"So, what do you think?" Peni asked, regarding Gwen's opinion on her playlist they've been listening to.

"Well, it's interesting. Never thought rock and electronica could go together till now. But one of the singers sounds so autotuned it's painful."

"Autotuned? …Oh." She stopped her sketching and replayed a certain song, skipping to the vocals. "You mean this singer?"

"Yeah. You hear it too, right?"

Peni giggled. "That's not autotune; that's a completely computerised voice."

"…You mean the voice was made by a computer?"

"Yep. You see, the singer doesn't exist. She's a fictional android idol in Japan. Though, like other singers, she also makes appearances at concerts, but only through a hologram."

"Wow. The whole concept of her is… disturbing."

"Hehe."

Some noise happened outside, intriguing Gwen to check it out through the window. It was the noise of the rest of the Spider gang leaving, presumably for training again. Having an idea in mind, she turns to her friend in the room. "You're not sick anymore, right?"

"More or less."

"Well, the others are off for training, I think. Wanna take a break and hang out with them?"

"Okay."

After Gwen told the others outside to hold up, both girls left the room and stopped at the top of the staircase. She ensured the smaller girl could hold onto while taking slow steps. Though as soon as Peni landed her foot on the first step, she flinched at the shock it sent. She tried to steel herself. I should go slower. It's not even that many step— "Wah!" she yelped, realising Gwen had lifted her and is now carrying her. "My hero," she exclaims, making Gwen chuckle.

Apparently, Gwen excused herself to grab something from the kitchen, but then they met up with the others afterwards.

The walk was short, and May had led everyone to an open field that had trees over one side, and a river across the other. The open area was filled with bottles and thin sticks in various distances, angles and heights. They must've been set up from yesterday.

Miles did a warmup, deciding to put speed as his priority and making sure to get only one attempt at each target; if he missed it, he'll forget about it and move onto the next one.

One can say his speed has improved, because he literally did go faster, but his accuracy plummeted, managing to hit a measly 11% of targets. "I swear I did better last time," he said to Gwen and Peni. His embarrassment wasn't showing through his mask, but it was shown through his tone.

They looked back at him with a smug. "I'm sure you did," said the taller girl.

"If it makes you feel better," consoled Peni, "You're already doing better than I can without my robot."

The three turned to Peter approaching them. "Alright, let's forget about trying to be fast. For now, let's work on adding pressure to your aiming."

Before the man would go and replace the hit targets—which there weren't that many to begin with—Gwen made a request. "Mind if I have a go? I wanna try as fast as I can too."

"Sure. You got your web slinger with you?"

She took hers out of her pockets. "Yeah."

"I hope you're not just trying to show off," Miles said as the man went to replace the targets.

Meanwhile, Gwen was preparing her web slingers. "What? No, I wouldn't. …I mean, sure, my attempt will probably look a million times better than yours, but I wouldn't feel bad about it. We all had to start somewhere. Just pick your style and stick to it."

Peter had finished replacing the targets. "It's all set up."

"Thanks. Mind telling me to begin when I least expect it?"

"Sure."

Peni, feeling interested in her best friend's performance, took out her console and started recording the footage, while Gwen kept her eyes closed and tried to remain calm.

It continued like this for at least twenty seconds, until Peter yelled "Now!" out of nowhere, making Gwen immediately strafe and shoot at her targets. Within the first ten seconds, she had already surpassed Miles's score. Peni was staring and appreciating the graceful turns and spins done by the girl. It looked like she was a modern ballerina doing an intense dance off. Her body shape complimented the dance and she looked stunning. It made Peni wonder how the girl would look doing this in her Spider suit rather than May's pyjamas. Her style would certainly serve a distraction to enemies, just like how it was distracting Peni from noticing Gwen missing a lot of shots.

"How're you doing?"

"Eh?" Peni ended the recording and turned to May who had asked that. "Oh. I'm doing better. Um… thanks, for taking care of me."

