𝐏𝐔𝐙𝐙𝐋𝐄, 𝗵𝗼𝗯𝗶𝗲 𝗯𝗿𝗼𝘄𝗻¹

[1.3] Home

EARTH 5050 | Manhattan, NYC
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"Home!" Gwen exclaimed, letting her body fall on the soft mattress of Marina's bed. The portal closed once Marina walked through it, and she let out a sigh of relief as she sat down on the couch.

Gwen Stacy was new to Spider-Society, and was quick to make friends with Marina and Hobie. Upon finding out that Gwen had run away from home, Marina suggested Gwen stay over at her home whenever she wanted to. Hobie offered his home as well, and from time to time, Gwen would switch from Marina's home, to Hobie's.

She'd often joke that she was a child of divorce, with how she moves from Marina's to Hobie's every time. While Hobie found amusement in it, Marina seemed rather embarrassed by it.

"Don't get me wrong, I love Hobie's place but your house just feels... so comfy, you know?" Gwen stared up at the ceiling. Marina's lips curved up into a soft smile, "thank you. It's a bit dusty though, if you ask me. I haven't cleaned in a while."

"I can help you clean!"

The attention of the two was caught by the bark that echoed from Marina's kitchen. Soon, a Border Collie came running towards Marina. "Cosmo! Hi honey." She beamed, the dog happily licking her cheeks.

"Cosmo, buddy!" Gwen rushed to Marina's side, petting the dog who leaned into her touch. "You missed me, didn't you? I know you did." The blonde chuckled, Cosmo barking at her as if in agreement. Cosmo was a brown and white Border Collie, wearing a black collar that was gifted by Hobie.

Marina rarely invites Hobie to her own home, but when Gwen arrived, she thought it was about time Hobie saw where she came from. She didn't want him to feel betrayed, since she's inviting Gwen over to her house despite only meeting her for a month or two.

Gwen's cheeks flushed red as her stomach rumbled. Blinking at the younger girl, Marina couldn't help but laugh. "Want me to cook something for us before we clean?" She tilted her head, and Gwen's eyes sparkled in excitement. "Oh my gosh, yes please! I miss your cooking."

Marina and Gwen fell on the carpet, letting out a breath of relief as they finally finished cleaning up Marina's 'dusty' apartment. There wasn't much to clean, and Gwen had to pretend like she was actually cleaning the shelves even though she spotted zero proof of dust around the apartment.

Unlike Hobie's apartment where everything was placed and hidden in plain sight, Marina's items were neatly organized, and she had no struggle in trying to look for items that she needed.

"Thank you for helping me, Gwen." Marina thanked her friend with a sweet smile. "Anytime." Gwen grinned. The both of them quickly sat up at the sound of a portal opening, their senses tingling as they awaited for who or what was going to come out of the portal.

Hobart Brown. Just him. The male stepped off the portal, hands placed in his pockets as he looked around the apartment. He spotted the two sitting on the ground, and raised an eyebrow at them. "Did I wake you?" He jokingly asked, and Marina shook her head, taking his question seriously.

"Me and Gwen just finished cleaning up the apartment." Marina stated, getting up from the ground. Hobie blinked, and traced his hands across the smooth oak table beside him. "Ion think there's anything else in need of cleaning in your apartment, luv. Your place's shiny as always." He shrugged.

Marina lightly laughed at his statement. "It was really dusty before you got here." She wiped her hands on her pants. Hobie glanced at Gwen, who shook her head with a small smile. She crossed her arms, and comfortably sat on the couch. "What are you doing here?"

"What? Can't visit my mates now?" Hobie removed his guitar, placing it down on the floor before he sat beside Gwen. "Just asking, dude. You arrived too late, Mari just cooked the best dinner ever!" She beamed. Marina laughed shyly, rubbing her nape. "There's still some left, if you'd like?"

Hobie grinned. "I'm famished!" He stood back up once again, and welcomed himself to Marina's kitchen. Although he barely visited Marina's universe, he was quite familiar with where things were placed. He grabbed a plate for himself, taking some food Marina cooked before comfortably sitting down on the dining table.

Marina waited for him to eat, eager to know what Hobie thought of the dish she cooked. "It's um... a recipe from my Aunt May." She said, playing with the hem of her shirt. Gwen glanced at her with a smile, leaning on the doorframe.

"Is it? This is amazing, mate!" Hobie took another big bite, leaning back on the chair. "Who knew?" He wiped the corner of his lips with his thumb, a smile forming on his face. Marina jumped on her toes, smiling widely. "I did! Marina is the best chef out there, maybe even better than Gordon Ramsey!" Gwen laughed, receiving looks from the two.

"What? You guys don't have a Ramsey in your universe?"

Marina's universe, Earth 5050 was led by President Tony Stark. It was a filthy rich universe, and there was a clear division between the privileged and unprivileged. Robots, high-tech cars, and crazy fucking inflation. Earth 5050 has everything a person can expect from an egotistic genius president.

The trio stood by the balcony of Marina's apartment, looking up at the purple night skies. "I know this might be the hundredth time I'm saying this, Mari, but —"

"My earth is extremely cool?" Marina finished Gwen's sentence, a playful smile plastered on her face. Gwen nodded with a laugh, leaning over the cold metal railings. "Just — How is this all even possible, man?! Flying cars, this is some extremely cool shit!" Gwen stared up, jaw dropping as a fast flying car flew right pass by them.

Marina shook her head, and crossed her arms over her chest. "I haven't completely gotten the grasp of it, but as far as I know — these flying cars are powered by fusion reactors, and then they levitate with ion propulsion." She explained. The other two blinked at her, understanding absolutely nothing that just came out of her mouth.

Marina glanced between the both of them, feeling embarrassed. "Oh... I'm sorry." She mumbled shyly, turning her head down, and focusing on the people walking down the street.

"All good." Gwen grinned, patting her friend's back gently. "I'm going to sleep, night guys." A yawn escaped the blonde's lips before she headed back inside, sleeping on the extended bed that Marina had set up for her when she first arrived here. "Goodnight." Marina watched her friend leave, a soft smile on her face.

She turned to Hobie, and caught him already staring back at her. "How about you, Hobie? Not tired yet?" Marina asked. "Nah. S'pretty hard to fall asleep when you got the whole world to carry on your shoulders." Hobie answered, turning away from Marina, and then down on the streets.

"I guess you have a point." Marina took a step closer to Hobie, leaning on him as the both of them watched the busy streets below them in peace.

Feeling a nuzzle on her leg, Marina looked down to see Cosmo staring up at the two. "Oh — Hey honey." She crouched down, petting Cosmo. Hobie smiled, leaning on the railing as he watched Marina scratch the back of her pet's ears.

"You likin' that collar I gave ya?" Hobie asked Cosmo, whose tail wagged happily. "Course you did." He grinned.

edited