DISCLAIMER: I do not own Spider-Man or any of its characters, or any other Marvel characters. This work is a fan-work offered free of charge, and I make no money from it whatsoever.

A/N: I've been so busy working on my 'Along Came a SP/dr' story that I didn't have time for any other writing! But this idea just demanded to be written! This will be the last drabble in this collection - I have other cute Peni & Noir ideas but they're all much longer stories. Even this one ended up being 2k words! I'm not saying I'll never add more drabbles, but my focus will be on other stories for a while and this last chapter seemed like a good one to end on. There'll be plenty more Peni and Noir fluff coming, it'll just be in longer oneshots and things like that :) thanks for reading my little collection!

#10: An Immovable Object

Noir was worried about Peni. For the whole day she'd been sitting in the corner staring at some glowing screen thing Miles had brought over to Aunt May's house. Now it was night time and all the others had gone back to their own universes, except for Miles, who was shacked up in the original Spider-Man's old bedroom.

Noir stared at Peni from across the living room. She seemed so engrossed in what she was doing that he was afraid to disturb her, like when someone's sleepwalking - god only knows what would happen if he broke the spell. Once or twice he reached out, almost gave her a tap on the shoulder, but then he thought better of it. Peni was a smart girl, she knew what she was doing.

But she hadn't really said much of anything to anyone all day. The most Gwen got out of her was a 'yeah', and even to Aunt May Peni only offered up a smile and a 'No thanks' when May offered some of her special wheatcakes.

Noir nearly jumped out of his overcoat when a voice from behind him said, "I take it you're staying the night too, young man?"

"May…" Noir sighed in relief, "you scared the living daylights out of me."

She laughed, "You need to learn to relax."

"Maybe you're right."

"I've got a sleeping bag under the stairs and some of Ben's old thermal socks as well, in case you're the type to get cold feet of an evening. I keep the pillow Peni likes in a little bag to stop it getting dusty."

"Actually, about Peni-" he tried to say, but she was already half way up the stairs.

"See you in the morning! Make sure you turn all the lights out before you go to bed - and don't steal any of my cookies!"

He heard her bedroom door click closed on the floor above.

"…wouldn't dream of it."

Now it was just him and Peni and that damn screen, glowing in the darkness like a haunted mirror.

"Peni," he whispered, "can you hear me?"

Her face was buried in the device. All he could see was the back of her head as she sat cross-legged on the floor.

"We should probably get some sleep. Want me to get your pillow?"

Nothing.

"Peni? Peni?" he called out.

It was like he didn't exist. That settled it. He had to solve this, he had to find out what monstrosity Miles had accidentally gifted to her

"Peni, what on Earth are you doing over there?"

Then he saw it. A multicolor nightmare scrolling past his eyes. He couldn't see the colors but he knew they were there by the way his eyes could barely focus on the chaos unfolding on the screen.

"Animal… Crossing…?"

Upon hearing those words Peni finally turned and faced him. Her eyes were bloodshot, and her face as pale as a full moon, "Do you play it too, Noir?"

"What? No, Peni, you need to put that thing down. Do you even know what time it is?"

"1am. The game tells me. There's a little clock in the corner."

"It's a game?"

"I'm making frying pans."

"Frying pans? What kinda game is that?"

"I need to pay off my loan, Noir. Today's Hot Item is frying pans and they sell for a LOT of money."

"You're too young to have a loan."

"Not in the game I'm not. So far I've made 1.2 million bells."

"My god…"

"Impressive, right?"

"That's not what I meant."

"I need to get to 2mil before Sunday so I can buy lots of turnips."

The more she spoke the less he understood, but one thing was certain: he had to get her to bed ASAP.

"Peni, turn that game off. It's time for bed."

"Just let me make a few more frying pans."

"How many more?"

"Thirty. Actually I might need to visit a distant island first."

"Right, that's it. I'm sorry Peni."

Noir swooped down and snatched the alien device out of her hands. The screen's glow dashed over the wall like a frantic searchlight in the darkness. Peni looked up at Noir in horror.

"Give it back!"

"You need to sleep!"

She hopped up and down trying to take it back but Noir held it out of her reach.

"It's for your own good, doll."

"I have frying pans to make!"

He held her back, "I'm sorry Peni, but you can't have it."

"Noir please! I'm one payment away from having a whole mansion!"

"You're letting the capitalism get to your head!"

"No I'm not!"

"Yes you are!"

"No I'm not, now give it back!"

"I'm getting your pillow."

Noir charged through the shadows to the cupboard under the stairs. He jammed the device into his inner coat pocket and pulled the cupboard door open. But as he peered inside he felt his coat being yanked off of him from behind.

"Peni!"

"I need to save my game!"

"I'm getting your pillow."

"Noir if I don't save it I'll lose all my progress! Just let me save it and I'll turn it off, I promise."

He knew if he turned around now she'd be giving him those puppy dog eyes like she always did when she wanted to twist his arm. And he knew that if he let himself look into those eyes, even if only for a second, he'd have no choice but to give into her demands.

"You should go brush your teeth."

"Noir, come on!"

He found the pillow.

"Here," he said, holding it out behind him, "Go put that on the couch. I'll bring the blanket."

Suddenly she went quiet. Noir's gut wanted him to turn around and see what was going on, but his head knew it was a trap.

He followed his gut.