"Well, it was my pleasure. I couldn't leave you to suffer," the lady said wholeheartedly, watching Gwen's performance. "She ain't doing so bad, huh?"

"I know, right?" Peni then turned to face the lady when she heard her sigh and saw an expression of content and yearning. "Something wrong?"

"Oh, not really. I'm just thinking about how this takes me back. You know, when Peter—my Peter—was still alive, I'd take him here for practice sometimes and I'd watch him like this. And here I am, doing the same thing for six Spider-People who… strangely already feel like family. It makes me feel… happy to relive these moments I thought I'd never have again.

Indeed, Peni remembered when she, Benjamin and Porker first paid a visit to the lady for aid. She was shocked to say the least, especially by Benjamin because of his resemblance to this dimension's Peter that was too close for comfort. Because of that, she'd regularly excuse herself to grieve over her own Peter. It was a hard time for them. But, thanks to the three providing their own support, they helped her get over him. She learned to be happy for the life he lived as well as the happiness he gave to everyone.

The little girl placed a hand on the lady's shoulder, who happily rubbed hers in return before asking, "How's Gwen doing? You know, with her Peter?"

"Hmm. I'm not sure. She hasn't talked about him in a while."

"I suppose it would be a good idea to ask, just to make sure. If she gets upset, I know you'll be there to pick her up. You two have become quite inseparable ever since you met."

"Hehe, she's amazing."

"You know, when I told her about your recovery this morning, she was thrilled. She cares for you, and I can tell she doesn't wanna leave your side."

"I don't wanna leave hers either. She's really nice, and helped me a lot too, regarding my father."

"That's great."

It was, but she also wanted to get to know the taller girl more; what her life is like; what she's studying; what her goals are… "I wanna learn more about her life back home."

"Aww. I think that will make her happy. There's nothing wrong with wanting to get closer and understand each other more."

"Thanks, Aunt May." She's more determined to ask about it when the time feels right.

The lady chuckled. "It's strange having other people call me Aunt, but if it's you guys, I could get used to it."

After the time trial was over, they watched Gwen seemingly congratulated for her effort by Peter and Miles before she approached them. She looked exhausted as she wiped sweat off her face. "I got 43%"

May also congratulated her. "Great job."

"You really think so? It's not exactly a high number…"

"You still looked great," Peni reassured.

Benjamin and Porker stepped in too, with the prior speaking first. "She's right. I don't think I can do as good with my own web slingers."

"And that was a test of speed, so that number would be your worst-case scenario. Imagine how much better you do without the pressure."

"I guess I didn't think of it like that. Thanks, guys," Gwen admitted, and sighed. "I could use a rest, actually."

"Me too," Peni complained, "I've been standing around all day."

May pointed them to an inviting bench sitting next to the river. "In that case, why don't you two take a seat right over there? It's a nice spot."

Taking the lady's advice, the girls made their way over there and sat down. The bench felt a lot better than it looked, mostly thanks to the pillows on the seats. As for the bench itself, it looked handmade; not the kind you'd buy as DIY kits from furniture stores, but the kind that suggests the bench's material came from the very trees surrounding the scenery. Speaking of which, the river nearby was clean and free of trash, and the sound emitting from the current was soothing. Shortly, the girls already felt more relaxed. It was no wonder May recommended this spot.

Gwen turned to see Peni peacefully admiring the flowing water, until the latter noticed it and looked back at her. "You alright?" the little girl asked.

"Yeah. Just still a little tired."

"You wanna see how you did?"

"Oh? You recorded me?"

"Yeah," she answered, showing the girl the recorded footage on her console. Gwen was flattered to have been recorded but tried paying attention to herself in the video.

Despite the score, she was actually impressed with herself. Seeing herself through Peni's point of view, it made sense. "I kinda see why you think I looked good."

"I know, right? It's like really badass ballet."

"Really?" Gwen said, chuckling at the coincidental comparison. "You know, ballet was something I did in my childhood. I liked the freedom I felt when I moved that way, so I picked it as my style."

