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*****
"So you're going to be late, again ?" A British voice was heard all over the kitchen, along with the sound of a knife cutting down a bunch of carrots that would be used to make lasagna with chicken breast, tomatoes, onions, mushrooms, and Parmesan cheese. All that he did with a hard effort trying not to slip the phone that was squeezed by his shoulder and ear. And maybe in the next couple of minutes his neck would numb because of the bent.
"Yeah, I guess so," the other one on the phone replied, with a completely different accent than the first one.
The British man pouted and made a face even though the other one couldn't see it, "But dinner's almost ready." the voice sounded upset.
"Look, I'm sorry, this one isn't scheduled. Something just feels so off and I need to take a look for a minute. Even Khonshu felt that too."
"Uhm like what? Lemme guess, there's a faceless man running around chasing after kids?" he joked but then got a little chuckle from the other side.
"Funny, all I can say is there's a building that has a lot of holes in it."
Then Steven could hear a rustling sound through the phone that probably meant that Marc was doing some action he didn't want him to know about. Adjusting the phone on his shoulder, he then sighed, "Okay, I'll give you thirty minutes, just make sure you're back in one piece," while doing the remaining steps of chopping and seasoning the garlic before placing them all inside a pot, with the tomatoes. Today he could try some meaty dinner with lots of vegetables at least. And anyway by being a vegan didn't mean he would die from eating chicken breast.
"You got my word, babe." the man on the other side replied and with that the call ended.
After putting the phone on the table, Steven start cooking the meal. This had been a long time coming as they were getting closer and closer to almost two years since they got separated. What a great thing to be separated, having their own body just so that they could see each other without a mirror. Being able to do things on their own. It was much easier and fun, and in a way they never felt before. He started to feel less lonelier as he used to, as they used to, so now neither of them wanted to risk going back to their old lives. Not until they realized how much better life would be if they got together not in one person. It was also because of this reason why Steven wanted to have Marc with him to touch and to feel the warmth of his skin, to even feel his hands or his lips against him.
Or to scold him if he didn't get back in thirty minutes from now.
Anyway, just hope that Marc would settle the problem and go home sooner. Steven didn't really expect anything to happen in the next thirty minutes but to welcome him home.
***
The night air felt colder than usual, there were two men- one man, the other was a silly god, standing on the street corner, not too obvious for people around, looking at the weird view that came in front of them. If anything like this had happened before they clearly were behind the times. But they were not alone by the way, surely this weird unusual scene had caught the police attention. Many police cars kept coming at the site and started to stop near before circling the location. They were all both surprised and intrigued by the phenomenon that they witnessed. Mouth agape. They knew it was a weird thing looking at a building full of holes that no one ever saw or knew. Even himself.
"What a mess.. What do you think?" A deep voice came into his ear. Loud enough that it could wake someone up from their beautiful dream because of how rough and creepy it sounded. But to him, it was just a silly bird god who just talked to him like a normal human being or even to be honest, was like a child who was talking nonsense.
The man looked around for a second, anticipating someone near their surroundings, "This should be happening on purpose, is it? But I've never seen such thing. It's lucky that this place is abandoned, there are no casualties." His voice wasn't loud enough for people around him to hear. No one needed to see that he was talking to himself like a madman.
"Well, there was only one way to find out," the god said, nudging at the hole. The American man narrowed his eyes, looking at the god in horror.
"You're saying that we have to jump in there, knowing nothing to do with it?"
"We would never know until we try it."
"Nah, I have to be back in thirty minutes if I still want to live." He sighed as he started to walk around carefully. Each hole was jet black and he couldn't see what was inside. He looked at where the police stood and saw them putting police lines around the building. Neither of them dare to get close to the holes.
"Don't be a coward, Marc. It's just a portal that leads somewhere. It'll going to be fun, don't you think?" the god nudged at one of the holes near them again with his cane. Marc only gave him an annoying look. Since when did Khonshu get this excited just for some kind of hole they had never seen before? He put his hands on his jacket pocket and ignored the god's words.
"Let's just take a look around there and we'll be leaving in a minute." was what he said after the third round of hole searching. The god just followed where his avatar was going, then stopped. There was an odd feeling when both of them got near to one of the holes that was just placed on the wall next to a huge picture.. The god looked at it in a way that told the man that it was more than just an ordinary hole with no signs of life. It felt magical somehow. In fact, it kind of seemed alive. There was air shifting around it. Marc shot him a knowing look.
"Go on."
"You sure about this?" the god shrugged his shoulders. "Just, let me- I'll try something." Marc looked around, trying to find something. He bent down and took one of the ruins, a hand-sized piece of concrete he found, and then threw it at the hole. They waited and expected something. But nothing was happening. They waited again for a second and Marc growled. "See? Nothing's in-"
"Owh! Who the hell did just throw a stone in my head?!"
That caught them off guard.
For some reason a part of Marc's brain decided that the stone should be thrown at someone's head. He and the god exchanged looks before walking closer to the hole. In a second, something popped up and grabbed Marc's hand immediately.
"So, were you the one who threw that stone at me? I'm sorry buddy, I was in a bad mood and I'm upset now." The body was white.. and full of holes too. In a fast move it pulled Marc into the hole and disappeared right away.
***
The TV was on, a British man was sitting on the living room couch of his apartment while waiting for his lover to come home. The thirty minutes had lasted five minutes ago and there was no sign of Marc's presence yet. He's late again. Steven thought before deciding to go to the kitchen and start putting the dinner for Marc in the fridge. He would reheat it later when Marc was home. Just hope that he won't oversleep.
After cleaning the kitchen table, he headed back towards the living room but that was when he heard a loud crash coming from the direction. Quickly, Steven glanced at the direction of the living room with panic, immediately grabbed one of the kitchen tools near him.
He stumbled two times while walking towards the scene, a pan in his hands. Slowly getting closer, he could see something– a figure laying on the floor. It was someone in.. what, red and blue costume? Wait, what date is it today? It's not Halloween yet! He came closer. The figure was, huge, and his presence feeling up his nerves and made him sweat cold. Steven held tightly at the pan on his hands seeing the figure turned around, mask on his face, his right side suit was torn and Steven could see blood dripping from his skin. He looked peevish, Steven could tell, then gasped slightly and held the pan up in defense.
"Who are you?! What are you doing in my house and, how.. how did you get in here?!" Steven was almost yelling that he didn't know which question was important first. His heart was beating rapidly, not being able to catch his breath at all. The figure then started to realize Steven's presence before groaning loudly, raising his body while staring at Steven's direction, which Steven couldn't count on what was the expression the figure had on him. And then the mask's eyes were moving. It was moving! Steven's mouth gaping slightly at whatever that was in front of him.
"Listen I don't know who you are, you look like a bloody ghost to me, and I need you to explain whatever is going on. After that you can leave, yeah?" Steven was panicking but he couldn't help but try to speak without trembling. He tried his best to keep eye contact with the figure, though it was hard to really look at the figure's eyes. The other one seemed to ignore him and looked around again.
"Hello, I'm talking to y–"
"Stop talking to me," The figure spoke in a deep voice that caught Steven off guard, it was then that something clicked inside of his mind. He held down the pan.
"Marc?"
In any way, somehow Steven started to feel less panic and a bit relaxed, "Bloody hell, Marc. You just scared me to death, you could've–"
"Which earth am I at? Lyla, can you hear me–? Shit! Where is my goober?" The man spoke with a rough voice while looking around again, eyes darting around to look for something in his hands. "Damn it, where is it?!" He sounded, panicked? Steven couldn't tell, and those costume, did Khonshu had another suit? But red and blue weren't Khonshu's colors, weren't they? And moreover, since when Marc got this tall? His huge figure was towering over everything as Steven saw he stretched his body. It was taking the whole room over.
After putting down the pan on the table, and taking a deep breath Steven turned to face the man that was about to walk closer towards the open window. "Where are you even going?" Steven asked, and without a doubt, taking the strong hands to prevent him from walking away. The other seemed annoyed and jerked his hand back fast. That caused Steven to jolt in surprise, he was taken aback by the rough action.
"Don't touch me. You gotta tell me which earth is this. And fuck , Lyla where are you, can't you hear me?"
Steven looked at him confused, not expecting such an answer. Was Marc hadn't finished the work yet?
"Layla's not here and you just got home, and.. Oh my god, let me see your wounds. Look, Marc, you got a lot of cuts." he finally said and grabbed his arm again, and tried to lead him back to the living room.
"You know Lyla? How do you know her, tell me what earth is this?" His voice sounded demanding and rough while trying to pull his hand back, but Steven held him still, though he jerked forward a little.
"What earth? What are you talking about, Marc?"
"Stop calling me Marc, I have my own name. And I have a lot of important things to do. Don't you get in my way." The man kept in his place, making Steven having trouble pulling him along.
