Miles is scrambling to catch up with Frank on the way back to his own house. Go figure, right? "Hey, wait up!" He collects his cans along the way and tosses them into a school backpack. Tomorrow he'll back to seal with it, but for today it's all good to go.
He falls a step ahead of Frank since it is his house they are heading toward. "I appreciate you wanting to walk me, but I'm a big boy. I can handle myself." Not that he's kicking Frank out by any means. He hopes dude is ready to handle the fact Miles will have to say hi and charm basically everyone once they get closer.
And no he does not see the irony of calling himself a big boy. He's totally grown up!!! He grew an inch last week!!!!
"Uh-huh," he grunts noncommittally, not rethinking his course at all. Now that Miles is actively walking home, it's not like he can stop Frank from following him anyway. He takes one hand out of a pocket to gesture at his face. "If you think this is bad, you don't wanna see what Cap would do if I didn't see you home safe."
Miles studies it with a wrinkled nose. Damn he looks bad. He's not the kind of kid who runs to his dad for everything, but yikes. This dude needs help. He's Cap's friend so Miles' will stay in his lane. Probably. "Yeah, okay. If he ever got serious, you wouldn't even have a face left." He snorts. It sounds ridiculous, but actually Ganke did look into that. The force of most of the Avengers' fists would do some serious damage if they weren't holding back.
"And I did tell Mami I'd look out for my elders." :') Haha, get it? You're so old, Frank. :)))
He shrugs a shoulder. "Would probably be an improvement." And like, it's probably true enough. Frank doesn't worry about it for obvious reasons. Bemusement morphs into apparent offense in an instant though. Come on!! While his hand is still free, he shoves Miles towards the edge of the sidewalk. No wonder Steve likes him so much, what a punk ass. "Did she also tell you to stop callin' 'em old all the time?"
Miles breaks into a winning smile at that shove. He lets himself move a little before falling back into step with Frank. He got a rise out of him and what more can any teen ask for? "She might have mentioned it, yeah." He ducks his head. He is the model of innocence clearly. "But, you did start it by calling me kid." Miles retorts. The argument of all super mature people.
That gets a full-on eyeroll from Frank even while he hunkers back in on himself and focuses on matching Miles' pace. He's fast when he wants to be, but he does fall just a step behind him intentionally, keeping his eyes on every alleyway and door on the way down the road.
"You are a kid." But he knows this path bears no fruit. There's really no point arguing with a teenager, something he's intimately familiar with by now. "How old do you even think I am?"
Miles, on the other hand, doesn't seem to be paying attention at all. He's off in his own world like any kid. It's probably very worrying if you didn't know he can literally sense danger.... so basically everyone in his life is in a constant state of stress. Welcome to the club, Frank.
"Uh...." He studies Frank's profile. It is rough to age a guy whose face is ten different colors with a jacked up nose. Miles thinks for a second this is what Ms. Marvel's nose would look like if she didn't have healing powers. "I guess you've got to be in your forties, right? No white hair yet. You don't seem like the kind of guy who dyes his hair." He isn't even covering up bruises for crying out loud.
Frank understands troublemaking kids because he was one and he gave life to one- one and a half. And then he mentored two. He gets that and isn't fully worried, but the whole son of a cop thing is... weird. Familiar. He can't stop thinking like maybe if Frank Jr. had lived these two could've gotten in it together. Or maybe Miles could've kept him out of trouble sometimes. He swallows thickly, carrying on though all he honestly wants to do now is turn around and walk away, and not because Miles guessed too high. That barely even registers.
"Not yet, punk." But close, close enough being the implication. "You wanna be a detective like your dad?" With observational skills like that, he'd probably be decent at it.
He grins. Miles will take close enough!! The question is sobering. Miles looks around as if searching for the answer. After a few seconds, he just shrugs and gives what he thinks is a disappointing answer. "I haven't thought that far ahead. I'm just trying to keep up at school, you know? You have to literally win the lottery after doing all this crazy stuff to even qualify for that lottery to get into Visions. Once you're there, you're pretty much buried with schoolwork. It doesn't leave a lot of time for thinking past the next due date." Which isn't honestly a great system. Miles is too young to see that. He just knows it's a great opportunity and he has to work hard to keep it like everyone else at the school. Luckily he's so bright that he can meet that demand and still go out to help people every day.
