Along Came A Spider - Chapter 11 - hopefulrabbit - QSMP (2024)

Chapter Text

Roier should have seen it coming.

He was Spider-Man, for crying out loud. He had the ability to see and hear things from miles away. He could climb on walls, stick to any surface, shoot strings of web out of his wrists, and was as flexible as rubber.

So how the hell did he not see a literal armed man roaming the streets?

It wasn’t like he was trying to hide the fact that he was a criminal, either. The guy was wearing dark clothes that concealed nearly his entire body and the clothes were baggy enough to hide weapons in them. He stuck out in a crowd of college students like a sore thumb, and yet Roier didn’t notice him until he was inside the store.

Why was that? Maybe Roier was distracted. Maybe he was too busy thinking about the look on Cellbit’s face when he grabbed his hand and told him to stay. Maybe he was too hung up on the fact that Cellbit was freely calling him Guapito in front of his friends—which, despite the initial embarrassment, was something that made him feel all warm and icky and weird inside.

Or maybe it was Cellbit’s eyes that were brilliantly blue and shined as brightly as diamonds. Maybe it was the way he laughed with his entire body or how ridiculously animated his expressions were.

Maybe it was how Cellbit was as mysterious and beautiful as the moon.

Nevertheless, all these distractions led to something disastrous. Roier was pissed, mostly at the fact that of all the places they could rob, the group of idiots chose the one store where he and Cellbit were. In the middle of their day out, too. It almost felt a little targeted.

Roier thought back to that day, when the policeman recounted the events leading up to his grandfather’s passing in detail. That girl manning the counter looked like she was still in high school, and that criminal was pointing a gun at her. There was no doubt that she was feeling the same thing Abuelo did during his final moments.

Seething with anger, Roier’s hands balled into fists. He quickly thought of a battle plan. The store wasn’t too big, but there were definitely some blind spots. Roier just had to find one of those blind spots, crawl up onto the ceiling, and attack them from above. His first priority, of course, was the teenage girl behind the counter. Disarming the criminal was easy. All he had to do was—

Someone grabbed his shoulders from behind, snapping him out of his thoughts. A second before the person spoke, Roier remembered who it was.

“Roier. We have to get out of here.”

“What?”

Cellbit winced a little, and Roier realized that he’d spoken too sternly. But that expression of discomfort was immediately replaced by one of worry, and his lips curled into a frown.

“That guy has a gun,” Cellbit was whispering. “If we don’t leave—”

Possessing his Spider-Man tingle was akin to having eyes on the back of his head. So even though Roier was facing Cellbit, he saw the armed man make a gesture with his hand. And then, a second later, a group of men in equally suspicious clothing entered the store.

Three, said his tingle. Four in total.

Beating the crap out of these criminals and saving the girl was easy, but adding Cellbit into the mix complicated things. Unlike Roier, Cellbit was no superhero. He was just an ordinary guy who was unfortunately in the wrong place, at the wrong time.

Just like Abuelo.

Him staying here meant a high possibility of getting caught in the crossfire. It also meant Cellbit seeing Roier in all of his Spider-Man glory, which is a situation he’d rather die than be in.

Besides, if Cellbit were to get hurt because of Roier’s mistakes…

Roier was again pulled out of his thoughts by Cellbit, who all of a sudden grabbed him by the arm and dragged him out of the open. Before he knew it, they were at the very edge of the store, away from the watchful eyes of the robbers.

With his back leaned against the corner of the shelf, Cellbit had his arms wrapped around Roier, whose cheek was pressed against his chest.

His mind immediately shut down. All of Roier’s thoughts left his brain, and the only thing he could focus on was the rise and fall of Cellbit’s chest, the sweet scent of coffee that wafted from his coat, and the fact that his chest was soft. He thought about that day in the arena, when Cellbit took off his coat to put on the merch jacket, only to reveal big beefy arms and a prominent chest and muscles and—

“Roier,” whispered Cellbit. He looked down at Roier with a furrow in his brow. “There’s definitely an exit if we go through that door.”

That brought him back to his senses. After (unfortunately) peeling his face away from Cellbit’s chest, Roier looked up at him and frowned. “You want us to just leave?”

An odd expression crossed Cellbit’s face. “They’re armed and dangerous. You saw the gun the guy was pointing at the cashier.”

He paused after something cracked loudly nearby, and then one of the guys screamed at someone for breaking the stuff they were stealing. Cellbit swallowed hard, his Adam's apple bobbing up and down anxiously.

“We have to go before we get caught in the crossfire.”

Usually, hearing those words would be frustrating for Roier, but he understood why Cellbit would say that. This was probably the first time he got caught in a robbery, and it made sense for a regular person to immediately want to get out of this situation.

But the problem was: “What about the girl?”

Then Cellbit suggested they call the cops. The cops. It was a ridiculous thought, really. If it wasn’t for the dire situation they were currently in, Roier would have laughed loudly. Still, he couldn’t help but feel a little disappointed at how Cellbit would suggest that, of all things.

“Cellbit. You know how damn incompetent the f*cking cops here are. There’s a reason why Black Cat has gotten away with so much.”

Just as Roier caught himself speaking harshly again, he noticed the slight crack in Cellbit’s expression, a little reaction to the mention of Black Cat. Roier was already used to it, so he paid no attention to the slight twinge of his lips.

“Someone else will take care of this, Roier, but not us. Neither of us are superheroes.”

Of course. Even though Cellbit wasn’t too fond of Spider-Man, he still knew that the only person who could possibly get them out of this tight spot was the titular local web-slinging hero.

Fortunately for Cellbit, Spider-Man was right in front of him.

Unfortunately for Roier, he wasn’t planning on revealing his secret identity any time soon.

“If we interfere, I don’t know if I’ll be able to protect you,” Cellbit’s voice, as soft as cotton and as sweet as honey, was on the verge of breaking. “And if you get hurt, I…”

Roier blinked. Glancing up at Cellbit, he noticed that his jaw was clenched and his teeth were gritted. There was a little furrow in his brow, showcasing his worry.

“I don’t know if I’ll ever forgive myself.”

The anger and frustration Roier was feeling dissipated instantly. His heart swelled. He could hear it thumping loudly against his ribcage. Despite the obvious worry on his face, Cellbit’s blue eyes held the universe. He looked at Roier as if he were cradling a porcelain doll. Roier couldn’t remember the last time he felt so seen.

A part of Roier wanted to explode. The sincerity and concern in Cellbit’s gaze were almost overwhelming. Instead of bursting at the seams, Roier slowly ran his hand up Cellbit’s chest and cupped his cheek.

Cellbit’s eyes widened at the gesture. For a brief moment, it looked like he was about to pull himself away. Instead, he leaned into Roier’s hand, nuzzled his beard onto his palm and hummed softly. The scene reminded Roier of Mariana’s cat, who reacted similarly by purring loudly whenever Jaiden was petting him.

“Look, Gatinho,” Roier said, pressing his hand firmly on Cellbit’s cheek, pulling out another low hum from him. “I appreciate your concern… But if we leave now, who knows what they’ll do to that girl. They could shoot and kill her or even worse…”

He trailed off, and Cellbit let out a little grunt at his words.

Roier thought back to that day by the animal shelter and recalled the break in Black Cat’s voice as he mourned the possible loss of Tuna. The image of the thief all curled up as he silently cried into his hands was probably something he’d never forget. For someone as arrogant and smug as Black Cat to break down right in front of him…

Then he remembered Abuela’s sobs on the day Abuelo passed, at how she blamed herself for sending him to the store that day.

“If anything happens to her,” It was Roier’s turn to whisper. “It will be on us. And trust me, I’ve seen how nasty guilt can be. I don’t want you to go through that, too.”

All the while, Cellbit stared at him. It was strange, really. Even though Cellbit was extremely animated when it came to his expressions, there were still times when Roier couldn’t tell what was going through his mind.

Today was one of those moments. For some reason, Roier felt like Cellbit was judging him, almost like he was studying him under a microscope—which was a silly thought, really, so he immediately pushed it aside.

Cellbit’s expression shifted soon after, as he let out a loud sigh. His hand was on Roier’s shoulders, and his fingers were twitching for some reason. “Okay, we’ll save her.”

We. He was offering to help out. Roier couldn’t help but be a little amused by that, even though that simple gesture of kindness made him feel all warm and icky and weird inside. Again.

“Nah. I will,” Roier put on a big grin, then gestured at the door Cellbit pointed out just moments ago. “You should sneak out and call the cops. I’ll take care of—”

His train of thought was cut off when Cellbit grabbed his hand, peeled it away from his hand and gripped it tightly. Staring at their hands and realizing that Cellbit’s palm was a little wider than his, Roier’s brain was on the verge of shutting down again.

“I’m not leaving you here alone with a group of armed men.”

There he was again, with that ridiculously sweet concern of his. Roier ignored the way his chest tightened and pouted his lips. “So you don’t trust me?”

“I do,” Cellbit answered in a heartbeat. “Of course I do, Roier. But I won’t risk you getting hurt.”

Roier’s ears perked when he heard the rustling of plastic bags. They sounded too close for comfort, so he and Cellbit immediately circled the shelf and hid on the other side of it.

Really, Roier would rather deal with these damn criminals himself, but there was obviously no convincing Cellbit. There was no time to try, either. He knew that in a few minute’s time, the robbers would eventually spot them both.

That meant being Spider-Man was no longer an option. Roier would have to defeat the bandits and save the girl, all while keeping Cellbit safe and making sure his superhero identity would remain a secret.

Even though Roier had a few ideas, he was a hundred percent sure that Cellbit was going to come up with something better. So he let out a sigh and said: “Fine, we’ll both deal with those idiots. I’m assuming you have a plan?”

Cellbit put on a smirk, one that showed off his sharp canines, and exuded a smugness that was reminiscent of a certain cat thief. Eugh. Nevermind that comparison. Those two were nothing alike.

“I do.”

Of course he did.

“Okay,” Roier whispered. “Let’s hear it then.”

It took only a few minutes for Cellbit to explain his plan in detail. Roier already knew that Cellbit was a genius in his own right, as proven by how quickly he completed that puzzle solving game ages ago, but he was still impressed by how quickly the guy came up with a cohesive and effective plan.

Not to mention that Cellbit’s plan was simple—splitting it into two roles. Roier’s job was to sneak up on the head honcho of the group and disarm him, while freeing the girl and allowing her to escape. Cellbit’s job was to distract the rest of the robbers to ensure Roier’s success.

If Roier had the chance, he’d rather do this on his own, but the circ*mstances and Cellbit’s stubbornness wouldn’t allow that. So here he was, sneaking around by the first shelf, his movements so slow and so quiet that he couldn’t even hear his own footsteps. He was kneeling down to the point that his palms were nearly touching the ground. Holding his breath, he kept his eyes on the criminal leader’s back.

As Roier crawled and waited for the cue, he thought about how difficult Cellbit’s role was. Distracting an entire group of robbers while avoiding imminent death or injury was a superhero’s job. Roier should have been in his place instead.

But this was Cellbit’s plan, and Roier couldn’t refute it. Not because he didn’t think Cellbit wouldn’t listen to him, but because there was no time for arguments.

Just as Roier started to wonder how Cellbit was going to push this plan forward, he heard the light hiss of a freezer door opening. Then there was the light clinking of a glass bottle colliding with others of its kind, and the door was slammed shut.

“What the f*ck?” screamed one of the robbers. He sounded far away and was probably by Cellbit’s location. “When the f*ck did you get in here?”

Roier would have to trust Cellbit. In reality, he trusted him the moment they locked eyes at the cafeteria.

“Hey, man,” Cellbit chirped. “I was just getting a drink. Want some?”

“Don’t move a muscle or I’ll shoot you!”

Roier froze.

“Whoa!” Clicking his tongue, Cellbit exclaimed loudly. “Relax, would you? I was just picking up a drink.”

“Picking up a drink? Are you dense or something?”

The possibility of Cellbit getting shot down right then and there made Roier’s breath hitch in his throat. For a brief moment, he considered abandoning the plan and going full Spider-Man. It would only take a minute to deal with everything.

Logic returned to him as quickly as the thought arrivered. The consequences of revealing himself to Cellbit were heavy.

And then Cellbit said: “Nah. Do you know how f*cking expensive these beers are now? Of course I’d take a chance to snatch one of these bad boys for free.”

Huh. Honestly, Roier didn’t expect Cellbit’s plan to head in that direction. Still, he must admit that pretending to be another criminal in disguise to catch the robbers’ attention was a genius move. What else could he have expected from the great detective?

Roier listened to Cellbit’s rambling and was amused at how convincing he was. First mentioning Quesadilla Town’s ridiculously high crime rate, then giving them so-called professional advice… It almost sounded like he was actually a criminal in a civilian disguise. Well, Roier didn’t think it was odd in the slightest. Cellbit was one of the smartest people on the planet, and he probably had a ton of random knowledge stored in that brain of his.

Besides, someone as genuine, sincere and kind as Cellbit would never end up being a good for nothing and rotten criminal.

Listening to Cellbit’s three key points about being a good criminal was a little helpful, though. Roier would probably end up using his words to try and spot criminals in disguise, even during the day.

“Third and final step!”

Goosebumps rose on Roier’s arms. The hairs on his nape stood on its ends as his tingle whispered in his head. It’s time.

And then Cellbit spoke again, his voice booming as he yelled. “Don’t let your guard down, Roier!”

That was the cue.

Roier immediately broke into a sprint, his sneakers squeaking against the tiles as he launched himself forward. That small noise was enough to catch the leader’s attention. He twisted his body around, spotted Roier, and immediately pointed his gun at him.

Not wasting a second, Roier slammed his shoulder towards the guy’s torso and ended up elbowing him in the stomach. The robber choked and ended up firing the gun while it was pointed towards the ceiling. A second later, there was a loud crash, as the counter area crumpled under the guy’s weight. Roier could see the teenage girl crossing her arms over her face to shield herself from the impact.

Roier immediately grabbed the thug’s wrist and twisted his arm at an awkward angle, forcing him to drop his gun. Using all his strength, Roier pulled him to the side and tackled him once more. He broke into a sprint and bulldozed the guy forward until they crashed into the freezer doors.

Glass shards rained down upon impact. Roier ducked his head low, and curled himself into the robber’s figure to shield himself from the shards. He felt some cans of soda topple on top of him and bounce off his back.

After noticing that the guy was knocked out, Roier sighed in relief. He sat up and grinned as he gave Cellbit a thumbs up.

Cellbit smiled back in what seemed to be approval. Immediately after, Roier noticed two things. One: all three of the robbers were facing him, their jaws wide open in shock, while Cellbit stood behind them with a beer bottle in his hands. Two: the teenage girl was in shock. She just stood behind the counter silently with her eyes widened.

Damn it. Roier couldn’t blame her for freezing up after going through what could possibly be the most traumatic experience of her life, but still… the longer she stayed in the store, the more chances there were of her getting hurt.

Roier couldn’t exactly waltz to her either, not while Cellbit was surrounded by criminals, so he did the next best thing—he screamed.

“Corre!”

Thankfully, his shouting actually snapped the girl out of her trance. She quickly stood up, her shoes clumsily slipping against the floor as she scrambled to her feet and ran out the door. A second later, Roier heard glass shatter louder from right next to him.

His breath hitched in his throat. Roier imagined the worst. What if, during those few seconds of distraction, one of the robbers ended up giving Cellbit a concussion? Panic filled his blood and made goosebumps rise on his skin. He immediately turned around with the full intention of taking care of the rest of the robbers—until he saw one of the thugs laying on the ground and saw the broken end of a beer bottle in Cellbit’s hands.

Huh?

Roier blinked, then watched Cellbit beat the crap out of the two robbers. In seconds, they were disarmed and unconscious. After punching one of the thieves right on his jaw, Cellbit rubbed his knuckles and hissed lightly at the impact on his hand.

Maybe it was Roier’s fault for assuming that Cellbit wasn’t going to defend himself whatsoever. Of course, he was a fighter. He didn’t constantly shun people away with his blue eyes and have those big, beefy, and juicy muscles for nothing.

Still, seeing him effortlessly beat up two people at once was very unexpected. And why was he feeling so warm? Even while standing so close to the broken freezer? Weird.

“Sorry about that,” Cellbit smiled at him, as if he didn’t just shatter Roier’s entire perception of him. “You okay?”

“Yeah, I…” Feeling a bit more nervous than usual, Roier gulped and scratched at the collar of his shirt. “You handled that pretty well, Gatinho. Didn’t think you were much of a fighter.”

“Eh, I can defend myself when I need to,” Cellbit shrugged and smirked a little, that smug aura returning to him for a second before it was replaced by concern. With a furrow in his brow, he approached Roier. “What about you, Guapito? You tackled a guy twice your size with no problem at all!”

The question made Roier’s heart stop for a moment. Thankfully, it looked like Cellbit was more worried than anything. Ignoring the small voice in the back of his mind that told him he was currently being suspected, he chalked up his dexterous, and totally not superhuman athletic ability to an adrenaline rush.

Cellbit’s expression relaxed, which probably meant that he bought it. But Roier wasn’t exactly relieved, because there was still a little furrow in his brow, and he was glancing at the door behind them. Oh..

After watching the bell jingle as the door swung slightly, Roier reassured Cellbit that the girl made it out in one piece. Even so, Cellbit was still tense, his shoulders stiff, and his lips curled into a small frown. At this point, Roier had no clue why he was so worried. All of the robbers were knocked out and the girl was safe, so why—

“Are you sure you’re not hurt?” Suddenly standing even closer, Cellbit gently grabbed Roier’s arm. “Maybe some of the shards cut you…”

Oh. How could he? How could Cellbit worry about Roier, even after he just barely missed the bullets of the thugs he beat up, even after he risked his life by distracting a group of armed men, just because he didn’t want to leave Roier alone?

