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Beyond the Pain // Chapter Four: Rhythm of the Night

Pairing: Miguel O'Hara x Maria Philips (OC) Word Count: 2.7k Warnings: No NSFW scenes, but Maria is horny on main Ao3 Mirror: Coming Soon Chapter Two | Chapter Three | Chapter Four Summary: Maria hits the gym and is confronted by her feelings - and her boss. Later, night patrol begins. This series is intended for adult audiences. MDNI. > Spider-Verse Masterlist <

The gym was a place for heat to boil and sweat to simmer. Spiders often congregated in Sector 12 in order to make use of the extensive super-human-weighted exercise equipment. If you were here, chances are you could lift a bus with one arm. That kind of strength required extra care when it came to designing gym equipment. Normal barbells felt like curling toothpicks and just didn’t cut it. The iron here, however, was cut differently.

Exhaling slowly as she pushed upwards, Maria continued her set on one of the many benches. There was a steady rhythm to reps that let her clear her mind. Up, down. In, out. It made her flow as one unit. Press. Breathe. Relax. Repeat. The thoughts that were rampant in her mind flowed through her arms and vanished, burning away like snow into a fire.

Uncertainty gnawed at her insides most days. Cooper was busy with his work and home dimension (specifically a masked man named Silk) and Felicia was taking a small break in order to head on a small archaeology expedition on her Earth. The isolation felt suffocating but there was nothing Maria would do to interrupt them on their journeys - instead, the opportunity to make new companions among the Society kept her occupied.

And so here she was, at 6 am on a god damn Saturday, pumping iron because Ben wanted a “workout sesh before the dawn breaks forth through the night.”

And he didn’t even fucking show up!

Maria, already awake and dressed, decided to take advantage of the gym’s currently-low population.

Another push, another breath. Pull. Inhale. Push. Exhale.

Strange feelings nipped at her heels anywhere she went. After the Cavewoman Kraven incident a week ago, there was a new sense of power she felt… but also of longing. Not for something, but for someone. Something clicked into place with those magic words he said at the debriefing.

“Good work.”

Good lord, I’m pathetic, she chastised herself as she pushed out once more, raising the weighted bar above her. Praise kink be damned, I am NOT going to fall for my boss. She gritted her teeth. Push. Exhale. Pull. Inhale.

Resolve raged like an inferno within her. She would stand firm. No amount of broad shoulders, pouty lips, dark hair, large hands would ever… make her doubt…

GOD FUCKING DAMNIT!

Push. Exhale. Pull. Inhale. Push. Exhale. Pull.Inhale.Push.ExhalePullInhalePush-

“Maria.”

And so the castle of cards came tumbling down as the breeze carried Miguel’s voice to her. Opening her eyes, she looked at the absolute Adonis before her. Tank top. Sweat pants. The outfit of a gym rat and a lady-killer. She had never seen him out of his suit before, and the tanned skin of his arms drew her eyes in with every small and faded scar that hugged the contours of the muscle.

“Are you alright?”

Maria blinked owlishly before resting the bar on its hooks above her. “Yeah, yeah! Never better! I love being up at the ass-crack of dawn on a Saturday for no reason… It’s great, really,” she stammered, sitting up and rubbing her face, which was damp with sweat.

“Uh-huh,” Miguel said. “Well, since you’ve never been better, I’ll spot you and clock your reps for the next set.” He sat his water bottle down on the bench to the left and stood behind Maria’s headrest.

“How generous, just don’t get too smug when you see my max is half of yours.” She laid back down and adjusted her spine and hips before reaching up and gripping the bar. Another set would be no problem, except…

Why. Why why why. He’s going to kill me. Or maybe I should kill myself. I’m going to disintegrate.

Miguel was so tall that when he stood behind her, fingers lightly on the bar to catch it, his package was lined up perfectly to her head. If she leaned back, her mouth would align perfectly.

“Ready when you are.” His voice was so even and calm that it nearly made Maria scream. How could he be so calm?! His manhood was right fucking there! If he leaned made towards the bar, perhaps to catch it, she would get a face full of-

“Alright then. Shooting for 30. Let’s go.”

Push. Exhale. Pull. Inhale.

18. 19. 20.

“Maria. Don’t lock your elbows.” The slight tremble in her arms was obvious, and Maria closed her eyes and exhaled through her mouth as she pushed upwards, making an effort to keep good form.

“Attagirl,” he whispered. It was so low that his lips barely moved and it wouldn’t have even registered if someone with enhanced senses hadn’t been listening intently to every breath he took. The words rushed through Maria, fanning the flames running up her spine.

“Water break!” she declared, quickly docking the bar before sitting up, wiping her burning face, and walking over to one of the bottle-refill stations against the far wall. She grabbed one of the plastic cups from the dispenser and filled it quickly with cold water before downing the whole thing in a few gulps. While trying to literally drown her feelings, Miguel smirked.

