#comingofage

until we dock

miles morales x blackfem reader | summer cruise AU

wc: 2.4k

lost? click previous chapter here!

a/n: sorry 4 late post guys i got distracted watching tonight's love island ep while writing...

resource tags // @cafekitsune // @honeyluvsw

somewhere between uno and lunch, your exit strategy disappears completely. one game became three and three soon became six. and somehow the one hour you'd promised to your mom had quietly turned into an entire afternoon.

"absolutely not." Miles slid a card onto the table dramatically. "nope. not happening."

"What are you talking about??" Naomi asked, poking her head out slightly.

"teams."

"there are no teams in uno." Amir chimed.

"okay well it is now, as group leader." Miles bickered, both of his hands flattening out his shorts.

you watched the argument unfold from beside him, trying not to laugh because you don't feel that in-place yet.

trying, and failing.

"Me and her."

"What?" you perked up.

"We're a team, partners." he said, scooting even closer to you. "you don't want to be partners with anyone else, they suck." his hands hovered over yours to see the deck of cards that you were holding. "may I?"

"okay so this is cheating—" Amir interrupted.

"we're strategizing." He reasoned, not even bothering to meet his eyes but intensely focusing on your cards like they were the holder to your secrets. his hand brushed briefly over yours as his scent got more familiar. "no no no no no—" he whispered beside you, "don't play that one." he suggested, gently tucking the card to the bottom of your deck. "okay so—we should save those, just in case—always save the skips." He whispered delicately, only for you.

"whatever you say.." you whisper back, staring at the cards like you understood what was going on, knew how to strategize an uno game...like match the colors/numbers and call it a day.

three turns later..

"BOOM." Miles slapped his hand on the table triumphantly as you placed the draw four exactly when he told you to.

the table erupted into groans and gasps.

"THAT'S NOT FAIR—"

"WTF???????!!!"

you just sat there with a shy smile on your face but you were definitely fighting back the biggest grin of your life, because you like to win just as much as he does, you're just more humble.

Miles slid his hand towards yours for a high five? dap? you couldn't tell, you just gulped and lightly pressed your hand onto his. immediately his hand slapped yours followed with a join of fingers.

"too easy."

and by the end of the third game you knew everyone's names.

Naomi, Kiara, Samira, Elias, Mateo, Amir, Jules, Elena and Miles of course.

Naomi was loud in a comforting way, the type of person who made friends with cashiers and would give you a pep talk in the club bathroom when you're seconds away from drunk calling your ex boyfriend. you liked her a lot.

The boys somehow managed to argue over absolutely everything and used one of the girls to break ties to justify their pointless arguments.

after that very intense uno tournament everyone just lingered around the table scrolling on their phones, occasionally looking over each others shoulders and sending each other videos even though they were an arm's length away from each other until Miles announced—

"im starving." he groaned, his arms extending along the headrests of the couch, his head lolling back in dramatic exhaustion.

"you always are, fatass." Mateo quipped, slapping his exposed Adam's apple playfully from behind.

Miles yelped and clutched his throat protectively, "its literally noon—how am i a fatass?!?"

"you're always the first one to get hungry, all you talk about is your next meal."

"psh—whatever. IM hungry so IM gonna eat." he murmured before his eyes softened meeting yours. "you hungry?"

to be honest you've been starving for the past hour, clutching your stomach every time it threatened to growl but didn't want to say anything out of anxiety.

you shrugged. "i could eat."

everyone ended up at one of the casual restaurants overlooking the water, floor to ceiling windows framed the endless blue ocean.

you couldn't help but notice the ridiculous size of Miles' burger, literally the size of your head.

"wow." you could've sworn you said that in your head.

"what??" He said, his hand palming the burger on both sides adjusting his grip as he decided what position should be the best bite.

"thats huge"

"protein." he quipped before taking a generous bite.

before you could even answer Naomi came back from the bathroom. "oh my god wait." she pointed at your shorts, "those are so cute."

you looked down instinctively. "these?"