It was stupid, really. Roier shouldn’t feel this overwhelmed by a bit of concern. Still, a part of him wanted to combust, to explode into dust and fade away into the atmosphere. Cellbit narrowed his eyes. He leaned down, nearly closing the distance between their faces, and Roier couldn’t breathe.

“I’m fine,” Roier let out an awkward laugh and pushed Cellbit backwards with both hands. He flailed his hands around as he gestured at himself. “See? Not a scratch in sight, eh?”

Cellbit looked him over for a moment, then sighed loudly in relief. Only then did he visibly relax. His shoulders slumped and the furrow in his brow was gone, but he was still standing a little too close to Roier. He raised his hand, his fingers shaking as he reached for… something. If Roier were to allow the crazier side of himself to break through his logic, he’d think Cellbit was trying to cup his face or maybe even pinch his cheek.

But Cellbit decided to not go through with whatever was on his mind. Instead, he lightly nudged Roier’s side with his shoulder. He marched forward and started to babble about the chamoy, all while stretching his arms up like a cat.

Digging his hands into his pockets, Roier pulled out two little bottles of Lucas Muecas Chamoy. He held one in each hand and was surprised that they didn’t get absolutely decimated when he tackled that robber.

“I bet every bone in my body that you’ll give this a ten out of ten.”

As soon as Roier finished his sentence, the hairs on his nape stood on its ends. His tingle screamed at him and yelled the word Danger! in a loop. A feeling of dread crawled up his gut and threatened to squeeze his heart dry.

Cellbit’s response turned into white noise in his ears. Through his peripheral vision, Roier saw the robber he’d tackled against the freezer. He was conscious. Barely awake, but still had enough strength to raise his gun and point it forward.

One thing was obvious, the guy was about to fire a bullet—which was fine, really. Roier could easily dodge it.

Cellbit couldn’t.

To Roier, being a hero didn’t just mean being a superhero. Having a costume and superpowers wasn’t the only thing that defined heroism. Sure, the Avengers were the greatest band of superheroes to ever grace the earth, but they weren’t the only ones.

In fact, heroes came in all shapes and forms. Spreen was a hero when he, despite his young age, decided to save Roier from his awful bullies. Mariana was a hero when he looked past their differences and decided to be his friend. Jaiden was a hero when she opened herself up to them and accepted all three of them as her best friends.

Abuela was a hero when she stayed strong and raised Roier without failure, even after the death of her beloved husband.

Cellbit was a hero when he entered Roier’s atmosphere, like an everlasting comment, and permanently brightened his life.

If Roier were to take off his mask and lose his Spider-Man powers, would he still be a hero?

The answer to that question was bleak, but Roier was sure of only one thing: If he didn’t interfere, Cellbit would end up getting shot.

So Roier did the most obvious thing any good person would do in this situation. He grabbed Cellbit by his coat and shoved him aside.

With his shoulder slamming hard on the ground, Cellbit groaned at the impact. Roier will have to apologize to him for being so rough later. At least he was out of the bullet’s range.

In that split of a second, when Cellbit raised his head, the two of them made eye contact. For the first time since they met, Roier could tell what he was thinking. There was confusion first, as the Brazilian tried to make sense of what just happened. And then, his eyes widened in horror.

Roier’s tingle warned him of the bullet. Thanks to it, he managed to dodge the attack, but felt a sharp sting across his cheek as the bullet ended up grazing him a little. With the force of his recoil combined with his body weight, he ended up slipping backwards.

Then his head hit the ground, and he was engulfed in darkness.

When Roier came to, he was greeted by a splitting headache.

His head was spinning. Since Roier was still slowly regaining consciousness, his instincts were turning on one by one. First, his hearing. He could hear mumbling from just up ahead, but was in too much pain to open his eyes and actually look at what was happening.

“Ai, mierda.”

The mumbling ceased. Roier ran a hand up his face to massage his temple, but hissed when his fingers came in contact with a fresh wound on his cheek. It stung and blood was still dripping down from it. Not to mention that his head was throbbing.

“My f*cking head,” he groaned. “Dios santo…”

Roier’s eyes were still shut, so he tried to make sense of what was happening around him using the sounds he could hear. There were footsteps crunching against glass shards, the rustling of clothes and the pained grunts of a man—

Wait. How long was Roier passed out? Did the robber end up recovering? Was Cellbit hurt? Those worrisome thoughts of his battled with the headache that was immobilizing him. He ended up just sitting down with his head literally in his hands instead.

More footsteps came and grew louder as the seconds ticked by. The person nearly slipped, Roier could tell by the sound of leather sliding against the floor, and slid to a stop right in front of him. Roier immediately knew who it was.

“Guapito!” Cellbit was right in front of him. Estas bien? You—you were—”

“I’m fine, Cellbo,” He continued to groan at the pain. “God, my head hurts.”

When Cellbit didn’t respond, Roier was overcome with worry. Maybe he did end up getting hurt while he was knocked out. What if Cellbit used all his strength to check on Roier, only to pass out right in front of him? Did that mean he was severely injured? Was he dying?

Roier ignored the feeling of his head splitting open and immediately opened his eyes. His wild imagination made him anticipate the worst—but when he saw Cellbit kneeling in front of him with his hands on his face and his forehead pressed against the ground, he was left with confusion.

In those few seconds of silence, Roier heard Cellbit’s uneven breathing. He was hyperventilating.

The sight of him shaking on the ground crunched Roier’s heart, squeezing it so tightly that it hurt. He slowly reached his hand out to him. “Cellbit? What’s wrong?”

“Don’t touch me,” His words made Roier freeze.

He continued to stare at his back, his hand still hovering in the air. “Are you hurt?”

“Don’t look at me,” With Cellbit’s voice breaking, Roier’s heart shattered into a million pieces. His voice was muzzled against his palms. “Don’t look at me, Roier, please. I’m a monster. I’m a monster.”

Roier frowned, absolutely baffled by why Cellbit would even say something like that. “What are you…”

And then Roier noticed their surroundings.

Just a few feet behind Cellbit, still leaning against the freezer doors, was the robber who fired the gun. The freezer looked more destroyed than Roier remembered, with the doors dented and glass completely shattered. Blood was smeared on the metal and was pooling on the floor.

The robber looked like he’d been through the ringer. He was unconscious now, and was covered with blood from head to toe, almost like he was bleeding from everywhere. Puncture wounds were on his face and there was a big chunk missing from his arm.

Said chunk was a piece of flesh he could barely see behind one of the shelves.

Roier noticed the trail of blood droplets on the ground, and noticed that they led right to Cellbit.

It didn’t take a genius to figure out what had transpired while Roier was knocked out cold. He stared at the Brazilian’s back and tried to make sense of everything. Still, the blood trail leading to Cellbit could also mean that Cellbit himself was injured. Maybe on his face? Or his hands…

Roier had to check, but Cellbit looked so scared, so small, as if he was a tiny kitten shivering in the cold. After hovering his hand in the air for an awkwardly long moment, he eventually placed his hand on his friend’s shoulder.

Just as he expected, Cellbit flinched at the touch, but immediately relaxed after a second. He waited until Cellbit’s shoulders weren’t so tense anymore before he spoke.

“Hey,” Roier whispered. “Look at me.”

Instead of responding verbally, Cellbit shook his head while keeping his face in his palms.

“Cellbit,” He spoke again and made sure to use a rigid tone. “Look at me.”

Despite that, Cellbit still refused to look up. Roier sighed and decided to take matters into his own hands—literally.

With one hand still pressed against his shoulder, Roier used his other hand to reach for Cellbit’s face. He ended up making contact with one of his hands instead, so he made do with it and gently rubbed his fingers over his knuckles.

Silence fell on them as Roier continued to rub his hand, coaxing him to hopefully open up, until Cellbit removed one of his hands from his own face and reached for Roier’s own hand. Instead of pulling it away from his face, though, Cellbit breathed shakily into his palm.

Roier shivered at the feeling, and then Cellbit said: “I can’t.”

Not making sense of it, he whispered in response. “Why not?”

“Because you were dead,” Cellbit’s lips trembled as he spoke. They brushed lightly against Roier’s palm. “For a moment, I thought I’d lost you and… I lost myself, too. With you gone, I…”

With Cellbit trailing off, Roier felt his heart swell. He could feel the guilt start to eat him up from the inside. If only he had been more careful. If only he hadn’t slipped and hit his head on the ground, then maybe…

Slipping his other hand off his shoulder, Roier reached for Cellbit’s face. He was surprised when the Brazilian allowed him to cup his cheek and even nuzzled into his palm, like a cat.

Roier ignored the brief comparison that sprouted in his head and instead focused on the opening he saw. Taking the chance, he gently held Cellbit’s face with both of his hands and slowly pulled him up until they were facing each other.

The sight before him made Roier’s eyes widen in shock. Blood was smeared all over Cellbit’s face. Most of it was gathered around his mouth and was still dripping down the corners of his lips. His jaw was trembling and his mouth was gritted, exposing some of his teeth. They were stained with blood, too. Both of his eyes were screwed shut and it was obvious that he was on the verge of tears.

It hurt. Seeing Cellbit so scared and so… broken, as if he was seconds away from crumbling in his hands. Roier felt a certain kind of sadness that he never thought he’d feel in his lifetime. It weighed heavy inside him, like an anchor weighing him down, threatening to pull him to the seafloor.

Roier leaned closer and whispered. “Open your eyes.”

“You’ll see me for who I am.”

“Mhm,” he traced the line of Cellbit’s cheekbones with his fingers and ended up smearing the blood on his face even more. “What’s so wrong with that?”

“I’m a monster,” his lips trembled even more.

“No, you’re not.”

“Didn’t you see what I did?”

“Mhm.”

“Then why…?”

Strangely enough, even though Roier was one hundred percent sure that Cellbit ripped that robber apart as if he were a feral beast, he wasn’t scared. When he saw the blood all over Cellbit’s face and hands, the first thought that came to his mind was whether the Brazilian ended up hurting himself during the process. What if the force of his bite ended up lodging his tooth loose?

It was rather… a unique thought process, really. Roier knew that a regular upstanding citizen wouldn’t bite off a chunk of a guy’s arm in self-defense. Then again, he knew that Cellbit wasn’t an ordinary guy. He knew the very moment they first locked eyes at the cafeteria.

Roier realized that even though he’s been hanging out with Cellbit for the majority of the past month, he knew almost nothing about him. Sure, he knew that the guy was Brazilian, had a soft spot for cats and was a detective at heart. He knew the guy had secrets and had trouble opening himself up to people in general. Despite it all, he knew that, underneath that gruff and messy look, was a man who knew nothing but kindness.

There was one other thing Roier was sure of, and that was—

“Because you’re not a monster.”

Cellbit reacted to his words by attempting to pull himself away from his hands, but Roier tightened his grip on his face and stopped him.

Finally, Cellbit opened his eyes. Roier stared into them and realized he’d never seen them this closely before. They were gorgeously diamond blue but also resembled the waves of the ocean. Roier wanted to dive into them, to sink into them and have the beautiful blue wrap around him.

“You have no idea, Roier,” Cellbit’s voice broke again, and his eyes, so beautiful, welled up with tears. The blue sparkled. Now they looked more like shining diamonds. “I’ve done things, worse than what I did to that f*cker who shot you. Really, I… I thought it was all behind me. Then I saw you bleeding and I—”

“Shh,” He brought Cellbit closer, until their foreheads were pressed together. “It’s okay, Cellbit.”

His breath hitched his throat, before he spoke again. “Roier… I don’t think you understand. Once you find out what kind of things I’ve done, you’ll… you’ll hate me.”

Roier chuckled at that. He didn’t think there was any circ*mstance in the universe that would make him hate Cellbit. So he said just that. “Who says I’ll hate you?”

“Don’t you hate bad guys? I’ve shed blood, just like they have. It makes me one of them.”

The Brazilian’s response was more baffling than anything. For the sake of making sense of Cellbit’s ridiculous claims, Roier made a few comparisons in his head. Using all the people he’s come across as Spider-Man, the bad guys in question were; nasty criminals who broke into local stores for their own selfish benefits, robbers who targeted small businesses and helpless elderly people, creepy stalkers, heartless bullies…

Right on top of the list was Black Cat. An obnoxious, snappy, snarky and annoying man who spent his free time stealing pets and had the audacity to look good while doing it.

Cellbit was nothing like any of those people. Why he’d even compare himself to any of them was a mystery in itself.

So Roier did his best to convince Cellbit that he wasn’t the bad guy he considered himself to be. He emphasized his bravery and his willingness to help Roier despite his initial plan of escaping.

His response was: “But you’re hurt.”

Oh.

“I wasn’t able to protect you.”

Oh.

The rest of Cellbit’s words ended up getting tuned out, as Roier sat there and wondered why he was so good at making him feel like he was on the verge of bursting into a billion atoms. It felt so wonderful to have someone care so much. At the same time, he felt guilty for worrying him to this extent.

Roier looked up at Cellbit. There was a line of blood tracing his cheekbones. He traced it with his fingers again and hummed. “If I hadn’t pushed you out of the way, you would have been shot.”

“And you nearly died because of it.”

“True, but I’m alive, aren’t I?”

Closing his eyes for a brief moment, Cellbit opened them again to reveal that his blue eyes were once again shining with tears. “You were willing to take a bullet for me. Why? Why would someone like you risk everything for someone like me?”

That was the question, wasn’t it? As Roier moved his hand and brushed his fingertip over the curve of Cellbit’s earlobe, he wondered why that was the case. Being a hero was in his blood. He’d probably jump in and take the hit for anyone.

But when it came to Cellbit, Roier knew that he was willing to risk everything for him. His precious free time that really should have been going to writing his thesis, his mind, his body and soul, his life—one day, maybe even his identity as Spider-Man.

Something bloomed inside Roier, its soft petals encapsulating his heart. Maybe the seeds had been planted long ago and were waiting for the day they could finally bloom.

Acknowledgment.

“I don’t know,” Roier spoke breathlessly. “Maybe I like you a little too much.”

Cellbit blinked at him and whispered his words in a hushed tone. “What makes you say that?”

There was a clump of hair tangled over his earlobe. Roier smiled at how unkempt and unruly Cellbit was. He curled the strands around his finger. “It’s because… even if I get the chance to turn back time, I’d do it again. Without a doubt.”

As silence fell over them, Roier thought about the possibility of Cellbit being a secret criminal. It was a ridiculous scenario that he’d never consider to be true, but hypothetically speaking…

Long ago, if Roier were to consider this exact scenario, he would have said that he would shun Cellbit and immediately cut him out of his life. But now, with all he’s seen and done, with all he’s heard from Vegetta and with all he’s witnessed during his last month duking it out with Black Cat—he thought that maybe, maybe, he wouldn’t mind if Cellbit fit the mold of the conventional bad guy.

Assuming he did, of course, because he didn’t.

Cellbit seemed to think so, for some reason. So Roier decided that it was going to be his job to convince him that he wasn’t.

“And,” Roier continued. “I don’t care about what you’ve done and what you were about to do… but I do care about you.”

Parting his mouth just slightly, Cellbit held his breath. “Even when I’m like this?”

Roier took a moment to look Cellbit over. Blood contrasting his pale skin, shining diamond eyes, a perfectly sculpted beard, unruly yet gorgeous hair…

He was beautiful.

“Yes,” grinned Roier. “Even when you’re all bloody and sticky, pendejo.”

When Cellbit cracked a grin and teased him in response, Roier beamed. This was the man he’d gotten to know, a playful guy who disguised himself as someone serious. The two of them continued to joke around, despite the bloodied mess surrounding them, and for a moment, everything felt light.

Until Cellbit pinched his cheeks.

Roier jumped a little and nearly bit down on his own tongue out of shock. “Qué susto, mierda! What the hell, man? That hurt!”

“Desculpe,” Cellbit apologized, his voice so low that he could barely hear him.

And then, there was a shift in the atmosphere. Roier felt it when Cellbit light pressed his thumb on his bottom lip. Suddenly he was hyper aware of how close they were, of how the distance between them was nearly non-existent. He inhaled and immediately caught a whiff of Cellbit’s breath. It smelled of coffee. It smelled of want.

With both of their foreheads pressed together, Roier sat still and allowed Cellbit to play with his lips. His fingers were still curled around the Brazilian’s hair. Due to their current position, he ended up tugging some of his hair, which caused Cellbit to lean even closer.

Their noses touched. Leaning up, Roier breathed heavily and stared at Cellbit’s lips. His hand snaked up behind his head and he raked his fingers through his long locks.

During those few moments, with Cellbit’s finger on his chin and their lips so close that he could almost taste the blood on them, Roier realized that he wanted this. He wanted it so bad that it hurt.

However, Roier wasn’t sure if Cellbit wanted this either and didn’t want to overstep any boundaries. What if this was a spur of the moment thing? What if Cellbit was just feeling really emotional after the initial scare of watching him die?

So he sat still and remained silent, awaiting the other’s next move. Roier gazed at him through his eyelashes, breathed into his mouth and massaged his scalp. He hoped that these subtle actions of his were enough to convey his message.

Roier was never in a romantic relationship. He’s had a few crushes over the years but it never became anything more than that. The thought of ever getting a partner lingered in the back of his mind but was never something he prioritized.

Throughout the past month, Roier has experienced many firsts. His first try at foreign food, his first visit to the Brazilian precinct and becoming friends with someone out of his usual circle for the first time.

Feeling like his heart was on the verge of exploding…

Roier would like to share even more firsts with Cellbit.

Kiss me, if you’d like.

As he waited for his life to change, he imagined how things would play out. Was kissing someone as electrifyingly sweet as portrayed in all the cheesy romcom movies that Mariana loved watching? Would it change everything? Would it risk the friendship they’ve carefully built over the last month?

It was difficult to tell what would happen from then on, so Roier closed his eyes and decided to deal with whatever consequences would come after.