That’s one way to confirm a hypothesis, he mentally gloated.

Sitting down on a nearby bench, Miguel picked up one of the heaviest dumbbells and began to curl, paying attention to his biceps. While he seemed focused on the weight in his hand, his eyes were well aware of Maria in his peripheral vision. Watching. Observing. Collecting data and seeing how she reacts.

It almost felt twisted, in a way, to take such a… scientific approach to … whatever he was doing. Courting? Seducing? Flirting? Teasing? He didn’t have a name for it. All he knew was that he had needs, and she had needs. And if their needs overlapped, perhaps they could help each other.

Maria felt like her heart was going to explode out of her chest. Miguel was hot, criminally sexy. And here he was, showing off for her like he’s trying to make her combust on the spot.

If that’s what he’s even doing… Am I reading too much into this?

Setting her doubt aside with a small sigh, she finally sipped on her fourth cup of water and watched him curl out of the corner of her eye. His rippling muscles, strong arms, the way his full lips parted when he exhaled, the line of sweat dripping down his temple… All of it was quite the sight to behold. Furrowing her brows, Maria pulled her phone out of her legging’s side pocket and tried to busy herself with looking at anything other than Miguel’s massive arms. Her mind was racing, thoughts bouncing around and stinging like angry hornets.

Felicia would be giving me so much hell for being a chicken about all of this, she thought. But then again, he is my boss. I’m sure that’s against an HR code somewhere, but… can he fire me for this?

Maria wiped her face as she tapped some bubbles on a game that supposedly “helped you focus” as they appeared and disappeared. It was a load of shit but it was something to keep herself mentally occupied until-

Spindle coiled in her mind, ready to pounce. Her spider-sense was screaming at Maria, but it was different than panic. Her stomach flipped while Spindle chittered endlessly in her mind. Anxiety filled her, but also anticipation. Spindle wanted something - but what?

“Maria.” Miguel’s voice ripped through her thoughts and Spindle was practically doing flips in her mental web.

Whore, Maria chided her familiar.

“Don’t need the bench press anymore, so you can help yourself to the station if you need it,” Maria said, looking up from her phone and trying desperately to play it cool.

“So you’re finished with your exercise for the morning?” he asked, a brow raised and his hands on his small waist.

“Uh, yeah, yeah. Gonna hit the showers and then see what tech lecture Aaron has sent me a recording of this time. My inbox has never been the same, I almost worry for it,” she chuckled.

“Report to my office at 7:00 pm tonight. If you’re still interested in going on patrol, that is.”

Maria blinked. “Patrol? Like out into the city?” The gleam in her eyes was nearly infectious. Playing it cool always played second fiddle to how genuinely excited she was to see all of the sights in the city. New tech, new places, maybe even cool places to hang out at - literally! It beat the monotony of HQ, with its sharp architecture and white-on-gray metal panels for all of the walls. Between ceiling-to-floor glass windows, of course. There was nearly an unnatural amount of natural light in the HQ lobby that reminded Maria of what she was missing out there. Sun and fresh air.

“I figured tonight would be a good time for it. Didn’t want you to think I had forgotten.” The soft ghost of a smile on his lips made Maria’s stomach flip. Spindle had a similar reaction, chirping and skittering around inside of Maria’s mind.

“I’ll be there! I mean, uh - yeah, that’s cool. See you then.” Maria waved a two-finger salute at him, trying to salvage any chance at a decent facade she had. It wasn’t often she found herself getting all goo-goo-eyed over a guy, and there was something about Miguel that made her feel like a teenager again, kicking her feet while laying on her bed and drawing hearts in her notebooks with their initials inside them.

Miguel let out a soft chuckle as Maria immediately made her way to the exit, nearly jogging out and away from the potential of any more embarrassment. Her nervousness and obvious attraction was quite the stroke to Miguel’s ego, and he wiped a hand down the lower half of his face, hiding his smug smile from any onlookers.

Still got it.

The thrum of excitement made Maria feel alive. Lightning danced in her bones as she ran to Miguel's office, swinging, jumping, and flipping along the way to get some of the energy out. It was time. She was going to see Nueva York!

The lift ride was painfully slow. Once the doors slid open on the correct level, Maria jogged excitedly down the long dark hallway that eventually led to the Lair. Each step was accompanied by a bounce of the balls of her feet. If she didn't keep moving she was going to explode from excitement. Spindle chirped happily, also bouncing on a mental web within Maria's mind.

The doors slid open as she approached, revealing the blue hues of the dim lights within Miguel's office. His dias was raised high, as usual.

"Boss!" Maria greeted excitedly before webbing up to the raised platform and landing beside him. Miguel swept his gaze over several monitors before glancing at her.

"You're early," he said.

"By 10 minutes! You expect me to wait while we could be out swinging around?"

"If you're this excited about patrol, I'd hate to see how excited you get over actually cool things," he chuckled, letting a small smile curl the corner of his lips. "Lyla, everything quiet?"