"What things? How much longer do you want to go? Wait, is this a joke? You're coming late just to surprise me with this, that you'd show up in this silly costume and try to scare me, if yes then you got me pretty well, I was surprised to death. But I could tell that the wounds were not part of it." Steven didn't know why he was snapped. But it was starting to bother him. If Marc really wanted to surprise him, it was all okay then he would let him be, he was pleased by it because Marc never did such thing, even, it was kind of pleasing in a weird way seeing him dressing up like a fancy spiderman. But this, how could people surprise someone in a bloodied condition, like he did now? No one would have expected their lover to show up in a bloodied mess like this.
Steven held his hand tightly this time, "Okay, this is not funny anymore, Marc. Take off your mask and those.. silly costume, and let me take care of the wounds. I'm not going to be mad at you, just please stop this act. Not to mention that you just broke my favorite vase there."
"No, you don't understand a single thing, somebody is about to screw up the entire universe and I can't fucking sit on the sidelines and waste my time on this bullshit." He fetched his hand again but now so hard that it made Steven wince and take a step back.
"Marc, there's something wrong with y–" with that the other man walked towards him, hovering over like a predator ready to pounce and kill the prey in sight. "Whoa–” Steven reached out a hand trying to stop his movements. As soon as he saw the man's hand raised, he thought about getting a punch so he backed again. He closed his eyes, and when he opened it, the man's mask was off. Steven was completely baffled, like a cat with its paws caught in a trap.
A completely different face, shown up in front of him.
An entirely different appearance that didn't seem to belong to Marc. In which was started getting closer to his own. The stranger stared at him for a moment, breathing heavily. " Listen, " he spat out, Steven was frozen in shock, eyes wide open. "I need to go but before it I must have my goober, and you know Lyla, don't you? You mentioned that earlier. So do you mean there is the other Lyla in this universe, if yes it is, you gotta tell me where she is."
Steven was in shock, mouth agape as the intruder pushed him, further, making Steven stumble backward and hit the couch behind him, hands moving on his own to look for something, anything. The man tilted his head, waiting for Steven's response.
"You.. You're not Marc," he stated, almost whispering. He took a few seconds to comprehend this fact before shaking his head. "But you sound just like–"
"I don't need to hear your nonsense, quick telling me where's your Lyla." he roughly grabbed Steven’s left shoulder, about to jerk forward again. Then, in a fast move, Steven swung the pan he had grabbed and it hit right in the stranger's face. To his even surprise, the pan cracked in half as it fell to the ground, the hit was affecting his hand too of course, it stung like hell that he felt himself wincing slightly. Looking at the scene in front of him, realization creeping out all over his body seeing the man stopped in his movement for a second. Face looking hard to read.
"Did you just hit me with a pan?"
Steven didn't answer. Didn't know how to. He held the half remaining panhandle he had in his hands, and kept raising it.
"A fucking pan?"
Steven took a deep breath. "Yes, I did! And I would do that again," He said with a glare.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you. Besides, it's cracked."
A moment of silence fell between them, Steven never once lowered the pan, not as long as everything seemed safe enough. On the other hand, the other man seemed to calm down as he looked around, his eyes landed back at Steven.
"Look, I'm sorry about this, this whole fucking situation and I know you scared. I was just trying to tell you that I'm not the one who you’re expecting to see, but I really really need to go. If you don't wanna help, then don't get on my way."
But Steven wasn't satisfied. Everything happened at once and nothing worked on his man. What the man said, it didn't make him less calm. Steven was just more curious, and also very confused. How did the man sound exactly like Marc, but looking entirely different at the same time? It was quiet again until Steven realized that he should probably say something about it.
"Okay," Steven started, it was really hard to move out a word but then, "But, but you gotta tell me, who are you, how can you sounded like Marc, I mean, I know people could have the similar voice as other people, but.., I've never found people who sounded as the same as him and the fact that you just broke into my house so suddenly that I was just here and in a minute you came. That's clearly not normal, who are you, what's your intention here?" At first he planned on asking the questions one by one but he couldn't bring himself to be patient. After all, what was this situation?
The other, however, looked a little tired after the outburst. A bit calmer and quieter than before, he answered, "My name is Mi-"
"And explain how you can know Layla."
"Can you not talk for a second and let me explain it first?"
"Sorry."
The man took a deep breath, "My name is Miguel O'hara. I am Spiderman 2099 and I am from another dimension. I lead an elite strike force dedicated to the security of the multiverse and wish to keep it in order, prevent something that changes the canon event, and detain something or someone who breaks the rule against it, which is called, an anomaly."
Steven fell silent. Remember when he himself was dead at Duat and woke up to find Marc looking at him in a separated body? Yeah that was the most shocking thing that happened to him and got him wondering so many questions. But this, this was beyond his expectation to hear such thing coming out from this strange man that just broke into his apartment . He looked at him like a fish out of water, did he just say that he came from another dimension? And what kind of work did this guy do again?
"Another dimension?" he tried to ask even though everything seemed so blurry.
"Yes, if this is your first time hearing it I don't blame you for being skeptical, but I can't bring myself to keep explaining it because there is something more important I have to deal with now."
"That doesn't explain why you ended up here."
"I was in the middle of a fight with an anomaly of course, he could create a hole that teleports anything that enters through it into another dimension. And I almost got his head sliced but then he pushed me into one of the holes that sent me here. S'all I can say."
At this point Steven was still trying to process everything he told him. He was feeling overwhelmed and the situation was making him confused. Like a giant wave crashing against his mind and bringing some new information to him. "Okay, fine, but, what does any of this have to do with Layla?"
"Lyla is my personal AI, she could–"
"Wait, Layla is an AI? No, she's my friend!" Steven didn't know what was happening but the man in front of him sighed.
"Are we even talking about the same thing?"
Steven didn't answer. He was still having difficulty wrapping up his head around all this information that was given to him. What same thing? He was telling the truth, that Layla was his friend. Except if the man was right. They were talking about a different thing,
"This is so much worse, I can't stay any longer here." He said, taking a few steps toward the door, Steven followed him but carefully now. He was no longer pointing the panhandle towards the man. All this information was new but it all made sense. If anything, he couldn't blame the man for this situation if he was telling the truth. This was all out of his control that he ended up in here. Instead, he felt guilty for hitting him with a pan.
"If that what it is, I uh, I'm sorry for the.." Steven made a gesture with his hand that still holding the panhandle. The other man looked at him, then at the pan on his hand then at Steven, again, face hard to read. Well maybe it wasn't the pain that was bothering him, it was the fact, that he just got hit by a pan.
"Yeah," he answered about leaving.
"Wait, you're bleeding."
"I can take care of myself."
Steven didn't get to reach his hand as the man started to shoot a web before swinging away from the window.
***
Steven fell asleep, he woke up hours later when the morning was already starting. His head ached a bit, but it wasn't as bad as his neck. After a couple of blinking, he just realized that he wasn't in his bed, that he wasn't sleep with Marc beside him. He just slept with the arm couch as a pillow, no wonder his neck felt so numb. The morning scenery felt colder here than the usual one when they were in the bedroom. What was making him feel sad was the fact that Marc hadn't come home yet, since last night.
Stretching out his body as he stood up, he immediately reached his phone and checked if there was a call from Marc. But nothing popped up on the screen, not even a message. There must be something off. If Marc couldn't make it home, he would surely send him a message right way.
He had breakfast fast, took a shower and decided to look for Marc even though he didn't know where to start, but at least he got a clue about where he might be. Well, he hoped so. The first option that came into his mind was to contact Layla.
And talking about Layla.. he just remembered, the man from last night, was he really going to come to Layla? Surely if it really was his Layla he was looking for. But the man said that he was looking for Layla, an AI Layla. What was that supposed to mean? If it was it, then he guessed it wasn't his Layla–
Whatever. Yesterday was the weirdest thing he had ever experienced.
But, there was something in him telling him that the man needed help. Beside, after knowing the truth, Steven started feeling worried over him. Not that because he sounded like Marc. It was because he felt some other similarities between him and Marc, not just the voice, but something, somewhat, in that man, felt so familiar.
Anyway, he should hurry, why even worry over a stranger when his lover was missing?
He grabbed his phone and started to call Layla right way. After just a couple of seconds, the girl picked it up immediately.
"Hi sweetheart, good morning? You don't usually call at this hour." Always with that cheering voice of hers that every time it happened Steven would just love it.
"Good morning to you too Layla, yeah well.." he stepped out of his apartment. "It's Marc, he hasn't come home since last night. I know it happens sometimes, but he never just gone without telling me, there is no even a message."
"So then, you're this worried?"
"Yeah, sort of. And oh..," he paused, thinking whether or not he should tell her about last night's event.
"Yeah?"
"Have you, uh.. Did someone come to you last night? Or maybe this morning?"