Cellbit leaned in. His breath hitched once again, and Roier felt his heart hammer against his ribcage. He anticipated the feeling of soft lips against his own and braced himself for the iron taste of blood—

Until Cellbit moved his head to the side and peppered a light kiss on Roier’s cheek instead. He then wrapped his arms around him and engulfed him in a warm embrace.

“I’m glad you’re safe, Guapito,” Cellbit nuzzled his face into the crook of Roier’s neck, muffling his voice.

Roier would be lying if he said he wasn’t disappointed, but figured that Cellbit wasn’t ready to take things a step further. It was fine, really. He was willing to wait for as long as he lived.

Snaking his arms around the Brazilian’s figure, Roier used one hand to rub circles on his back while he continued to massage his scalp with the other. Cellbit sighed and melted into him. He exhaled heavily into his neck and nuzzled his face even more. The friction of Cellbit’s beard against his bare skin tickled him a little.

“Tu tambien, Gatinho,” Roier sighed deeply and pressed his face into Cellbit’s curls.

In a surprising turn of events, the police actually showed up, but of course the first thing they did was try and shoot them both. Cellbit quite literally snarled at them in defense, but thankfully Roier was able to calm him down, and nothing too bad happened after that teenage girl walked in and stopped the policeman.

With the ransacked store now counted as a crime scene, the two of them were escorted outside, patched up, and questioned by the police. Due to Cellbit being covered in blood, he got the brunt of the questions.

Roier watched the interrogation play out for a moment, with Cellbit once again explaining how he ripped off a piece of the guy’s arm in detail. When he noticed that the Brazilian was snarling again, his sharp canines poking out from his lips, he interfered.

“Gatinho,” He whispered softly and squeezed his hand.

Thankfully, that was enough to calm Cellbit. Unfortunately, his interference caught the attention of the policeman, and he had to explain his perspective of the entire ordeal.

The whole time he was explaining, Cellbit stared at him, as if he couldn’t believe what he was hearing. And then the cop finally left them alone and he immediately started ranting.

“He shouldn’t have asked all those damn questions in the first place,” Cellbit clicked his tongue. He slouched and crossed his elbows over his knees before shaking his head.

Roier sat over the ambulance’s bumper, his legs dangling and the tips of his shoes barely brushing the dirt. Seated next to him, their hands intertwined, Cellbit was nearly as close as he was during their almost kiss inside the store.

His face was wiped clean of blood, and Roier noticed that scars littered Cellbit’s face as well. The most prominent one was a scar that ran horizontally across one cheek to another, crossing his nose bridge. It had faded over time and was barely noticeable, but Roier could see it clearly from his angle.

“Well, he was just doing his job, so…” Roier shrugged.

“A job he sucks at doing,” Scoffing loudly, Cellbit rolled his eyes and threw his arms up in the air. “Isn’t the police station just at the other end of the street? Yet it took them ages to actually f*cking get here. You know what? They were probably waiting for Spider-Man to take care of it himself.”

Hearing Cellbit say Spider-Man’s name rattled Roier for a moment, until he digested his words and puffed his cheeks in irritation. He ended up ranting about the police as well, even adding a bit of Spanish in there, while Cellbit just watched him grumble to himself in amusem*nt.

Eventually, Roier calmed down and spoke his next words in a whisper. “Still, you shouldn’t have snapped at him like that. You know how those cops can get with their power tripping. He could have arrested you for cussing him out.”

Cellbit rolled his eyes and scoffed again. “As if I’d let him arrest me.”

“True,” Roier snickered a little. “You did one hell of a job defending yourself in there, by the way. When you told the paramedic that the blood on your face wasn’t yours, she looked terrified. You should have seen the look on her face, man!”

He laughed at his own words for a few seconds, until he noticed the wide-eyed look on Cellbit’s face and frowned.

Tilting his head, Roier asked: “What? Cellbo? Why are you looking at me like that?”

“You don’t…” Cellbit’s voice faltered after he gulped. “You don’t mind?”

“Don’t mind what?”

“That I—bit the guy—and tore his skin off…”

Well, it was common sense. Every sane person would find Cellbit’s actions disturbing, but strangely enough, Roier wasn’t even scared in the slightest. In fact…

“Oh,” He smiled brightly. “Nah. You did what you had to do to defend yourself. That guy tried to kill you, so it’s only fair.”

There was another shift in Cellbit’s expression. His eyes widened even more, his mouth slightly parted, and it sounded like he was short of breath.

He looked at Roier as if the universe had opened itself up to him—or maybe that was just wishful thinking on his part.

With a low hum, Roier continued. “Besides, I almost took a bullet for you. So I guess we’re even.”

Afterwards, the situation flipped over, with the store owner kneeling down and thanking the both of them for saving the teenage girl, who turned out to be his daughter. Since Roier lost his chamoy treats during the mess, he ended up asking for a bottle of Lucas Muecas Chamoy from the owner, with Cellbit following his lead.

While they waited for the candies, they realized that the group of robbers they’d battled were part of the Federation. There was a fearful look in Cellbit’s eyes upon the reveal. Roier wasn’t all too surprised by his reaction. He was pretty sure that everyone feared the Federation in some way.

In the end, Lucas Muecas Chamoy got a ten out of ten ranking. Roier would say this entire fiasco was worth the trouble.

“Hey, Ro!”

Roier blinked when he recognized Jaiden’s voice. Surely enough, standing behind the barrier created by the police, was Jaiden herself. She was somehow able to push through the noisy crowd and was standing right behind the barrier. Waving her arms up in the air, she hopped a little as she screamed.

“Ay, pendejo! We’re over here!” Standing next to her, Mariana towered over most of the crowd. From Roier’s view, he could see some people complaining about him blocking the view.

Even though the two of them showing up didn’t come up as a surprise to Roier, he still felt relief wash over him after he spotted his two best friends in the crowd. News did tend to spread fast in town, so he briefly worried about whether or not Abuela knew about this already.

For now, Roier waved his hand in acknowledgment.

Jaiden quickened her waves, then pointed at Roier and exclaimed. “See?! I told you we’re his friends! You better let us in now!”

A little off to the side was a policeman. Because he was facing the other way, Roier couldn’t make out what he was saying, but his response was obvious after Jaiden put on a ticked off expression. Soon after, Mariana went full Latino and started ranting at the guy in straight Spanish.

Roier snickered at his ranting, then lightly nudged Cellbit’s side with his elbow. “Look at the American. You can literally see his brain shutting down.”

“Right,” chuckled Cellbit. He cleared his throat, then spoke his next words loudly. “Honestly, if they want your friend to leave them alone, then they’re just going to have to let us go.”

Initially, Roier was confused by his awkwardly loud tone, until he noticed that the policeman who was previously interrogating them was standing within earshot. The guy glanced at Cellbit, before he quietly shuffled towards the barriers and approached the cop who was standing next to Jaiden and Mariana.

Only then did Roier realize what just happened. Still seated next to him, Cellbit casually nibbled at his chamoy candy and shrugged.

They sat there for about a minute, until the policeman approached them again and said: “You’re free to go.”

Roier beamed. He pumped his fist into the air, hopped off the ambulance, then grabbed Cellbit’s hands.

“Come on, Cellbo!” Using his regular strength, he attempted to pull the Brazilian off his seat. “We should meet them before Mariana pops a vein.”

With the chamoy popsicle still in his mouth, Cellbit didn’t fight back and allowed Roier to drag him off the ambulance and all the way to the barrier. The intense expressions on both his best friends’ faces faded as soon as they saw Roier approaching them.

Until Jaiden saw the bandage plastered across Roier’s cheek. She leaned forward on the railing and pressed her torso on it uncomfortably as she gasped.

“Ro, you’re hurt! What the hell happened?!”

It almost looked like Jaiden was going to fall over the railings, thankfully Mariana grabbed the back of her shirt and prevented her from flipping over it. “Relax, Jyai-den, it’s just a little cut.”

Mariana put on a mischievous grin and glanced over at something—or rather, someone. That expression on his face made Roier sigh. It only meant trouble.

“Besides, I’m sure Romeo over here did his best to protect Roier.”

With Mariana wiggling his eyebrows, Roier immediately figured out what he meant. He glanced over his shoulder and saw Cellbit standing there with his lips pursed. His fingers were digging into the strap of his bag and he was avoiding eye contact with anyone. There was a pink flush spread across his cheeks.

Roier ignored the warmth that spread across his cheeks and smacked Mariana’s shoulder with the back of his hand. "Ay, lo estás haciendo sentir incómodo, hijo de puta!"

"Cállate, pen-de-jo, ¡Sabes que estoy diciendo la verdad! Básicamente, ya estáis saliendo en este momento,” Sticking his tongue out, Mariana playfully slapped Roier’s hand away. Jaiden’s worry faded, as she snorted at his tone. “No lo admitirás, pero ya gané esta apuesta."

“De qué carajo estás hablando?!”

“Tengo que explicártelo? Tú—”

“Guapito.”

Hearing that nickname roll out of Cellbit’s tongue so easily made Roier shiver a little. Their bickering stopped immediately, and he turned around to fully face Cellbit. He had a small smile on his face and was standing just behind him, with one of his hands gripping the strap of his bag while the other—

Roier looked down, and saw that Cellbit’s hand was still intertwined in his.

Ah.

Twisting his body until he was fully facing Roier, Cellbit tugged his hand gently and beckoned him closer.

“Today was really fun,” He paused for a second, his eyes widening at his own words before he sheepishly rubbed his nape with his free hand. “I mean, not counting what just happened. That wasn’t—”

“I know,” Roier cut him off before he could start to spiral. “I had fun, too.”

A look of relief washed over Cellbit’s face. He spoke his next words softly and rubbed his thumb gently over the Mexican’s hand. “Well, I won’t keep your friends waiting. I do have some business to attend to, so… I’ll see you around?”

“Yeah,” Tilting his head, he put on a smile. “I’ll see you around.”

Silence fell over them once more as they stared at each other. For a moment, while Roier sank deeper into his brilliant blue eyes, he considered attempting to kiss Cellbit again.

And then he remembered where they were. Jaiden and Mariana were standing just a few feet away, separated only by a barrier that Mariana could easily vault over. There was a crowd, too. He’d rather not smooch Cellbit in front of his best friends and hundreds of strangers.

Roier recounted his thoughts and let out a little laugh. What a fool he was to even consider that they’d end up in a similar situation again. Maybe the chance would never come to him. Maybe he’d wasted his one shot.

In the end, did that really matter? They were both safe and they were both happy. That was what mattered the most.

Besides, if he were to kiss Cellbit, he’d rather do it with nobody else around.

Another time, maybe. For now, Roier pulled him into a hug. He wrapped his arms around Cellbit and immediately felt the Brazilian melt into him, as if he was a puzzle piece slotting into place perfectly.

“Thank you for everything, Roier,” Cellbit’s voice rumbled against the Mexican’s neck.

“De nada, Cellbo,” He hummed and repeatedly patted his back. “You can always come to me when you need to.”

Cellbit pulled away from the hug, but stopped to hold both of Roier’s hands. He smiled and lightly pressed his thumbs into the center of Roier’s palms. “Okay, I’ll make sure to contact you if I start craving some Mexican candy again.”

His words brought out a snicker from Roier. “As you wish, Your Highness.”

Crossing one arm over his chest, Roier playfully bowed as he was greeting royalty, earning a little snort from Cellbit.

“Tchau, Guapito,” Cellbit had a hand curled around his mouth, probably to hold in his laughter.

He stood up straight and saluted playfully. “Adios, Gatinho.”

And yet, they stayed.

Both of them just stood for a moment, their hands intertwined, and stared at each other as if the universe had collapsed, leaving only the two. Eventually, Cellbit walked away, his fingers slowly slipping off Roier’s hand as the distance between them grew.

Cellbit kept his eyes on Roier as he walked backwards, then jumped over the barrier with ease. Then, he was gone.

All the while, Roier stared ahead and rubbed his hands together as he sighed dreamily. He didn’t even notice that Mariana was calling for him until he felt someone tug at his shirt.

“Come on, Juliet,” It sounded like Mariana was snickering. “Snap out of it before you melt into a puddle.”

“Ah,” Roier laughed awkwardly as he turned around and faced his friends. “Sorry. We should head ho…”

Roier trailed off when he noticed the look on Mariana’s face. His lips were curled into a mischievous grin and his half lidded eyelids, combined with his wiggling eyebrows, made him look like a naughty cat. Jaiden, on the other hand, had quite an unreadable expression on her face. One of her arms was crossed over the barrier, while the other was raised to allow her to cup her cheek in her hand. With one of her eyebrows raised, she just stared at Roier silently.

“…What? What’s with the look on your faces?” He tilted his head at them, before he vaulted over the barrier and stood between them. Letting out a light huff, he straightened his shirt with a tug and brushed the dirt off his sleeve. “Come on, we should get away from this crowd.”

A small voice in the back of Roier’s mind told him that he was about to be interrogated, so he quickly walked away from the crowd. Mariana, with his basketball player stamina and speed, quickly caught up to him.

Propping his elbow on his shoulder, Mariana briefly stopped him in his tracks. “Nu-uh, Mister, you’re not running away until you tell us what went down in that store.”

Roier frowned and gestured at the bandage on his cheek. “Well, Cellbo and I went in to buy some chamoy, then this group of thieves walked in and—”

“I’m pretty sure that Mari wasn’t talking about the robbery,” Jaiden spoke with a few pants, and caught her breath after she jogged towards them.

As they continued to walk away from the crowd, Roier furrowed his brows. “Huh?”

“You and Cellbit, man!” Mariana exclaimed loudly. “For a second, it looked like you two were about to kiss!”

“Right in front of us, too,” added Jaiden. She shook her head and sighed. “Whatever happened to dignity?”

“And that hug! What was up with that? I felt like I was intruding.”

“Now you know what I felt back at the arena, though this hug felt… a lot more intimate.”

“Really?”

Ignoring how his friends rambled as if he wasn’t right there, Roier thought back to the almost kiss inside the store. He recalled the close proximity of Cellbit’s face and remembered the feeling of his thumb pressed against his lips. The scent of coffee still lingered in his nose.

And then his thoughts from moments ago returned to him: Kiss me, if you’d like.

Oh my God.

Now that Cellbit was gone and his logic had fully returned to him—Roier’s face burned. With one hand on Mariana’s shoulder, he used the other to hide his face as he bent forward and groaned in his palm.

Both of his friends froze. Jaiden immediately kneeled down in front of Roier and attempted to cup his face. But she decided against it and ended up hovering her hands over his cheeks instead.

“Ro?! What’s wrong?!” She exclaimed loudly. “Does your face hurt? Do you have a concussion?”

“They would have brought him to the hospital if he had one, Jyai-den,” Mariana chimed in with a surprisingly calm tone, which immediately cracked after his eyes widened. “Oh, sh*t. Maybe that wound on his cheek is infected?!”

“Guys, please. I’m fine,” With Roier’s voice muffled against his palm, neither of his friends heard him.

“It can’t get infected that quickly! Or can it?” After pausing for a brief moment, Jaiden pulled her phone out of her pocket. “Actually, let me look it up.”

Suddenly Roier was pulled into a hug. It was much rougher than the way Cellbit held him, to the point that the air was nearly knocked out of his lungs. Mariana had both of his arms wrapped around him, their cheeks pressed together as he stroked Roier’s hair.

“Ay, mi amor… It’s okay,” He cooed. “You’re going to be okay.”

Roier’s eye twitched. He used a bit of his superhuman strength to push Mariana away, then flailed both of his hands in the air desperately.

“Guys, I’m fine,” His words turned shaky as he breathed. “I don’t have a concussion or an infection, okay?”

Bending down a little, Mariana frowned after he got a good look at Roier’s face. “Then why are you all red?”

A suffocating silence passed, with Roier burying his face in his hands after he saw Jaiden’s eyes light up with realization. Mariana continued to stare at him, until he himself came across a realization and gasped loudly.

“Oh. Oh sh*t,” Mariana put in a huge grin that made him look more silly than mischievous. “Did it finally happen? Did you two kiss?”

“Mari!” exclaimed Jaiden.

“What?” Raising his arms up in defense, Mariana stiffened a little under her gaze. “Look at his face, Jyai-den. There’s no way that I’m losing this bet.”

“Oh my God,” Jaiden groaned, then faced him again. Even though she still had a look of concern on his face, Roier could tell that she was still a little curious. “Ro… What happened?”

It was painfully obvious. Jaiden wasn’t asking about the robbery.

Really, Roier understood their curiosity. Cellbit, after all, was the guy who appeared out of nowhere and slithered his way into his life, like a bright comet from outer space. Additionally, his friends were convinced that Cellbit liked him, for some reason.

To hear about a whole robbery, only to find out that he and Cellbit were stuck in there… Roier would admit, if he was in either Jaiden or Mariana’s shoes, he’d be curious too.

Not to mention that Roier was self-aware of how much of a blushing mess he was, which made this entire situation even more embarrassing.

Roier could feel his heartbeat quicken as the image of Cellbit, so close and almost his, plagued his mind. No matter what he tried to think about, his thoughts only looped back to that moment, when he could nearly feel the Brazilian’s lips on his own.

Thankfully, despite his brain slowly turning into mush, Roier still retained his logic. If he was going to explain what happened in that store, he wasn’t going to do it while standing in the middle of a random street.

“Wow, look at you two, eh?” Despite the way his cheeks burned, Roier snickered and shook his head. “I nearly died in there and you’re both more worried about that?”

Roier immediately regretted his words when he saw Jaiden’s face pale over.

On the other hand, Mariana chortled and lightly smacked Roier’s back. “The f*ck are you saying, pen-de-jo? You’re standing here, alive with nothing but a scratch, right? Don’t say sh*t like that.”

