my work with or without credit in any way. thank you.

part one ⋮ masterlist ⋮ part two

...

Miguel pinches the bridge of his nose, eyes squeezed shut, before they open again and are fixed onto Jess, who reciprocates his stare firmly.

“Why can’t Peter do it?” You stand there awkwardly, slightly offended at the Head of Spider Society’s clear diffidence towards accompanying you on a mission. You eye him, perplexed at his attitude. Did you do something to elicit such an…aversive response to your presence from the man?

“Peter’s back in his universe, spending some well-deserved time with MJ and Mayday.” Is Jess’ reply, her tone indifferent and sarcastic. “I’ve got an appointment with the doctor about my baby, that I can’t miss.”

Your eyes dart between the two, and the rigid atmosphere. It’s quite clear who’s the cause and problem here—you. At least, according to Miguel, and what regard he holds you in. It’s obvious he thinks you’re a real nuisance.

As Miguel heaves a sigh, flicking his crimson stare to you, the doors to Miguel’s office open and in strides Hobie Brown, aka Spider-Punk. Hands shoved into his pockets, a lollipop in his mouth, and guitar strapped to his back as usual, Hobie acknowledges the three of you and blinks. “Eh, what’s goin’ on ’ere?”

Hobie’s thick cockney accent never fails to amuse you. His ‘what’ sounds much more like ‘wot’, and his frequency to throw in slang from his home country leaves many Spider-People—most of which are of American nationality—failing to understand.

The tall, young man is inexplicably cool, and when he announced he was a former runway model, you believed him. The guy just oozes confidence and charisma, leaving everyone—particularly young women close to his age—inevitably drawn to him.

You feel relieved that he’s pranced in, in his carefree, insouciant way. His blasé presence slices through the tense air like a knife.

Miguel looks immediately annoyed, while Jess seems to share your instant ease to the Brit’s abrupt appearance.

“Hey, Hobie.” You wave, your shoulders relaxing. He lifts his chin in a quick motion, his way of returning your greeting. Cockney habits are very informal, but it always leaves you feeling at ease.

The kid’s like a younger brother to you. That one brother who’s always so chill, easy-going and good company.

He saunters over, before webbing his way up to the platform, as if he owns the place. Miguel looks unimpressed. Hobie takes one hand from his pocket and slings that arm over your shoulder in a casual, friendly fashion. “Feels like I just walked in on a funeral.”

A grin threatens to crack, but you bite the inside of your bottom lip to keep from doing so. Miguel looks ready to throw something at Hobie; Hobie sees his look, and the guy’s full lips quirk up into a smirk at the Head’s reaction.

Jess sighs. “Y/n here has been assigned to a mission, but there’s no one here to accompany her—except for Miguel here.” She gives said man a deadpan look. “But he seems awfully reluctant.”

“Because I’ve got more pressing matters to attend to than supervising some rookie.” Miguel shoots back, brows creasing into his classic, dark frown. You blink, jaw falling open in offence to his crude reference to you.

“Excuse me?” You bite, hands now on your hips, brows raised into a scolding, questioning look you usually give to someone you would reprimand harshly. “I’ve been in this business for over ten years, and you call me a rookie? Just what do you take me for?”

“Someone not efficient enough to hold her own.” Miguel smoothly responds, staring at you down his nose. You grit your teeth, fists clenching in vexation. You hold his gaze fiercely. “I understand it’s my first time actually battling anomalies, but I’ve had my fair share of supervillains over the years. You underestimate me sorely.”

“Give her a chance, Miguel.” Thank you, Jess. Jess is probably the most reliable person here. And you doubt Miguel would just ignore his second-in-command’s words.

But he does. “The answer’s no. She goes nowhere unless there’s someone with her.”

“I can go.” Hobie pats your shoulder. “I’m efficient.”

Miguel’s eyes narrow at Hobie’s tone, before pursing his lips and looking at you again. “Don’t mess up. You’ve been warned.”

Your glare grows cold. What on earth does this man have against me? “You got it, boss.”

You whirl around, tapping a few buttons on your gizmo before the portal opens, its destination Earth-0219, where the anomaly has been sighted and is bound to be wreaking havoc. “Let’s go, Hobie.”

Hobie sniffs before opening his own portal, and the room is soon quiet once again, leaving Jess and Miguel to stand there silently.