"I see." So, Gwen used to do ballet. Interesting. Peni was amused at the thought of it.

"…You're picturing me doing actual ballet, aren't you?"

"Can you blame me? You put the idea in my head."

Gwen shook her head, "I know, but it's still a bit embarrassing…"

"I think it suits you. So elegant."

"Heh. Thanks. You're, uh, not sure you're sick anymore?"

"Yeah, I don't feel bad or anything. Why?"

"I remember you asking for something yesterday. Don't tell May."

"I did?" Peni saw the other girl smiling and then bringing out something from her pockets she had retrieved from the kitchen earlier: it was a can of soda! Peni beamed and wasted no time opening it. "Oh, that! Aw, you're the best, Gwen!"

Gwen didn't know if she was doing May a favour, by handing a fizzy drink to a recovering person who could easily use something more beneficial to the body. But seeing the smile on Peni's face made it worth it. The little girl—after taking the first few eager gulps—made a face that said she hadn't tasted something like this in a while. She held the can to Gwen, wordlessly offering some of it, and the other girl wordlessly accepted it. She giggled when she saw Gwen make the same face after tasting it.

After they kept trading sips, the can was inevitably empty. Peni felt like checking up on something. "So, uh… How are things with you and… you know, your Peter? If you don't mind me asking."

"Well… Thinking about him still hurts a little. But I'm getting there. Thanks for checking."

Peni smiled warmly. "No problem. I just wanna make sure you're doing okay."

Gwen smiled at that for a moment. "It's weird, you know? There was a Peter here who has no idea who I am, and I get sad thinking about him."

"…Well, if you mean weird by unusual, which in turns means uncommon, then yeah, it's weird. I mean, it's not common for someone to be aware of an alternate dimensional version of somebody they've lost."

That amused Gwen enough to make her laugh. "You decide now's a good time to be a smartass?"

Peni smiled meekly. "Hehe. Just trying to lighten things up."

"I know. You're doing that just by being here…"

Peni blushed. While she was happy to know that, she wanted Gwen to know she'll always be here for her. She tried showing that by placing her palm on Gwen's hand. Despite her own hand being smaller, she still managed to give Gwen's a squeeze, letting the taller girl know she's always just within arms reach for anything. She noticed Gwen tensing up at the gesture and assumed it was just her not being used to the friendship experience yet. Thankfully, Gwen sighed and leaned her shoulder on Peni's, closing her eyes.

This was like on the night they first met: opening up to each other and letting out their emotions, expressing their support to the other, leaning on each other in silent company, and then ending with them sleeping together for comfort.

Peni moved away, breaking the shoulder contact. Gwen balanced herself and looked in confusion, to see the smaller girl had managed to turn on the seat to face her more directly. She asked Gwen to do the same, and when she did, Peni leaned in for an embrace, sinking her head into her best friend's shoulder. Before Gwen could relish this refreshing hug, she wanted to know if Peni was hurt or something. "Are you okay?"

"Mm-hmm. You know, I won't leave your side. I wanted to show that through a hug." Before Peni could ask whether it was okay, she felt the taller girl quickly squeezing her in return, minding the waist of course. She smiled and took that as a yes.

Gwen was smiling too. She hasn't had a hug with anyone else but her dad in ages, and even his hugs were rare. And here she is, holding her best friend close. Her warm, cuddly body; her slow, calm breathing; her messy, soft hair. It felt too good, like it did for Peni, feeling safe in Gwen's arms and knowing she's just as here for her as vice versa.

Peni felt she should break the hug now; any longer and she'll probably end up falling asleep. Never mind, that doesn't sound like a bad idea, especially since she's been having low energy as of late. Though her trip to slumber was cancelled once she heard the other girl's breathing get heavier. "Gwen? You alright?"

Gwen broke the hug and wiped at her redder face and unshed eyes. "Yeah… It's just, I haven't had a hug in forever. They made me feel so good. I forgot how much I missed them."