His hand was shaking.

Of course. Roier never considered how worried his friends must have been while he was locked in a store with four gunmen. How long were they even standing behind the barricade? For all he knew, they could have been waiting out here the entire time.

He couldn’t even imagine what they were thinking during those tense moments.

Roier pursed his lips. As his two best friends continued to stare at him, he swung his arms around their shoulders and pulled them closer. Both Jaiden and Mariana gave him questionable looks.

Soon enough, just as he began to think about how he should make it up to them, an idea sprang in his head.

“You know what, guys?” Roier whispered slowly, and cracked a grin at the way Jaiden raised her eyebrow. “Why don’t we have a sleepover at my place?”

“A sleepover?” snickered Mariana. “What are you, five?”

“Callase, culero,” Roier snapped at him, and Mariana stuck his tongue out in response. “Don’t act like you don’t miss it.”

“A sleepover, huh?” Echoing his words, Jaiden pondered on it for a moment. She tapped her finger on her chin and hummed. “Not saying I wouldn’t want to, but what brought this on?”

After thinking about it for a moment, Roier sighed. “I don’t know, it’s just… It’s been way too long since we last had one. When exactly was the last time we had a sleepover?”

Roier knew the answer to that question. The last time there was a sleepover at his house, they were still a group of four. He could still vividly remember the three of them squeezing together on his bedroom floor, while Jaiden rested comfortably on Roier’s bed.

Based on the look on both their faces, Roier could tell that they remembered, too.

“Besides,” Roier braced himself, knowing that he was going to regret what he was about to say. “How else am I going to tell you two what happened?”

Mariana beamed, while Jaiden gasped lightly in surprise. “Are you going to tell us about Cellbit, too?!”

Whatever sorrowful atmosphere that was brewing in the air dissipated immediately. Roier felt himself blush at the mention of Cellbit. He wasn’t too sure if his self-awareness towards it was a good thing or not.

“Maybe…” He trailed off, then groaned as Mariana let out a mischievous laughter that went ohohoho.

“What are we waiting for, then?!” Mariana exclaimed loudly, his voice fading away as he immediately started sprinting away mid-speech. “Let’s go!”

Roier snickered a little at the way Mariana marched forward, with his long and lanky limbs making him look like some kind of cryptid creature. Just before he could follow him, he felt Jaiden tap his back and froze in his tracks.

She put on a sweet smile, then said: “I’m glad you’re okay, Ro.”

“Yeah,” Roier smiled back. “Me too.”

The first thing Abuela said after the three of them showed up at Roier’s house was: “Dios mio! Que te paso?”

As soon as the door opened, she basically flew out of the house and grabbed both of Roier’s cheeks, squeezing his face between her hands. Abuela clicked her tongue as she inspected his face and let out a loud sigh once her eyes landed on the bandage pasted on the cut on his cheek.

“Mi pobre nieto…”

Honestly, Roier was surprised that Abuela hadn’t heard of the robbery at all. He’d assumed that the news somehow reached her while it was happening, since news in Quesadilla Town was known to spread across the neighborhood like wildfire. There was no way she was pretending that she didn’t know, either, because Abuela would have screamed at his ear for getting himself hurt if she did.

Roier figured this was for the best. He’d rather have Abuela not know. Besides, how the hell was he going to tell her that he intercepted a robbery alongside Cellbit, who she has never met or heard of before, and nearly died for it? He might as well give her a heart attack.

“Estoy bien, Abuela, nomas me tropecé,” Grinning, Roier gently pulled Abuela’s hands away from his face. He pointed at the bandage on his face with a small gesture of his finger. “It’s just a little cut, see?”

Mariana, who was standing way too stiffly on Roier’s right side, immediately relaxed upon hearing his words. He put on a huge grin and swung an arm over Roier’s shoulder, before pulling him closer with a hum.

“Don’t worry, Roier here was just being a little clumsy, that’s all,” He started rambling. “He did land on his face, hence the cut on his cheek, but he’s okay! It’s not—Yowch!”

At first, Roier wondered why Mariana had all of a sudden yelled out in pain, until he noticed that Jaiden had outstretched her arm behind the two of them and was pinching a bit of skin on Mariana’s arm. If the situation wasn’t so awkward or tense, Roier would have burst out in loud laughter.

“Estás bien, Mariana?” Abuela asked in worry, her old voice shaking slightly.

“Si, si,” Pulling his arm off of Roier’s shoulder, Mariana rubbed at his elbow. Just below the joint was a reddened patch of his skin. “Just, eh… I think I was bitten by a mosquito.”

He discreetly glanced at Jaiden, who offered him a sweet smile in response. Then she turned around and faced Abuela and kept her composure as she spoke. “We’re so sorry for showing up unnoticed, Abuela. Having a sleepover here came to us on a whim.”

When Abuela didn’t respond and instead glanced at all three of them repeatedly, Roier gulped. Ever since he was a little boy, his grandmother was skilled at reading him as if he was an open book. She could immediately tell that he was lying based on his tone alone and had the ability to figure out if he was sick, even before he himself knew. There was no doubt that she already knew that whatever happened to Roier wasn’t something as simple as him slipping and cutting his cheek on the pavement. Not to mention that she was squinting, her eyes narrowing even more as she glanced at Roier.

His heart hammered against his chest. She knew.

Thankfully, even if Abuela did have her suspicions, she didn’t push the topic further. Instead, she sighed loudly and put on a sweet smile that Roier had been accustomed to seeing every single day. She faced Jaiden, then stepped forward until she was standing right in front of her.

“No te disculpes, querida. Puedes quedarte cuando quieras,” Abuela held both of Jaiden’s shoulders and pulled her closer until their cheeks touched, doing the same for both of her cheeks. It was a beso, a quick yet intimate greeting that was profound in his culture. Seeing Jaiden become so used to the greeting brought a smile to Roier’s face.

“Gracias,” Jaiden replied simply, her eyes sparkling in accomplishment as she understood Abuela’s words.

Roier watched as Abuela moved on to Mariana. She gave him a little beso as well, and had to tiptoe a little bit in order to reach his cheek.

“Ay, Mariana, mírate,” She rubbed his arms and smiled up at him softly. “Te has vuelto tan alto! Mi nieto me dijo que te has convertido en un jugador de baloncesto bastante hábil.”

“Sí, sólo porque practiqué mucho,” Mariana beamed, then wiggled his eyebrows at Roier after Abuela pulled away from him. “So you talk about me, huh?”

Instead of responding verbally, Roier stuck his tongue out at him, earning a playful wink from Mariana. At the same time, Abuela went to him and gave him a little beso as well.

Then she stepped backwards until she was standing at the doorway. Abuela put on a warm smile, her hands curling over her chest as she gazed at Roier and his friends.

“Oh, this is lovely,” She sighed. “It’s so nice to see all three of you here again. I can almost see you all bouncing around the front lawn as little children.”

Feeling a little bashful, Roier gestured at his friends to enter his house. “Come on guys, let’s—”

“But why isn’t Spreen here?”

Roier froze, his hand still on Mariana’s shoulder. There was a shift in the atmosphere, with the softness turning rigid and suffocating. He felt Mariana tense under his grip, while Jaiden held in a breath. Just as her hand started to shake, she hid it behind her back and balled it into a tight fist.

Ever so oblivious to the tension, Abuela continued. “Huh, it’s been a while since I’ve seen that little bear cub. He still lives five blocks away from us, right? Sometimes I see him smoking on his balcony. An unhealthy habit of his, really. I just wish he wouldn’t do it so often.”

The heavy atmosphere, combined with his disbelief towards the fact that his grandmother couldn’t sense it at all, rendered Roier speechless for a moment. He briefly glanced at Mariana, who was wearing an awkward smile. Jaiden, on the other hand, was just staring at him. It was almost like the look in her eyes was asking him: Why didn’t you tell her?

Roier noticed that Abuela was still staring at him in anticipation. He let out a dry laugh and replied. “…Si! He does.”

“Oh!” Exclaimed Abuela. “You should invite him over then.”

sh*t.

“Uhm,” Roier gulped when he felt Jaiden’s gaze grow more intense. “Actually, Abuela, Spreen has been really busy lately, with his… thesis and stuff. I don’t think—”

“Nonsense!” Cutting him off, Abuela approached Roier, grabbed him by the shoulders and turned him around. “It’s been too long, I’m sure he’d love to stop by. Tu osito muñequito no puede decirte que no.”

Osito Muñequito. Little doll bear. Roier was thrown into a loop. It was a cherished nickname, one he hadn’t said or heard in so long. When was the last time he’d called Spreen that?

He thought long and hard, then a memory came to him like a flash of lightning.

Years ago—more specifically, a few days before “the incident” that changed everything—the four of them decided to meet up and eat lunch out at Casita’s, as they usually did during a free weekend. Spreen showed up that day with multiple bandages on his cheeks and a tiny wound on his nose bridge.

The moment he showed up on the other end of the street, Jaiden gasped and approached Spreen. She pinched his face in her hand and exclaimed. “Dude, what the hell happened to you?”

Spreen rolled his eyes and pulled Jaiden’s hand away from his face. “Simmer down, blue bird. I'm fine. One of my windows shattered while I was cleaning it.”

“Shattered?” Asked Roier. He was standing next to Jaiden, right across from Spreen. “How’d that happen?”

“Who knows,” He shrugged, then waved her off with a gesture of his hand. “Stop bugging me. I’m fine.”

“Yeah, don’t worry too much, Jyai-den,” Swinging his arm around Spreen’s shoulder, Mariana grinned and poked his cheek with his finger. “It’s just a few cuts, see? It won’t kill him.”

“I know,” Jaiden sighed and shook her head. “But be careful next time, okay?”

Spreen cracked a little grin and hummed. “Yeah, yeah.”

On the way to Casita’s, they passed by multiple stalls and boutiques. The stalls sold little knick knacks, various street foods and snacks; while the boutiques varied from clothing stores to furniture shops and others.

It wasn’t too hot of a day, despite the hour, so Roier was wearing warm attire. He wore a red jacket over a white shirt and a loose pair of jeans. Across from him, Mariana and Jaiden led the way and chattered away. They were in their usual getups; Mariana in yellow and Jaiden in lilac. Although he couldn’t really hear what they were talking about, they were both laughing, so Roier assumed that they were discussing something ridiculous.

Roier turned to the side when he heard the familiar flicker of a lighter opening. Just as he expected, he saw Spreen lighting up the end of a cigarette. He had on his usual fit; baby blue shirt, checkered sleeves, dark shades. No hat today. That familiar yet awful scent of tobacco wafted in the air as Spreen brought the cigarette to his lips and inhaled.

Instead of focusing on that familiar yet awful scent of tobacco, Roier looked up at all those bandages, way too many for his liking. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

“Mhm,” Spreen hummed in response and exhaled a cloud of smoke.

He fell into silence soon after, and Roier couldn’t help but feel like something was off. These past few days, Spreen has been oddly… quiet. Even though he still made sure to tag along in their outings, he mostly just stood at the side without saying a word, as if he was keeping his distance.

Ever since they were children, Spreen was always a quiet kid. He was a striking contrast to Mariana, who was loud and bubbly. Still, even though he was more of the silent type, Spreen hated dead air. He’d almost make sure that something was happening and would discreetly initiate conversations, whether it was by pointing at a random object in the room or pinching their cheeks out of nowhere.

Right now, all Spreen was doing was flicking that lighter of his. On its steel body, painted light blue, was a logo of an arrow pulled back on a bow.

Flick, close, flick, close. Roier watched the flame erupt for a second, only for it to be put out a second later. It was given life, then stripped of it.

The dead silence was driving Roier crazy. With his backpack’s strap in his hand, he quickly looked around to try and find anything that could help him—

Roier spotted something on one of the boutique mannequins and froze in his tracks. Raising his arm up, he outstretched it in front of Spreen and ended up making him pause as well.

Peeling his gaze away from his lighter, Spreen slipped into his pants’ pocket before he raised an eyebrow at Roier. “What? What is it?”

“Look at that!” Roier said giddily and pointed at the boutique’s window.

Spreen narrowed his eyes and let his shades slip down his nose. “Look at wha—Oi!”

With Roier breaking into a sprint, Spreen grumbled to himself and tailed behind him. He burst into the boutique, but made sure not to slam the door since it was mostly made of glass. The chill air from inside the store made him shiver. An employee greeted him as soon as he entered.

The boutique sold different articles of clothes, and all had a theme: adorably cute. But Roier ignored the frilly dresses and fur jackets. Instead, he brought his attention to the mannequin standing behind the window, and reached for a very specific beanie that he spotted all the way from across the street.

“La concha de tu madre con puta,” Spreen grumbled to himself as he barged into the boutique. Due to him being in a rush, he ended up slamming the door open, causing the glass to rattle. Thankfully, it didn’t shatter under the force of his swing.

“Uhm, Sir, you can’t smoke in here.”

Ignoring the saleslady, Spreen exclaimed. “Qué carajo, Roier! No te vayas así—”

Spreen was cut off when Roier stood on his toes and shoved a beanie on top of his head. He accidentally pulled it down, causing the beanie to stretch and cover his eyes.

“Whoops,” Roier snickered to himself. “Sorry, man.”

With a loud groan, Spreen pulled the beanie until he could see again but let it remain on his head. “What horrendous hat do you want me to buy this time?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Singing his words, Roier’s lips curled into a mischievous frown. He stood behind Spreen, held his shoulders, then started pushing him forward. “Come on, you should at least see how it looks on you.”

Seeing the look on Roier’s face made Spreen groan. Even so, he allowed himself to be pushed around the store, until he was standing right in front of the mirror.

The beanie Roier spotted was made of fuzzy black cloth that almost felt like fur. On top if it were two small clumps, shaped like little balls and made to resemble a bear’s ears.

“Doesn’t it look adorable?” Roier cooed a little.

“I look stupid,” Since the cigarette was still bobbing between his lips, Spreen’s words were a little muffled.

“Eh, what are you talking about?!” Roier huffed loudly and gestured at Spreen’s head with flailing hands. “Don’t you see how the beanie blends with your hair? It makes you look like you actually have ears, mi osito muñequito.”

Spreen visibly stiffened when he heard the nickname. Looking away from the mirror, he gazed at Roier with widened eyes. And then, at that same moment, his eyes softened and his previously rigid expression melted into a warm smile.

With the silence falling on them, Spreen reached for Roier’s head and ruffled his hair.

“Ay, cabron!” Roier swatted his hands in the air, only for Spreen to respond by ruffling his hair even more. “Stop it! You know how long it takes to get my hair to look like this—”

“Never change, Rosita.”

It was Roier’s turn to freeze up at the nickname. His eyes widened as he looked up at Spreen, who continued to smile at him. There was something melancholic in his gaze. Despite the big smile on his face, Roier could see the sadness in his eyes.

His chest tightened anxiously. A part of Roier knew that something about this entire conversation was off, but he couldn’t figure out why.

“And I’m sorry.”

“Roier?”

Blinking out of his memory, Roier found himself standing back in front of his house, with Abuela gazing at him with a worrisome look. To his right stood Jaiden, who had furrow in her brow as she stared at him. To his left was Mariana. One of his hands was on Roier’s shoulder.

“Dude, are you okay? You were like, staring at nothing,” Although Mariana was playing it off with a cheerful tone, Roier could tell that he was worried.

Roier nodded slowly. “…Si, esta bien. I was just thinking…”

He trailed off and turned around to glance at Spreen’s house. Roier could only partly see his place from where he was standing, but he noticed that the lights were off. It was a little strange that he didn’t even have his porch lights on at this hour, but that probably meant…

“Spreen’s been away a lot lately, hasn’t he?”

The hopeful look on Mariana’s face faded.

A silence fell over them. Abuela stepped forward until she was standing next to Roier. After following his gaze, she sighed sorrowfully.

“Oh, is he not home right now?”

“All his lights are off…” Roier said quietly. “He’d usually leave his porch light on if he was home.”

“That’s unfortunate,” Abuela shook her head, but quickly put on a smile. “Maybe you three can invite him over next time.”

“Y-Yeah!” Mariana beamed and rubbed his palm over his nape. “Next time, definitely.”

The idea of all four of them hanging out together again seemed to make Abuela beam. She stepped back inside the house and opened the door wider.

“Come on in now, before it gets hot out,” She smiled sweetly and gestured at the living room.

Roier took a moment to glance at Jaiden, who had been quiet the entire time and still had one of her hands curled into a fist behind her back. He immediately spread his arms to his sides and tapped both Jaiden and Mariana’s backs.

The gesture was enough to lead them inside. Abuela was left behind in the kitchen, after having told them that she was going to prepare a delicious buffet for them for dinner, much to Mariana’s glee. Roier led the way as they marched up the stairs, their footsteps echoing as they thumped against the wood.

Entering the second floor, the three of them were greeted by a hallway. The second floor of Roier’s house had three rooms. Closest to the stairwell was the spare bedroom where their caretaker from back then slept. And then, his grandparents’ old bedroom. Roier didn’t give it a glance as they passed.

Finally, at the very end of the hallway, was the door to Roier’s bedroom. A little sign with his name on it hung on the door. It was made of clay and was in the shape of a black spider, with his name colored white. The sign was a gift from Jaiden when they were younger. Seeing it brought a smile to Roier’s face.

“Aw, you still use it?” Jaiden cooed and tapped her fingernail on the clay sign. “I’m touched, Ro.”

“Of course,” He responded with pride, then gestured at the sign with both hands. “This is the greatest item in my possession.”

“Even more than the Avengers LEGO set I gifted you for your birthday?” With his lips pouted, Mariana whined. It was a little silly to see a six foot tall guy pouting his lips like a little kid. “I see. Favoritism hurts, man.”

“Sorry,” Roier swung his arm around Jaiden’s shoulder and pulled her closer. “But there can only be one favorite.”

