AN: Hey, happy pride month! I've fallen in love with Miles Morales, and naturally I've projected myself onto him, so here's a bisexual!Miles fanfic for my own enjoyment! This isn't with the intention of shipping him with anyone, but there are romantic mlm hints (because...it's about him realizing/coming out as bi...so he needs to have been interested in someone). I also like trans!Miles, but couldn't figure out how to do it in this fic, so let me know if y'all would ever be interested in me writing a version about trans bi Miles. Just to be honest, the name "Rodrigo" was stolen from the first guy I ever had a crush on. And sorry if Ganke seems weird, I wasn't sure how to write him!
Notes: Miles is also autistic in my headcanon, so he stims. Constructive criticism is appreciated, hate and disrespect is not.
Also, don't know if I need to say this: straight people can read, just be respectful!
Trigger warning: uncensored d word (d-ke), biphobia, fear of coming out, minor mention of catholicism.
o0o
He figured it out when he caught himself doodling Rodrigo Gómez in his notebook margins for the third time.
Before then, he'd never considered the significance of his seventh grade attachment to Jared Peterson, dismissing thoughts of sitting near him and holding hands, because Peterson had been the coolest guy in school. Surely Miles just wanted to be friends with him, right? Very, very good friends.
He couldn't deny his crush on Gwen Stacy. He knew he was straight.
Until Rodrigo.
o0o
Miles pulled out his sketchbook, hoping to doodle a bit before class began. To his dad's relief, Miles had tamed some of his chronic tardiness and grown accustomed to arriving early when he got the chance. For a moment, it was only him and a few other quiet students in the front, and he sat there, sketching aimlessly.
"…you hear about Jacklyn coming out?"
Miles kept his eyes firmly focused on his drawing as two girls strolled in and took their seats, their voices quiet but too close for Miles to ignore.
"Yeah, but come on, I think she's only saying she's bisexual because she wants to impress that guy from the basketball team."
Miles paused, his pencil frozen above the paper. Discomfort wriggled in his stomach.
"Heh, obviously. If she actually liked girls, it'd be creepy. She slept over that one time you know? What if that whole time she was—"
"Oh shut up, Katy, that's gross. She's not actually a dyke, she just made it up anyway."
Miles jumped when the girl said the d word, almost knocking his water bottle off his desk. The light clank caught the girls' attention, but before they could speak again, the classroom door opened and the teacher strolled back inside from his bathroom break, ending their conversation.
Miles had never been so relieved to see a teacher, but the odd feeling in his stomach lingered as the room filled up and lecture started. He focused on his doodling, trying to keep his mind from drifting as he sketched a figure of a guy with soft eyes.
He only looked up when the bell rang, and when he did, his eyes landed on a nearby seat, where Rodrigo Gómez was putting away his notebook, and an icy jolt ran through Miles as he glimpsed Rodrigo's eyes. The softly toned shoulders, the lanky figure and brown eyes…Miles had spent class drawing the perfect likeness of Rodrigo Gómez.
o0o
Miles breathed in deeply, trying to calm the nerves that made his chest tight. Idly, he tapped his pencil on his blank sketchbook page in a rapid rhythm.
"I'm bi," he muttered, the words falling awkwardly from his mouth. "That's right. Bi. Bisexual. I'm bi."
Ugh, he could barely say it aloud when he was alone in his dorm room, how was he supposed to say it in front of a human person?
It'd been four months since he'd figured it out, and he hadn't said a word. His parents had already noticed he'd been quieter lately, but that'd started before then, when he'd begun hiding his identity as Spider-Man, so they hadn't asked about it. And thank goodness he had such dark skin, or else he was sure Ganke would've seen him blushing the last time Rodrigo had waved at him in art class.
But he was sick of it. He already had one secret, he didn't need another. Being a world-saving vigilante was enough.
The door opened, and Miles jumped, but Ganke just came walking in, hands full of comics and a grin on his face.
"Alright," Ganke said, setting the comics on his desk. "I might have gotten a bit sidetracked at the library, but the good news is I figured out the general location of that guy who keeps sending your dad those messages."
"Oh, right," Miles said. He'd forgotten about it, but now that worry added to his nerves. His dad had admitted to Spider-Man a few days ago that he'd been getting some creepy, threatening calls, and Miles and Ganke had been looking into it since then. "That's good to hear."
"Yeah, I can send you a link to the area if you wanna look around tonight when you're done with homework."
Miles almost replied, but the words died on his lips and he looked back down at his sketchbook, gazing at the blank page again with his belly churning. He should tell him. But what if Ganke thought it was weird? They were roommates. What if he thought it was creepy that Miles liked guys, like those girls at school did?
But. Miles told him everything, and Ganke had always been there—he'd understood when Miles continued to fight crime, and he'd comforted Miles when he'd cried over his Uncle's death. Ganke was his best friend, albeit probably his only friend. And the weight of this secret wedged a hole between them.
He didn't want to lie anymore.
"Hey, um, Ganke," he said.
Miles heard Ganke shift in his chair. "Hmm?"
A silence stretched between them for a moment, and when Miles glanced up, he saw Ganke watching curiously, waiting for Miles to speak.
Looking down, Miles set aside his pencil and pushed his sketchbook away, taking a deep, calming breath as his hands shook. He'd already committed. He had to say something.
"I just wanted to tell you…" Miles's heart gave a big thud in his chest, and he tried to look up, but couldn't. Ganke's chair gave the signature squeak that meant he'd sat up straight. "I'm, uh, well I'm bisexual."
Silence. Miles looked up, eyebrows knit, fingers tightly gripping his knees.
Ganke's eyes widened, then softened, and he rolled his chair closer to Miles with a smile. "That's cool, Miles. That's okay."
