Chapter Text
The rapid thumping of your pulse is the only thing you can hear as you move through the base, your grip on the box so tight that it hurts your fingertips. There’s a nervous clenching in your stomach as sweat begins to bead on the surface of your skin. An unpleasant sensation beneath the tight fabric of your suit.
For a moment, you consider turning back. There would be no shame in it. After all, no one knows that you’re doing this. No one is supposed to know that you’re doing this. If you get caught…
Your footsteps slow as a sour taste settles on your tongue. Coming to a halt, you look over your shoulder and hold your breath. Listening for another set of footsteps, despite not hearing anything before. No, it’s just the overwhelming fear that someone is going to see what you’re doing. Paranoia pricks at your skin in the form of goosebumps as you face forward again and continue onward.
It’s darker, the further in you go. You’ve been to the base so many times, but it’s rare that you go this deep. There’s this subconscious feeling that you’re not supposed to be here. That you’ve wandered past an unseen boundary and that you’re moving close to danger.
Should you turn back? Would it be cowardly for you to give up now? There’s no one to chastise you for abandoning this task. You were very careful to make sure that no one would be aware of your plan. After all, what you’re doing…is rather embarrassing.
Holding the package close to your chest, you stare into the passage ahead of you and listen for any sounds beyond the doorway. It seems like anyone else that would be this deep in the base is either preoccupied or they’ve gone off to lunch. You just hope that he’s not there.
To say that you’re afraid of him wouldn’t be right. No, you’re intimidated by him. Just like so many others. He has a commanding presence and when he loses his temper, it sends chills down your spine.
You’ve gone as back up to help stabilize another universe and had the misfortune of seeing another spider person drop important equipment, damaging it beyond repair. The sound of his voice was so reminiscent of a roar in the moments that followed. The way he towered over that poor guy, seeming unaware of the way he bared his fangs at the man.
You’ve also gone as back up to help corral anomalies in other universes. When he was part of the group hunting down the anomaly, it was even more terrifying than hearing him snarl at someone. The ferocity he showed when he was pursuing the anomaly. He seemed less like a human and more like a predator that was eager to get their teeth into their prey.
As intimidating as he is, as scary as he can be, you wouldn’t say you’re afraid of him. He has his frightening moments, but more than anything you admire him. He’s so much stronger than you are and regardless of his temper, he has good leadership skills. He’s brought together so many spider people from so many different universes, uniting them in this amazing community.
Without this community…it’d be a lonely existence, wouldn’t it? Sure, you have a few friends in your universe. They don’t know the real you, though. They’re friends with the mask you wear when you’re not fighting villains and helping people.
Since joining this team, you’ve made a handful of really close friends. People that have come to know you quite well. People you can talk to about anything! People that know what you’re going through, who can sympathize with the trauma and pain that comes with such a tough job. Without Miguel O’Hara, this wouldn’t have been possible.
What you’re doing is an act of gratitude! A small show of your appreciation for how tirelessly he works to keep this community together. He always seems to be working; locating anomalies, recruiting more spider people, ensuring that the multiple universes don’t collapse. It can’t be easy to work as hard as he does and you’ve seen subtle signs of fatigue.
A slight darkness beneath his eyes when you see him with his mask off. Lines forming at the corners of his mouth from the deep frown he wears so often. While he never seems to slow down, even when you’re sure he’s been injured, you can tell that he’s running himself ragged.
No one has to know you did this. None of your friends have a clue that you decided to express your appreciation this way. You don’t plan to actually go into his monitoring room; you’ll just leave the package near the doorway with the note. The note that you made sure not to sign. You’re keeping your mask on for all of this, too.
There are so many spider people that visit the base every day. There’s no way he’d recognize you, even if he did see your face. No one really knows you except for your friends. You’ve actually been mistaken for someone else pretty often when you’re at the base so you’re sure that you’re as good as invisible.
Oh, you poor thing. Completely oblivious to how he was alerted when you reached a certain point. Miguel pulls up the video feed on one of the monitors and casts a casual glance at it. You don’t seem to be a threat. Though you are carrying something odd, tucked close against your chest.
His gaze drifts to another screen, to another spider person, until he notices a bit more movement on your screen. Raising an eyebrow, he watches you regain your balance and glance around as if you’re afraid someone might’ve seen you stumble. It’s almost endearing, how clumsy that was.
He can’t remember off the top of his head what your name is or what universe you come from. Even though he can’t see your face, he doubts that he’d be able to recognize you if he could. There are so many spider people, after all.