Mariana let out a fake cry, with his joke bringing out loud laughter from both Roier and Jaiden. The atmosphere lightened, and everything about the robbery and Abuela’s mention of Spreen were temporarily forgotten.

That was, of course, until they entered Roier’s bedroom and Mariana, ever so dense and a little too blunt, asked: “By the way, why didn’t you tell your abuela about Spreen?”

Just like that, the atmosphere turned heavy within seconds. Roier faced his bedroom door as he slowly pushed it closed. It made a little click as it did, then Jaiden nudged Mariana’s side with her elbow.

“Ow!” Yelped Mariana, his body contorting as he attempted, and failed, to dodge the attack. He pouted again and rubbed his side. “Ay, Jyai-den! was that for, huh?”

“Oh my God, Mari! You literally have zero ability to read the room!”

“Huh?” Mariana exclaimed and sounded genuinely confused. “I was just curious, man!”

“God, I can’t believe you, Mari. You’re actually an idiot.”

“Hey! That’s—”

“Abuela has nothing to do with this.”

Their bickering ceased at Roier’s words. He smiled as he turned away from the door and walked to his study desk. Kneeling down, Roier pulled out a box labeled Movies, the word written on the cardboard with black marker.

“It would be wrong to burder her with a problem that isn’t hers,” Roier easily lifted the box with one arm. He pushed away some of his stuff with his hand, giving room for the box, before placing it on the desk. “Besides, knowing Abuela, she’d probably try and bug Spreen into showing up here and…”

Roier hummed as he bent his elbow and leaned over the box with it. Smiling, he tapped his hand on the cardboard.

“Well, that would only push him away even more, wouldn’t it?”

Jaiden silently glanced at Mariana, who sighed loudly. “Sorry, man. I shouldn’t have asked.”

“It’s fine, it was a valid question,” Roier waved him off, then gestured at the box with a tilt of his head. “So, do you guys think tonight’s a Movie Night or a Game Night?”

The two glanced at each other again, but this time there was a shift in their expression. Jaiden put on a sweet smile, while Mariana wore a mischievous grin that would scare even the most prolific comic book villains.

“Neither,” Jaiden sang. “Because you, Mister, are you going to tell us about what happened in that store.”

“Actually, maybe Abuela needs some help in the kitchen,” Roier spun on his heel and whistled as he made a beeline towards his door.

Both his friends grabbed him before he could take a step. With two people tugging at his jacket, Roier was frozen in place.

“Oh no you don’t! You’re not running away—” Mariana paused when he attempted to pull Roier backwards, only to fail. “Dude, holy sh*t! When did you get so strong?”

Whoops, Roier thought. He immediately switched off his Spider-Man instincts and allowed his friends to drag him backwards. Within seconds, Roier was sitting on his bed, with Mariana and Jaiden sandiwiching him between them. They were pressed to him, probably to prevent him from attempting to escape him.

All things considered, Roier definitely had enough strength to escape whenever he wanted to. But he did promise them that he was going to tell them about Cellbit, and he was going to go through with it, no matter how embarrassing it was.

“Okay, Ro, listen,” Jaiden started with a soft tone, her hand placed gently on his shoulder. “You don’t have to say everything in detail, okay? I know that we were joking around with it, but you actually don’t have to say anything.”

“Yeah, I mean, the only thing we want to know about is why the mention of Cellbit has been turning you into a tomato,” Pointing at Roier’s face, Mariana exclaimed. “See, you’re already all red! Everything else, though, we don’t need to—”

“No,” Roier cut her off with a shaky sigh. “It’s okay. I’ll start from the beginning.”

So Roier took a deep breath and, under the watchful eyes of his best friends, started to recount his day out with Cellbit. Of course, even though he felt a little bad about it, he didn’t spare them every single detail. The little things—like the way Cellbit’s diamond eyes shined under the dim lighting of the convenience store, how he smelled of freshly ground coffee beans and aged book leather, that he his laugh sounded like angels singing, how his presence alone was enough to make Roier feel like he was in heaven—were something his friends didn’t need to know.

Both Jaiden and Mariana listened closely as Roier briefly told them about how he introduced Cellbit to numerous Mexican snacks. As expected, Mariana had some explosive reactions to the Brazilian’s scores.

“He gave Pelon Pelon Rico a one out of ten?! What is he, crazy?”

“That’s what I said,” Roier exclaimed loudly, and threw his arms up in the air. “Anyways, they didn’t have any chamoy, so Cellbo and I hopped a few stores to find some, and then…”

Roier pursed his lips as he recalled the events leading up the robbery. With a deep breath, he traversed his thoughts and picked his words carefully as he spoke about the robbery. He heard his friends’ breaths stall as he continued.

In the midst of it, he decided to omit most of the details of the robbery. Roier figured that neither Jaiden or Mariana would be too fond of knowing that he’d willingly risked his life for anyone, whether it was Cellbit or a complete stranger.

(Really, Roier would rather not lie to his friends, but he knew that some things were best kept secret—including his secret identity as Quesadilla Town’s beloved web-slinging hero.)

So Roier went straight to the point: “In the midst of the chaos, we got shot at—”

“What?!” Jaiden exclaimed, her eyes widened as she quickly stood up. Both of her hands flailed in the air as she spoke in a panic. “That cut on your face was from a bullet?! Are you sure you didn’t get shot anywhere?!”

“Come on, I’m sure they would have brought him to the hospital if that was the case,” Hummed Mariana. Despite his dismissive tone, he was anxiously tapping his finger on his leg.

“I’m fine, guys, please,” Pleaded Roier. “The bullet just grazed me, and I didn’t get hit anywhere, I promise.”

Jaiden gave him a look, but she complied with his pleading and sat back down.

“After the bullet grazed me, I slipped and hit my head,” Seeing them open their mouths to question him, Roier quickly cut them off. “Not a concussion. I just got knocked out for a minute or two. When I woke up…”

Thinking back to what happened, Roier remembered Cellbit’s frantic voice and seeing him hunched over on the ground as he hyperventilated.

“Cellbit thought I was dead and… he was devastated. He…”

Roier trailed off as the image of Cellbit’s teary eyes flashed in his mind. The Brazilian’s choked up voice and regretful voice echoed in ears. After letting out a loud sigh, Roier leaned backwards and let himself collapse onto his bed.

“You guys should have seen the look on his face. He was broken,” Staring up at his ceiling, he noticed the little spiders crawling in their cobwebs. “Because of me, he ended up doing things he didn’t want to do.”

The memory of Cellbit sitting right in front of him with his eyes shut and blood smeared all around his mouth made Roier bite into his lower lip. He felt the bed sink slightly as Mariana laid down next to him and looked up at the spiders as well. Following suit, Jaiden took the other spot, but was laying on her side and was facing Roier.

“One thing led to another, then me and Cellbit,” Roier sucked in a breath. After feeling the heat on his face, he crossed his arm over his eyes and partly covered his cheeks. “We were so close. I could feel his breath on my lips, and I—”

His next words came out as hushed whispers, quiet enough to barely be heard but loud enough to contribute to the beating of his heart.

“I thought he was going to kiss me.”

The bed squeaked as Jaiden sat up a little in surprise. On the other hand, Mariana remained on the mattress. A silent moment passed, and Roier could just tell that the two were staring at each other and communicating silently. Then, with his arms crossed behind his head, Mariana glanced at Roier’s direction and hummed.

“Really now? I’m surprised he didn’t pull through with it,” Mariana sounded way too calm for his liking.

Still, Roier replied with utmost honesty. “Yeah, but… I really wish he did.”

Another silence fell over them as Roier absorbed his own words, with his face heating up even more at the realization of it all.

True to his aloof nature, Mariana rubbed salt into the wound. “So why didn’t you kiss the guy, then?”

“Mari!” The two exclaimed at the same time.

Covering his face with both of his hands, Roier screamed into his own palms. “What the f*ck is up with you and your questions?!”

“I’m just curious, man!” Mariana sat up, then raised both of his arms upwards in defense. “Just saying, since you’re over here gloating about how the hot Brazilian didn’t smooch you, then why didn’t you initiate the kiss instead?”

For a brief moment, Roier’s thoughts lingered on Mariana calling Cellbit. Not like he was going to disagree with him. They guy called everyone hot.

“Because I don’t know if he’s ready or not!” Rolling on his bed from side to side, Roier continued to groan into his palms. “If I did kiss him and ended up scaring him away, I would have buried myself six feet under.”

Roier stopped rolling around and planted his face against the mattress. He sighed into his bed and felt the warmth of his breath spread across his already burning cheeks.

“This is so stupid,” he grumbled, his voice sounding even more muffled.

“What is?” Jaiden responded with a question, whilst she gently placed her hand on Roier’s back.

“Everything,” including secretly being a hero and having to lie to you both, he added mentally. Roier dug his face deeper into his mattress, if that was even possible. “I’m making a big deal out of this, aren’t I?”

“Come on, Ro,” She sighed and moved her hand up until she was patting his shoulder. “Don’t say that. We’re only human, aren’t we? There’s absolutely nothing wrong with having feelings and acknowledging them.”

“Yeah, feelings,” Adjusting his position, Mariana rolled over until he was laying on his head on Roier’s back. “Because Cellbit is definitely just a friend to you, right?”

Roier groaned. If this same question had been asked to him yesterday, he probably would have replied with his usual answer: They were just friends, nothing more and nothing less. But now, in the aftermath of it all; with him almost kissing Cellbit after a near death experience, while his heart hammered in excitement against his ribcage, and his mind screamed at him in anticipation.

Kiss me, if you’d like.

But they were just friends, right?

Mariana shifted on his back. He rolled to his side and grinned as he stared expectantly at Roier, who still had his face laying against his mattress.

Finally, Roier’s response was: “Callase, culero.”

“Hm, what’s this?” His voice was dripping with mischief. “You can’t give me a straight answer anymore. So, is it official? Do you actually like the guy in a non-platonic way?”

A little bit, maybe. That would have been Roier’s answer, but he decided to save face and be quiet.

“Mari,” Even though Jaiden was trying to scold him, she ended up laughing and canceling out her stern tone. “Leave him alone.”

“Come on, Jyai-den!” Mariana exclaimed as he crossed his arms behind his head, only adding more weight to Roier’s back. “I’ve literally been waiting for this moment since the beginning of time. You and I both know how obvious Roier’s crush on Cellbit was.”

“Guys, please,” Roier groaned. “I’m right here.”

“Yeah,” With a little huff, Jaiden bent her elbow and propped it against Roier’s back as well. “Well, it takes a while for some people to become self aware of their own feelings. Weren’t you the same with that ex of yours? How long did it take until you two became a thing?”

The disdain in Jaiden’s voice was obvious. Mariana responded by blowing a raspberry. “God, don’t remind me. That f*cker ghosted me a few months ago, did you know that?”

Roier immediately sat up and pushed Mariana off his back, causing the latter to roll to his side and contort his body awkwardly on the bed.

All the initial embarrassment about Cellbit immediately dissipated from his body as he yelled and pointed at Mariana. “Ay, pendejo, what do you mean by a few months ago? Please tell me you’re not trying to get back with him.”

Mariana blinked at Roier, before he whistled and turned his head to face the wall.

“Dios mio, Mariana.”

Just before their bickering could start, Jaiden giggled loudly, cutting off any tension that was about to appear. Roier turned around and saw Jaiden sitting by the foot of his bed, with her legs crossed and her hand covering her mouth as she continued to laugh.

The sight of her giggling so much was contagious. Roier had to bite the inside of his cheek to prevent himself from exploding into laughter. “What’s got you giggling so much, J?”

“Nothing really,” She said in between her laughter. “It’s just a little funny to see you scolding Mari with that beet red face of yours.”

Roier stared at her for a second, until he was suddenly hyper aware of the heat in his own face. Sucking in a breath, he hid in his face in his hands again as all his feelings about Cellbit came crashing down to him like an avalanche.

“Hey, Ro, calm down,” Jaiden placed one hand on his shoulder, then tapped his leg with the other. “There’s nothing wrong with your feelings towards Cellbit.”

Even though Roier was now aware of how he felt, hearing Jaiden acknowledge it herself was still putting him into a loop. It was a little embarrassing to admit, but he’d been hiding his flushed cheeks in his hands nearly the entire time, as if he was a school girl freaking out over her crush. God. Roier wondered if he could get any lower than this.

“That’s not it, J,” Shaking his head, Roier grumbled into his palms. “It’s… What if Cellbit doesn’t think of me that way?”

“Are you serious?!” Mariana grabbed him by the shoulders and shook him. “Dude, get a hold of yourself! The guy tried to kiss you, of course he likes you!”

Finally peeling his hands away from his face, Roier exclaimed loudly. “It could have been a spur of the moment thing! Cellbit thought I was dead. Maybe he was just really glad I was alive, and…”

Roier trailed off and took a deep breath. After carefully slipping off his shoes, he bent his legs and pressed his knees over his chest before hugging them close.

“Cellbit is my friend. I don’t want to force him into doing anything he isn’t comfortable with or worse, scare him off and never see him again,” He propped his chin between his knees and stared at his feet. “And if he doesn’t feel the same way, then I’d rather let my own feelings rot inside of me before he ever finds out. Anything to keep him by my side.”

There was a heavy silence that draped over them. Roier sat there and let it all sink him. Maybe all this time, Cellbit wasn’t just a friend to him. Whatever the case, now that he knew what he really felt, he had no idea how the f*ck he was going to face the Brazilian after this.

Thank God for Mariana, who despite his aloofness and lack of ability to read the room, was a master at breaking the ice.

“Ha!” He snorted loudly and swung his arm over Roier’s shoulder. “That’s fine, man. You don’t have to immediately tell him about it or anything, what matters is you two stay friends after this. Besides, whatever you decide to do, we’ll support you either way. Right, Jyai-den?”

Beaming, Mariana smiled at Jaiden, who momentarily gave him a wide eyed look before she put on a smile.

“Yeah, Mari is right. Don’t think about it too much, okay?” Jaiden patted Roier’s head and rustled his hair, gentle enough to not mess it up but with enough strength to make Roier bend his head down a little. “Say what, why don’t we have a game night today? It will be a good distraction.”

All of a sudden, Roier was overcome with emotion. Putting aside their previously constant teasing and them probably figuring out his true feelings before Roier himself did, they were supportive of his endeavors every step of the way, even when they didn’t make any sort of sense.

Really, he didn’t think he deserved them.

Besides, they were right. Cellbit didn’t have to know about his messy feelings. All he had to do was play it off and remain his friend—then maybe in the future, he’d finally be able to confess to him without worry.

But first, game night.

“Okay,” Roier smiled, the warmth of his cheeks more comforting than anything else. “Let’s do that.”

At first, Roier wasn’t sure how he was going to fulfill today’s daily lookout as Spider-Man, until he realized that there was one way he could do it—and that was by sneaking out.

Of course, it wasn’t like Roier actually snuck out before. He was a good kid who always listened to his mother and made sure he wasn’t any trouble for his hardworking father. The prime example of someone with true experience was Mariana, who used to sneak out all the time during his younger years to slip into either Roier or Spreen’s place to spend the night. Apparently, the deed was as easy as counting. The first step to ensure a successful escape was by ensuring that everyone else in the house was asleep.

So that was what Roier decided to do. With Jaiden fast asleep on his bed—a courtesy to the only lady in their friend group—and Mariana only having one arm hooked around his waist, slipping away from them was easy.

(He was just glad that it wasn’t Spreen, who was notorious for his cuddles despite his completely opposite demeanor, who was there with him. It would have been difficult to sneak out if he was present.)

Roier quietly tiptoed out of the room with his backpack in tow. After changing into his Spider-Man suit, he jumped out the window of the spare bedroom (made storage area) and began swinging across the neighborhood.

Thankfully, today’s endeavor as Spider-Man wasn’t too eventful. Roier did have to deal with some creepy stalkers, take care of a few purse snatchers, lead some lost elderly people back home, and take a few selfies with some passionate fans, but that was all usual stuff.

Not like Roier preferred things be more eventful. The less criminals he had to deal with, meant the safer people were.

Still, while Roier hung upside down from a lamppost and gazed at the skyline of Quesadilla Town, he couldn’t help but feel a little bothered by the peace. Something tugged anxiously in the back of his mind. It told him that he had to expand his horizons, that there were more people he had to save outside his usual vicinity.

Roier frowned at his own thoughts. At first, he thought of Karma City, and at how he probably shouldn’t mess about in The Avengers’ territory, until he realized—

“The Brazilian and French precincts,” He said with a little gasp. “I already swung by, but there’s no harm in checking again, right?”

Besides, Roier trusted his tingle. If it was telling him to go back there for some reason, then he’ll just have to do it.

Whilst swinging across town, on his way to the Brazilian precinct, Roier spotted that convenience store. There was yellow police tape crossed over the windows and door. Dried blood could still be seen trailing from the door, serving as remnants of Cellbit’s slaughter.

Roier only glanced at the store for a second but ended up reliving that moment from just a few hours ago. Suddenly, he was back inside the store, surrounded by glass shards, strewn about food items and pools of blood. Cellbit’s thumb on his chin. Cellbit’s breath on his lips. He was so close that he could taste the blood in his mouth. His mind spun. It melted into goop, then turned into a concoction of thoughts that went please kiss me please just do it already kiss me kiss me kiss me—

Dodge.

Hearing his tingle, Roier was brought back to reality. Within the span of a few seconds, he spotted the large branch of a tree he was about to crash into, nearly twisted his body into a pretzel and successfully dodged it. However, his webs ended up tangling on the branch in the process, and he was forced to snap them to prevent himself from getting tangled alongside it.

Roier backflipped over a fence and landed atop the roof of a building, with his palm pressed against the concrete to keep himself balanced. He stared at the branch for a long moment and watched his webs flutter in the wind.