“You got a personal grudge against her or something?” Jess questions, crossing her arms. “You treat her as if she killed your pet goldfish.”

Miguel turns away, facing his monitors once again. “I’m taking precautions. Nothing personal.”

Jess’ brows raise in surprise. “‘Nothing personal’? Y/N looks ready to throttle you when you speak and look at her that way. I think she’s taking it pretty personally—and fair enough.”

“It’s her problem if she’s too sensitive.” The camera feed shows you and Hobie working together harmoniously, clear team effort put in, despite Hobie’s supposed distaste for ‘consistency’. You are more than capable at holding your own—but Miguel feels justified in his need for such prudence. No mistakes can be made, and you are already a major exception.

Jess stares at him for a second longer before clicking her tongue and shaking her head, turning away and hitting the button to lower his platform.

He turns to look at her questioningly, before understanding her not wanting to jump around with a baby. She fixes him with her usual clear-eyed, stern stare. “You’re so caught up considering the multiverse that you forget to consider the feelings of those around you.” Her brows furrow, eyes empathetic. “When, in reality, the multiverse relies on those people’s feelings.”

The doors swing shut behind her, and Miguel stands there, staring after her, surprised by her words.

·········

The mission was successful—the anomaly was webbed up and thrown into the portal, and you two headed back to HQ. With a clearly exaggerated yawn, Hobie announced he’s gonna head back to his dimension and take a nap.

Leaving you to report the mission’s findings and info to Miguel.

You groan under your breath. Why should you have to report when everything is on camera, anyway? Miguel is bound to have been watching the both you—and likely you in particular—so what’s the point?

You grumble lowly to yourself as you turn for Sector 4, the hallway leading straight for Miguel’s office. The man is frustratingly stubborn, terribly intimidating and exasperatingly hot. You had to really control yourself and keep from staring when you first saw Miguel without his mask. Damn him for being your exact type—or you just have poor taste in men.

You scan your gizmo on the authentication device in front of the doors, and they swing open once you’re authorised. Of course, the man is brooding away up on that ridiculous platform hovering twenty metres above the ground—or, as you like to call it, his flying saucer.

“Hey, boss man, we’re back,” You call, stopping a distance away so you could actually see the guy. His enormous back faces you, and doesn’t appear to have heard you. Either that, or he’s just ignoring you—as usual.

“Miguel?” After twenty seconds of silence, you draw out the syllables of his name in an unimpressed fashion. God, this man’s insufferable. “You don’t want me to give you a mission report? Alright then, have a good afternoon.”

Unwilling to remain in that suffocating room any longer, you spin around and step for the entrance.

Suddenly, your Spidey-Senses tingle as something shoots past your ear and familiar glowing red web strikes the door’s exit button, keeping it shut.

The web retracts with a snap back into Miguel’s wrist, and you slowly turn back to face him, expression incredulous. “…You could’ve just told me to stay and report.” How dramatic.

Miguel is facing you, hulking frame overshadowing you, even from such a height. Your stomach turned slightly in intimidation, wary. His crimson eyes seem to glow in the dimness of the room. “You are to speak to me in a respectful tone at all times.”

“Respect is earned,” you scoff, crossing your arms. Miguel’s gaze is intent, unrelenting. It makes you waver, but you hold up your confident façade. You refuse to be threatened by the man. “And you haven’t earned mine.”

Miguel crosses his arms also, staring at you down his nose—as usual. It really grates on your nerves, that haughty, superior look he has. “I shouldn’t have to. It’s protocol here, and you’re to follow it as long as you remain here.”

“What, you’re gonna kick me out because I refuse to let you treat me like crap? I don’t care who or what you are or what you’ve accomplished. You’ve been nothing but an asshole to me this entire time, and I can’t be bothered playing nice.”

One of Miguel’s thick brows lifts slightly, and you just know it’s a send-and-no-receive mentality with this man. Your words just went through one ear and out the other. “Mission report.”

You resist rolling your eyes, and shoot some web out, letting it latch on and pull you up. You’d always prided yourself in having a tall frame, but this man makes you feel like a child when you stand beside him. You wave the papers full of all the necessary information and dump it on his already-cluttered desk. You turn to head out. “Everything’s in there. Read it over, and if you’re not happy with it, hassle Hobie. I’m done for the day.”