"yes those."

"thanksss" you said shyly.

"where are they from??! i need them."

that somehow became a 20 minute conversation over pasta and apple juice. shorts became tops, jewelry, and then hairstyles. interactions like these always reminded you of how much of a social butterfly you could be once brought out of your shell.

you guys ended up exchanging socials and now just complimenting each other back and forth.

"oh my gosh this picture of you looks so good wtffffff, sickening." she gasped softly.

"yeahh i love my digital camera, i use it for pictures more than my phone."

"what camera?? Don't gatekeep, the quality is amazingggggg i love the orange flash thingy." she begged, looking over your pictures for the millionth time.

"the g7x, i got it as a gift."

"i want the g7x so baddddddd" she whined animatedly before lighting up with a thought, "do you have it on you!??"

"uhhh not right now but it's charging in my room." you said with a soft sigh feeling her disappointment. "but i can get it later—"

"REALLY??" she squealed happily.

Miles raised his eyebrow mid bite and tipped towards you both. "what are you guys screaming about??"

"camera." you both said in unison.

"you have a camera?" his finger pointed to you.

"not right nowww." you explained.

"HER PICTURES ARE SO CUTE" Naomi interrupted, shoving your instagram page in his face. his eyebrows softly raised as his hand slowly gravitated towards Naomi's phone.

he stared and snooped for a good minute.

longest minute of your life.

his lips slowly formed a big smile, still not looking up yet.

"these are niceeeee" he said softly. "really nice." he repeated, softly, almost to himself.

eventually someone suggested the pool, the answer was immediate.

"YES."

the group started moving almost instantly, but you hung back, not because you wanted to.

your phone buzzed.

Mom: alive?

You smiled.

You: yes :)

Mom: did you survive

You: shockingly yes

Mom: friends???

You: i think so actually

Three dots appeared immediately.

Mom: OH MY GOD

You laughed.

You: don't make it weird

Mom: too late

You: mom.

Mom: IM PROUD OF YOU

You were so distracted typing that you didn't realize the group had disappeared around the corner.

"Everything okay?"

You looked up.

Miles.

"Oh."

"okay—that's twice now."

"what?"

"you saying 'oh' when you see me. im starting to think you don't want me around you." he teased with a playful pout.

"no its not—"

"it definitely is."

He slowed his pace until he was walking beside you in unison. "you good?"

"yeah."

"sure?"

you nodded reassuringly. "just texting my mom."

"cute."

you laughed softly. "she wanted updates."

for a moment none of you said anything.

then,

"you know how to swim?"

you looked over. "enough to survive."

He blinked.

"what does that— either yes or no."

"It means if i get thrown into the pool i probably wont die."

"probably?"

"no promises."

He looked horrified.

"That's concerning." he said looking genuinely baffled. "that's a vital survival skill, you cant just halfass it! you never know!" He walked with his hands on his hips now, lecture ready. "but no worries, i was a lifeguard."

you looked over. "really?"

"mhm." he said proudly. "even saved a kid once. im a hero." he beamed.

you giggled lightly. "did you have to give cpr?"

"i mean—yeah, you HAVE to be cpr certified for any lifeguard job."

"hm. what else do you do?" you asked, your phone forgotten in your hand.

"i can do flips." he said, as if he was waiting for the opportunity to bring it up.

"oh brother."

"im serious. i can do a handstand underwater and everything!"

He pointed at you. "i could teach you."

you blinked.

"i'm a great teacher. you'll be in good hands."

you rolled your eyes. "the ego is insane."

"not ego, its confidence, and the confidence is very much earned, thank you." he sassed.

"sure."

"it is."

"sure."

"it is."

you laughed.

again.

The pool deck was chaos, music blasted from overhead speakers, kids ran through puddles, people claimed lounge chairs even though nobody owned them.