If it wasn’t for his tingle, Roier would have crashed face first onto that sturdy looking branch. Would the force have been enough to snap his neck? Morbid thoughts aside, not noticing literal danger until the last second wasn’t a good thing. What if he was against a big bag villain instead? Dodging a full blown attack wasn’t going to be as easy as dodging a branch.

“Pull yourself together, Roier,” With one hand in his hair and the other on his waist, Roier paced back and forth on the roof. “You cannot afford to be distracted, not even for a moment. If you don’t remain focused, you’ll end up…”

The image of Cellbit hiding fearfully behind a bookshelf while Roier held a book about spiders flashed through his mind. And then the scenery changed. Cellbit was frowning and an opened pack of Duvalin was in his hand.

Roier stopped in his tracks. He wondered how Cellbit was doing after that entire fiasco inside the store, and hoped that the guilt wasn’t eating him up from the inside. Swiping his own thumb across his cheek, he felt the outline of the bandage over his cut. He hoped that it wouldn’t leave a scar. Cellbit would freak out if it did.

When Roier caught himself smiling, he immediately put on a straight face. Raking both of his hands through his hair, he let out a groan.

“God, this is not the time to think about Cellbit!” Roier exclaimed and tugged at his own hair. “Focus up, Roier. Scan the area one last time, then you can head home.”

With that, Roier buried his thoughts about Cellbit to the back of his mind, then he sprinted across the roof. He flipped from one building to another and used his webs to propel himself forward. In the midst of his swinging, he spotted a closed restaurant. Even with the signage shut off, he was able to recognize its language: Portuguese.

Did he actually manage to reach the Brazilian precinct in the midst of his daydreaming? Roier honestly thought he’d only been lost in his head for a minute or so. He wasn’t too fond of the implications of how distracted he really was.

Roier froze when he saw something move in the corner of his eye. Since the streets were mostly empty, it was easy to notice when someone was actually there. Stalling for a moment, he watched the person leave a familiar looking building while they carried something in their arms—wait.

It could have just been his imagination or the effects of him being distracted, but Roier swore that the guy looked exactly like Cellbit. The guy had semi curled brown hair that flowed down to his shoulders and wore a green trench coat that flowed all the way down to his feet. But since the person was facing away from him, Roier couldn’t see their face, but it was obvious that he was carrying something in his arms.

Eh, it was probably just an odd coincidence (or maybe Roier was too caught up by Cellbit, but he wasn’t going to touch on that). Still, it was dangerous for whoever this guy was to be walking around in the evening on his own, especially while crossing the crime-riddled streets of Quesadilla Town, so Roier decided to watch them until they arrived home safely.

Roier quietly jumped from building to building as the guy continued to walk across the sidewalk. It didn’t look like he was in a hurry. His head was ducked low as he looked at whatever he was carrying. Whoever this was just begging for a criminal to show up and rob them.

The person was speaking. Maybe he was on his phone? Sure, Roier had super hearing, but he wasn't distasteful enough to eavesdrop on a stranger’s conversation. So he watched the person shift his hand towards what he was holding. Okay, so he was speaking to whatever he was carrying. A child, maybe? Or a puppy? Or maybe even—

A little kitten. When the person turned on the corner of the intersection, Roier ended up seeing what was in their arms. It was a small kitten that had black fur around its legs, while its underbelly was coated white. He’d recognize that cat anywhere. Tuna.

That little thing actually survived, despite all its gruesome injuries and near-death scare. Roier couldn’t help but feel a wave of relief wash over him. It really was a fighter, just like he said, and had no doubts that Tuna would live through it. He was sure that Black Cat would be over the moon once he found out that Tuna is alive and well.

Speaking of Black Cat, where was he? Roier hadn’t seen him at all during lookout and there was no sign of him at all. Maybe the guy was taking a break? He doubted that really, since criminals weren’t really the kind of people who took breaks, but couldn’t think of any other reason why the cat thief wouldn’t show up.

Not like he was worried about him or anything. Roier was sure that Black Cat would show up to annoy him as soon as tomorrow.

Back to the matter at hand, Roier was able to get a good look at the person. They had a full beard and mustache, and their long fringe was partly covering his face. Despite that, his diamond eyes glowed brightly in the darkness.

There was no doubt about it. The person he’d been following this whole time was none other than Cellbit.

Roier felt everything crash down on him. All his feelings towards Cellbit reappeared and the feeling of the Brazilian leaning close to an almost kiss was driving him mad. As a result of diving into his messy thoughts, the timing of Roier’s jump changed. He was delayed for a split second, and he ended up missing his landing and falling into the alley.

Even after shooting some webs, Roier still missed the wall for some reason, and crashed right into a row of trash cans. His collision with the cans created a series of loud noises that made Roier’s ears ring. The pain shooting up his back, combined with the ringing of his ears, made the Mexican groan in frustration.

Roier started to roll over and get back up on his feet, until he craned his neck upwards and saw Cellbit standing on the other side of the street, just right across from him. From this far away, he could see that the Brazilian’s eyes were widened in shock. Tuna was staring at him as well, its feline eyes opened wide and its irises shaped into slits.

For a second, it looked like Cellbit was about to run away, so Roier quickly sprung to his feet. He raised both of his arms up and screamed. “Wait—”

Gatinho, he almost said. Roier stopped himself when he remembered who he was at the moment. Right now, he’s Spider-Man. Saying Cellbit’s name, or nickname, would give away his identity. So he swallowed the word, and it felt like a large pill jamming his throat.

Right after he yelled out, Roier realized that he hadn’t thought this through, because the shocked expression on Cellbit’s face changed. The moment he realized that the guy he was looking at was Spider-Man, he put on a look of disgust. His mouth curled into a snarl, one that showed off his sharp canines.

Ah. Roier figured that he should have expected that reaction. After all, he knew that Cellbit wasn’t a big fan of Spider-Man.

Still, seeing Cellbit look so spiteful just by seeing him really damn hurt.

Roier wasn’t sure if Cellbit had ever seen Spider-Man this closely before, but he was sure that this was his first time meeting the Brazilian while he was wearing the mask.

Well, all things considered, it wouldn’t hurt to try and change his mind, right?

“Sorry about that, man,” Roier hopped on his feet and stepped over the bins, before he used his palms to wipe off the dirt on his suit. “Didn’t mean to—”

He paused after his foot hit one of the trash cans. It started rolling forward, so Roier stepped on it to stop it. Only then did he notice the mess around him. Most of the bins had been tipped forward after the collision, with one of them crushed completely into a pulp, and there was litter everywhere.

“Ay, mierda,” Roier sighed and clicked his tongue. He bent down and started scooping some of the trash with his hands. It was mostly just newspapers and plastic bags, so he didn’t really find it disgusting. “Look at this mess I made.”

In the midst of him cleaning up, Cellbit just stood on the other side and continued to watch him cautiously. Honestly, Roier was surprised that the guy didn’t take the chance to just book it out of there. Maybe, despite his dislike towards the hero, he was still a little intrigued by him.

Or maybe that was just wishful thinking on his part.

“As I was saying,” Roier spoke after he finished cleaning up, and rubbed his hands together in satisfaction. He turned his heel to face Cellbit and smiled. “Lo siento, Señor. I wasn’t trying to scare you or anything, just kind of slipped and—”

“Why were you following us?”

It took a moment for Roier to process what he just said. “Huh?”

“Let me rephrase that,” Cellbit narrowed his eyes even more. “You were following us, all the way from the shelter.”

Initially stunned by the fact that he was somehow seen, Roier opened his mouth to protest him, but didn’t get a chance when Cellbit immediately cut him off.

“If you think I’m some criminal, you have it all wrong. I’m just walking home with my cat. Leave us alone.”

Twisting his body to the side, Cellbit hugged Tuna closer to his chest, to the point that Roier could barely see the little guy. Oblivious to the tension, the little kitten meowed softly and kneaded biscuits on his chest.

His hostility rendered Roier speechless for a moment. He couldn’t really understand why Cellbit was so cautious when it came to Spider-Man, but he figured that anyone would be a little on guard when it came to meeting a web-slinging superhero for the first time. Even though Cellbit was a special case, since most people were more excited about meeting him than anything.

Roier was a little taken aback by this entire interaction, but he’ll be damned if he wasn’t going to keep trying to change his mind. Raising both of his arms up, he flailed his hands in the air. “Hey, there’s no need for all that, eh? I wasn’t stalking you or your cat, I promise. And I don't think you're a criminal, either.”

It didn’t look like Cellbit believed him at all, so he beamed and pointed at his own face.

“I swear on my mask that I meant no harm, okay?” Even though said mask was covering his face, Roier put on a big grin. “All I was doing was scoping out the area and you happened to be within the vicinity, that’s all.”

Silence fell over them for a moment as Cellbit continued to stare him down. Roier felt like he was being ripped apart by his gaze alone, that he was being inspected piece by piece. It was an unusual kind of hostility that Roier only ever felt from the Avengers.

Roier was probably just overthinking this, though. Maybe he was just worried about Tuna.

Eventually, after what felt like ages, Cellbit relaxed. His shoulders slumped and his grip on Tuna loosened. Despite that, he remained silent, and continued to brush his finger over the curve of Tuna’s little head.

And then Roier saw the Cellbit he knew. The guarded yet awkward man who had whisked him off his feet and carried him away to experience things he never thought he would. Despite carrying a certain level of hostility that was probably exclusive to Spider-Man, he was still there, hiding behind his walls.

He found himself relaxing, as well.

As a result, his mouth ran faster than his brain. “Would you mind if I accompanied you home?”

Roier realized what he just said after Cellbit frowned at him.

In an attempt to save face, he continued with: “I mean, it’s already pretty late out and you’re out here on your own. Just so you know, Señor, criminals are most active at this hour. It’d be safer for me with and make sure—”

“Thanks for the offer, Mister superhero, but we’ll be fine,” Cellbit said in response, then spun on his heel and began brisk walking away. “Good night.”

That was the thing. Roier was aware that Cellbit was fully capable of defending himself, proven by how he’d easily kept his ground against three armed robbers. Still, even with that knowledge, a small voice in Roier’s gut told him that he shouldn’t let Cellbit go so easily.

It was the same feeling Roier had when they first spoke all those weeks ago. Just like back then, he quickly glanced at Cellbit's figure in hopes of spotting something that could catch his attention and stop him from leaving.

And then he heard that little kitten purr against Cellbit’s arm. An idea sprouted in his mind.

Still standing on the other side of the street, Roier called out to him. “Can I at least see Tuna before you go?”

Cellbit stopped in his tracks.

“You want to see Tuna?” Asked the Brazilian. He was still facing away from Roier but was angling his head to discreetly glance over his own shoulder.

Bingo.

“Yeah, because…” Roier started. He put his hands in his jacket’s pockets and kicked the ground, his toes scraping against the gravel of the road. “The last time I saw Tuna, she was in the Grim Reaper’s clutches. I always knew that she was a fighter, but… It would be nice to see her again, you know?”

“What do you mean by that? You’ve seen Tuna before?”

Well, it made sense for Cellbit to question him a little about it. Tuna was his cat now, so of course he’d be a little curious.

Roier didn’t think too much about it. “Hm, well, she was rescued by an acquaintance, and I was hoping she’d recover soon. For his sake, you know? That’s all.”

After just standing there for a minute or so, Cellbit sighed loudly. He turned around fully, revealing that he was cradling Tuna in his arms as if he were carrying a baby. The cat was laying on its back, exposing its white belly, and was pawing at Cellbit’s hand.

“Fine,” He groaned. “But I have a few conditions, Spider-B—”

Cellbit paused for a brief moment as he swallowed thickly. Then he exhaled through his nose and continued.

“Spider-Man,” Moving his hand, Cellbit lightly pressed his thumb against Tuna’s paws. “I just got Tuna out of the shelter, and I don’t want her to be overwhelmed by your excitement. Okay?”

“Oka—Wait, you adopted her?” Roier exclaimed in glee.

In response, Cellbit just stared at him. His gaze was more rigid than what Roier was used to, but his words, despite their hostility, still had that familiar softness in them.

“Yeah,” Cellbit hummed. “I couldn’t just leave her in there, you know? Not after I…”

Seeing Cellbit bite into his lower lip and failing to control his expression of despair made Roier realize that he probably witnessed the sight of Tuna clinging on to its life. Maybe he’d walked into the shelter a day or two after that whole thing with Black Cat breaking down and unfortunately saw Tuna in its worst state.

In the end, what mattered the most was Tuna. And now she was in Cellbit’s loving arms. Roier couldn’t think of a better situation for her.

“Whatever, my conditions are as follows,” After gently sliding Tuna into one arm, he raised his free hand and pointed a finger to the sky. “First, take off your gloves.”

“Que?” Roier exclaimed a little too loudly. Whoops. Really, the only reason why he raised his voice was because he was still standing on the other side of the road.

“Tuna just recovered from life threatening injuries,” Cellbit spoke calmly, despite the frown on his face. “You scooped up the trash with your bare hands. She might catch something.”

Well, Cellbit had a point, so Roier didn’t refute. It wasn’t like the guy could figure out who he was from his hands alone. He doubted that even the greatest detective in the world (currently Cellbit) had the ability to do so.

Roier pinched the tips of his gloves and slipped them off. He shoved them in his pocket, then raised both of his hands up in the air. “Gloves off, Señor.”

“Obrigado,” Cellbit responded with a low whisper. “Second condition, I’ll approach you. Stay there.”

Nodding, Roier stood still and watched Cellbit glance across the road before he started crossing it.

As the Brazilian marched through the gravel, Roier realized that this whole situation was a little odd. Not because of the fact that he was pretending to be someone else towards a person he held dear to his heart, but because everything about their interaction was way too casual.

It was as if they were conversing as close friends—which was odd, because Cellbit for sure did not know that Roier and Spider-Man were the same person.

And yet, there was a sense of familiarity in the way they converse, almost as if—

Cellbit stood in front of him and held Tuna as if he was presenting a treasure to the heavens. Pulled out of his thoughts, Roier beamed and stared at the cat. It had big yellow eyes, its irises shrinking into slits as it stared back at the Mexican.

“Be gentle with her,” Pleaded Cellbit. Overhead, a tall lamppost illuminated him, bathing him a bright light that made his hair turn golden.

“Si, si,” Roier nodded and reached for the kitten. “She’ll be safe with me.”

Despite Cellbit’s hesitation, he allowed Roier to hold Tuna in his hands. Holding the cat to his face, Roier beamed at the way its little ears twitched. Tuna sniffed at him, its little nose and whiskers shaking as it did so.

“Oh, mírate, gatito!” Cooing loudly, Roier rubbed his cheek against Tuna’s little head. “Eres tan pequeña y tan linda!”

Roier cooed even more when Tuna let out a little meow that rumbled against his face, then froze when he heard Cellbit chuckle.

With a hand curled over his mouth, it was obvious that Cellbit was holding in his laughter. Roier lowered Tuna from his face and tilted his head at the Brazilian.

“Ay, what’s so funny, eh?”

After Cellbit heard his question, he immediately put on a straight face and cleared his throat. “Nothing. I’ll have her back now.”

Roier passed Tuna back and ended up brushing his finger against Cellbit’s. His mind shut down for a split second, but he quickly pulled himself together. You are Spider-Man. Do not let yourself be so distracted.

“You’re right, though,” Cellbit smiled as he stroked Tuna’s back, making the kitten purr against his palm. “She’s a cute one, isn’t she?”

“Mhm,” Seeing the soft look in Cellbit’s eyes, Roier couldn’t help but smile as well. “Well, Señor, I’ve taken up too much of your time. It’s time I take my leave.”

“Sure,” He was scratching Tuna’s belly.

With Cellbit completely distracted by his new cat, Roier went ahead and shot up a string of webs towards the tall lamppost above them. He flipped in the air and landed on top of it. Below, Cellbit remained in the light, and continued to scratch Tuna’s belly. Whispering sweet words under his breath, he rocked the cat is he were carrying a baby.

Roier was glad. If there was one person in this world who could give Tuna the life she deserved, it was definitely Cellbit.

“Hey, Mister,” He yelled out. “What’s your name?”

Looking up at him, Cellbit’s blue eyes turned pale in the bright light. “It’s Cellbit.”

“Alright, Cellbit, see you around!”

Without giving him a chance to respond, Roier whisked himself away. Cellbit’s figure grew smaller as he swung away, but he remained as bright as starlight.

He couldn’t wait to tell a certain cat thief all about the status of his beloved kitten.

It was the dead of night when Roier returned home. He quietly slipped through the window and into the guest bedroom of the second floor. After quickly changing out of his Spider-Man suit and tucking it into a drawer, away from his friends’ reach, he put on his pajamas and entered the hallway.

Roier felt light, as if every step he took brought him closer to heaven. The thought of how he’d face Cellbit as himself again was long forgotten. Seeing the Brazilian, as Spider-Man, only solidified the fact that nothing was going to change. He did a little dance and skipped across the hallway as he made his way to his bedroom.

Until he opened the door and saw Mariana sitting up on their makeshift bed, his cheek in his hand as he stared at Roier with narrowed eyes.

The light atmosphere in the air popped like a balloon.

“Oh, uh, hey Mari,” Roier whispered his words, since Jaiden was still fast asleep in bed, whilst he quietly closed the door behind him. “Did I wake you? Sorry.”

Mariana’s glasses were placed atop the bedside desk, so a part of Roier thought that maybe he was receiving such a heated gaze from him because he couldn’t really see that well at the moment. It was really dark right now, too. Yeah, that was probably it.

Ignoring the little voice in his head that anxiously told him he’d just been caught, Roier kicked off his slippers and tucked himself in. He could still feel Mariana staring at him and his dead silence wasn’t helping ease the anxiety churning in his gut.