"Aw…" Peni went and initiated another comforting hug, which was gladly returned. "Well, you can always hug me. I love them too."

"Heh. I'll keep that in mind." Gwen's smile was making its comeback. "And you can hug me too, when you feel like it."

They settled for watching the training evolve in silence. Peter was proving his reflexes by doing a sideward roll and then immediately hitting almost all of the bottles and branch sticks. Gwen realised that for a guy who seemed depressed and lazy, Peter had the expertise of a Spider-Man where it counts. It made her wonder what happened in his life that made him the way he is. She wondered the same about Benjamin, who was clearly the most solemn one. Maybe he has been through tougher times. Who knows? Porker on the other hand… Well, for all she knows, he might have been through stuff as well and is doing a good job at hiding it. Maybe she'll find out more about them one day.

So far, she and Peni have revealed their losses and interests to each other, but she wants to know more about the little girl's life back in her dimension. She took a look at the little girl, who… fell asleep in her arms. Gwen smiled at the endearing sight. She supposed she'll save the chat for the next time when they're more alone and have all the time in the world.

It was a full house at the dining table for lunch. Gwen hadn't noticed Peni focusing and staring into space until Benjamin pointed it out. "Peni? Something bugging you?"

The girl remained in silence for a bit longer before eventually replying with a smile. "Funny you use the word bugging. I've been hearing back from Bitsy. She's set up camp at Alchemax cuz that's where the important meetings will happen."

Peter got interested. "Really? So, what's been going on there since our last visit?"

"Apparently, since you and Miles broke into it, they've upped the security. They even put detectors in the vents. They're expecting us to come back for the data."

Porker laid back on his seat. "Well, we've already got that backed up thanks to you, so they're just wasting their time. I say we let 'em."

When they thought the discussion would end there, May noticed a flaw with that idea. "I don't think we should leave it at that. Those guys aren't stupid, especially not Liv. They know Spider-Man doesn't give up. So, if it stays like this where we never go back to the place, they'll figure out it's because we never needed to. Put two and two together, they'll assume we still have the data and then they'll come after us again."

Everyone began brainstorming during this suddenly quiet meal until Peter snapped his fingers. "Got it. We'll send decoys. One group of us will break into the place and pretend to steal the data. Then, we'll try to get caught on purpose, but try not to make it look obvious. Then we make a break for it. We take turns on repeating the routine every couple of days to keep them convinced we're not up to something."

The listeners contemplated until Gwen critiqued on it. "That's actually not a bad plan, but what if you run into Kingpin or Liv? Last time I saw you guys trying to escape from Liv, you looked like you passed out on a tree with Miles helplessly beside you."

"Ah. Okay, I may have been stunned by a tree, but I was just too distracted telling Miles here how proud I was of his progress."

"Aw, thanks, Peter," Miles said with a smile, which shortly disappeared. "…Wait, you're not putting the blame on me, are you?"

"No, no, of course not."

"Okay, good. But didn't your Spidey senses tingle when you were gonna hit the tree?"

"They did! But I thought my senses were warning me about Liv who was after us, so… I turned my head around instead."

May raised a brow. "Huh. I guess even Spidey senses can't save you if you yourself aren't aware enough. So, while Peter's plan sounds decent, having Liv and Kingpin around will make things real tricky. It wouldn't be worth the danger if all we're doing is pretending to steal back the data."

Peni was the one to snap her fingers this time. "Got it! We can still go with Peter's plan, but not after we do this: one group will carry my school bag to a blind spot outside Alchemax and leave it there. The bag will be filled with cameras, sensors and jammers.

"Bitsy will take it from there. She'll go into the bag and take each piece of equipment to various places around the building. Eventually, the place can be surveyed by me through the computer, inside and out, while the jammers will make Alchemax's detectors unresponsive.

"Then we do the decoy plan like Peter said, where we pretend to steal from them. As for Liv and Kingpin, I'll keep an eye on them through the computer and advise you where to go so you don't get too close to them. How does that sound?"

