"All these things are really weird, truly."
Peter was once again sitting in the hotel lounge. He had arrived in Puerto Rico on the first day, solved a major incident called the Cosmic Cube crisis, and then went on a date with Gwen the next day. In the afternoon, they even visited a US military exhibition which, as expected, showcased a lot of advanced technology inaccessible to the outside world, clearly meant to tempt nerds.
[You went on a date with one girl the day before, and you kissed her, more than once. And the next day, you're going on a date with another girl, so you think it's weird. Honestly, it's because your morals are too high. I guarantee Johnny Storm would handle this situation with total ease.]
"Uh, heh heh."
One benefit of having a symbiote is that you'll never be bored, and one drawback of having a symbiote is that his conversational style is very similar to yours.
If you're already awkward, it just makes things worse.
[What a pity. If you were French or lived three hundred years ago, you probably wouldn't have this problem.]
"Shut up, seriously, this whole thing is just too strange. Should I really make a choice, or... the problem is..."
Peter was about to say something, but seemed to sense something, turned around, and stood up. Cindy walked towards him, wearing a white, off-the-shoulder evening gown and high heels to make her about the same height as him. She didn't wear much makeup, or perhaps she was too nervous to put any on.
Cindy just walked up to Peter, nervously tucked her hair behind her ear, and stammered, "Um... sorry, Peter, for making you wait. Could... could we leave now?"
Peter nodded blankly, and Venom's commentary sounded in his ear.
[Wow, looks like someone temporarily couldn't make a decision and is now going on a date with the other girl the next day.]
Cindy and Gwen chose completely different dating routes, or to be frank—Cindy Moon simply didn't know how to date.
That challenge to one-up Gwen was likely a spur-of-the-moment reaction after overhearing Gwen's date invitation. After that, she probably became a nervous wreck.
She had no idea how to plan the morning. She stammered about seeing a movie together, but she didn't even know what movie she wanted to see.
"It's alright, relax, Cindy. Just pretend... we're just hanging out, relax."
Peter looked around and draped his jacket over Cindy. Cindy first said "Thank you," then paused, looking at Peter strangely, "I'm not cold..."
"I know, we won't get cold, but it's November, and it's best to wear a couple of extra layers so passersby don't get suspicious."
"S-sorry."
"No, it's fine... you don't need to apologize."
[Perhaps the one who should apologize is the guy who should have figured out a strategy since the moment the girl took the initiative to kiss him, back when there was only one girl.]
Shut up, Venom.
[You should be thankful that only two members of the opposite sex have a desire for reproduction with you right now. You'll undoubtedly attract more later.]
Peter vowed that this was the first time he so desperately wished Venom would really shut up. He sighed and then comforted Cindy, "It's fine, like I said, let's just... hang out casually. Is there anywhere you want to go?"
"An amusement park?" Cindy asked tentatively. After seeing Peter not refuse, she continued, "Maybe a roller coaster or something? I used to be really scared and never dared to ride them. Now..."
"Agent Silk definitely won't be scared of a roller coaster."
Peter smiled. "Then let's go."
An hour later, Cindy, who was clutching Peter's arm, was shaken by him and looked around blankly. "Is that... it?"
"Yeah."
Cindy descended from the roller coaster with a slight sense of disillusionment. There was no thrill or excitement, or rather, she was no longer able to feel a rush from roller coasters, drop towers, or pirate ships.
Worse, she felt like her performance was awful.
"I'm sorry, I'm really sorry. I messed up, I apologize."
"No, no, no, it's fine. I actually don't know how to date either. If I did, maybe things would be better."
Peter quickly tried to reassure Cindy. Yesterday, Gwen was saying how often he apologized, but today, Cindy was practically "Miss Sorry," apologizing all day long.
She looked like she was about to cry.
"The most important thing about going out is having fun, right? I had a lot of fun. If worst comes to worst... we still have the afternoon, right? We could go to the observatory, where we could do experiments or read together, and then there's the evening. This is the equatorial region, we might be able to see stars that aren't visible in the Northern Hemisphere..."
Cindy didn't speak, but just hugged Peter. Peter smiled helplessly, not knowing what to say. He simply let Cindy bury her face in his chest.
For a moment, Cindy thought about asking Peter if he could proactively kiss her, but then decided she had been embarrassing enough for one day and couldn't bring herself to say it.
She just let go of Peter, tidied her long hair slightly, and offered an awkward smile.
"Then... shall we go get something to eat?"
"Yeah, sure, my treat."
[So how do you plan to answer who is better?]
"Can't figure it out," Peter answered honestly. "So I decided to escape for two days first."
[Perhaps you could try saying they're both great?]
"..."
Peter didn't intend to engage with Venom. He had already decided to use avoidance to dodge the problem.
Cowardly as avoidance might be, it was effective.
Three days later.
The day after Peter returned from his tumultuous trip to Puerto Rico, which was Saturday, Reed Richards looked contentedly at his modified Fantastic Four Pogo Plane and happily gathered the Fantastic Four.
"Sue, Johnny, and Ben. This is a great moment!"
Reed announced happily, then activated the device leading to the Multiverse and was the first to take a seat in the plane. "This is an epic scientific breakthrough. At least in our universe, it's the first time humanity has been able to break through to the Multiverse."
"So, I get to meet another handsome Johnny Storm?! Cool!"
Johnny immediately jumped into his seat. The Thing got in, saying, "Or maybe, you'll find out for the first time just how annoying you are."
"Susan, are the kids taken care of?"
"We asked Doom." Susan questioned her husband with a strange look, "Is it really okay to ask Doom every time?"
"It's safer to keep him busy. Alright, let's go visit the Baxter Building on Earth-2149!"
Reed excitedly launched the Multiverse Traveler, but unexpectedly, the device didn't open a portal as designed.
Instead, it performed a direct swap between the multiversal counterpart from another universe and the Fantastic Four of Earth-616.
The Mr. Fantastic from the other universe grinned and lifted his chin.
"I smell—fresh meat!"
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