Roier figured that the silence was a good thing. Maybe if he avoided the topic completely, Mariana would decide not to berate him or voice out his obvious suspicion. So he pulled the blanket over his mouth, laid on his side and said: “Buenas.”

But Mariana didn’t budge. He just sat there and continued to stare Roier down. It was so bad that Roier could feel the sweat drip down his back, almost as if his best friend’s smoldering gaze was melting him into a puddle.

Finally, after what felt like ages, Mariana asked a question. “Where were you?”

There it was. Even though Roier fully expected it, he still felt the full weight of Mariana’s question on his shoulders. He could already tell that he was knee deep in sh*t.

Despite his worries, Roier tried to play it off. He kept facing the door and hummed. “Eh, what do you mean?”

“I woke up a while ago and you were gone,” Mariana paused and yawned loudly into his hand. Tears welled up in the corners of his eyes, so he wiped them dry with his fingertips. “Figured you were taking a sh*t or something, so I decided to wait for you.”

Mariana rubbed one of his eyes, while Roier turned around until he could see him. Contrary to what he initially thought, Mariana didn’t look upset. Instead, he looked curious.

“You were gone for a long time, man,” He continued. “So, where were you?”

He felt bad about lying to one of his best friends, but how else was he going to slither out of this dangerous situation?

“Where else would I be?” Roier shifted his position until he was laying on his back and stuck his tongue out at him. “Yeah, I was taking a sh*t.”

“Oh,” Mariana scratched at his cheek. “Must have been bad, man. Can’t imagine how painful it must have been to be sh*tting for an hour.”

Crap.

Roier let out an awkward laugh. “I, uh, thought I heard something, so I checked on Abuela after.”

“Hm, yeah,” With how quiet and short Mariana’s responses were, it was obvious that he was half asleep. “I heard something, too, like a… window was opening or something. That’s what woke me up. Not sure if that actually happened or if it was from my dream, though.”

O-kay, so he probably woke up right after Roier left. He pulled his blanket higher, all the way up to his nose bridge, and hoped that it was enough to conceal his so-called lying face.

“Sorry, that could have been me. I shut the windows because it was chilly out.” Technically, he wasn’t lying.

“Hm, okay,” Mariana shrugged and collapsed backwards onto the bed. Flipping to his side, he swung an arm around Roier’s waist and laughed to himself. “For a second, I thought you snuck out or something, but nah. My brain’s just too foggy right now. Buenas, Roiler.”

A second later, Mariana started snoring softly. Roier was laying stiffly on his bed, still rattled by that extremely close call.

He couldn’t even imagine the consequences of actually being spotted, and by Mariana of all people. But, eh, Roier figured that it was fine. If he was seen, Mariana would have made a big deal about it.

So Roier closed his eyes and decided not to worry about this for now.

After being given loads of tupperwares of home cooked meals, Jaiden and Mariana left for the day. It was the weekend, so Roier was planning to do some chores, but was stopped when Abuela blocked his way into the house.

“Qué estás haciendo, Abuela?” Roier laughed at the way his grandmother stood at the doorway with her arms spread out. “Todavía tengo que hacer mis tareas—”

“Tonterías, nieto mío,” Grabbing both of Roier’s shoulders, Abuela turned him around until he was facing forward, then gestured at something ahead. “Mira.”

Roier really wasn’t sure what he was supposed to be looking at, so he glanced around and assumed that she was gesturing at one of their neighbors and had some gossip for him—until he spotted Spreen’s house, and noticed that his porch light was on.

Oh.

“Your osito is home now,” She said sweetly. “Pay him a visit, Roier.”

“Abuela…”

“Come on, I’m sure he’d love to talk to you again,” Urging him forward, Abuela massaged his shoulders. “It’ll be just like old times, hm?”

As his grandmother gazed at him softly, Roier realized that she wasn’t as clueless as he thought. Perhaps all this time, she was aware of his situation with Spreen, and was waiting for the right time to urge him to try and fix things again.

What kind of grandson would he be if he didn’t reciprocate that effort?

Roier reached for Abuela’s hand, still on his shoulder, and tapped it. “Okay, I’ll talk to him.”

“That’s the spirit!” She exclaimed a little too excitedly as she gently pushed Roier down the steps of their front door. “Take as much time as you need, okay? Your chores can wait.”

After nodding at his grandmother and receiving a little thumbs up from her, she disappeared into their house with a little click of their front door. Roier took a deep breath as he crossed the sidewalk. He passed the houses of his other neighbors, who he only saw occasionally, until he reached Spreen’s place.

Since they lived only a few blocks away from each other, their houses had a similar structure, with only their customizations setting them apart. The roof of Spreen’s house was colored dark gray, contrary to Roier’s red. On his front lawn, surrounded by a few potted plants that strangely looked well taken care of despite the homeowner’s constant absence, was a clothing’s line. Roier recognized some of the clothes, most especially that hat.

Black and fuzzy beanie, with little bear ears on top of it. He still had it, and even washed it.

Roier smiled. Maybe things weren’t so hopeless, after all.

With his newfound confidence fueling him, Roier walked up the steps leading to Spreen’s front door. He cleared his throat, flattened the creases of his clothes with the palms of his hand, and pressed the little doorbell button next to the door.

Ding dong, rang the doorbell. Roier stood there and rocked on his heels as he waited for Spreen to answer the door. As he stared at the porch light and started humming to himself, his thoughts went haywire. What if Spreen wasn’t home and he just accidentally left his porch light on? Or what if he was home, but was completely choosing to ignore Roier’s presence on his doorstep?

The second option was much more likely, so Roier decided that he’d just have to bug him a little more.

“I know you’re in there, man,” Roier yelled towards the door. “Come on, it’s hot as f*ck out here—”

Before Roier could even finish his sentence, the door swung open. Spreen stood in front of him with one of his hands wrapped around the doorknob, while the other was holding his phone. He was wearing outside clothes—complete with his shades and those gloves he always wore—and had a backpack hanging off his shoulder. Roier realized that he’d caught him on his way out.

Despite that, Spreen didn’t look all too surprised. He just stood there silently and stared Roier down. There was something about the look in his eyes that made the Mexican feel uneasy. As a child, he’d received this same look from Spreen many times, and it was always before he’d get the lecture of the century from him.

Roier wasn’t sure why Spreen would want to chew him out, so he figured that he probably just wasn’t in the mood to see him right now. Still, he was here, and wasn’t being told to f*ck, so might as well, right?

“So,” He lightly knocked at the door. “Mind if I come in?”

Instead of responding, Spreen just stared at him, his gaze piercing through the lens of his shades. Eventually, he stepped to the side and tilted his head a little. It was a silent gesture that said: Come in.

Roier couldn’t believe it. The last time he tried to visit him, he was told to f*ck off and got a door slammed to his face. Now he was being let inside without a fuss. Could it be? Was all his effort worth something, after all? Were things finally going back to the way they were?

Maybe he should have seen this coming. Spreen has been coming to him and initiating conversations, after all. Even though Roier wasn’t too sure what prompted this change, he’ll gladly take it.

Holding in his excitement, Roier held his breath as he entered. With the door clicking shut behind him, Roier took his time to look around. The inside of Spreen’s home looked just like it did when he last visited. His living room had minimalistic decor, with his furniture mostly themed after black and white colors, and a splash of blue.

Spreen’s sofa was colored light blue. A large lamp was next to it, its body curling above and shining its light overhead, creating a small reading nook area at the corner of the sofa. Placed just a few inches in front of it was a mahogany coffee table with a glass top. There was a small ashtray with a lit cigarette, a remote control and a plate of an untouched slice of pizza on it.

After looking closely at the pizza slice, Roier realized that it was jalapeño flavored. Casita’s?

Just up ahead of the coffee table was a flat screen television. It was screwed to the wall and was much wider than the one Roier had at home. The television was on and was on mute, but Roier recognized the juice drink commercial that was playing. It was usually something that showed up during commercial breaks of the morning news channel.

But that wasn’t what caught Roier’s attention. Instead, his eyes landed on the short drawer placed underneath the television and the row of framed photos placed on top of it. His feet tapped against the wooden floor as he circled around the coffee table and approached the drawer.

Roier glanced at each photo and brushed his finger over the frames as he did so. Even though he’s seen this same set of photos time and time again, he still couldn’t help but stop and stare whenever he saw them.

The first photo was of Roier and Spreen as children, shortly after the day they first met. Roier smiled at the sight of his younger self smiling brightly, his cheeks flushed red as he hugged his dear friend. Reciprocating his hug, a much younger version of Spreen had a little smile on his face. He had a cap on his head that looked like it belonged to someone older, and little bandages peppered his face.

And then, it was a photo of them two, this time a little older and accompanied by Mariana, who was smiling widely and showing off his cute uneven teeth—it would be a few years later that he’d put on braces. The three of them were standing in a triangle formation with the top of their heads pressed together, the camera angled upwards from their chins. It was a ridiculous looking picture that looked more goofy than anything.

However, the third and fourth photos were absent, and there was an empty space atop the drawer. Roier wasn’t sure, but he thought he saw a frame tucked under the pillows of Spreen’s sofa. The other was on the ground, right next to the coffee table.

Weird.

Roier didn’t think too much of it. Instead, he grabbed the first photo and turned around. He saw Spreen standing next to his front door, his body partly covered by the curtains as he peeked out the window.

Feeling playful, Roier called out to him. “Oi, Spreen! Look over here for a—Huh?”

Something fuzzy rubbed against Roier’s ankle, making him pause. He looked down in confusion, only to gasp when he spotted an orange kitten sniffing his foot. It had dark stripes all across its fur and looked just a little bit bigger than Tuna.

“Hola!” Roier cooed as he knelt down, and the kitten responded by sitting down. “Oh, look at you. So small and polite.”

He scratched lightly at the kitten’s chin and received a small meow from it. Only then did Roier notice the beige cat bed placed by the sofa. There was a little plush toy of a boxy looking bee (Minecraft?) on it. Covered in fur and bite marks, the toy looked well loved.

Etched onto the side of the cat bowl resting next to bed was a name: Cheddar.

Roier cooed even more when Cheddar rubbed his head against his hand. Laughing out loud in glee, he called out to his friend. “Oi, Spreen! Since when did you get a cat?”

With the lack of response from him, Roier frowned and looked up. Spreen was looking out the window, with his curtains draped over him and partly concealing his body. Cheddar suddenly marched forward towards his owner, tail wagging as he did.

Upon reaching his owner, Cheddar looked up at him and let out a very elongated meow. Spreen wordlessly glanced at the kitten, before he knelt down and stroked his head. The kitten purred loudly before it retreated to its bed.

“Would you look at that, Mister Cat Dad?” Roier snickered as he watched Cheddar on her bee toy. Then he turned around to face his friend, and raised the picture frame in his hand until it was eye level. “Over here, man!”

It took a second, but Spreen eventually peeled himself from his window and shut the curtains. He turned around and faced Roier, who raised up the framed photo in his hand.

“Aw, look at you,” Roier cooed at the comparison. “You haven’t changed one bi—”

Roier paused when he realized that Spreen was standing right in front of him. His gaze was smoldering and Roier felt like he was about to fade into dust.

“Are you a f*cking idiot?” Spreen seethed, his jaw clenched as he spoke.

Oh. So Roier was right about the look in his eyes.

Lowering the framed picture until he was holding it close to his chest, he blinked at him questionably. “Eh, what are you—”

“I told you to run,” Spreen spat at him. He was all up in Roier’s face and his teeth were gritted so hard that his mouth was trembling. “Not only did you not listen to a word I said, but you almost got yourself killed because you’re so damn stubborn!”

Hearing Spreen raise his voice at him rattled Roier. When was the last time he’d been scolded this way? The memory quickly came to him, and suddenly was a few years younger. Roier recalled climbing up a tree in an attempt to rescue a cat, only for him to fall and end up covered in cuts and bruises. In the midst of patching up his wounds, Spreen chewed him out for his stupidity.

His words still rang loud and clear in his head: Don’t try and help others at the expense of yourself.

The dots connected in Roier’s head and he realized why Spreen was so angry. In the background, a reporter’s voice echoed as the commercial break ended and the morning news channel resumed their reporting.

“There were four of them in there,” Roier started. “We couldn’t just leave.”

Spreen stared at his face for a few seconds, then he scoffed loudly. “That’s not what the look on your face tells me.”

God, he should have known that lying to him wasn’t going to work. Roier sighed. “Someone had to get that girl out of there.”

“So you decided that it was a good idea to go against an entire team of armed men?” It looked like Spreen was barely stopping himself from raising his voice again. “Just so you could save some girl you don’t even know?”

“There was a gun pointed at her,” Stepping forward once, Roier raised his voice slightly. “Who knows what would have happened if we left?”

“It wasn’t your business.”

Roier didn’t like where this was going.

“Relax, man,” He put on a big grin and tapped Spreen’s shoulder reassuringly. “It’s over with, isn’t it? Besides, I’m alive and well, so everything’s a-ok!”

He gave him a thumbs up. At first, Roier was hopeful that he’d successfully satiated his anger, but realized when he failed when he saw Spreen’s eye twitch.

“You’ve got a bandage on your cheek. One of them shot at you, right?” It was a little terrifying to hear him ask about it so calmly.

Since Roier knew that there was no use lying to him, he stayed quiet.

“Relax, huh?” Spreen clicked his tongue and shook his head. “After you decided to be a stupid f*cking idiot and nearly get yourself killed over a stranger’s safety, you want me to relax?!”

Even though Roier completely understood why Spreen was upset, he couldn’t help but feel a little upset at the situation. “Dude, seriously, I’m fine. You don’t have to freak out and—”

“Roier! You could have died in there!” Spreen cut Roier off by grabbing the collar of his shirt and pulling closer by force. “Has that not gotten through your thick skull?! If that bullet didn’t miss, you’d be dead!”

Because Spreen grabbing him was so sudden, Roier ended up dropping the framed photo. Upon impact, the glass shattered and created a large crack between their young faces. Shards were scattered all over the floor.

“But I’m not!” Roier fired back. With Spreen pulling him to his height, he ended up standing on his toes. “I got out of there alive, didn’t I?”

“What if you didn’t?!” Spreen screamed at his face, this time grabbing Roier’s collar with both hands. “Have you ever thought about that?! What if you died in there, Roier? What if that bullet didn’t miss, and you ended up getting fatally shot? You couldn’t have survived that!”

Roier nearly told him that there was no way he wouldn’t have dodged that bullet, until he realized that doing so would give away his identity. So, despite his urge to scream back at Spreen and tell him that everything was okay, he decided to mellow it down.

Before Roier could even speak, however, Spreen continued with his scolding. “No matter how much you try to be one, you aren’t a superhero. If you keep trying to save everyone without thought, you will die.”

But I am a superhero, thought Roier, and I won’t die.

“Did you ever try to stop and think about the consequences of your stupidity?” Spreen’s jaw continued to tremble, his eyes burning even through the dark lenses of his shades. “Did you even think about Mari? Or Jaiden? Or how they’d react if the medics pulled you out on a stretcher? Did you even think at all?!”

Roier wasn’t sure if it was his imagination or not, but he swore he saw Spreen’s eyes shine with tears. He immediately shut them and looked away.

“Did you even think at all?” He repeated, his voice sounding much smaller. “About how broken they’d be if you were gone? Did you even think about—”

His voice broke.

Releasing his grip on Roier’s collar, Spreen set him back down on the ground and moved his hands until he was holding his shoulders.

The silence was suffocating. Spreen stood there with his head bent low, his grip on Roier’s shoulders tightening ever so slowly. His breathing was uneven and his hair was covering his face.

After hesitating for a moment, Roier reached his hand out to him. “Spreen—”

“Get out.”

Roier felt his heart shatter into pieces. His voice faltered. “What?”

“Leave,” Spreen whispered. “Get out of here.”

Contrary to his words, Spreen’s grip on him was tighter than ever.

“Don’t be like that,” He responded quietly, and attempted to reach for him again. “I know you don’t mean it, you—”

Spreen slapped his hand, then walked away. His feet crunched against the glass shards on the ground as he did so. To Roier, it was the sound of his heart. The already broken pieces of it, and they were being mercilessly stomped on.

“Did you not hear me?” He turned his back to Roier. “Leave me alone.”

Silence fell over them again. Roier stared at Spreen’s back and watched his shoulders shake as he continued to breathe heavily. His words were in his throat and he was on the verge of exploding. In the back of his mind, he wanted to scream. Why are you doing this? Why would you come back and give me hope, only to push me away again?

What did I do to deserve this?

Why do you hate me so much?

Roier’s chest tightened. His whole body shook as the urge to scream and cry came to him. But what was the use? Spreen wanted him gone. No amount of yelling was going to change that.

So Roier took a deep breath, put on a big grin that hurt more than anything, then said: “Okay. See you later, mi osito muñequito.”

His words made Spreen stiffen, but he still refused to turn around and look at him. Roier took this as a sign to leave. As soon as he spun on his heel and made his way out, tears pricked at the corners of his eyes.

As Roier closed the door behind him, he swore that he picked up a few words from Spreen.

“I’m sorry, Rosita.”

Or maybe his mind was just playing tricks on him.

Roier quickly arrived home and was greeted by Abuela, who initially welcomed her back gleefully. Then she looked at his face for a second, and the smile on her face dropped immediately.

Holding his face in her hands, she spoke softly. “Roier, my darling, is everything okay?”

“Si, Abuela, I just—” Roier paused when he felt that his voice was about to break. “I need some time alone.”

There was no response from his grandmother. Instead, she just stepped aside and allowed Roier to spring up the stairs and into his bedroom. Roier slammed the door behind him. He buried his face in his hands, leaned on the door, then slid down until he was sitting on the ground.

Spreen’s words echoed in his mind, and Roier felt them wrap around him, like barbed wire that poked into his skin and made him bleed. He was right. All he thought about when he decided to save that girl was her safety.