"Nope. What about it?"
"Oh Layla, you wont believe it."
"Sweetie, what is it??"
Steven sighed hearing the girl asked in so much curiosity in her voice. She wouldn't stop asking him after this. Carefully stepping inside the elevator, he replied, "I'll make it quick. So last night someone broke into my apartment. He was from another dimension, something like that. He sounded so much like Marc, if you know. And yeah, he said he was looking for Layla, I don't know who he meant with that."
The other side of the phone was silent for a couple of seconds, then, "Someone from another universe? And what does he want from me??"
"I don't know, the Layla he was looking for is an AI so I don't think it was you, but it just keeps bothering me."
"How did he break into your apartment?"
"He said that he got thrown through a portal, a hole he said. A hole that can send something into another dimension. Wait, you don't sound surprised, you've known about it?
"Well.. not so much, but, I know one two thing about it, and have you not seen the news? About a building that full of holes, it's all over the channels. I knew it was it, some kind of portal that leads something into another dimension."
That caught him off guard. Steven froze in place, something just came into his mind.
"Wait wait wait, Marc was there, he told me he would take a look at it for a moment." the realization hit him like an invisible punch.
"Steven, are you serious?"
Was he serious? Of course he was. "Oh my god." Hell something better be happening not as he imagined it was.
"Steven, meet me at the place."
"On my way."
***
The whole situation was one of the worst mess he had encountered before. Not that he would think over it now cause he had to focus on the problem at hand. Getting into another dimension was a piece of cake but he had to be careful with which hole he had to jump in. No longer had a goober within him, that made him glitched in over all, three times, and made him not sleep at all last night. One thing he had figured out while keeping himself occupied was that Spot hadn't gone here, The Alchemax was still there with no damage. It was a matter of time. The thing could be here anytime soon and looking at the situation down there, no one knew what they were dealing with. For the record, this was new for him, for anyone. If not because of that little shit who created the Spot, not knowing what would come ahead.
Police were still navigating things, searching for clues, trying to find the cause of these strange occurrences. Looking at the holes with curiosity. It seemed that they managed to keep it under control until now. Whatever they were doing, they were being very secretive as well.
He dug his claws into the surface of the building not so far from the scene and pulled himself further up. Then, standing on the edge of the roof looking at whatever was going on. He was expecting something to appear anytime. A hero, a savior, or something. Was there not even a fucking spider-man come looking here?
Anyway he shouldn't think non-sense right now. It was his duty to clear this mess, not to be stuck thinking about how he was going to handle it. Whatever universe he was at, it was surely none of his business to know which its Spider-man was. Unless it was really needed as a way to get out of here. But it wasn't needed as long as he would stay here for a while. He was just going to wait here, waiting for Spot to come here, with that, Jess and Ben would be here either. Something in him telling him that Spot would be here sooner or later.
With a torn suit, unhealed wounds, he shot his web and started to swing ahead, but then he glitched. He fell down as he lost grip of the web. He bumped into one of the poles before landing hard on the ground with a loud crash.
"Fuck." That damn glitching was annoying, even though he had to get rid of it eventually for now.
When he came back to his senses again, it took a few seconds for him to get himself up, groaning quietly as he did so. Once he was on his feet, he looked around, getting his bearings. Maybe rejecting the help from the man he just broke his apartment last night was a little– no, he wouldn't call it a mistake. But maybe if he let the man help him with the wounds it wouldn't be this hard to get rid of this whole mess. And talking about the man from last night, he was just an innocent kind man who just wanted to help, not to mention that he just got him a pan punch, he was just being careful.
One second he thought about it, how did he even know that he was the one who he was looking for? And he called him Marc without a doubt. The man had said that he had the same voice as Marc. If Miguel tried to remember everything or everyone in his life he never ever knew someone like him, he didn't even know who he was. Did he mean that Marc was the other version of him in this universe? Was he the spider-man 2099 in this universe with a different name? That was just ridiculous the more he thought about it. There was no way there was the other him in this universe with a different name without him knowing it.
Miguel sighed and took a deep breath before trying to shut his web again but this time not so high. In case he would glitched again. Then the closer he went the more clear it was from up there. Something caught in his eyes. He swung again, trying to get closer and closer to make sure. Between the crowds he could see it clearly. Bless you because I was just talking about you.
It was someone from last night.
"What the hell is he even doing in here?"
He glanced at him for a moment. The man was there, looking around at the building. And just like everyone did, he was agape seeing the view. Not so long after that, the guy was talking on the phone with someone. If Miguel was being honest, he didn't feel good about this. He looked so worried. He followed the guy that went into one of the alleys near the scene. He himself didn't even know what he was doing, why the fuck did he following him like a creep.
***
Steven stepped away from the crowd, a phone on his hand. He had difficulty talking because of his shaking breath. Since when his panic attack was back? He hadn't had a panic attack in a while. He had no clue about where Marc was, if he really went into that hole it meant he was far away, in another universe.
"Steven, take a deep breath. I'll be there in a second." the girl on the phone said before hanging up. Then Steven closed his eyes, grabbing the phone on his chest.
"Okay, Steven, put yourself together. Don't be a fool right now." He said to himself. Trying to steady his breath. After a minute, he calmed down and started walking back towards the scene where the most gobsmacked thing happened. It was just a second as he walked back here, there was something grabbing his hand. Quickly he turned back and found something– someone? He couldn't even recognize his face, either with his body. His body was just in half, that popped up from the hole that suddenly appeared there.
"Wha–"
"I'm sorry, didn't mean to scare you. I just.. Are you the local?" the faceless thing spoke, Steven widened his eyes. Trying his best to pull his hand back.
"I'm really sorry, dude. I didn't–"
"Who– what are you?" Steven whispered. The faceless man tilted his head then snapped.
"Wait wait wait, were you the one who threw a stone at me?"
Well, this started to become weirder. "I didn't throw any stones!" Steven replied confused.
"Yes you were, and I was sure that I'd thrown you to another dimension!"
Somebody better take Steven away from here, this whole situation made him dizzy and he was afraid that he would go crazy with it. Maybe he was worrying over Marc too much that he started hallucinating things. He shook his head, "Look, whoever you are, can you please let go of me? I don't know a single thing that you're talking about."
The thing let go of his hand then looked at him. "Okay, uhm if you're already back in here, well lucky you. And I'm really sorry for throwing you in the first place, I was just pissed with something so, it was just a reflex." The guy looked pretty genuine for some odd reason, and yet he seemed to be serious with that. His voice sounded like a child who just wanted to say sorry for breaking a toy. "I'm sorry, whatever, forget it. Do you know where the Alchemax is?"
"The what?"
"The-" the thing froze in place as he looked past Steven. In a blink of eye something gleaming in red flew past right next to him at an abnormal speed, leaving behind a trail of glittering dust in its wake. It went straight to the faceless man, knocking him out so hard that sent him flying away and crashed into a building. Steven jumped back in alarm.
"W… what the hell?" he asked himself while trying to see through the dust where the attack was happening, but all he saw was the shadow of a figure, and it looked familiar. As the dusk disappears slowly, now he could fully see what was, or it turned out, who was just attacked. He saw red and blue suit, his hands showing claws that looked dangerously spiky. Steven gasped slowly, it was the 2099 spider-man, the one from last night. What was his name again? Maguire? Miguel? It was Miguel, Steven remembered.
Now that it was actually in front of him, the man– Miguel turned to his direction, face covered in mask, Steven could only see the eyes moving. They were glowing in a red line that Steven found it cool and unsettling at the same time. It was a light red, shining in the dark. Steven almost forgot to take a breath, he slowly blinked again and calmed himself down. Steven saw Miguel narrowed his eyes, and looked at the faceless man that was laying helpless on the ground just in front of him.
Miguel turned back at Steven then saying, "Get out of here." Steven opened his mouth trying to talk, to ask questions when Miguel continued. "I don't want you here. So, I suggest you leave now, before you end up in trouble." He turned back to the faceless man and started grabbing him by the neck. The faceless man started to struggle in his hold, screaming loudly but then he laughed in defeat.
"Ah it's you again. I... didn't know that I sent you here where my next destination is placed. I admitted it, I was so stupid. But can you- ... Can you loosen your grip a bit, I can't breath." He sounded so hurt. But Miguel was not fazed.
"Just happy to see you here," he growled, tightening his grip and pulling him up.
He was about to shoot his web when the faceless man said, "You know, my body is kind of made of holes. So I think you have to be careful, I might slip in anytime."
Miguel then shot his web at his body instead, just like a rope, it wrapped around his body so tight that it might crushed him. Then it really tightened around his body and made him cry out in pain. But Miguel seemed not to care about that whatsoever. And all of that Steven watched still frozen in place, his gaze going between the two people and the web.