He tacks on softly after a few more seconds of consideration, "I wouldn't mind doing something to help people. Keep them out of trouble or make sure guys like Fisk stay in jail so they can't hurt anybody else. You know... make a real difference." He shrugs. "It's cheesy, I know. That's how I feel."
He listens, knowing he can't truly relate to the private school struggle. But if Miles is smart enough to get all that work done and still come out here to paint for the veterans, Frank thinks he'll do alright. His earnestness is devastating, but he's used to covering up his near-constant state of heartbreak by now.
"Maybe it is." Cheesy, but a tiny smile belies his true feelings. "Nothin' cheesier than dressing up to fight evil." A dig at Cap, naturally. So of Miles thinks it's lame, he might want to pick a different idol.
Miles nods for like a half a second. It's not really a career so that's off the table. His fanboy does slip out a little. As time goes by, he does appreciate the other heroes more and more. None of this is easy. They inspire Miles by the way they keep going.
"Yeah, but it's kind of cool at the same time. Sure, Cap has had some really lame looks. Like that one he used to fight the aliens. I'd have burned that." Miles makes a face. Even remembering it years later doesn't make him cringe any less. "But, that navy blue suit? And Thor's whole thing? Those are cool looks. And you know everything Luke Cage wears. That's a guy who always looks on point even wearing a hoodie." He barely resists the urge to plug himself. He knows he looks cooler than Queen's Spider-Man. He shouldn't be too obvious or something.
Frank would beg to differ, but he's an even worse role model than Steve so there you go. "Pretty sure he already did." Burn that abomination. The fact that he's so touchy about it tickles the fuck out of Frank though. "Never saw the point in costumes, you know? If you're gonna do a thing, just do it."
Of course he would say that, but no one's taking his skull away from him. Over his (literal) dead body.
"So yeah, maybe Cage's got the best idea of 'em all."
Miles has to give Frank a double take. He is about to use his fancy education on Frank. He really has no one, but himself to blame. "Man, my English teacher would have a field day with you." He gestures with his hands while he explains. "It's about what the costume symbolizes. Even Luke Cage is saying something when he wears a t-shirt and hoodie while he's fighting crime. Yeah, he's a regular guy minding his business, but he's not going to put up with nonsense while he has the power to shut it down. Or Daredevil. You want to act like a monster? Okay, he'll be a scarier one back at you. They've all got something to say if you're willing to pay attention." Which clearly Frank isn't!!! You're gonna fail Introduction to English at Brooklyn Visions Academy, Frank.
He gives Miles a nasty look. It's not for real, but didn't they just go over this!!!
"Are you writing a paper or tryin' to tell me something?" He could say a lot of things right now: about Matt, about how he appreciates Luke's 'symbolism' as much as his practical outfit, but all of it seems a little too obvious, considering. "Stark's probably got the best idea, right? I mean, if you're gonna dress up, seems like the way to go."
Miles holds his hands up in defense. Okay, okay. He'll stop being a punk for like five minutes!! He latches onto the new superhero topic with a grin. He still likes Tony even if he strongly suspects he prefers the Queens Spidey to him. Probably has to do with the super expensive suit he gave him.
"Oh yeah. Hot rod red and gold? An actual suit of armor? I'm surprised there's only War Machine after him. If I were an Avenger? I'd be begging him for one of those."
Miles shrugs. He does wonder why at times. He does have a kind of jealous answer to that. "Maybe he only makes them for his favorites now that I think about it. That's why Queens and War Machine got theirs." Not that he's mad or anything!! His suit is awesome. Wow does it show who the favorite is though.