You’re near the doorway to the room he’s in and he looks toward it from where he’s sitting on the raised platform. Miguel can see your shadow falling over the floor, but you’re just out of his line of sight until you crouch down. It’s then that he realizes what you’re doing.
The box is carefully set down on the floor and you tilt your head, the eye parts of your suit squinting slightly. Reaching out, you adjust the vibrant blue and red ribbon tied around the box. He can see you nudge at the edge of a card that’s been tucked beneath the bow before you straighten up. Now he can’t see above your knees, but you turn to hurry off.
Looking at the screen again, he can see that you start at a brisk walk before breaking into a sprint. Of course, that instantly raises alarms in his head. What exactly did you leave in his doorway? Is it an explosive? Are you working undercover for a villain? Trying to assassinate him?
A quick scan shows that it’s actually…a care package? Miguel still approaches the box with a bit of hesitation, casting his gaze in the direction you went. There’s no sign of you and he can’t sense your presence nearby.
Taking the box back to his monitors, he settles into his seat to examine it. It’s decently sized and he can hear things shift quietly when he turns it in his hands. A quick tug at the silky red and blue ribbon loosens the lid and he’s able to pick up the handwritten card that was hidden under the bow.
Why were you so skittish? Why did you leave this in his doorway? No one leaves him things like this; they usually present him with something small that they think will ease his irritation when they’ve done something stupid. What’s your motive for leaving him a gift?
Miguel glances at the monitors again and when he sees nothing “off”, he lifts the card and leans back in his seat. He isn’t sure what to expect because he isn’t even sure who you are, but as he reads the card…he can feel the effect it has on him. Fully aware of how his expression softens, how his posture relaxes.
Your only motive for this gift was to make him feel appreciated. This handwritten note reads like a fan letter almost and one corner of his mouth begins to lift ever so slightly. Reading your heartfelt expression of gratitude for being invited to join this community that he’s brought together. The words you’ve written stir this sort of warmth deep in his chest.
You thank him for working so hard, make sure that he knows just how grateful you are to have been accepted into the community, but the last paragraph is what really holds his attention. In the last part, you tell him to be sure to take care of himself. That you appreciate everything he does, but you don’t want him to run himself ragged.
It’s sweet, he decides as he reads it again. A sweetness that he’s craved, that he’s missed. Miguel can’t find your name on the inside of the card, though. He turns it in his hand and there’s no sign of your name anywhere. That realization makes his brow crease, figuring that you must have wanted this to be a “secret admirer” situation.
Lifting the lid off the box, he’s greeted by the items you picked for the care package and he can immediately tell that a lot of thought was put into this. You’ve stocked it with bottles of sports drink in a flavor that he prefers, there’s a pack of bandages that have a certain print on them. He realizes with a pang in his chest that this print was something his daughter in the other universe would’ve liked. The bandages also give him another hint towards your concern for him.
Along with the drinks and bandages, there are other things. A small box of empanadas that he recognizes as being from the cafeteria. A few cold packs for muscle soreness. What draws his eye the most is the carefully packed sweets.
They look homemade and he can smell them through the packaging. Some cookies, a couple of muffins, some other baked goods that you must have made yourself. It’s a thoughtful gift, especially when he considers how much time, effort, and…admiration…was poured into this care package.
After reviewing the footage of you leaving the gift and searching the database, Miguel is able to locate you. Your name, your universe, and everything else he managed to collect about you when you first joined. He really doesn’t have much information, but that won’t stop him.
Searching for your current location, he can see you walking with a group of three other spider people; two men and a woman. You have your mask off now, which gives Miguel a perfect view of your smiling face as you laugh at something that one of them said.
His gaze roams over you, committing you to memory. The design of your suit is different from most of the others he’s seen. It’s the standard red and blue of most suits, but your spider symbol is on a mesh crop top you wear over the suit. There are blue and red ribbons tied at your wrists and in your hair, which remind him of the ribbon you’d tied around the box. You probably used one of your spares, offering up a small piece of yourself with the care package.
Letting you slip from his memory is out of the question. Miguel wasn’t really aware of you before, but he’s determined to keep his eye on you from now on. You’re so sweet, so…soft. The smile that settles so easily onto your features holds a gentleness to it that feels somehow refreshing.
You don’t know that you’re being watched as you walk with your friends. As soon as you ran into them, your thoughts about the gift to Miguel faded. No, you’re looking forward to grabbing a snack with your friends now. Listening to them talk about their day, all without thinking about that expression of your gratitude. You’re completely oblivious to how you’ve drawn Miguel’s attention and the sort of effect your gift might’ve had on him.