"Are you hurt?" Miguel asked, and since when did he get this close?
Steven startled, "I uh, no." It was kind of awkward, he didn't know why. It was probably because they just met a day ago and their encounter last night was, he could say, ridiculous, then now the man had saved him. "Thank you."
Miguel hummed in return, not answering him directly. The guy seemed really annoyed, and yet strangely fascinated at the same time. They were looking at each other for a couple of seconds, Steven still didn't know what to expect because of that mask that was covering his face. It almost felt like he was watching him but Steven didn't really see his eyes. Miguel still had the wounds on his body unhealed, and Steven was trying so hard not to ask him if he was okay or if he wanted to go with him to his apartment just so that he could heal his wounds. Surely he had to do something in return because for God's sake Miguel just saved his life. It wasn't really really like he saved his life,,at first he didn't know what the faceless man would do to him but he was so grateful that Miguel came just in time to prevent the faceless man from doing any further action. Steven was just afraid that he might get pulled and thrown into another dimension like he did to Miguel.
"I guess this is it, I'm done here." Miguel said as he was about to leave.
Steven quickly answered him, "Wait, where are you going?"
"Get back to where I can get this little mess detained."
Steven didn't seem happy with the answer so he said, "Wait.. I need help, and I think you're the one who can help me, you're the only one who can help me."
To Steven's surprise, Miguel looked a little bit excited when he heard it. "What is it?"
"I need to find Marc and I think, he went into that hole, I think he's in another universe right now. I don't know how to get him back, so maybe you know how to do it," Steven's voice sounded so hopeful to Miguel, it sounded so desperate for help. And Miguel thought that it was so sweet of him to ask him like that. Wait, what the hell did he just think?
"It depends, I have to know where he is first. Which universe he was at." his voice sounded rougher than before.
"I have no idea about that."
"Well then I will just ask him right way." Miguel pulled the faceless man closer. "I'll come to you when I find him."
"So now you're just gonna go?" Steven asked, not even trying to hide his sadness.
"Yeah." With that the conversation seemed to end. And Steven expected that Miguel would go without any trouble, until he saw it, when Miguel shot his red web, still bringing the faceless man with him, Steven saw him fall into the ground. He didn't know what was just happening but Miguel fell down. When he was in the air Steven saw something happening in him. Something weird. And he ran after it, he ran after where Miguel fell.
"Oh no." He jerked back when the faceless man tried to break free from Miguel's grip. What was happening? Miguel looked so hurt, he let his guard down and the faceless man finally got away from him.
"Okay gentleman, I'm so sorry for the mess I've created, but it's nice to have fun with you guys. And for you, Mr. 2099, next time please, do not knock out people that hard, it hurts so bad, you know?"
"You little shit," Miguel stood up and ready to chase him, but it was too late that it had gone within his hole. "Fuck!"
Miguel shot his web again and went up, but then again, he glitched. While Steven was trying so hard to figure out everything that was happening, before he ran again, following Miguel who just fell into a glass roof of a bookstore.
"I don't wanna hear any answer from you, you're going with me." Steven stated soon as he came near him.
"Stay away from me!"
"No! Look at you, you're bleeding all over yourself, let's get you patched up first, and then we can talk."
It was clearly worsened when Steven suddenly heard a siren coming closer from a distance behind him. Police. Everything became blurry when there were police cars coming towards their direction. Steven panicked as they suddenly appeared and surrounded them in a circle. The police pointed their guns at both of them, Steven raised his hands in reflex. But soon he realized that most of them were pointing guns at Miguel's direction.
"Don't move, hands in the air!" One of the cops demanded. Steven raised his hands in surrender, and he was starting to get worried.
"Stay away from him, young man! He is suspected as the cause of the incident in the building." The police said again.
He what? Steven couldn't understand anything that was being said, and his head hurt because of the police light that blinded his visions. He looked at Miguel's direction with his head slightly cocked, and noticed that Miguel was glaring at the policemen angrily, before recovering his face with his mask. Steven then glanced down at Miguel's hands. Claws were retracting from his fingers and looking sharper. Judging at his posture right now, surely he knew, Miguel was about to fight back.
Steven shook his head immediately, "No, don't." He said in a small voice. Attacking cops was not a good idea but Miguel seemed not to care.
"Sir, he's a dangerous man, you have to stay away, we'll handle this from now on." Another cop spoke. They were getting closer by any second, guns still aimed at them.
"No no no, there's a misunderstanding. He's not the cause of this incident, he–" Steven tried to talk back.
"He'd been detected loitering here all night, and our investigation showed that he's connected to this incident."
"Connected doesn't mean that he's the cause of it. Just let us explain it care–"
"If you don't move back, we'll suspect you as his companion, and you have to come with us now." The third cop interrupted. He didn't like that tone of voice at all, it made him feel like a prisoner.
"Wait, no! I didn't do anything, he didn't do any–" Before he could finish the sentence he felt a hand wrapped around his waist and before he could think any of it, he flew away.
"Aaah!" He yelled as Miguel shot his web and they both swung away from the scene. In Miguel's arms Steven held tightly onto his neck as they swung around the city. He didn't stop feeling panicked about whatever was going on.
"Oh my god!" He screamed as they swung again, faster this time. Miguel seemed to be concentrating on keeping his hold on him as he shot his web again. And that made Steven's heart skip a bit for the realization. For his sake Miguel shot his web with one hand. His other hand was holding Steven's waist tightly. Steven felt like he was high, like he was drunk, and he was going to puke by this sudden action that just happened. They continued swinging for a while, and it took him less time than usual before he stopped panicking and calmed himself. He slowly lifted his gaze, his heart started racing again when he looked down. He held Miguel's shoulder tighter, preventing himself from slipping. They were in ten of meters high and he didn't want to think of what would happen if he fell down to the ground.
"Don't look down, you won't fall." he heard Miguel speak, his mask was off. And Steven wanted to trust him but he couldn't bring himself to do so.
"Just... just take it slow." He responded, and.. was that a smile he saw on Miguel's face?
Steven saw him smiling, and that made him feel calm. But it wasn't long before the police siren was heard again. Oh god, they were following them. He looked up at Miguel and saw his face hardened. They started swinging even higher and faster in which made the police race their car faster. It became worse when they started shooting them.
"Fuck!" What just happened was they got him, they shot Miguel right on his right shoulder and that made him lose his balance. And that was it when Steven screamed as they fell down from the highness. He closed his eyes tightly, life flashing before his eyes as he thought he would die from falling. But no, Miguel shot his web again before they even reached the ground. But this time his movements were slower.
When he opened his eyes again, he saw Miguel clenched his jaw before saying, "Hold on tighter, I need to shoot with both hands."
Steven did as he told him and he tightened his grip even more. As he did so, Miguel shot another web, then another, and another. They turned around quickly, going into alleys to hide from the cops but they were pretty fast, and it was difficult for the two of them to swing faster since Miguel was injured. Miguel kept shooting his web and Steven could tell that the man didn't know where to go, judging by his expression so he spoke, "Turn left, turn left. We're going to my place."
With that Miguel fastened his movement and they made it lose track with the police. Steven could see his apartment just across the road. He hoped that his neighbors wouldn't see them. Miguel brought them both closer and Steven gasped when they reached the apartment building. There they were, Miguel's claws dug on the walls while still holding him. Steven didn't know how to walk but then Miguel guided him. Miguel opened the apartment's window and pushed Steven inside before following him. The moment that their feet touched the apartment floor, Miguel let go of his body.
And that made Steven stumble a little, "Oh thank god, I–" He didn't get to finish his words when he saw Miguel's body go limp before falling flat to the ground.
Steven dropped to his knees beside Miguel's side, looking at him worriedly as he felt how cold his temperature was. His skin was white and his breathing was slowing down. But he was still breathing. His eyes weren't closed and his breathing sounded painful. Was he going to... was he gonna pass out already?
"Miguel." Steven called him. He needed to wake up right now. "Oh no." Steven's stomach rolled and he felt sick as Miguel lost his consciousness.
***
Miguel woke up feeling numb all over his body. He groaned as he moved, trying to lift his body. He blinked a few times, taking some time to open his eyes properly, slowly, he saw a ceiling above him. Where was he? He asked himself, gaining his consciousness, then he remembered, he was in the same apartment that he broke into last night. He didn't know why but it made him less tense, and now he closed his eyes again. It felt calm. And warm. This place felt so warm. He liked how comfortable he was lying down, it was very relaxing. For a second it made him almost forgot why he was here again. He liked how comfortable he was lying down, it was very relaxing.
When he finally gained consciousness, he tried lifting himself up once again only to realize that something was restricting his movements. Looking at it carefully, he noticed there was a cloth covering his whole body. He tried moving more to see better and found that there were bandages around his chest, up to his shoulder. He was still wearing his suit but there were so many cuts and it was torn apart, and bloodied. The pain was unbearable at first and clenched his jaw, groaning slowly. Then he managed to shift and see his arm.
