Hobie clears the junk in his bedroom out of the corner Miles is supposed to arrive in. He hopes he got the coordinates right and isn't dumping Miles in some gentrified bootlicker neighbourhood, or a fash compound, or something else just as bad. His watch always delivers him to his room, but as good as Riri is, she's not always completely consistent.
The scraps of metal, wood, and fabric littering Hobie's bedroom floor start floating, a surefire sign a portal is about to open.
"Hobie!" Miles bursts through the swirling vortex, arms already out for a hug.
Hobie steps forward to greet him, returning the embrace, resting his chin on Miles' head. He's used to being taller than his partners, but Miles is even shorter than Hobie's used to.
"Missed you," Miles says, head buried in Hobie's chest. The portal in the corner slowly shuts, the scraps loudly falling to the ground.
"Missed you too, love," he replies. "Let go of me so I can introduce you to everyone."
"Fine," Miles says, and lets Hobie lead him out of the bedroom, into the main room of the Spider-Base. Judging by the way his backpack hangs, he remembered to bring everything Hobie requested.
"Kamala," Hobie nods to his friend, pulling Miles closer. Maybe he's being a little needlessly possessive, but who cares. "This is my Miles. Miles, this is Kamala Khan. She's really stretchy."
"I'd like to think I have other qualities besides that, luv," she says, a laugh hiding between her words. "Nice to meet you. Hobie's told us a lot about you."
"Only good things, I hope," Miles says, breaking away from Hobie's grip to shake her hand.
"You must be Rick's latest competition," Kyle appears from somewhere in the Spider-Base. "Kyle Morningdew. But some people call me Captain Anarchy." Miles shakes his hand, too.
"Kyle and I go way back," Hobie says. "Best mates since we were knee high to a grasshopper."
"Nice to meet you," Miles says. "Awesome superhero name, by the way."
"Thanks," Kyle smiles. "It's a bit outdated, but Captain Social Libertarianism is a mouthful. You're another Spider-Man, aren't you?"
"You know it." Miles laces his fingers into Hobie's, not even seeming to think about it. Incredible. Hobie's certainly thinking about every point Miles' hand makes contact with his, about the point where their wrists cross, about how Miles is moving closer to Hobie and now his shoulder is pressed right up against Hobie's arm.
"You've got the goods?" Kamala asks. Hobie stifles disappointment as Miles has to detangle himself to shrug off his backpack and show her the vegetables stuffing it full.
"Onions!" Kamala says, excitement making the lack of contact worth it. Importing food from other universes is the best idea she's ever had. This bag of vegetables is going to go far.
"Yeah," Miles says, voice curving up at the edges in confusion, and Hobie's reminded how different their lives are. He probably doesn't understand Kyle's grin as the Cowlitz boy pulls out a bundle of carrots, fresher than they've seen in months.
"This is great," Kyle says. "Thank you."
"No problem," Miles says, his smile a little bit nervous.
"Fresh vegetables are a really big deal," Hobie says. "We can do a lot of good with a bag of food like this."
"You don't know how happy we are," Kamala says, taking his bag. Thankfully, Miles isn't too put-off by her casual theft as she takes it to the kitchen.
"I need to introduce Miles to the mandem," Hobie pulls the now-empty-handed boy away from Kyle, flashing a grin at his oldest friend, who nods and returns the grin.
Miles lets Hobie pull him through the Spider-Base, saying hello to anyone around as they go. Bedrooms are passed by as a matter of privacy, but they poke their heads into common areas. Their last stop before they settle into the kitchen is Riri's workshop in the basement.
"Riri," Hobie nods, resting his arm on Miles' waist. Miles' arm comes up to wrap around Hobie, the sudden stretch of warmth against Hobie's back increasing his heart rate subtly.
"Miles, I assume," she says, turning and looking up from her work table.
"You've assumed correctly," Miles says, and it's his turn to pull Hobie forward. Without separating, he looks at what Riri's working on. To Hobie, it's a pile of wires connecting a lightbulb to one of those green things from Norman Osbourne's guns. Clearly, Miles sees something else in it.
"That's so cool," Miles says, and Riri smiles.
"Thanks," she says, picking up the whole contraption. Other bits are tangled in the wires, but Hobie wouldn't be able to tell you if they were supposed to be there or not. "Trying to repurpose Norman Osbourne's weaponry for good. Energy is energy, right luv?"
"Oh that's so smart," Miles says, and Hobie is glad someone understands why Riri has to devote so much of her time to this. He certainly doesn't. She's tried to explain it to him, why they can't just plug a laser gun into the wall and make it generate electricity for them, but Hobie's always confused by the end of her list of necessary modifications.
"Could I help, sometime?" Miles asks. "Hobie's invited me here to make soup, but I'm sure I could sneak away to lend a hand down here at some point."
"If he's willing to let go of you long enough, certainly," she nods, and Hobie blushes a little bit. Sure, he's a bit handsy with Miles. But that's how every new relationship is. She was like this with Kamala when they finally got together. "He's really excited about this. Even stole some of my lipstick for you."
"Speaking of soup, I think we'd better go check on those beautiful vegetables you brought," Hobie interrupts his friend and pulls Miles a little bit, away from Riri's work table.
"See you later?" Miles asks, letting himself be dragged away. Riri nods and smiles before returning to her work.
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