"Noir…" Peni said, her eyes all big and watery, "I'm so close to selling enough frying pans…"

She had him right where she wanted him.

"Alright," he sighed, "but only until I've found the blanket."

"Thanks!" she smiled, snatching the glowing object from his hands and diving onto the living room couch. He was probably never gonna get that thing off of her now.

After rifling around in the cupboard for a while he found the blanket. It was more than big enough for Noir, let alone Peni. It'd probably make a king size bed feel small. It was heavy, too. He carried it into the living room where Peni was still absorbed in her game.

"I've found the blanket," he announced.

"Cool, just lay it on me."

"You gonna turn that thing off?"

"I can play in bed."

"That's not how sleeping works."

"You're starting to sound like Peter."

"Porker?"

"Ha ha."

"No I'm serious."

"I'm at twenty-nine frying pans now. Just dump the blanket on me. I'll be done in no time."

"Did you brush your teeth?"

"Not yet."

"You don't want 'em to fall out."

"I could just grow new ones."

"You only get two sets."

"Actually my family always gets three."

"…oh."

"Yeah, weird family trait."

"Well how about you go brush 'em anyway and I'll sort the couch out for you."

"You won't be sleeping on the couch too?"

"Not if you still have that thing on. Just looking at it gives me a headache."

She paused, disappointment clear on her face even in the darkness.

"Okay," she said, "I'll brush my teeth as long as you promise not the touch the game."

"You have my word."

She dashed upstairs, leaving the glowing device on the floor by the couch. Noir did his best to keep it out of his line of sight as he laid Peni's pillow of choice on the arm of the chair. Then came the blanket. The thing was so huge it swallowed up almost the entire sofa, but it still looked thin enough to not make you break out in a sweat overnight. Not that Noir usually had that problem. His home back in his universe was so drafty and cold he'd kill for a blanket that could make him warm enough to sweat. He had to sleep in his day clothes just to stave off the shivers.

"Back!" Peni declared cheerfully as she ran into the living room. She immediately picked up her game and started tapping away at the buttons on the strange device. Noir realized that in all the kerfuffle he'd completely forgotten to get a sleeping bag for himself. He headed back to the cupboard under the stairs.

"Where are you going, Noir?" came Peni's voice.

"To get my sleeping bag, and probably some thermal socks."

"You sure you don't wanna sleep on the couch?"

"I don't wanna interrupt your game."

"I've already turned it off."

He looked over his shoulder. Sure enough, the blinding glare that had filled the room was now gone. Now the only light was that of the moon, drifting in through the cracks in the curtains.

"Wouldn't you be more comfortable with the couch to yourself?"

"Are you serious?" Peni replied, "What about you? Wouldn't you be more comfortable sharing it with me rather than sleeping on the floor?"

She had a point, but at the same time he was used to sleepless nights. If she was just offering out of sympathy then he had to refuse.

He heard her throw the covers off, "Come on, there's plenty of room."

"I dunno…"

"Pleeeease?"

He could hear her puppy dog eyes.

"Well, if you're sure."

And so he climbed onto the couch and wriggled himself deep into the cushions, giving Peni plenty of space to snuggle up beside him. He still had all his clothes on, because he refused to let himself be indecent when sharing sleeping arrangements with Peni, though he allowed himself the comfort of removing his worn-out mask and goggles.

"You're just embarrassed about the silly underwear you've got on," she joked.

"My underwear is not silly."

"Well then it should be. There's no excuse for having boring underwear when you're a superhero."

Her messy hair tickled his nose.

"Did you make all the frying pans you wanted?" he asked.

"I made about 1.5 million bells worth."

"That sounds like a lot."

"Yeah it's a lot."

"What are you gonna spend all that money on?"

"Turnips," came the immediate reply.

"Seems like an odd thing to drop 1.5mil on."

"They call it the Stalk Market."

"Ah, like on Wall Street."

"Yeah."

Noir was starting to regret keeping all his clothes on. He was getting very, very warm. He'd forgotten how much heat builds up when you sleep with another person.

"You should make a character, Noir. We could live on the island together."

"I don't think I could look at that thing for more than a few seconds."

"I could make you some special goggles. We could chop trees together and grow rare flowers."

"Rare flowers, huh?"

"Mhm," she mumbled, sounding sleepier by the second, "and… we could fish… I have lots of bait to give you."

"I was never any good at fishing. I don't have sea legs."

"Well you can dig up fossils then… I'll teach you how…"

"Sounds great, Peni."

She didn't say any more. Noir listened as her breathing became softer and steadier. With every breath her chest lifted his arm just a little, like a ship bobbing on the ocean. He'd done it, he'd finally got her to go to sleep.

It only took all day, Noir thought with a wry smile. Was he that energetic when he was a kid? He couldn't remember. It felt like so long ago. He'd forgotten what it was like to be innocent. Peni had seen her fair share of tragedy too, yet she still had all that energy and sparkle.

Maybe I could learn a thing or two.

He let his head sink into the pillow, Peni's hair stroking his cheek, and drifted into a deep, restful sleep. He dreamed of palm trees and coconuts, flowers and fishes, and, inexplicably, stack upon stack upon stack of frying pans.

A/N: And that's it for now! As I said in my first note, there may be updates from time to time if a great really short story idea pops into my head but I'll be putting my focus on longer fluffy stories now, as well my other Peni fic! Thank you so much for reading!