His right sleeve had been cut off, revealing where all his wounds and bruises were. He remembered the wound near his elbow was really deep and it was bleeding so much. But they were all patched. Bandages all over his arm, around his shoulders. Did he do this all? He thought before bringing himself to sit down, but it ached so bad. He leaned his body against the couch he was laying on before sighing heavily. There was no more thing he wanted to do but just close his eyes and rest a little longer. He had never felt this calm in a while.
After a minute he then realized as he sharpened his hearing. There were people talking just across the room. It were male and female voices, which he knew whose voice the male was. He was, wait, he didn't even know his name yet. He tried to listen to what they were talking about, positioning himself so that he could listen more easily.
“You just said he was the one who broke into your apartment last night.” the female voice said.
"I told you, he saved my life. And he's the only chance for us to find Marc." It was the owner of the apartment's voice.
"But I can't tolerate it if he stays with you," she said with a worried voice, or to be specific, she sounded demanding.
"Then do you want him to stay with you instead?"
"No! Why would I?"
"If so, then who wants to keep him? Police are after him for now I can't let them take him."
"That's it, the police are after him, and you're here trying to hide him from them?!" Her voice was getting louder, "You know you could be arrested when they find you both?"
"Shh you'll wake him up. Anyway, yeah! He knows how to save Marc. Marc could be somewhere far away, anywhere, we can't find him. But he can, what am I supposed to do when I just found the only way to get him back?"
Miguel heard the girl sighed, then "But you can endanger yourself, don't you realize that? I don't want you messing up with the police."
Yeah, the girl had a point. What a fool now that he just realized he was making someone's life in danger. Because of him. He was sure that the police were looking for the guy too.
"I'm not, I won't, they don't even understand that it wasn't Miguel's fault."
"Steven," she sighed again.
Steven, his name was Steven. He should remember that. Thanks to her she mentioned that so that he won't bother himself asking his name later.
"Did they see your face?" She asked.
"Well.."
"Oh you're definitely going into trouble."
"I'm pretty sure they've forgotten my face.. I know what I'm doing, Layla. Just let me do this, okay?"
And the girl's name was Layla. Was she the one Steven had mentioned last night? Yeah she was. All of those misunderstandings were solved. So that meant he really couldn't find Lyla. His goober might be somewhere else, but not here. That made him realize how messed up he was right now.
"Okay," He heard the girl whisper, her voice still sounding concerned, maybe even worried. "Just.. Be careful, promise me you'll be alright."
"I promise, don't worry." The sounds were coming closer, and in less than five seconds, they were both standing in the living room, looking at Miguel in surprise. The man, who he knew now as Steven, was holding a tray of food and he smiled at him, looking genuinely happy to see him awake.
"Oh you're awake," he said as he stepped closer. His tone was different from when he talked with the girl. And Miguel could see his soft little smile when he approached him, "How do you feel?" Steven asked in concern, putting the tray down on the table before sitting next to him on the couch. Why was he not afraid, or, why was he so eager to get close to him? Why was there no doubt in his eyes when he spoke to him, or looked at him? And most importantly, why is it that he suddenly was feeling shy and awkward?
He didn't answer. He couldn't speak, he was still so dumbfounded. He felt uncomfortable, and he wished Steven didn't have such kind features. It seemed unfair for somebody like him to have such a nice appearance, and he couldn't understand it.
"Tired." was all he could answer.
"Let me take a look for a second." Steven's hand touched his shoulder slowly, he was getting closer again and Miguel got another smell on his face, sweet and comforting.
"The shot was a bit off, it doesn't damage your shoulder too badly. But it needs attention. The bandages must be changed frequently."
Miguel was trying so hard to listen to his voice, but he kept spacing out everytime he was looking at the man, trying to figure out his expression, the way he moves. How could he move so gracefully and so quietly? His touches were soft and careful. And his voice was hypnotic. Like, why would he be this worried? Why would he be this caring knowing the fact that they were just met yesterday? The fact that he just broke into his apartment so suddenly that it frightened him but now all of that fear from last night was gone and changed into something caring and tendering.
He couldn't understand how Steven managed to make him feel safe in just a minute. It should be him to make Steven feel safe, to protect, or to say that he didn't have to worry about his Marc that he desperately wanted him to be back. And knowing the fact that he was able to heal his wounds, clean the rest of his wounds by himself, and how he was being so nice to him already, without even knowing him. It was all so confusing and yet it felt good to him.
He saw Steven was looking at his eyes, they were so close to each other and he could see the browns in them, they glowed brightly when he was close, like they'd catch fire anytime. He knew they wouldn't know how he reacted to Steven's touch, he never made a face, he was expressionless the entire time. But his mind was buzzy, his thoughts were racing, there was so much in his head that he couldn't decide what to think. And his heart beat fast because of nervousness. Wait now, since when he got all nervous?
This was starting to get out of his control. He didn't want to feel like this, like some stupid teenager having a crush on someone.
"Steven," the girl's voice snapped him out of the daze he was in, so as Steven, they turned their heads and looked at her.
"Yeah? Oh yeah.. Uhm Miguel, this is Layla, she wants to ask you some questions," Steven explained as he adjusted himself to sit straight next to him. But he didn't get away, he kept being close to him.
Miguel just nodded, before hearing the girl speak, "Can you really help us find Marc?"
"I'm afraid that I'm the only one who can," Miguel said back, not wanting to feel intimidated. With that he could see the girl widened her eyes in surprise.
"I know, I told you, he sounds like Marc, doesn't he?" Steven said, smiling softly. And Miguel was trying so hard not to look at his face every five seconds.
"Okay, well, can we trust you? You know, we don't know who you are yet, and judging by your manner, I know you're a tough guy who has a temper and I also know you probably are used to violence, moreover you're-"
"Layla, that's not necessary to say, let's just get to the point." Steven interrupted.
"Okay I'm sorry. How would you find Marc?"
Miguel looked at Steven for a second and turned to Layla.
"If he's in another universe, then I can find him through my monitor. And it's on Earth-928, my original universe. As soon as I have my energy back I could create a portal to go back there."
"Okay, that sounds trusting. And what's with the police, why are they after you?"
"They blame me for the incident in the building."
"And who exactly is responsible for that? Do you know?"
Miguel paused, shifting himself to get comfortable in his seat. "It's Spot. He is an anomaly, he could create a hole, as a portal to other dimensions, allowing someone or objects to teleport into another dimension."
"Spot? The faceless man from earlier?" Steven asked.
Miguel nodded, "Yeah."
Steven and Layla exchange looks. Steven made a gesture with his face that indicated he understood about it. After a couple of seconds the girl said, "Okay, seems that you could be trusted."
"But," now it was Steven talking. "What just happened to you?"
Miguel frowned, "Which one?"
"I saw something happen to you, when you were shooting webs. And you just fell down."
Oh that thing.
"I glitched, it's the thing that happens if we go to another dimension. We are built by our own version of atoms, which is why being in a different universe could make a cellular malfunction. It decoys our cells little by little."
Hearing that, Steven was looking at him with narrowed eyes and it seemed like he was thinking. A sick feeling came to his senses as he realized what Miguel was saying. "So, do you mean Marc is going through that too?"
Miguel saw the worryness on Steven's face, he shouldn't have said that way too quickly knowing that the man might be scared to hear what he had to tell him. But it was the truth anyway, Steven deserved to know it sooner or later.
"I'm afraid yes, the exact same thing that happened to me."
There was a brief moment of silence. It was like a weight was placed on his chest as he waited to see Steven's response. But it was Layla who spoke.
"So, what if you stay here too long?"
My body's gonna disintegrate. Looking at Steven now he didn't want him to keep worrying about it over and over. Though it wasn't his problem, he knew that Steven could take care of everything himself beside needing his help.
"A real bad one."
After that the next conversation was about Steven wanting him to stay here until his wounds were healed. And Layla said that she would work on something. She said she could help with the watch, Miguel had said it was a goober, but she just didn't pay any attention to what it was called. This girl was tough, Miguel admitted it. But she had a kind heart. Steven had ordered him to trust her, and told him that everything would be fine if it was Layla.
"I'll find something that is related to your goober thingy, and I hope you heal well. And Steven, be careful." She said before stepping out of the apartment. Leaving two men that were sitting side by side in complete silence.
And again, this damn awkward situation that Miguel hated so much. He hated it because it made him feel like a weakling, and it made him feel stupid and ignorant. Steven had no obligation to comfort him, he didn't need to be concerned about Miguel's safety, and he certainly didn't need any pity. But still, he found himself wanting for nothing more than to feel his touch again. To be near him.