Miguel steps into your path, the proximity now uncomfortable and you take an instinctive step back. His gaze is intense, and you find yourself fidgeting nervously. “I would like you to personally report it. I haven’t the time to read over some extra papers.”

“And, yet, you have time to speak to me?” You can’t help but give him a sardonic smile. “Wow. I'm honoured. I finally feel accepted.”

Miguel’s eyes narrow menacingly at your snark. “Do you think I’m unaware of just how much you enjoy this place?” He leans forward, even further into your space, and your heart rate immediately picks up. Miguel raises one hand. “And I can take it that away like—” he snaps his fingers, and you flinch, despite yourself, “—that.”

It is not an empty threat, you can see just how dead serious he is by just one look at him. You have a bit of a staredown with him before begrudgingly complying. “Fine,” you sigh heavily, shooting him a vehement glare before taking a step away and maintaining distance again. Why didn’t I just force Hobie to do this? Your heart shows no signs of slowing—and likely not until you’ve gotten far away from this behemoth of a man. You hate the control that he secretly has over you, and you know he knows it.

You cast one more fleeting glance at him. His stare isn’t relenting. “Everything’s already on film which you just have to click a few buttons to access, but, since you’re so insistent…” You pick up the papers. “The anomaly was just another variant of Green Goblin. Minimal casualties—he’d already caused some destruction before we arrived on scene. Four people are dead, twelve are injured, the severity of their wounds varying.” You aren’t telling anything he doesn’t already know, but you continue. “Their Peter Parker or whoever hasn’t been bitten yet, I don’t think, considering the absence of a local Spider-Man or Woman.”

“…Good work.” You freeze, slowly turning to stare wide-eyed at Miguel. Did he just…compliment you? He doesn’t seem to notice your shock, or else he just doesn’t care. “That earth’s Spider-Person is scheduled to be bitten in two months from now.” Miguel swipes a monitor into view, pointing at an image of a pretty young Asian-American girl. “This is Cindy Moon—one of many.” He is referring to Silk, one of the female variants of Spider-Woman. “I am assigning you to her universe—you are to watch over it like a hawk and make sure everything flows as it should.” Miguel pins a stern glare on you. “Make sure all her canon events occur correctly, and, when she is ready, you are to recruit her into the Spider Society.”

You blink, stunned speechless. “You—you’re…” you croak, before aheming, trying to recover from your shock. “You’re…making me a mentor?”

“An eventual one, yes,” he replies tonelessly, throwing you a look over his shoulder and he hits a button and all necessary information of Cindy Moon of Earth-794, instead of Earth-616, is immediately sent to your gizmo. “Make sure she remains safe. She is going to be a promising Silk.”

“So…do you want me to just…stalk her and reveal myself to her at the right time?” You don’t really like the sound of watching the teen like some creep. “What if another anomaly pops up in her dimension and I have to deal with it before the right time?”

“If that ever happens, then you immediately report to me.” Miguel seems unbothered by the suggested scenario. He gives a quick order to Lyla before addressing you again. “All necessary info has already been sent to you.”

He pauses, and then faces you fully, eyes glinting hazardously. “I am trusting you with a damn lot right now, but you’re the only one available for the job, so don’t screw this up.” His brows furrow a bit more than they already are, frown darkening. “You know what happens if you do.”

You purse your lips and swallow, eyeing him warily. “Sure do.” You really can’t stand how much control he has over you. Giving him feeble finger-guns, you turn to head out. “I’ll see ya around, then, boss man.”

He doesn’t reply, and soon the doors clunk shut behind you.

·········

Earth-794 Cindy Moon’s story is a bit different from the more widely-known one—there is no Peter Parker that also gets bitten by the same spider as her, and she’s only sixteen, not eighteen. You diligently follow Miguel’s orders, keeping watch over the girl’s dimension, but you don’t watch her all the time. The place and area where she gets bitten is already stated, and you don’t really have to do much until that day rolls around.

The Cindy Moon of Earth-794 is a lot more extraverted than her other selves in all alternate dimensions. Her going into ten-year isolation is not stated as a canon event, which confuses you greatly. With all the other Silks you’ve met, they’ve all shared their harrowing stories of that decade of quarantine, essentially. All are equally horrifying, and similar. No wonder many of the Cindy Moons hung out together.

