Spider-Gwen 3 || The Fall

Meant to Do || Miles Morales

"All my life I've prayed for someone like you"

-All My Life, KC & Jojo

Seconds ticked away. Miles took a gentle breath as he waited for Gwen to answer his question, knowing that he needed to stay composed and honest-for her sake.

The girl seated beside him had endured more than enough over the past two years, and just that morning, she'd suffered another tragedy: having to watch one of her best friends sacrifice herself. As much as Miles's heart was hurting for her, he knew that he couldn't relate to what Gwen was going through. It killed him on the inside, knowing that he wasn't going to be able to connect with her over this the way he ought to in order to get Gwen to a healing place.

His eyes stayed glued to Gwen's every moment as the young woman placed her elbow on her knee and held her chin up with her unbroken hand. Just the other day, Miles would have laughed at the notion that Gwen-a literal superhuman-would physically look this battered and exhausted. But there she was, sitting with a broken arm, a band aid on her nose, and small bruises on her waist and arms.

"Wanna' talk about it?" The words he'd said moments ago felt like they were still hanging in the air as Gwen took a deep breath, willing herself to be strong enough to confide in him as her eyes grew glassy.

"She..." Gwen spoke, her voice little more than a hoarse whisper as Miles nodded encouragingly. "...She saw that I got hurt, and..." The blonde couldn't get anything else out right then. A tear raced down her cheek as she bit her lip, looking up at Miles with helplessness in her eyes. "...She's gone because I couldn't save myself this time."

Miles hadn't been able to talk with Felicia Hardy much, but the times that he did had told him everything he needed to know: that she was fiercely independent, blunt, and willing to back up her tough girl persona when needed. But she was also conscientious, and willing to admit her flaws and overcome them for the people she cared about. And she'd done so today to save the people she loved most.

"She..." Miles paused, thinking through his phrasing as he placed his palm on Gwen's hand. "...She's not gone because you couldn't save yourself..." He said, getting Gwen to look over in confusion. "...She's gone because she loved you. Because she knew that this city needed you more than any other person out there."

He'd been hopeful that what he had to say would help Gwen; unfortunately, it made her scoff. "Doesn't seem like it to me." She muttered, wiping her eyes. "Miles, all I've been doing for two years... everything I've done... it's just been getting people killed-good people. Owen, Dad, Dr. Connors, Felicia..." Gwen listed all the names that had touched her heart in one way or another-some of whom had also hurt her-but that ended up dying to give her more chances to survive. "...I couldn't say this to your mom, but... I'm not sure if I'm good for this city if that's all I do."

Miles had heard Gwen in moments of anguish or grief, but he had never seen her so thoroughly bested like this before. Her pain was expressing itself in raspy words that were shot of any emotion whatsoever, as if she'd finally given in to the hurt that had accumulated over time. "Gwen..."

"I can't-" She choked on her words, pausing as she looked away. Miles's heart continued to slowly break as Gwen inhaled shakily, trying to steady herself as she continued voicing her feelings. "-I can't be the reason someone else dies, Miles. Not again, I'm not worth it-"

"Don't say that." Miles spoke up quickly, his voice having a suddenly passionate tone. "Don't even think about that... Gwen, you have lost people. I'm not going to deny that or downplay that at all. And even though I... I lost Uncle Aaron the other day, it doesn't-" He took his hand off of Gwen's setting it on his leg as he nervously rubbed his thighs. "-It doesn't give me the ability to perfectly understand how you feel right now. But I know this: all of those people that died made that choice because they had no doubt that you were worth what they were giving up. And if that many people looked at you with that much value... then there should be no doubt in your mind that you're worth it. Not a single one."