He watched Steven when the man was busy checking at the bandages on his hands this time, and making sure everything was alright. He noticed his eyes, so welcoming and full of compassion, so concerned. His mouth, his lips were shaped perfectly and had this perfect shape when he smiled. Why did he just notice all of this now?
Last night they met for the first time but Miguel never realized how beautiful Steven's features were. His mouth was thin but always wet, it slightly parted, the bottom lip slightly protruding slightly, his tongue sticking out, it looked really adorable. Shut it. Fuck, what the hell he was thinking right now? He felt so dumb for having such deep feelings for a stranger.
In fact, whoever Marc was, whoever the guy was, he was the luckiest man in the world for having such a lovely and caring person like Steven.
"You look like you're deep in thought. Is it because of her?" Steven's voice brought Miguel back to reality.
"What?"
Steven grinned, "Layla. I'm sorry if she said anything rude. I'm sure she means well. She's just worried so much. Actually she's the softest person I've ever met but sometimes she can just be a little bit blunt. But she means well."
She's worried about you.
Anyway, who didn't? If people had someone like him they could even risk their life just to protect him.
"No, I don't dislike her, nor does she annoy me," Miguel answered.
Steven gave him a smile, "Trust me, you can count on her."
"I know."
Here was it again, another silence that followed between them, but it wasn't awkward this time. Instead, both of them sat there in peace. Steven seemed to be enjoying the moment while Miguel just looked at him quietly. He seemed calm, but Miguel knew better. Looking at his posture, Steven was holding something, he bit back a smile while biting his bottom lip. Miguel tried so hard not to smile back at him, keeping his expressionless face, Steven didn't need to see him being excited too, so he asked, knowing what to expect.
"If you have a question, just ask," he told Steven.
That was when Steven smiled widely at him for a short moment, looking at him before he spoke, "So, are you like, Spider-vampire-man?"
"Huh?"
"You have fangs, or did I just mistaken? But I caught it when you were with the faceless man earlier, you looked scary with those fangs. But.., can I see?"
That was a weird one, no one had ever requested such thing to him. And here Steven said it without a doubt that he might get scolded or that Miguel could turn into something hideous or scary and attack him instead. Funny, right?
"No. Any other question?" he said flatly.
Steven pouted, he fucking pouted. And it took all Miguel had in him to stop reacting unnecessary. Somewhere in his body needed to stop reacting to that little gesture of him, or else things would start getting really, really serious. So he had to ignore it and push the thoughts aside. It was ridiculous. Extremely ridiculous. What did he think was going to happen in the next minute? What would Steven think if he pushed him right now, jump on him and devour those pretty pink lips?
What? No, no. Shut it.
They just met yesterdey, fuck it.
"Yeah actually I have a few more. But you didn't answer the first one.. Or I might just consider you as a vampire, but in a cool way."
Miguel chuckled, "Does that really matter for you to know?"
Steven shrugged, "I have never met someone who still considers himself human but he got fangs, and claws, Spider-man doesn't have those kinds of things."
"Let's just say that I'm just a Spider-man but a little bit different. Cooler, yeah, as you said." it kept getting comfier as they talked. Steven never once stopped smiling at him, he even laughed a little bit when Miguel joked about it.
There was a brief silence, but it seemed like Steven was just stalling for time. Miguel knew he wanted to ask so many questions, but somehow he didn't just ask it right way. And Miguel didn't even mind about it, at all. Steven then looked at his face. Then turned around. And then looked at him again. Miguel didn't say anything, whatever the guy's intention was, Miguel didn't mind much about it. It looked pleasing even.
"You know, the faceless man asked something to me, it's about the Alchemax, something? I don't know. Is it the thing you've been dealing with?"
Miguel thought about it for a second then, "Yeah."
"Mind you telling me what this is about?" Steven added.
Miguel didn't answer right away, wondering if it was a good idea to tell him about it. Anyway it wasn't like Steven would get into this business, no, if anything, Miguel didn't want Steven to be part of this. This morning Steven was encountered by The Spot and that was it, he wouldn't let Steven be taken or got thrown into somewhere else. He was too kind to get into trouble. Not to mention that he just made Steven be chased by police too. Oh he would deal with that later.
"Just tell it briefly," Steven said noticing him zoning off.
"I'll tell you very briefly, Alchemax is a mega corporation, a company you can just say, and he is a scientist from Alchemax that was accidentally mutated by a batch of dark matter he was carrying during the destruction of the Super-Collider. In the end, it transformed him into a dimension-traveling creature. And he wanted to become more powerful by looking at where the other Alchemax were, in some other universes."
That was it when he saw Steven nodded a couple of times, Miguel chuckled knowing that Steven didn't really understand it. However Steven seemed to keep listening and didn't bother with a further explanation, he just kept nodding.
"He is empowering himself by absorbing the essential energy from the alternate universe's Super-Collider."
"So, now he's looking for The Alchemax in this universe?" Steven asked, catching some point.
Miguel nodded.
"And it is really here, in London? The Alchemax?"
Miguel nodded again, "Yes."
Steven took an uneasy breath. Something told Miguel that there was something wrong with it.
"What is it?" Miguel asked, feeling anxious suddenly.
"Among other cities, why does it has to be London? You know, the superhero thingy. When there was a bad guy who wanted to do something, somewhere, there would be a bloodbath around it. I just.. Don't want it to be here."
Ah Miguel seemed to understand it, yeah, Steven got a point with that. The fight between the hero and the bad guy, sometimes it couldn't be tolerated. The destruction, the damage, a lot of good people could die by it, Miguel knew it better than anyone. And Steven was just an innocent kind man who loved his city. And they were talking about London, a lovely city full of love and happiness.
"It won't, trust me. I won't let that happen." was what Miguel said, hoping that it could help ease up Steven's worries. And it did, Steven chuckled softly as he looked at him
"You really sound so much like Marc."
The mention of his name over and over again was making Miguel feel weird yet pleasant sensations. He had no clue about how the other guy was, but Steven always saying he sounded like Marc. Did they that similar though?
"He is always like 'I'll do everything for you' or I won't let something bad happen to you' and you know what, his grumpy face is just the same as yours." He continued chuckling.
"Okay, it's enough. I don't even look grumpy. You're talking nonsense," Miguel then added.
"When you said to Layla it's a goober not just some kind of cheap watch you should see your face."
"Shut up." he growled.
Steven clapped his hands, "That's it! You're so grumpy!"
They talked about everything afterwards, but most of it was nonsense, but some of it was really interesting. Steven had ordered him to finish the food he brought for him. And Miguel was glad for it. He was glad for everything Steven did to him. Who else going to take care of him like he did now? Even he was a stranger to Steven. No, Steven had mentioned that he wasn't just a stranger. Steven had told him that he was really really intended to help him no matter what. It wasn't about him looking similar like Marc, well, maybe a little, something else, he said, telling him that he really had to help him. Miguel didn't understand at first but he tried to go with it for a while.
*
"Let's just say that I'm a selfish, that I want to keep you, just because I need you to find someone important to me. Does that suit me?" Steven asked in the middle of doing kitchen's work. And Miguel just sat there, at the kitchen table, eating what Steven had ordered him to eat. It was almost 7 pm, Steven had just finished preparing dinner and finished cleaning up a few dishes. Miguel was now in the not so comfortable shirt which Steven had given to him. He said it was Marc's largest shirt and even so, it was a bit tight for him. If not because of the wounds he wouldn't mind it, but the pressure of the shirt made him uncomfortable. He wanted to say so but didn't, afraid that he'd offend Steven.
"No," he answered.
"So, what else would you think about me? I wanted to help you. Because you're the only one who can find Marc, yeah that's really true. Because you look like a good man, yeah that too. What else? It's not wrong to help people knowing that they have a good intention, or knowing that the would save the world."
Miguel bit back a grin hearing that, Steven was a good talker, he talked a lot. Pretty sure he was a nerd, a nerd in a cool way. Moreover now that he had seen almost every corner of his apartment. His place was almost built from bookshelves. Books everywhere. And Steven had a pretty good taste of keeping ancient relics. He saw some of it in the living room. And all of them were Egyptians. They were old looking, others looked quite dusty or already broken. But all of them had a certain quality that spoke about their great age.
"Okay, uhm.. Are you done eating?"
"Yeah."
"Come over here then, I need to change your bandages." He stood and walked towards the living room, and since when Steven already get there?
Miguel walked closer towards the couch where Steven guided him into before ordering him to sit there next to him. Miguel did and soon Steven moved close to him. Miguel watched as Steven moved his hands, and then felt a pair of soft hands on his shoulders. He felt warm touch on the wounds on his shoulder. He was expecting a bit of pain, it hurt like crazy, but it didn't feel painful like when it happened before.