You stand from lounging on your couch, stretching, dumping down the documents on Cindy you were just reviewing. It’s a humid mid-spring Saturday, the AC running and set to an easy 20°C. You’re still in your pyjamas—an oversized yellow tee with faded printing of what once was the cover image of your teenage years’ favourite band, fuzzy Daffy Duck patterned pyjama pants and your hair piled up messily on your head. You yawn and head for your tiny kitchen, refilling the jug, setting it to boil, before dumping two teaspoonfuls of instant coffee into a mug.

Your gizmo is lying unattended on the coffee table. As you grab the milk from the fridge and a packet of healthy frooze balls, the gadget’s screen flashes with an incoming call.

Sighing, you pop a frooze ball into your mouth, stooping down to grab the gizmo, strap it to your wrist and answer the call.

You forget to glance at the caller ID before the person’s hologram pops up.

“Hey up, love.” You’re relieved to see Hobie’s image appear instead of a certain Head of the Spider Society who seems to enjoy bothering you every other hour ever since he assigned you the task. You make a slight sound of amusement at Hobie’s thick accented ‘love’, the word sounding like ‘lof’.

You continue to chew while answering with a muffled ‘hey’ back.

“So, we got the top dog wondering where you are.” Hobie never beats around the bush; he gets straight to the point, which you appreciate. Hobie scrunches his nose as he sniffs in his usual nonchalant way, clearly derisive of ‘the top dog’ Miguel’s signature fretting. “’e says you’re not answerin’ ’is messages.”

“Oh, then, tell him I’m in my home universe slaving away at stalking a sixteen-year-old girl, like he’s told me to.” You roll your eyes, curling your lip up sarcastically; turning around at the sound of the jug’s switch popping, showing the water is now boiled. You stifle a yawn. “If he’s so afraid of me breaking the canon with some pieces of paper I’m reading on my living room couch, then he’ll just have to come and civilly express his concerns to me himself.”

“Alrigh’y,” Hobie responds, appearing utterly unbothered at your previous words that alluded to you ‘stalking’ a ‘sixteen-year-old’. Nothing ever fazes Hobie Brown. Makes him all the more iconic. “See ya, darl.” And then the call ends.

You unclasp the gizmo from your wrist and dump it on the bench while you stir the hot water, milk and some brown sugar into the coffee to lessen its strong taste. Blowing on it slightly, you grab the gizmo and pop the mug on a coaster, flopping down on your couch again.

Your gizmo vibrates with yet another call.

Groaning, you snatch up the gadget, check the caller ID and what do you know—it’s Miguel O’Hara.

You answer. “Yes? If you’re worried about me and this mission which you clearly don’t trust me enough to handle, everything’s fine and dandy and I’m reading over the papers you gave me.”

You’re surprised to see Miguel masked, and seems to be running, his voice strained and breathless. “I’m not worried about that! Why aren’t your notifications on? There’s an anomaly in Earth-794, the earth you’re supposed to be protecting!”

You sit up immediately, alarmed. “What?!” You exclaim, rushing for your bedroom and wrenching out your Spider-Suit. “I didn’t get an anomaly alert! Even with my notifications off, it should still come through!”

You hear Miguel swear harshly in Spanish. “¡Apúrate! Get out here, now!”

With that, Miguel’s image blinks out and you’re left in silence once again.

You waste no time. Soon, you’re in your suit, mask on, and opening a portal for Earth-794, stepping into it.

To think we’re getting some action in her dimension so soon, you muse, scoffing. Miguel’s bound to blame me for this.

The other end of the portal opens and you land on top of an apartment complex rather ungracefully; you bowl forward, knocking over metal buckets and pot plants and surprising a middle-aged woman nearby so much, her basket of laundry flies from her hands.

You blink, briefly disoriented, before bowing a quick apology to the woman. “I’m so sorry! Please excuse me.”

She stares after you, wide-eyed, as you sling away with your web, heading in the direction where Miguel and the others likely were.

Eventually, you arrived at the scene—and dear god.

You spot Miguel, the blades in his suit latched to his arms out, claws extended, battling ferociously with the anomaly—a female Doc Ock, one far more powerful than you’ve ever seen before, and seems to have gained the upper hand.

Jess is nowhere to be seen. Of course, she’s probably resting because of the baby!

“Dammit, this is not good!” The Cindy Moon of this earth would be bound to see you guys on TV, considering the news anchor helicopters hovering around and the wail of police sirens. And if she sees Spider-People before she even becomes one herself, things could go very, very wrong. You understand that much.