"For the 12th time, yes. Go out and enjoy yourselves. I'll keep my eyes peeled for emergencies." The small hologram woman appeared and hovered beside them, rolling her eyes at Miguel. Maria left out an amused huff before looking at Miguel.

"You heard the lady, Bossman." She beamed at him while resting her hands on her hips.

Miguel's brows furrowed for a second as he glanced back over the monitor collection. Closing his eyes, he nodded and turned away, walking towards the edge of the platform and leaping down onto the floor far below with a massive thud. Maria followed with a considerably higher amount of grace.

"Lyla, lock up. Keep me informed of everything that-"

"Yeah, yeah, anything that might cause a disruption or anomaly creation." Lyla's voice mirrored Miguel's perfectly as she mocked him. "Go. Get out of here. Touch grass. Breathe fresh air." Her hands shooed him away as they walked out of the office. The doors slid shut behind them and clicked as they were locked.

"Sounds like you should get out more," Maria teased as they entered the lift. Miguel rolled his eyes, a small smile on his full lips.

"Not you too - don't need another person making me socialize and see the sunlight every now and then." He tapped directions on the lift panel.

"If I'm going to be a Conclave member, it'll be my job to bully you into going outside."

"You're fired. I'm bringing in someone else," he chuckled before the lift started moving upwards.

"Wait- up? Shouldn't we be going down?" Maria asked as she looked at the view outside. The city was beautiful, with large swathes of green and circular paths between large clusters of tall buildings and perfectly-round ponds. The sunset bathed everything in a fiery glow.

"Where would be the fun in that?" Miguel's mask pixelated over his face, and Maria followed suit, letting her mask cover her head with a light flash of blue. The doors opened to the very rooftop of Babylon Towers. The wind howled across the smooth metal flooring, and Maria's stomach flipped as she understood for the first time how painfully high up they were. Miguel stepped out, Maria following hesitantly behind him.

"Don't tell me you're afraid of heights," Miguel said. Maria could feel his smug expression, even with his mask up. She scoffed and approached the edge with him, peering over it cautiously.

"It's just… a long way down." She squeaked as Miguel rushed past her as a blur, leaping off the rooftop like it was nothing.

"Miguel!" She exclaimed as she watched him descend before he shot a web at nearby flying traffic, grabbing a car and using it to swing from. He repeated, using the cars as moving anchor points with a practiced pattern to his movement.

"Mad man…" She closed her eyes tightly before stepping back and rushing forward, leaping off the edge of the roof. The wind screamed around her as she entered free fall, angling herself towards the line of traffic zipping by. With a flick of her arm she shot out a web and nabbed a car, using it to catch herself and swing forward with the momentum from her fall.

Miguel was already way ahead, swinging towards a large central cluster of skyscrapers. He made this look easy! Continuing to swing from car to car, Maria felt the gears turning.

Spindle, think we can get a boost?

The excited squeaking from within made Maria laugh before she felt the familiar tingle of energy through her body. She webbed a far-ahead car and quickly pulled herself towards it, using the distance to gain speed as the energy built. Blue light crackled around her like lightning before she released the web and shot forward with a thundering boom.

The cars behind her were knocked slightly around, wobbling to regain balance after being hit with the literal shock-wave generated. Maria flew forward like a bullet as her surroundings blurred from speed. The energy faded as she slowed, webbing another car and swinging ahead. She looked behind her to see that she had shot herself ahead of Miguel, whose suit-eyes were wide.

"How did you-?" His voice crackled over comms. Maria laughed in delight as she continued to swing forward towards the cluster.

"I've been learning some new tricks with Spindle!" She kept her momentum and saw her opening, swing forward and up. Arms tight, legs straight, she pulled herself into a spin before landing on a rooftop, skidding to a halt.

Her breathing was hot and heavy as she took a moment, running her hands through her bangs. Her blood was pumping and her muscles ached. Letting out a whoop, she pumped her fist in the air as Miguel landed, similarly skidding until he stopped.

"That's how it's done!"

Miguel shook his head and chuckled. "I took it easy on you - I didn't know you had some tricks up your sleeve." She could feel his grin from behind her mask, and she laughed in delight.

"Sure, sure. Whatever helps you sleep at night."

He shook his head and motioned to the nearby buildings. "Welcome to Surface Central. We'll start the patrol here."

A/N: Special thanks to my beta readers, @madschiavelique, Fari, and Nura! Love you guys! <3333

Remember to comment and reblog - support fandom creators! And if you want more spider-verse content, why don't you check out my Spider-Verse Masterlist?

#miguel o'hara #spiderverse #across the spiderverse #atsv #spiderman 2099 #oc x canon #Ash Writes [⌨️👽📖 Read it and Weep!]#Miguel O'Hara [🕷🌹🩸 Emo Vampire Spider]#Maria Philips [🕷💙👟 Rhythm of Love]

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