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Time seemed to stretch as Nia struggled to maintain her composure. She cast frequent glances toward the closet, silently willing Hobie to stay still and silent. The muffled sounds of her father's voice blended with her racing thoughts, amplifying her anxiety.
"All right then darling, I'll leave you to your things. Just don't forget that I have a dinner tonight so I won't be home till late" Emilio told her, ruffling the top of her head and messing her locks up.
"Dad stop" she chuckled "Alright I'll see you tomorrow"
With her father's footsteps fading into the distance, Nia rushed to the closet, her heart pounding with a mixture of excitement and relief. She swung open the door to find Hobie, still crouched down but wearing a mischievous grin.
"You did it!" Nia exclaimed, her voice a mixture of triumph and admiration.
"Piece of cake," he replied with a wink, Hobie nodded, stretching his legs and standing up.
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"So. What do you want to do?" Hobie asked her as he plopped down on her bed spreading his arms out and taking off his mask.
"I was thinking of giving you a little tour of my city" Nia said, pulling some of her father's old clothes from the back of her closet and throwing them at the male.
Hobie stared at the large black shirt with a raised eyebrow and began to take off his spider suit. Nia unashamedly stared as he pulled his upper part down. At first glance he was extremely skinny for all the exercise he did but he was actually toned. His Ann's weren't protruding but they were there and his arms were full of lean muscle.
"Like what you see love?" Hobie teased her when he saw her staring.
"If I said yes what would you do?" she teased back at him.
Hobie stood from the bed, slowly stalking closer to her with his suit still removed from his upper torso. Nia remained still as he got closer and closer to her until he was backing her up to the wall behind her. His finger made its way under her chin and forced Nia to raise her chin and meet his eyes.
"What do you think I should do?" Hobie asked her.
Nia didn't answer as she held her breath, not feeling how Venom seeped out of her body in black goo and hide in her night table.
"Honestly cheesy humans...mumble mumble...can't help themselves...mumble mumble" the symbiote said to himself.
Nia's lips parted ever so slightly as Hobie bent down closer and closer to her only to see him smirk and pull away.
"Go on outside love. Let me change would ya?" he told her.
Nia was more than shocked when he pushed her lightly outside her own room and closed the door behind her back.
"Venom" she called out for the symbiote who slithered under the small gap of the bedroom and up her arm "What is this?"
"What is what?" Venom asked her back.
"I feel...weird around Hobie. Tingly" Nia placed the palm of her hand on her chest and pressed down lightly "Right here"
"Oh I heard about this" the symbiote said to her "I think it was called heartburn"
"Heartburn? You think I have heartburn?" Nia's eyebrow raised at his declaration "Nevermind. I'll figure it out myself"
"It could very easily be. Hey! Listen to me!" Venom shouted in her head as she walked down to her kitchen to make herself something to eat.
After a few minutes, Hobie also came down wearing the over large black shirt and dark grey sweatpants Nia actually recognised as her own. She smiled to herself when she saw the outfit he was wearing, turning back to the smoothie she was making.
"What are ya making there love?" Hobie asked her as he came around her.
"Just a smoothie, you want some?" she asked him as she tried to keep the butterflies in her stomach from tumbling around.
"Oh. Can you make me one too love?" Hobie asked, hopping onto the small kitchen island and webbing an apple over to himself, biting into it.
Nia nodded and reached for a second blender, placing it on the counter next to her. As the noisy blades whirred to life, she quickly gathered the ingredients for Hobie's smoothie, trying to maintain her focus despite the whirlwind of emotions swirling inside her.
She tossed in a handful of frozen berries, a splash of almond milk, and a dollop of Greek yogurt, carefully measuring each ingredient how he usually liked it. As she blended the concoction, she stole glances at Hobie, who was perched on the kitchen island, taking casual bites out of the apple until there was nothing more left from it but the pit.
The sound of the blender masked the sound of her racing heartbeat, and she took a deep breath to steady herself. She couldn't help but feel a mix of excitement and nervousness whenever Hobie was around. It was as if their friendship added an electrifying spark to even the simplest of moments.
She wasn't able to act on them yet and she wasn't even sure how she would if she could. It was the first time in her life she felt like that. After a few moments, Nia turned off the blender and poured the smoothie into a glass, sliding it across the counter toward Hobie.
"There you go" she said, a faint blush creeping onto her cheeks.
"Thanks, love. You always know how to make the best smoothies" Hobie flashed her a grateful smile, his eyes sparkling with mischief.
Nia couldn't help but smile back, her worries momentarily forgotten. They sat together in the kitchen, sipping their smoothies.
Once the drinks were gone and put in the dishwasher, Nia and Hobie walked out of the house.
"Where do you want to go?" Nia asked him with her hands behind her head.
"Wherever you want to take me love" Hobie told her.
"Can't you call me by my name?" Nia said as she locked the door behind her.