“Miguel!” You call, swinging in, circling around and landing what would be a jaw-shattering kick to Doc Ock’s face. It only momentarily stuns her, though, it’s enough time for you to swing in and grab his arm, dragging him away. “Where’s everyone else?”

Miguel takes a breath in, as if to reply, before a portal opens up in the sky and in flies Peter, Spider-Mask on but he still has his pink bathrobe and baby sling on.

“Hey, you guys!” He jovially calls, flipping and landing on top of a pole, balanced perfectly. “What’d I miss?”

“Peter!” You cheer, before your Spidey-Senses blare in your mind and you duck before one of Doc Ock’s tentacles could grab your head and snap your neck. However, due to Miguel’s lack of Spidey-Senses, he takes the blow instead, rolling away, groaning.

“Oops! Sorry!” You rush to help him up, turning to glance over your shoulder at Peter. “Peter! Could you occupy her for a while?”

“I never get a break from babysitting!” He heaves an exaggerated sigh before whirling around and webbing one of the villain’s tentacles to a nearby tree. She shrieks in frustration, before her screams are distorted by another bout of intense glitching.

Your stomach turns at the disquieting sound, before facing Miguel again. He’s up and running in no time, and you both dash back into the fight. Soon, the villain is subdued long enough to open a portal and push her in.

“Should I talk to the reporters?” You enquire, landing beside Miguel as she commands the portal Doc Ock had just disappeared into closed.

He shakes his head. “No. The sooner we’re out of here, the better.” The red streaks on his mask that outline his eyes narrow menacingly at you. “I think you’d better leave first. I’ll see you in my office.”

You grit your teeth, aggravated at how quick Miguel is to blame you. You turn to open up a portal before Peter rolls to his feet nearby and, ever the peacemaker, places a reassuring hand on Miguel’s wide shoulder.

“Now, now, Miguel, no need to go for Y/N’s throat.” Relief fills you at Peter’s easygoing tone, while Miguel just sets his murderous glare on him instead. Peter appears oblivious. “How was she to know another anomaly would pop up here once again? It’s not like she’s a psychic.”

You mutter a ‘thank you, Peter’ under your breath at his words. Although a bit gullible, he’s friendly and reliable. However, you know Miguel isn’t listening. He just brushes Peter’s hand off and reopens a portal. “Let’s get out of here. We’ll talk back at HQ.”

The portal snaps shut behind Miguel. You and Peter share a glance, before he shrugs. “He’ll live.”

But will I? You don’t want a trash can thrown at you thanks to the fit of rage Miguel would likely be in. Peter won’t be on the receiving end. You will.

You offer a small smile, despite him being unable to see through your mask. “He’s gonna have to. What’s the worst that could happen?”

The silence that ensues is an answer enough—a lot. And you both know it. You shake your head, forcing a laugh, before summoning your own portal from your gizmo. “I’ll put you in my will.”

Peter laughs at your words, finding the insinuation to Miguel’s impending wrath upon you hilarious. You didn’t, really. It was more of a half-joke. Knowing what that man can do… “You’ll be fine. I can accompany you there if it’ll make you feel better.”

“No.” You shake your head. Miguel would kick him out anyway. “I’ll…handle it.”

And as you step into the portal, flying through the tunnel for HQ, anxiety churns your stomach. You’re not very sure you will.

...

translations: ¡Apúrate! - Hurry (up)!

HI!! welcome back haha, I hope you enjoyed that! not my best work, that's for sure, but I assure you the plot will thicken as the story progresses!

I'm adding Cindy Moon to this because she is a personal favourite of mine. I'm really hoping she'll be featured in the next spider-verse film!

and just a small side note—as my navigation board says, I'm going into exam season which means most of my time will be used up by studying. however, there should be one last update just before next week! after that, I'll be a bit inactive.

thank you so much for reading! <3

OH AND please, if you speak fluent Spanish and know the Mexican dialect, please message me! I'll need the phrases for future chapters in this series, tysm!! 💕

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@autismsupermusicalassassin @klqwnlol @thel0velykey190 @lauraolar14 @saturnknows @marvel-moviesfan

#miguel o'hara x reader #miguel o'hara #across the spiderverse #miguel spiderman #spiderman 2099 #miguel x reader #miguel spiderverse #atsv miguel #peter b #lyla #miguel ohara #2099 #miguel 2099

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