Risking life came with consequences. It was common sense. And yet, Roier never considered his friends’ feelings. Even though he was a superhero with spider powers, the possibility of being gravely injured was always in the air.

Somehow, even after witnessing Cellbit’s breakdown in the store, Roier never considered how his friends would react. Why did it have to take Spreen screaming at his face for him to realize that?

But Roier was Spider-Man, Quesadilla Town’s beloved web-slinging hero. If he wasn’t going to risk his life to save the people, then what kind of superhero would he be?

On the other hand, there were people who cared about Roier. If he didn’t respect their feelings by not risking his life, then what kind of friend would he be?

“God, why?” Roier sniffled into his hands. “Why does it all hurt so much? Why can’t I try to be a good person without…”

With that, the floodgates opened. Roier felt the warm tears flow down his cheeks as he sobbed quietly into his hands. Knowing full well that his grandmother could be listening in, he made sure that his cries came softly, but doing so hurt his throat and made him feel like he was choking.

Roier couldn’t understand it. Years ago, the four of them were inseparable. Spreen, especially, was someone who stuck by his side for the majority of his life, yet now they were like strangers. Not to mention that becoming Spider-Man somehow made things worse by putting more strain in their relationship.

Feeling another sob threatening to spill out, Roier bit his lower lip hard. His throat closed and his chest tightened at all the effort he put into preventing himself from crying loudly. Raising his knees to his chest, he crossed his arms over them and dipped his head between his elbows.

Roier closed his eyes and felt his tears flow down his cheeks before dripping down from his chin and creating a little puddle on the ground by his feet. “I don’t know what to do. Anything I choose will hurt someone. Why can’t everything be okay? Why do I have to—”

His rambling was interrupted by loud buzzing. Roier lifted his head and immediately pinpointed that the buzzing sound was coming from his backpack. It was his phone.

At first, Roier didn’t pay any attention to it, until he considered the idea that Spreen could have texted him. Maybe he came back to senses and wanted to apologize for screaming at him.

So Roier wiped his tears dry with the sleeve of his shirt and rose to his feet. Zipping his bag open, he pulled out his phone and fully expected to see a text message from Spreen.

Instead, the notification showed the name: Gatinho. And his message was: Bom dia, Guapito. Winky face included.

Roier’s tears fell again—which was stupid, because all Cellbit said was good morning. There was no reason for him to feel so emotional about it.

Poor little Cellbit who was a hundred percent traumatized after witnessing what he thought was a murder, and had absolutely nothing to do with his current predicament. It would be wrong to involve him in his personal affairs.

And yet, Roier’s reply was: Can I call you?

Roier was probably overestimating his options. He had full knowledge of Cellbit’s sleep schedule and knew that there was a high possibility that the guy was up all night. Maybe he shouldn’t have contacted him in the first place. What right did he have to dump all his of problems on—

His phone rang, and Cellbit’s caller ID flashed on his screen. Roier answered it within a heartbeat and immediately pressed his phone against his ear.

“Alo?” Cellbit asked, his voice as soft as the clouds and as sweet as honey. “Guapito? Estás bien?”

Upon hearing Cellbit’s voice, Roier immediately burst into tears.

The salty smell of ocean water was in the air, alongside the harsh heat of seaside sunlight, making ElQuackity’s nose tingle. Surrounding him were the sounds of waves slapping against wood, as well as the rush of seawater flowing with the current. Seagulls cawed loudly as flocks of them flew overhead.

ElQuackity was just glad that the pier he was hiding in was drilled into the seabed, so it wasn’t swaying with current. Not like he’d get seasick or anything, he wasn’t as weak and pathetic as his twin brother who never failed to puke his guts out whenever he accompanied dear old papa in his travels across the sea.

Or maybe he used to. But what if he still did? He wasn’t sure. When was the last time he’d seen Quackity? Or been on a boat with him?

Whatever, that wasn’t important. Right now, all ElQuackity wanted was to have a good nap for once in his life. So he laid down on his side, took a deep breath and closed his eyes.

Taking a nap was supposedly the easiest thing in the world. ElQuackity knew that, but the wooden planks were way too stiff for his liking and his lab coat was too thin for a substitute bedding. The pier was too close to the ocean surface, so the strong waves ended up splashing him through the cracks between the floorboards.

Not to mention that his stupid f*cking arms did not know how to shut up.

Despite the arms’ weight being obsolete to ElQuackity—which was thanks to his own research, by the way—he could still feel the tug of his robotic arms on his back as they swayed around and did whatever it was they were doing at this godforsaken hour. A part of him wished he could just take the f*ckers off like that old geezer could with his wings.

But who was he to question his own genius? These arms of his were the pinnacle of perfection. They were weapons of war and the living proof of what his twin brother could never do.

Still, how the hell was he supposed to sleep while they were being so noisy?

When ElQuackity first arrived at the pier after shaking off Philza, his arms found rusty dented pipes and apparently thought they were the most entertaining thing in the world. It was fine, at first. The scientist figured that if they were too busy keeping themselves occupied, then he’d finally have some— this pipe is almost as crunchy as those wings.

Great, now he couldn’t even hear his own tho— cold cold cold. What the f*ck? Was one of them dipping its head in the wa— splish splash splish splash.

Okay, whatever. ElQuackity just had to tune them out, as usual. And then he’d get some sleep and then he ca— i want to go home there’s nothing here it’s so boring.

His eyes snapped open, and he roared out a yell as he sat up. “Shut the f*ck up! Can’t you idiots see that I’m trying to sleep here?!”

In response to his outburst, all four of his arms gathered. One of them lifted its head from a hole in the floorboards, its claws dripping wet as it curled upright. The other three dropped the pipes in their claws, causing loud clanging noises to resonate all across the abandoned pier.

“And zip it with your complaints,” He hissed and pointed at the arms harshly. “You’re bored out of your mind? Well tough f*cking luck! All you get are your stinky pipes! Or would you rather we get stuck in that cage again? Huh?”

Silence. Oh, so they knew how to be quiet.

“Do you think I want to be here, sleeping on stiff floorboards while you all nag constantly in my head?! Do you think I’m insane?!”

Elquackity jabbed his finger into his temple repeatedly, while all four robotic arms lowered their heads sadly. They whispered nos and submitted immediately. Good. He was in control again.

“If you want us to be found, then make as much noise and be as restless as you like,” The scientist scoffed as he crossed his legs over the floorboards. “Go ahead. I’m not the one who needs a host to live.”

Before he could even lay down again, a foreign voice in his head spoke loudly— but we got rid of the old man.

God f*cking— ElQuackity stood up fully and groaned. One of the arms hovered close in an attempt to ask for head pats, but he just swatted it away. “Correction, we crushed his wings. Unfortunately for us, the old fart is stubborn, and he’s going to try and find us. We have to lay low.”

We should have killed him, said one of the arms, only for the others to respond in agreement. And then ElQuackity wondered; Why didn’t they kill him? Pinning Philza down and disarming him was easy, and the chance to finally rid himself of that old geezer had presented itself to him.

ElQuackity knew that, and yet, instead of taking Philza’s life like he should have, he ran like a coward. Why was that? Thinking back to it, what reason did he have to spare him? He couldn’t understand, he couldn’t…

Hesitation? No that couldn’t be. Philza was a thorn in his side, a stubborn nuisance who did nothing but get in his way. Getting rid of him was common sense. So why—

A faint memory of a lit birthday cake and a blonde man singing behind it flashed through ElQuackity’s mind. Muffled singing filled his ears. He was surrounded by… children? It felt good at first, to sit there and know that this celebration was for him and him alone. No snobby twin brother to steal the spotlight. No nagging father to constantly remind him that he could never make him proud.

It was nice, until the birthday cake’s candles went out and he was engulfed by darkness, until the familiar yet distant figure morphed into the monster who never acknowledged him as his own.

The scenery changed again. ElQuackity was back in that godforsaken bunker, and the arms weighed heavy on his back, and Philza was offering that bland f*cking sandwich again. He reached for the old man, ripped those wings off his back, and listened to his screams. In another life, maybe even another moment in time, he’d be reaching for him differently. Maybe there was no hate or fear or bloodshed. Maybe they’d hug.

ElQuackity’s head lolled to the side and a smile grew on his face as he recalled Philza’s screams. The sound of his wings being ripped off his back, followed by his yells of pure agony, was music to his ears. He imagined how it’d play out against Quackity. From a young age, his twin brother was always so small, so fragile. Crushing him would be easy. With the help of his powerful robotic arms, it would only take seconds to turn his bones into fine powder.

And then what after? Simple. Reclaim what was his, prove to the world that even monsters can reign. Prove to Philza that he was nothing. Prove to Quackity that underneath all that pizzazz and sparkling reputation, was a man made of nothing.

Looking down at his hands, ElQuackity noticed that he was shaking. He laughed and laughed and laughed—because of course the excitement of his plan being slowly put into motion was making him tremble. Throwing his head back, he cackled heartily and wrapped his arms around his stomach.

Kill them—his arms whispered with a snap of their joints—Kill them all.

His laughter ceased, and he went still.

“Yes,” The scientist responded breathlessly. Flexing his hand repeatedly, he imagined how it would feel to have it coated in the blood of his enemies. “Perhaps I will.”

One of the arms hovered close to his face and clicked its claws at him. Start with Philza, do not hesitate.

“Start with Philza,” ElQuackity echoed as if he were in a trance. “Do not hesitate.”

Eliminate your brother. Squash him like the bug that he is. Reclaim what is rightfully yours.

“Eliminate my brother,” In the back of his mind, a memory of twins laughing played, but it was soon overtaken by the chanting of his arms. ElQuackity’s eye twitched. “Squash him like the bug that he is. Reclaim what is rightfully—”

There was a shift in the air, one so heavy and so obvious that it cut off ElQuackity’s train of thought and rendered his arms into momentary silence. And then, his instincts were brought to life, and he became aware of the presence of a foreign entity.

Danger.

ElQuackity sprung to his feet. All four of his arms tensed and as they hovered over the scientist and pointed their claws forward. It was difficult to identify where the foreign entity was at first, as its presence was everywhere yet nowhere at the same time.

Until the entity made its presence known. The scientist felt the hairs of his nape stand on its ends as the creature brushed by him.

“Bastard!” Spinning on his heel, ElQuackity quickly attacked by launching one of his arms forward, its claws wide open and ready to strike. But his attack led to nothing and ended up creating a hole in the floorboards instead.

Clicking his tongue, the scientist continued to spin around. Whatever infiltrated his hideout was an annoying piece of sh*t that was running around at high speed—No, that wasn’t it. The f*cker wasn’t hopping from one place to another. It had full control of its presence and was fading in and out of his radar.

ElQuackity did not like this, not one bit. How dare this f*cker mess with him? How dare it strip him of his control over the situation? How dare it think of him as a fool?

“Show yourself, you coward!” Yelling loudly, ElQuackity resorted to swinging all four of his robotic arms around him in a propeller motion. “Before I make you!”

“Oh, you must relax.”

Hearing the unfamiliar voice made ElQuackity’s breath hitch in his throat. His feet scraped across the wooden floorboards as he stepped back, but because the wood was so f*cking soft, he nearly lost his balance. Thankfully, two of his arms clamped onto the ground, preventing him from falling over.

Finally, the entity revealed itself. ElQuackity only saw its figure for a split second before he immediately ordered his spare set of robotic extensions to attack. Closing their claws to a point, both arms shot towards the enemy.

Unexpectedly, the arms went right through the figure, as if it were a shadow. A light gasp left ElQuackity’s lips as he retracted his arms and placed them in a defensive position.

Only then did ElQuackity get a good look at the figure. Just as he expected, the entity wasn’t human at all. Instead, it looked more like a bear.

Said bear was faceless and had skin so white that it was almost translucent. It wore a long white lab coat similar to ElQuackity’s, an inner white collared shirt and black shorts held up by a belt, partnered with black boots. Standing out from the rest of their outfit was a purple tie hanging from their neck, and twin purple bows clipped to their ears.

“I am not here to harm you,” Despite the bear’s lack of a mouth, it spoke perfectly and fluently. Its voice was soft and feminine. ElQuackity realized that she was speaking to him telepathically—if that was even possible. If he wasn’t currently hearing her voice in his head, then he’d refute it.

“Who are you?” ElQuackity hissed and kept his guard up. One the arms snapped its claws at the bear. “What do you want?”

“Hm?” Tilting its head, the bear hummed. “Curious. Haven’t you met my acquaintance?”

“Shut it!” He snapped. “Who the f*ck are you?”

The bear tilted its head as a silence fell over them. On the other hand, ElQuackity tried to think of a battle plan. If his arms couldn’t touch this thing, then he was going to have to think of another way to fend them off.

“Well, introductions are in order, yes?” With a gentle gesture of her crossing an arm across her chest and bowing slightly. “My name is Elena. It is nice to finally meet you, Mr. ElQuackity.”

How the hell does this bear know his name? Shaking his head, ElQuackity brushed off the thought and scoffed. “Do you really think I give a sh*t, you Federation bastard? I won’t ask you again, what do you want?”

This time, ElQuackity pointed all four of his arms at Elena, who didn’t budge whatsoever at the threat. She let out a loud sigh and shook her head. “It will be unwise for you to attack me again. I am not sure if you’ve noticed, but you can’t touch me.”

ElQuackity gritted his teeth. He knew that, but would rather die than admit it.

“Also, Federation bastard? Really?” Crossing her arms over her chest, Elena clicked her tongue. “I would have expected a bit of gratitude from a great scientist such as yourself. Didn’t my associates provide you with assistance?”

“I didn’t want your assistance,” He spoke mockingly, his jaw clenched tight.

“But you sure needed it,” Hummed the bear. “Would you have escaped that bunker without our help?”

An arm clicked its joints. She’s calling you weak, it said. Another hovered closer. She thinks you’re worthless.

“Shut it!” ElQuackity yelled loudly, rendering the arms into silence. “Tell me again why you ‘helped’ me in the first place. You Federation f*cks mean nothing but trouble.”

After a moment, he started cackling.

“I see. You and your gang of thieves want my arms, don’t you?” He gestured at his robotic arms, which clicked and snapped their joints in response to his words. “Well, you’re going to have f*cking kill me, then!”

“Seriously, you must relax,” Elena raised her hands up in a gesture of surrender. “I am only here because my boss wants an update on your status.”

ElQuackity raised an eyebrow. “Your boss?”

With a little hum, Elena clasped her hands behind her back and spun on her heel. She walked towards the edge of the pier and stood in front of the ocean. A cool and salty breeze blew in the air. It made ElQuackity’s nose sting, so he raised a hand in front of his face.

“My boss is not interested in those lovely little arms of yours, so rest assured,” She was still facing the ocean and the tails of her bows danced with the wind. “But… he would like to enlist your help.”

“Ha!” ElQuackity exclaimed loudly and earned light snickers from his arms. “The Earth would be flat before you could get me to help you.”

“Really?” The bear replied snarkily. “Even after we so generously assisted you in your escape?”

She’s mocking you. ElQuackity waved the arm off. “We don’t owe you anything.”

“Oh, but you do,” Elena turned around and stepped closer to the scientist. “All we ask is for you to do a small favor for us. After all, you have to pay us back for our assistance. Give and take, yes?”

Despite Elena’s lack of facial features, ElQuackity could basically feel the bear’s burning gaze on him. His robotic arms continued to whisper in his ear. They told him to allow them to rip her apart and tear her to shreds, to rid them of this fool that had the audacity to look down at him and his genius.

But ElQuackity knew that he couldn’t harm the bear in this state, so as much as he wanted to rip Elena into shreds, he shushed the arms instead. “What makes you think I’ll ever agree to whatever favor you’ll ask of me?”

“Because,” Elena sang and clasped her hands together. “If you don’t, then my associates would have to pay you a little visit.”

Even though ElQuackity was well aware of his strengths and his genius, he wasn’t a stupid f*cking idiot. He knew that the Federation was a sketchy gang of criminals with very dubious origins and an even more suspicious list of members. Now that he knew about Elena, who was a non-human shadow creature, he couldn’t even imagine what their boss would be like.

And with all the trouble he’s currently facing, he’d rather not have the Federation on his ass.

Unfortunately, even though ElQuackity hated the circ*mstances of his current situation, he didn’t have much of a choice.

“Fine,” The scientist grumbled. His arms immediately protested against his decision, so he silenced them with a hiss. “What’s this favor of yours?”

“Good!” Elena clapped once, her hands raised next to her face. “Worry not, your job is easy. All the boss wants you to do is capture Spider-Man.”

That made ElQuackity frown. Even his arms looked at him in confusion. “Who the f*ck is Spider-Man?”

After a brief silence from the bear, she hummed in realization. “Right, you were locked up during his debut. Well, that doesn’t matter. All you need to do is wave your little arms around Quesadilla Town and you’ll see him.”

Still baffled, the scientist scrunched his eyebrows. “That’s it? You just want me to catch this Spider-Man guy and hand him over to your boss?”

“Mhm,” Elena nodded. “And for the record…”

There was a shift in the air, one that made ElQuackity shiver and put all four of his robotic arms on edge. Elena had no face. Even so, he couldn’t help but feel uneasy.

“It doesn’t matter if he’s dead or alive.”

There’s a catch. For once, ElQuackity agreed with his arms. “What exactly do I get out of this?”

“One less obstacle in your path,” She mused. “And one step closer to your goal.”

Well, if the Federation itself considered Spider-Man as an obstacle, then ElQuackity probably should get rid of the guy. Just like Elena said, one less obstacle in his path.

“Alright,” He grunted. “You have a deal.”

Besides, this was just a little bump in the road. Capture or kill this Spider-Man, then get on with his plan. It was a bit of a nuisance but at least it would get the Federation off his back.

How difficult could it be? After all, with his arms and his genius combined, he was unstoppable.