The boys immediately launched themselves into the water. no discussion.

splash.

chicken fights, someone nearly went blind from chlorine, the boys choking on water one too many times.

meanwhile— you and Naomi occupied two lounge chairs near the edge of the pool.

"your tan lines are insane."

she looked down proudly. "i work very hard for these." her torso bent to the side getting something out of her tote bag, a bottle of tanning oil. "THEEEE holy grail."

"those really work?"

"you see the credentials!" she said displaying her tan lines again. "you can use some girl, no problem."

"really?—you sure."

"yes of course! turn around ill get your back" she said carelessly positioning herself, beginning to lather the warm oil on her hands.

"this friendship is moving so fast." you chuckled.

"yes. i love it." Naomi said, her chin briefly resting on your shoulder affectionately before rubbing the oil on every crevice of your back for the most crisp tan lines and the afternoon settled around you two easily.

music, sunshine, and conversations.

you talked about college, music, clothes. just life.

Naomi told stories about cruise culture like an anthropologist documenting rare species.

"the cruise flirting is insane."

you laughed. "really?"

every once in a while you caught Miles looking over. not staring, just looking, sometimes he'd smile or do an over excited wave before getting slammed into the pool by one of his friends or yell something across the water.

the strange thing was it didn't feel awkward, nothing today had.

Earlier this morning these people had been strangers, now Naomi was your soul sister.

"a guy did like 20 pull ups on a random bar for my number yesterday." she chuckled out.

"did you give it to him??" you asked as you rubbed the remaining oil on your chest and legs.

"nah."

you both erupted in laughter.

I'll forget the summer, but I won't forget you—James,Cortis

Outside The Gates by Molly Gloss. Saga Press, 2019. 9781534414976. 128pp. 

"The best first novel I've seen in years." -- Ursula K. Le Guin

I came across a copy of this novella in a bookstore and had to it when I saw that cover blurb. It's now one of my favorite novellas, right up there with Spear by Nicola Griffith. 

Outside the Gates is about a boy, Vren, who is put outside the gates of his village by people who fear his power. He expects to encounter monsters in the wilderness but instead he finds something else. 

Character Meltdown: May Grant Deserved Better — and 9-1-1 Knows It

How a once-sharp supporting character became a disappointing “main” by accident

Hook: I Knew This Meltdown Was Coming

It was only a matter of time before May Grant became my Character Meltdown.

Because the thing that hurts the most isn’t when a character is written badly from the start.

It’s when a character is written brilliantly for years… and then the show forgets why we loved them.

And that’s exactly what’s happening with May on 9-1-1 right now.

Why May Worked So Well in the Beginning

May’s introduction wasn’t “Athena’s daughter.” It was May as a person.

She was a teenager dealing with bullying, social pressure, and the brutal reality that being “pretty” doesn’t protect you from being targeted. The show didn’t sanitize it. It gave her storyline weight.

Her suicide attempt was devastating — but narratively, it also made a promise:

This isn’t a background kid we’ll forget. This is a character who’s going to grow.

And for a while, 9-1-1 actually kept that promise.

The Tsunami Episode: The Moment She Became More Than a Side Character

Then came the tsunami episode.

May trapped with Athena. Forced into action. Forced to hold it together. Forced to help someone else while terrified herself.

That’s one of the most effective “coming-of-age” pivots the show has ever done.

It didn’t just put her in danger — it proved she had courage and capability under pressure. It showed a version of May who could become an adult protagonist.

That episode didn’t just develop her.

It reframed her.

The Call Center Era: May’s Best Growth Arc

When May takes time off from USC and starts working at dispatch, it becomes the strongest stretch of her character development.

It’s the first time we see her truly in the adult world.

She’s not a kid in Athena’s house anymore. She’s a colleague. A trainee. A person learning how to be useful when things are messy and real.

And that season gave her something even better than romance:

purpose.