Steven started opening the old bandages, carefully so as not to tear them any worse. And then he cleaned the wound, carefully. Miguel kept looking at him while he did the work. Steven was always focused on every task in hand. Even making a face when he accidentally pressed the wounds a bit rougher, and he looked up at Miguel to make sure that it was okay. Miguel just nodded. Then after all was cleaned, Steven put new bandages on it again. Once done, he smiled a little and looked at Miguel.
"How are you?" he asked.
Miguel stared at the bandages then at Steven, "Good."
Steven chuckled before saying, "Uhm.. I have only one bed, you can use it if you still feeling-"
"I don't mind couch," Miguel quickly interrupted, surely this kind of conversation would make the situation more awkward. Although it wasn't just going to bother him if it's going to be awkward, it was torturous. But Steven seemed to take it unbothered.
"Alright. But.. If you feel uncomfortable sleeping on the couch you can just, say it, it is really necessary for you to get a good sleep."
Miguel then nodded.
And then everything became silent. Steven seemed to want to say something but then he closed his mouth again. Miguel thanked him after Steven brought him a pillow and a blanket.
"Hey," It was Miguel, "Can I take off my shirt? It's kind of stuffy."
Steven nodded, "As long as you're comfortable."
Miguel then stood to take his shirt off while Steven was about to get but then stopped, quickly turned to face Miguel again, and it was so fast, so quick for Miguel to catch it when Steven placed a kiss on his cheek. His mind was blurry , he couldn't move or react to it. So he just stood in shock. But he didn't show it.
"Sleep tight," Steven said before he went to his bedroom. Leaving the dumbfounded man to process everything.
Steven.
He definitely would deal with him soon.
***
Three days passed with a lot of things happening at once for Miguel. Steven had been taking care of him ever since, always routine changing his bandages two once a day. Keeping an eye on him every second. It was like Steven made a new schedule for his life when Miguel was here. And Miguel never said thanks for all of it, but that didn't seem to faze Steven one bit. Not because he had nothing else to do, but because Steven himself insisted on helping him. And that was very nice. Very very nice.
And through the day, Steven had received a message from Layla that she needed more time to work on her progress doing whatever she had to do that related to the goober Miguel had told them about. And talking about that, Miguel had glitched seven times in three days. But everything beside it was okay.
There was a night, when Steven was awake in the middle of the night, and he came towards him asking if he was asleep or not. His sleepy face looked adorable, Miguel couldn't help staring for a couple of seconds. Maybe Steven was feeling lonely sleeping alone? That would explain why he was coming to see him tonight. Miguel shook his head slightly, trying to come out of the thoughts. The moment he realized that he needed to stop ogling him like an idiot.
"Can I stay with you tonight?" Steven had asked him in a small voice, indicating that Steven hadn't fully awake.
Miguel didn't say anything, in fact, he didn't know how to tell Steven that the couch wasn't large enough for both of them to share. Steven should had known it but looking at his sleepy figure now, Steven wasn't really aware of what he was doing. So Miguel just sat up, and let Steven sit next to him.
That night was a bit tense, but not too much for Steven to notice. Miguel couldn't sleep that night, he was just doing nothing, just kept staring into space listening to Steven's breath when he was already asleep laying on his left shoulder. Steven was a sweet man, even his breath was soft. He sounded calm, and it made Miguel relaxed. And when the morning came, he woke up to someone poking him. Steven was there checking at his arms.
"Sorry for making you sleep sitting." He had said.
And then the next thing happened as the same.
Until last night.
Steven was just done changing his bandages, and when Steven was about to leave him to bed, he did it again, he placed a kiss on Miguel’s cheek. So Miguel stopped him. There was nothing left in his mind other than to grab Steven and pull him closer so that they were face to face, so close, too close that he could feel Steven's breath at his upper chest.
That was the night that they kissed. Simply, it was Miguel who intended first, but then to his delight, which he didn't know why he felt so much happy about it, Steven responded, by pressing his lips against his own. It was such a surprise for Miguel, that he had no idea what was happening, he didn't realize the position they were in, but after a few moments, he decided that it was the best moment. That he had been holding in so long.
Steven's lips were soft, sweet and warm. And they tasted like chocolate and honey. A perfect mix. And they kissed each other gently at first, just enjoying the taste of each other's mouths.Then Miguel started to explore Steven's mouth, and Steven let him in, letting him explore his tongue with his own. This felt so right yet so wrong at the same time. Like, nothing had felt right ever since he met Steven.
He wanted to deepen the kiss, grab Steven even closer and do everything his mind was telling him to do. But he knew better than to push his luck, and so he didn't. And as he expected, Steven was the one who pulled first. Steven widened his eyes as soon as he realized what he just did, he pulled back as far as he could to look at Miguel's eyes.
"Um... I.. I'm.. I think I should.." Then he ran towards his bedroom. While Miguel was still standing in his place staring at the sight where Steven had disappeared off.
So today, this morning when Miguel woke up, or to be specific, when Miguel was already on his sane mind, he quickly ran towards the kitchen when he heard somebody was up and busy making coffee. It was Steven , of course. He was standing near the stove, pouring two cups of freshly brewed coffee.
And what a fucking sight, did Steven look like right now. Man just woke up from his sleep, his hair tousled, wearing an oversized sweatshirt and gray pajama pants, all looking cute and sexy at the same time, and damn, it was impossible not to fall for that. No one wouldn't want to turn away from this kind of sight.
He wondered how the Marc guy could manage this. Everyday. He himself thought he couldn't, he couldn't handle such intense beauty everyday. This was ridiculous, everything that happened since he got here was ridiculous. He went insane.
Miguel took a moment before moving forward to get himself closer, he had been staring for a bit too long. His main purpose now was to give Steven a piece of his mind from what they did last night. He had trouble sleeping because of that, he thought about Steven's lips over and over. A part of his body was aching from thinking about it.
It felt like last night's event didn't happen when he saw Steven casually making coffee, there was no sign of embarrassment, or nervousness.
But he accidentally kicked something and made the Brit turn his head slightly to his side. "Hey, good morning," he greeted, his voice still sounding sleepy. But not nervous.
Miguel hummed in return, and Steven went back on focusing on his cup of coffee and now to the food he was preparing on the stove. Not once looking back at Miguel. Well, he wasn't going to back down either, so he slowly moved closer and then behind Steven. Then he grabbed the mug in Steven's hand, taking a sip from it in a rush, which made the Brit startled at the sudden action.
"Whoa, take it easy, or you'll choke."
"I've had worse than choking." he slammed the mug down the kitchen counter, which made Steven, finally, looking at him in surprise.
"Wow, it seems that your wounds have already healed. You're a strong man, a gunshot wound takes a long time to heal."
That wasn't what he imagined Steven was surprised of but, whatever. He had enough.
"Steven," he growled.
Steven hummed as he looked at him with, oh with that damn big doe eyes he had. His face still looked so innocent to Miguel, did Steven do this expression in purpose? He knew people could make an expression on purpose but this was too much.
"You don't know what you're doing." Again Miguel's voice sounded heavy with breath. Steven just kept staring at him with a look Miguel couldn't catch the meaning of.
"You don't know what you did to me." he said again, rougher this time. Everything became intense when Steven started to touch his face.
And he smirked, he fucking smirked. Miguel wanted to punch that mouth with his own. Okay, he wouldn't let Steven mess with him anymore. As he felt Steven's touch was getting heated up, hotter with every second that passed, the hand slowly started making its way down until it reached Miguel's lips.
"I think I do." The brit whispered. And that answer made Miguel almost lose his self control. Almost. He held back as his hands gritted in fist on each Steven side.
"I have lived for almost 2 years with a man. I sleep everyday with a man. I think I know what I did to you." he continued.
And that was when Miguel lost control over himself. He gripped onto Steven's jaw and pushed him against the kitchen counter. Crashing their lips together as he pulled their bodies together, and deepening the kiss. This time was different from the last kiss they had last night. They were so hungry that they forgot everything and only focused on the moment that was currently happening between them. And they were very eager to keep doing that. Miguel was impressed with it. Steven was so eager. But he was rough. He was doing it rough. But Steven seemed to take this so expertly, like he was used to it. Was that Marc guy treating him like this? No, shut it, he didn't want to think about anyone else, it was just Steven and him.
Miguel's hand moved back to grab a handful of Steven's hair, making the Brit snap his head back while still devouring each other's mouths. Steven was shorter than him, maybe ten inches shorter. And the way Steven looked up, it surely made his neck hurt. So Miguell slipped his hands down and lifted him up so that now Steven was straddling him, wrapping his legs around him, keeping them tightly connected. The Brit let out a small gasp, but the moment it left his mouth was followed by another, louder one.
Miguel was devouring him like a starved animal, he was kissing him without giving any care about anything else other than his mouth and his tongue. Because his tongue was doing all the work, exploring every single inch of Steven's mouth. Mouth sucking at his lower lip and nibbling at it roughly, making Steven moan louder. And Miguel was feeling so horny that he wanted to do anything to that pretty mouth of his. So he kissed him deeper.