Frank narrows his eyes as he glances back over. "Queens?" He's never heard Spiderman be called that before and he's seen Tony Stark in action firsthand now. The guy doesn't really have favorites, at least not among people who are already his family.
Miles realizes his mistake immediately. The truth is it just gets weird calling another teenager Spider-Man. Their nicknames work in the field. He tries to play it off with a cool guy shrug and laugh. Nothing to see here. "Yeah, you know their Spider-Man? It's confusing to call him anything else in Brooklyn." Nailed it.
He's not sure about that excuse, but he'll let it marinate a while. "Yeah, okay. Forgot you guys had your own. I'm mostly in Hell's Kitchen these days." So he gets to watch Matt parkour around like a brat, lucky him. Frank watches as the street slowly fills in with more and more people as they approach nicer housing, and he's getting ready to bail any minute.
He gives Frank a double take. That explains a lot. "No wonder you look so beat up. There's always something going on there." As they get closer, Miles moves a little further away like any kid who spots a familiar face. He's soon off to meet and greet with people around his neighborhood. By the time he realizes Frank is gone, the other man will be long gone. Miles will tell himself he doesn't care either way while very obviously caring.
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"You live around here? I'll get you back." He makes it sound like something Miles doesn't have a choice in, already heading back the way he'd come.
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He falls a step ahead of Frank since it is his house they are heading toward. "I appreciate you wanting to walk me, but I'm a big boy. I can handle myself." Not that he's kicking Frank out by any means. He hopes dude is ready to handle the fact Miles will have to say hi and charm basically everyone once they get closer.
And no he does not see the irony of calling himself a big boy. He's totally grown up!!! He grew an inch last week!!!!
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"And I did tell Mami I'd look out for my elders." :') Haha, get it? You're so old, Frank. :)))
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"You are a kid." But he knows this path bears no fruit. There's really no point arguing with a teenager, something he's intimately familiar with by now. "How old do you even think I am?"
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"Uh...." He studies Frank's profile. It is rough to age a guy whose face is ten different colors with a jacked up nose. Miles thinks for a second this is what Ms. Marvel's nose would look like if she didn't have healing powers. "I guess you've got to be in your forties, right? No white hair yet. You don't seem like the kind of guy who dyes his hair." He isn't even covering up bruises for crying out loud.
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"Not yet, punk." But close, close enough being the implication. "You wanna be a detective like your dad?" With observational skills like that, he'd probably be decent at it.
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He tacks on softly after a few more seconds of consideration, "I wouldn't mind doing something to help people. Keep them out of trouble or make sure guys like Fisk stay in jail so they can't hurt anybody else. You know... make a real difference." He shrugs. "It's cheesy, I know. That's how I feel."
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"Maybe it is." Cheesy, but a tiny smile belies his true feelings. "Nothin' cheesier than dressing up to fight evil." A dig at Cap, naturally. So of Miles thinks it's lame, he might want to pick a different idol.
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"Yeah, but it's kind of cool at the same time. Sure, Cap has had some really lame looks. Like that one he used to fight the aliens. I'd have burned that." Miles makes a face. Even remembering it years later doesn't make him cringe any less. "But, that navy blue suit? And Thor's whole thing? Those are cool looks. And you know everything Luke Cage wears. That's a guy who always looks on point even wearing a hoodie." He barely resists the urge to plug himself. He knows he looks cooler than Queen's Spider-Man. He shouldn't be too obvious or something.
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Of course he would say that, but no one's taking his skull away from him. Over his (literal) dead body.
"So yeah, maybe Cage's got the best idea of 'em all."
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"Are you writing a paper or tryin' to tell me something?" He could say a lot of things right now: about Matt, about how he appreciates Luke's 'symbolism' as much as his practical outfit, but all of it seems a little too obvious, considering. "Stark's probably got the best idea, right? I mean, if you're gonna dress up, seems like the way to go."
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"Oh yeah. Hot rod red and gold? An actual suit of armor? I'm surprised there's only War Machine after him. If I were an Avenger? I'd be begging him for one of those."
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(It's Kamala for those watching at home.)
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