Embrace of Shadows (slow Burn)

14

Miguel stood at his workstation, his attention divided between the screens displaying various dimensions and the one showing Y/n darting through the corridors at an accelerating speed away from his office.
The temptation to check in on her had become irresistible as he found himself stealing glances at her image every so often.

She sat at the canteen tables with Hobie her face beamed as she chewed her burger. The sauce and pickle messily splashed up her checks. Miguel's cheeks burned and he could feel his face trying to contort into a goofy smile.
He sighed heavily frustrated with himself pinching the the skin between his eyebrows, resetting his face back to stoic. What could Hobie want with Y/n? Swam about in his brain, stirring all sorts of jealous thoughts.
Miguel couldn't help but steal another look. Now that annoying teen spider, Gwen was with her.

Miguel had to reposition Y/n's screen to the background of his workstation. He had to focus on his work for a while and Miguel was absorbed however, he eventually noticed that Y/n hadn't returned to her designated spot on his desk. Miguel knew a trip to the canteen didn't take this long. Had he lost himself in a whirlwind of calculations and prototypes.

Panicked Miguel swiped Y/N's screen to the for front and there she was back at her universe crawling into the crappy van she called a home. On the bottom corner of the screen flashed Lyla's face pulling a peace sign. He pressed it and to his sheer horror, Y/n's voice came from the smug face of the obnoxious bright AI's face.
"Miguel Hay! I urh- didn't want to disturb you. But I'm really tired and..... "
"Knock! knock!" echoed around the dimly lit room cutting y/ns message off. Miguel's attention was ripped from his screens to the floor of his office. He cleared y/n's screen away and steeped to the edge of his platform peering down into the darkness, smelling the can't smell of Hobie's battle jacket.

"Hobie, make it quick," Miguel called out, his voice cold. Without a word, Hobie webbed and pulled himself up onto the platform never one to wait for the arrogantly slow platform to descend. As Hobie approached Miguel, the latter was busy back to tweaking with half-finished prototypes and gizmos.

Hobie could admire the chaotic array of devices spread across Miguel's workspace it told of a brilliant but cluttered mind with him. The old dog seemed all straight-laced laced but inside was chaos. Hobie nonchalantly paced over to Miguel's side and slammed Gwen's flyer onto Miguel's desk, a blatant interruption.

Nothing not even a glance, Miguel sat there stoic as ever.
"I said make it quick?" So Hobie wasted no time in getting to the point.
"You should go to Gwen's gig with Y/n." Miguel's initial response was swift and firm.
"Hobie, why would I want to go to a little kids concert."
" Because Y/n's there "
"You're reading too much into things. Hobie" Migule stayed firm as he switched from fiddling with a gizmo to sifting through Universes. Hobie was starting to sound like Peter B it annoyed him.
"Bullshit! "
"Y/n and I are colleagues. It's strictly professional."Hobie leaned in closer, his face bearing a seriousness that contrasted with his typically cheerful demeanour.
"Miguel, you're not fooling anyone. I've seen the way you look at her, and it's not just professional."

Miguel's expression wavered between reluctance and vulnerability. With a heavy sigh, he finally relented, the truth clear in his eyes. He could confined in Hobie, right? Peter B just couldn't keep things to himself.
"Fine, Hobie. I'll go to the gig with her. But remember, it doesn't change anything. We're still just colleagues." Hobie nodded, content with Miguel's agreement.
"That's all I wanted to hear. Who knows, maybe a night out with Y/n will be good for you. You should lighten up, Migs, life isn't all about work." The two parted, with Miguel returning to his intricate world of dimensions, his thoughts shifting subtly as he continued to monitor the multiverse. His decision to attend Gwen's gig with Y/n was not solely driven by duty. He knew this was some sort of schoolboy crush and he hoped it would eventually go away.

🕸️

Hi, friends thank you for getting down here. This chapter is so short. sorry I'm losing the will to live with
my writer's block. But I wanted to put something out.
Please leave me some love if you still reading this.
Thank you.