The Claudette storyline, the call center fire, “MayDay” — all of it cemented May as someone who belongs in the center of the show’s moral universe.

And the Bobby moment? Iconic.

May saying she has “two dads” is one of the most emotionally grounded lines the series has ever written. It wasn’t cheesy — it was earned.

And Then… The Show Dropped Her

After all that, May finally goes back to school.

And once she’s in college?

She basically disappears.

Then she returns later and the show acts like the last few years of growth didn’t happen — or worse, like it doesn’t matter.

That’s the real problem.

May was more of a “main character” when she was technically a supporting player than she is now that she’s supposedly more present.

The Current Version of May Feels Smaller Than the One We Earned

Here’s what we’re getting lately:

May as emotional support for Athena. May as emotional support for Harry. May as “around,” but not driving anything.

And yes — it makes sense that she would show up for her family. That’s consistent with who she is.

But the moment Athena stabilizes and Harry finds his direction, May’s story should naturally pivot to the big question:

“Okay… and what about me?”

Instead, the show doesn’t ask it.

So May becomes a prop.

And that’s wild, considering everything they built.

The Ravi Problem: A Relationship That Feels Like a Shortcut

Then the show tries to give her “a storyline” by tossing her into Ravi’s orbit.

And I’m sorry, but it reads like a narrative shortcut.

Not because I’m anti-romance for May — I’m not.

But because this doesn’t feel like something that grew from May’s character journey. It feels like something inserted so she’s not just standing in Grant family scenes.

It’s “Here! A pairing! Now she has plot!”

May deserves a romance that emerges from who she is and what she’s becoming — not a random spark meant to create instant buzz.

The Missed Opportunity: May’s Adult Life (Work, Home, Identity)

If I were writing May’s return, the arc would be obvious:

Start where the show did: May supporting Athena and Harry.

Then, once those fires calm down, we shift to May asking:

What career do I want? What kind of life do I want? Who am I when I’m not needed by my family?

Let us see her apartment. Her routines. Her friendships. Her loneliness. Her ambition. Her uncertainty.

Let us watch her build her adult identity the way the show once let Buck and Maddie and Eddie build theirs.

Because May’s entire call center era was proof she’s drawn to helping people — just not necessarily in the same way her mom is.

A path like social work would make so much sense: a bridge between her education and the purpose she found at dispatch.

It would also naturally connect her to the 118 and Athena’s cases without forcing it.

That’s how you write a character into the show’s ecosystem without reducing them to “someone’s daughter.”

The Relationships That Could’ve Actually Served Her Story

May doesn’t need a love interest first.

She needs connection that reflects her growth.

The show had so many options:

A real sibling dynamic with Harry where they talk about identity and purpose. A mentor reconnection with Maddie, now that May is older and they can meet more as equals. A bridge with Buck through Bobby — because both of them see Bobby as “father” in different ways. Even revisiting Eddie as a trusted sounding board, since they already built a quiet but meaningful rapport at dispatch.

Any of these would have felt like continuing the story that already exists.

Instead, we got a sudden romantic detour that doesn’t address the big missing piece:

May’s vocation.

The Tragedy: She’s Being Written Younger Than She Used to Be

And this is the part that genuinely frustrates me.

May used to feel like the most mature young character on the show — because her writing respected what she’d survived and learned.

Now she feels smaller. Softer. Less defined.

Not because May is immature.

Because the writing is treating her like she has nothing going on unless she’s attached to someone else’s storyline.

That’s not just disappointing.

It’s a downgrade.

Final Thought: May Was a Main Character Before the Show Realized It

May Grant used to be one of the best examples of how 9-1-1 can build someone quietly over time.

She wasn’t loud. She wasn’t constantly on screen. But when she showed up, it mattered.

Right now, it feels like the show doesn’t know what it has.

And that’s why this is a meltdown — because I love this character.

I don’t want May to be “support.” I want her to be a person with direction again.