A/N: I know I promised a longer chapter, but we're in finals week now :') so I'm hoping for either an early update or a long update for June since I'll be having a whole lot more free time after this!

Again, sorry for the short chapter, but I figured giving y'all something was better than absolutely nothing. Enjoy!

Penny was still flushed and stuttering when she was pulled into her second crushing hug of the afternoon.

MJ squeezed the shorter girl in her arms, her cheek resting on her head. "You idiot," she muttered, her voice taking on a slight warble Penny had never heard before. "Don't ever scare me like that again."

Her eyes widened, and then she softened in her arms, returning the hug with a gentle squeeze. She was surprised to feel that MJ was shaking.

"C'mon, MJ- fighting the bad guys is kind of in my job description," Penny teased softly. "I'm okay, though. No need to worry."

"I know," she whispered, gripping Penny even tighter. "I just didn't expect it to get that close. You could've died."

"But I didn't," she reminded her, pulling away far enough so she could look her in the eye. "I'm okay. The Elementals have all been destroyed, thanks to Mysterio."

"Not before that last one nearly took you out. When it smashed into the carousel I thought you were a goner, and if Mysterio hadn't been there when you were in front of the ferris wheel-"

"Wait, stop-" Penny had taken another step back from her friend, her eyebrows drawn. "How did you know all that?"

MJ's worry was quickly replaced with sheepishness. "Uh, well…"

"MJ," Penny said, her voice hard, "did you leave the opera?"

They were both silent for a few moments. And then-

"Well, to be fair, you left the opera first."

"MJ!"

"It's true!"

"I had to leave because I'm Spider-Man, damn it-"

The sound of the door clicking open caused them both to jump, MJ a few inches, Penny a full foot in the air.

Ned stared at them with owlish eyes, wearing a fluffy hotel bathrobe and slippers. "Uhhh, you might want to keep your voice down, Pen."

Her heart rate had yet to settle in her chest at his sudden entrance, but nevertheless Penny just rolled her eyes and tugged him into the room by his elbow, shutting the door behind him. "Get in here, lover boy. I've got a bone to pick with you, too."

Ned audibly swallowed, shuffling over by MJ with a guilty expression.

She crossed her arms. "So what were you both doing out of the opera house and out in the Carnival? You know, the place where I had specifically told you both to avoid so as not to get burned to death by a giant fire monster?"

Ned cringed, but MJ had steeled herself by this point, a cool expression taking over her features. "I don't know about this nerd over here, but I had to chase after your boyfriend, who was chasing after you. For what it's worth, I did try to drag him back to the opera."

Penny's shoulders tensed, her armor now cracked. "Flash tried to go after me? He could have gotten hurt!"

"My thoughts exactly," MJ said, nodding emphatically. "He just didn't buy your excuses, or mine. And then when all hell broke loose, he really started to panic."

"Tell me," Penny started, a light wave of dizziness washing over her, "tell me you guys didn't run… you didn't run towards the fight, did you?"

MJ's grim silence was all the confirmation Penny needed. Both of her hands flew to her mouth.

"But we're both fine," MJ hastily added, reaching towards her friend to place a hand on her shoulder. "He was worried that, what with your inevitable magnetism for danger, you would've been right there in the square, but we found shelter once he got close enough to see that Spider-Man and Mysterio had already cleared the area. Well," she paused, her gaze shifting towards Ned, "Almost cleared it."

Ned shot her a dirty look. "Geez, way to throw me under the bus."

"Why were you and Betty on that ferris wheel, Ned?" Penny stepped between them, bringing his attention back towards herself.

He scratched the back of his head, refusing to make eye contact. "Well, Betty saw that you and Flash had disappeared, and then she saw MJ sneak out, and she thought you all were going to the Carnival and didn't want to be left out, sooo…"

"Sooo you decided to risk getting killed to appease your girlfriend?" MJ deadpanned.

"Hey, if you hadn't snuck out, she wouldn't have gone too," Ned said hotly. "At first she just thought Flash and Penny were making out in the bathroom-"

"Um," Penny squeaked.

"-But then you had to get up and leave, and she became convinced that everyone was partying without us!"

"You could have told her you wanted to stay," MJ protested, ignoring the flushing girl next to her.

"Okay guys, we're spiraling a little here," Penny said, fiercely batting the new knowledge that Flash had run after her and the images of them snogging in a bathroom out of her mind. "At this point, I don't even care anymore. I'm just glad that we're all safe."

That seemed to strike something in Ned. His frustration wilted away, and he turned to her with big, puppy dog eyes. "Oh my God, Penny! We almost died! You saved us! That was so scary, dude!"

And thus Penny found herself in her third, bone-crushing hug of the day. He nearly knocked the breath out of her- a true feat, considering her superhuman abilities.

She smiled softly when she felt MJ join in, wrapping a slender arm around her waist and burying her face in Ned's back. For a while they all just sat there, tangled up in each other, enjoying each other's warmth and company.

"There aren't any more of those things out there, are there, Penny?" Ned's voice was small when he spoke, his tone uncertain. "You and Mysterio destroyed them all, right?"

"Yeah, Ned," Penny said, rubbing soothing circles on his back. "We're in the clear. There will be no more near death experiences on this trip… or what's left of it, anyway."

Ned sighed. "Damn it. There's no way I'll get to meet Nick Fury, then- OW!"

He abruptly pulled himself back, rubbing the shoulder where MJ had flicked him. Penny fell into a fit of giggles, and Ned and MJ's argument resumed in full force.

MJ was true to her word. Approximately five minutes later she was shoving her out the door, winking and wishing her good luck on her "date."

The last thing she caught before the door closed behind her was Ned's incredulous voice saying "Penny's dating somebody? But I thought she liked Flash-"

And then the heavy hardwood cut him off, leaving her alone in the hallway.

There was a beat of silence as she stared at the door in acute shock. Am I in the Twilight Zone? Since when is Ned perceptive?

Penny let out an awkward, breathy chuckle, crossing her arms tight against her chest in an attempt to calm herself.

There was no reason to be nervous. Flash liked her. She liked Flash. He wanted to talk to her. She wanted to talk to him. They both could've died that night, but they were both alive and standing, and now they were going to talk about their not-so-platonic feelings. This was fine. Super fine.

So why was her heart beating so hard that it felt like it might fly out of her chest?

She took in a steeling breath and forced her feet to move, heading towards the elevator down the hall.

The same elevator she and Flash had almost kissed in earlier that day-

Don't think about it don't think about it don't think about it-

She pressed the down button, crossing her arms and tapping her foot impatiently as she waited for the elevator to reach her level. This conversation was long overdue. And as this was their last night in Europe, there was no delaying it further.

A slow smile slid across her face. The tightness in her chest loosened. This was Flash. The obnoxious nerd she's known practically her whole life. The jerk-turned-total-softie who had stolen her heart without her even noticing.

The doors opened. Still grinning, she quickly stepped inside, pressing the button that would take her down to the lobby.

And just as they began sliding close, a hand shot through the crack, forcing them back open again.

Her heart swelled... and then immediately sank.

Brad Davis stepped in, eyebrows raising at the sight of her. She scowled back.

"Penny?"

"Brad."

This was going to be an uncomfortable ride down.