Miles's heart fluttered in surprise and he stared at Ganke. "So…you're okay with it? It's not weird?"
"Of course I'm okay with it," Ganke said with a laugh. "I'm bi, too, after all."
Now it was Miles's turn to be shocked. A warm relief filled him and his grip on his knees loosened. "Wait, you are? Really?"
Ganke shrugged a little awkwardly. "Well, yeah. I came out to my family half a year ago. It's cool that we're both bi, guess I should've seen it coming, huh? My bi-fi must be pretty bad for me to not have noticed."
Miles laughed, his ribs aching as tension released with each chuckle. "Yeah, mine too. I just can't believe…here I was worried you'd freak out, and you're bi yourself."
Ganke grinned back, then moved his chair even closer so they were only a few feet apart. "So, have you come out to anyone else yet? How'd you figure out you were bi?"
Miles rubbed the back of his neck and glanced away. "I…well, you're the first person I've told. I haven't worked up the courage to tell my parents or anything."
A light hand touched his knee, and Miles looked up at Ganke, whose eyes shone soft with reassurance. "That's okay, no need to rush. I'm glad you told me, though. Now we can finally talk about boys without pretending they're not cute. And hey, if you need a pep talk before you tell your parents, I've been told I'm 'moderately decent' at pep talking."
Miles raised an eyebrow, hiding his grin. "'Moderately decent'?"
Ganke rolled his eyes and waved his hand in dismissal. "That's besides the point. And anyway, spill! How'd you figure out you're bi?"
"Uh, well," Miles shifted on his bed, smile still bashfully on his face. "There's this guy…"
"Ooh, a guy! I need names!"
"Uh, it's…Rodrigo, from my art class. I kinda…have a crush on him." Miles's heart fluttered as he admitted it—this was his first time saying it aloud. He didn't even discuss girls with anyone, but he'd never dreamed of discussing guys with someone, at least not this openly.
Ganke nodded slowly, as though trying to recall who Rodrigo was. "Rodrigo, huh? Oh, is he that quiet guy who wears star wars merch all the time?"
"You wear star wars merch all the time."
"Are you saying I'm your type?"
Miles gawked at him, but Ganke just laughed his head off for half a minute before waving his hands to dismiss it. "Don't worry, I'm joking! But he seems cool—not really my type, but I can see how he's cute. What d'you like about him?"
Miles blinked, considering. He looked down at his blanket covers for a moment to think, then finally said, "Well, I like that he always seems so calm, but he can also crack a joke if he wants to. And he gets so interested in things, like when we were paired together to make a concept for a painting last month, he was so focused on making it fun and interesting. I dunno, I like that he's dedicated to things he loves, you know? Like all that Star Wars merch."
Ganke smiled goofily at him. "Aww, how cute."
"Oh, come on," Miles said, face heating again. "It's just a crush." He glanced down at his sketchbook again, inside which he knew was a page of doodles of Rodrigo. "And he's probably straight anyway."
Ganke gave a little "hmm" sound. "Well, I dunno about that."
Miles looked up at his, eyes scrunched in hesitant curiosity. "What do you mean?"
"Well…" Ganke shrugged. "I dunno, it's mostly rumors. The person who sits next to me in science seems to think he's not straight, but if you really want to know you'd probably have to ask him directly."
Miles turned back to his sketchbook, considering it for a moment—he'd just come out to Ganke and already his heart seemed lighter. It felt so weird, but so good, for someone to actually know. But asking Rodrigo if he wasn't straight? Coming out to him? He could hardly have a casual conversation with the guy without having a heart attack. Plus…
"I…I don't think I wanna ask him yet. Not before my parents know."
Ganke nodded, eyes soft with understanding. "So, are you planning to tell them next?"
Biting his lip in nervousness, Miles shrugged halfheartedly. "Yeah, I guess, once I figure out how. I don't know, I guess I'm just terrified of what they might say…"
Worry flitted through Ganke's eyes. "Have they said something bad about being bi before?"
Miles shook his head quickly. "No! Well, I don't think so. I mean, it's not like we've really talked about it before. But I don't know, what if they think I'm just making it up? What if they don't know what being bi means? My mom was raised Catholic, what if she thinks being gay is a sin or something and she disapproves?" Miles gripped his knees so hard his nails dug into his skin, and tears pricked at his eyes.
"Hey, hey, whoa." Ganke stood and moved to sit next to him, wrapping his arms around Miles and holding him tight. Ganke's arms held him firmly and warmly, and only then did Miles realize how much he was shaking. "Hey, it's okay, just breathe a moment."
Leaning into the hug, Miles gripped his friend's shirt and squeezed his eyes shut, trying to stop the panic churning through him. It stung him all over, but the smooth, deep breathing pattern eased the anxiety from his bones, until finally his shaking subsided. Ganke was warm, and accepting, and safe. He was safe.
Miles took a last, deep breath and pulled away, blinking unfallen tears from his eyes. Ganke stayed close, sitting within Miles's reach, and the warmth of his touch lingered on Miles's skin. "Thanks."
"It's okay." Ganke gave him a soft smile. "Dude, I cried into my grandmother's dress when I told her. And hey, have your parents ever hated you for anything? For getting bad grades, or eating all the milk? Would they hate you if they found out you were Spider-Man?"
Miles pursed his lip, then shook his head. "They might be angry, but…they wouldn't hate me."
Ganke touched his hand lightly. "Then I promise, they won't hate you for this."
AN: Anyway, thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed! Please comment if you want more bi!miles, since this was pretty short, and I wanna know how many other people are looking for bi content. This'll probably eventually become multi-chapter. Have a good pride month!