Steven was really really enjoying this moment very much. His whole body started to heat up as Miguel's hands moved back towards his hair, running his fingers through his beautiful curls. But Miguel's hand wasn't soft enough when he grabbed it. Not soft enough to make his scalp feel nice, not soft enough to make Steven want to scream. He squeezed it a bit and suddenly, Steven gasped for air.
He let go of his hair and wrapped both arms behind his back to hold his waist, down to his ass as his lips found Steven's neck, licking and biting it hard, leaving marks all over the skin. Just when Steven tilted his head back, Miguel pulled out the skin, leaving a trail of tiny red crescent moon behind it as he sucked it softly. It felt so hot, so delicious. All over, everywhere, Steven just melted in the touch. In the touches. And his knees began shaking, trembling.
Miguel stopped to say, "What if your man finds out?" Voice so low, full of hunger. But Steven just chuckled.
"He would be delighted to see you. Or maybe he wouldn't, but I can coax him to like you."
"I mean when he finds out you'll take someone else's cock in your ass."
Steven let out a sound on that, his hips bucking against Miguel's thigh, "We'll see, I think he'd like to join. But first, he would punch you in the face. But he'll go with it afterwards."
Fuck it. Steven said those words so damn easily that Miguel just couldn't help but groan. But then Steven started moving again, trying to reach down on Miguel's lower part. It took every fiber of Miguel's strength to stay still and stop him, but that was not enough. His cock was hard again. Fuck, he was going insane if he didn't get inside Steven soon.
Not wanting to waste more time, he dropped Steven and then guided him to bend over the kitchen table, face facing the table. He wasn't soft the entire time, but Steven didn't complain but to gasp when Miguel took a hold at the back of his neck.
The position was so tight, Steven couldn't breathe properly. It was a miracle he hadn't passed out yet. Miguel looked at him from above. Steven looked so heavenly, eyes wide open, and mouth hanging open. God, even his mouth was perfect. So pink. The way he arched his back so beautifully, and how it curved into a perfect bow. The way he let out a loud moan, so full of passion and lust.
It was so fucking cute. And hot.
"Your body is so good. So hot." He muttered the words as he ran his finger along that curve of his waistline while pushing his hips upward ever so slightly, making Steven gasp. They were still clothed but Miguel's huge cock poked at Steven's cheeks. It was a beautiful sight. He could see the curve of the round butt below him. So smooth, soft, and plump.
Steven moved again, now making the cock jolted forward even more, brushing against Steven's cheeks, making him groan in pleasure. Fuck it, Steven was so needy, his man just gone for three days but he already starved and craving for more like a wild animal. Like a feral cat.
It was Steven who took off his pants first until his ass was bare, a direct view for Miguel to devour by his hungry eyes. The sight of the white soft cheeks, and those perfectly built thighs, it was a bit chubby, but it was perfect. He took one look at the perfect round ass of his, and then leaned down, taking a bite on that round ass before he took the other and took it in his mouth again. Steven was a moaning mess.
He pulled back and back to looking at the sight again, the ass cheeks were begging to be touched, and the hole right there. So tight and inviting.
He touched the hole with his thumb until Steven whined, making him grinned. The moans got louder as he continued to stroke it, before he entered it with his index finger. Steven immediately tightened up, letting out a loud whimper.
"Oh god."
But Miguel wasn't done. Taking a quick glance at Steven, he took one long look down to where he put himself, and then took it out, before entering again with two fingers. Then three. The kitchen filled with Steven's hot moans as he moved his fingers a little faster. And Steven seemed to know what to do, he held his own cheeks and spread it wide apart, letting Miguel to see every curve.
Miguel pulled out and started undressing himself. His cock was now hard poking at the entrance of Steven's swollen hole. Miguel leaned down, placing his face right beside Steven's ear, sending chills down Steven's spine.
"I'm gonna fuck you right now, remember my name. My name."
Steven whined at Miguel's words. A loud, long, sexy whine that made Miguel groan and press his cock at the curve of Steven's cheeks. He played there for some time, before finally entering him slowly.
"Ooohh..!" Steven moaned
"Fuck." Miguel groaned. He had to go slow since Steven was tight, for fuck sake, this fucking tight. It was almost painful to be inside him. But he was determined to push himself in, to go deeper inside him. And the sounds coming from Steven were intoxicating as he kept slamming his huge dick into Steven, making sure he knew exactly how much pressure was needed to move inside. Steven moaned loudly and he arched his back, rubbing his butt in circles against Miguel's cock. Making Miguel groan. God, it was so fucking good, so hot, so good. Steven was so wet, hot, and needy.
"Oh.. Mhhmm."
"My name, Steven. My name." Miguel reminded him as he pulled Steven's hair again. Thrusting deeper and now going faster.
"Miguel.. Ahh." Then he pushed completely into him, filling him completely. His cock was so thick and heavy, sticking so deep in him. The sound Steven made was something he could have never imagined him to make. He was screaming and panting, gasping for air. He never once think of Steven like this on their first meet. And damn Steven was good at keeping himself guarded.
"Say it again." Miguel whispered.
"Miguel..!" And then the moan left Steven's mouth, it came out so quiet and breathy that it almost sounded like a whisper. "Miguel.."
When Miguel was going slow inside him, he moaned so loud that it sounded like the song of heaven itself. "Don't.. Don't stop. Move..!" Steven panted out, arching his back once more.
That's right . Miguel liked hearing those sounds. Hearing him beg him to hurry. To please him more, to hit his prostate with each thrust. And he did so quickly and hard. Faster and harder than before. Miguel groaned when he heard Steven's voices. The pure lustful desire in Steven's voice, making him harden even further inside him.
After a minute Steven grabbed Miguel's hand that was holding his waist, "I'm.. I'm close." He told him, panting heavily. His breath hitched.
"Me too." Miguel replied. Fucking hell. This was going to be so good. This was going to be absolutely good.
"Ah.." Steven breathed out, squeezing his eyes shut, so as Miguel. So fucking close. And he pushed himself deeper, and with that Steven came. But Miguel hadn't yet, so with his speed he sped up, slamming into Steven harder each second, making him moan loudly, nails digging into the table, his whole body shaking with the rough movements Miguel was making. After a second, without warning, he shot. And with it all, the moment was gone, the only one that left were their breaths and pants that were feeling the after effect.
Miguel let out a low voice, "Fuck, Steven."
"Miguel." He rolled his body so that he was laying on his back on the table.
Miguel turned his head, looking at Steven with his lips parted. Steven's gaze was fixed on him.
"You okay?" he asked.
"I'm better than okay." Steven answered.
After a couple of minutes, they got back to their feet and dressing up.
***
"A bracelet?"
"Yeah, whatever you wanna call it."
"It's obviously a bracelet. You want me to use a fucking bracelet?" Miguel never felt this shameful when the curly haired girl handed him a golden bangle that looked outmoded. It didn't even suit his suit. Like, a fucking golden bracelet stuck on his wrist, with a red gemstone attached to it. It was stupid and tacky.
"It works almost as the same as your watch. Taweret said it could hold your energy together for a while. Any cells on your body would be repaired when you're glitching." Layla spoke , her words sounded as if she was explaining an old science lesson or something that he definitely wouldn't want to listen. And she was calm and confident about it, not afraid to speak her mind. Miguel knew this type of girl, a smart bitch who would speak up her mind, but she always knew just about everything, and always true about it. And it annoyed him.
But now that was not the problem, the problem was, Steven, being so caught up when she looked at them as if she was trying to find something missing. She stared at Miguel for a second, before turning to look at Steven.
"Is everything okay?" She asked. Noticing how awkward the situation was. It was because when Layla was entering his apartment, she caught them just in time when Steven and Miguel were all dressed but with Steven still sitting at the table.
"Yes." Steven quickly answered. Layla nodded, not fully satisfied. She looked at Miguel instead.
"You heard him." Miguel quickly said.
There was two seconds of silence before she nodded, "Okay, then. Help yourself out." She said ready to go. "With that."
"I'm not using this." Miguel held the bracelet in his hand, fisting it tightly.
"Just, consider it as a goober, but old fashioned. Steven, make him behave well."
"Got it." Steven yelled at her when she stepped out. So now there were just two of them again. Both looking at the golden bangle on Miguel's hand.
"It doesn't look bad."
"This is ridiculous."
Steven chuckled, "Everything that happened to you since you came here is ridiculous, isn't it?"
Miguel rolled his eyes as he followed the brit into the living room.
"So, it's time for us to find Marc." Steven said.
"Well, yeah."
********
Somewhere in Nueva York, Earth-928
"Wake up..."
"What..?"
"Wake up, Marc."
~END~