They all looked at each other before expressing their approval at the plan and praising the girl.

"Can we take a look at these devices you'll be putting in the schoolbag?" May asked.

"I haven't made them yet, but they'll be about…" she makes a circle with her fingers, with a diameter of about half a centimetre, "…this size."

"I see. How many are we talking?"

"Bitsy thinks at least fifty of each should do if we want to cover all the essential places of the building as well as the outside. I'll start making them after dinner, so we should be able to carry out the plan tomorrow."

"Are you sure you're okay with this?" Benjamin said, "You've already got goobers to make, as well as my gun to fix. Not to mention you're a little weak from sustaining an injury. The last thing we wanna do is overwork you."

"It's nothing, you know? I'll be staying at home anyway, so I can just rest if I need to. Plus, my robot will be making the surveillance devices on its own, so I can work on the gun and goobers in the meantime."

"I can help," offered May, "If you just give me the data, I can take the goobers off your hands and make them myself. That way, you'll have only the gun to work on."

Peni accepted the offer gratefully. "Great. Thanks."

The rest of the day has been just as productive as the training earlier. Gwen remained on the bed, playing games on Peni's console, while the little girl stood at the desk, still working on the revolver. Meanwhile, Peni's robot, still stationary on the window, was mass producing miniscule surveillance devices, waiting to be packaged in her school bag. In terms of progress with the gun, she has reproduced most of the parts. The remaining and most important pieces were the barrel, cylinder and grip.

Peni yawned. She'll work on those pieces tomorrow. Gwen heard the yawn and took that as her queue to approach the girl, who was wearing her protective goggles. Cute. "You ready to take a break?"

She pulled up the goggles and rubbed her tired eyes. "Mm-hmm…"

"You know, thanks for helping us with this. I don't know if the others told you this, but you're a pretty big help. I know May is helping you by making the goobers. …Kinda wish I could help too."

Peni was packing her tools away, half-lidded and smiling. "You already are. It's nice having someone keep me company when I'm working." She then turned to Gwen and held her arms out. "But if you wanna help that badly, then I could use a hug right now."

"Why not?" Gwen showed no objection, pulling the girl into her arms. She blushed when she noticed Peni stuffing her face into her chest, but she hugged tighter, like she was encouraging it. It didn't feel bad at all. Of all the times they've hugged so far, she just felt warmer and lighter. It was already kind of addicting. Though, she couldn't get the full hugging experience yet as she has to avoid touching the waist area until it heals up.

Peni was already feeling like falling asleep in the hug like last time. But how could she not? She was tired, and having Gwen's larger body hold her like that made her feel like she didn't have to do a thing in the world. And then there's the soft warmth of the taller girl's boobs around her face. It felt intoxicating, and she was glad Gwen didn't seem to mind. She heard Gwen's amused voice. "You're gonna fall if you sleep now. Come on, let's go to bed first."

"Let's go to bed first," Peni repeated in her head, getting a little red at the thought. Sounds nice. Having an idea, she shifted her head upwards to see the girl from her chest, getting redder but maintaining her eye contact and smile. "I was wondering… since we both like hugging so much, why don't we do it while sleeping?"

Holding Peni's hand was already nice. But holding Peni herself? It sounded intimate but also very tempting, not failing to make Gwen flushed. Like Peni, she assumed best friends can cuddle in their sleep, so why not? She felt the little girl's body in her arms and imagined how good it would feel to sleep with her like that. But then her mind travelled to the smaller girl's waist, and she realised this idea will sadly have to be delayed. "As awesome as that sounds… we really should wait until your waist gets better. I don't wanna keep waking you because I keep accidentally touching it."

Peni's smile got softer. "…Oh. I guess you have a point."

Despite the softer smile staying as a smile, Gwen still saw the disappointment in it, and was quick to try to make it up to her. "We can still hold hands in the meantime like we've been doing."

That soft smile got bigger again. "Sounds good."

They were both looking forward to that wound healing up.