Archive of Our Own ^beta

Hornet was nervous.

She should be ecstatic. After weeks of organizing, planning, and maybe a little begging, she and Lace had finally managed to get their parents to agree to allow Lace to come to Deepnest. Not only that, but everything had worked out so well that she could even spend the night. This was an especially impressive feat, considering that Lace usually had an incredibly busy schedule set out by her mother.

She should be ecstatic.

And yet, she was nervous.

She didn't have a reason to be. Her mother had taught her that the most important part of any hunt (or hangout, in this case) was to have a plan. And she did have a plan. Lace would arrive, and she would show her around her den. Then, she would show her the town, all her favorite places and shops, and they would play around and get into trouble. Then, once it got late, they would hang out in her room and play games until they fell asleep. It was simple, clean, nothing would go wrong.

And yet, she was nervous.

She wasn't even really sure what she was worried about. She was sure Lace would arrive, she was already on her way. They would have plenty to do, as detailed in her plan. Her mother would make sure they had anything they needed.

And yet, she was nervous.

And apparently, she was being rather obvious about it, as her mother was walking over to her with a concerned look on her face. 

"Hornet, honey? Is everything fine?"

"Yeah, mom, I'm good."

Herrah didn't look convinced.

"Honey, you're bouncing your legs, you always do that when something is wrong." She pulled up a chair to the table Hornet was sitting at. "What's wrong, talk to me."

Hornet hesitated. "I… I don't know. I just… I'm feeling nervous about today is all."

"Ah, yes…" Herrah stared wistfully at nothing in particular. "I always got some serious anxiety on dates with your mother as well."

"Wha— Mom!!!" Hornet was glad she was wearing her mask, as she could feel her face heating up from how ridiculous the notion was. "It's not a date! We're just hanging out! As friends! She's my friend!"

"Mhm," Herrah nodded, though her lack of belief was obvious. "Anyway, you have nothing to worry about. She wants to come hang out with you, and in Deepnest no less."

"What's Deepnext got to do with anything?"

"Well, most bugs are absolutely terrified of Deepnest, so—"

Hornet dropped her head into her paws. "Not helping, mom."

"Oh for— look, my point is, pretty much any bug in Hallownest wouldn't touch Deepnest with a ten foot pole, but Lace is coming to the heart of Deepnest specifically to see you. You don't have to worry about her not wanting to hang out or whatever."

"Yeah… thanks, mom."

Herrah planted a kiss on her forehead and Hornet quickly wiped it off, to Herrah's entertainment.

At that moment a weaver walked in. "My Queen, Lady Fibril of Pharloom has arrived along with her child."

"Ah, perfect timing!" Herrah rose from her seat and extended a paw to Hornet, who took it after a moment of hesitation.

Outside, they headed to the entrance of the distant village's stag station, and watched as a pair of black bugs covered in pure white fabrics emerged, the larger of which looking around the village somewhat skeptically before turning to face Hornet's mother.

"Herrah."

"Fibril."

Fibril continued looking about the village. "Lace, darling, you're sure you'd rather stay here and not in the palace with me?" she asked while picking at a stray strand of silk.

"Yes, mother."

"Very well. And you'll keep a good eye on her, Herrah?"

"I promise you, no harm will befall your child while she is under my care."

This almost seemed to make Fibril more concerned, but nonetheless she turned to reenter the stag station. "My darling Lace, be good, alright?"

"Yes, mother."

And with that, Fibril returned to the stag and rode off towards the palace. The three of them watched her ride off, and once she was entirely out of sight, Lace dashed to Hornet and hugged her.

"It's so good to see you again! Today is going to be so fun!"

Hornet could distantly hear her mother snort in an effort to suppress a laugh, but was too focused on her rapidly heating face to respond.

Lace and Hornet were very quiet on the walk back.

While Herrah was being truthful when she said Hornet shouldn't worry about Lace not wanting to be here, what she was worried about was Hornet getting nervous and locking up. Her daughter had finally made a friend outside her own family, and she didn't want her freezing pushing Lace away.

Well, nothing a little motherly encouragement couldn't help.

"So, Lace, is there anything specific you want to do while you're visiting?"

"Oh, definitely! Hornet's been telling me so much about Deepnest," Gods, her daughter was so adorable when she was embarrassed, "so I wanna see it all! I wanna see the town, I wanna try the food, and I especially wanna check out weaving magic! From everything Hornet's shown me it looks really cool."

Ah, perfect, a way to get Hornet talking! "Well, you're in luck, because Hornet just recently learned a new weaving technique! I'm sure she'd love to show you."

Hornet looked away. "My weaving is hardly impressive compared to the weaving masters of the village. If you want someone to show you some weaving, we should find one of them." She was using her 'I want to seem cool to strangers' voice, damn her antisocial child! Well, maybe she just needed some encourage—

"Aw, don't worry, little spider, I have all day to see other weavers! I wanna see you do some weaving!"

Oh yeah, this kid was a keeper.

"I'm taller than you! But, if you really want to…" Hornet glanced around for something to perform the trick on.

"Ah, that will work," she said, walking towards a rock about the size of a tiktik. Suddenly, she leapt high off the ground, entirely over a lamppost that was next to the stone.

In the moment she passed over the post, she attached a strand of silk to it, and used it to swing down and grab the rock. On the upswing she was a blur of arms and silk, swiftly encasing the rock in a cocoon of the substance before landing atop the post, rock dangling about a meter below.

"Woooaaah!" Lace looked like she had stars in her eyes. "How did you do that so fast? What did you even do?"

Hornet dropped down from the post in front of Herrah and Lace. "Well, if you really wanna know, on the way up I start making a string and attach it to my second pair of arms, then as I…"

Hornet discussed her weaving with Lace the rest of the way to the den. 

Parenting accomplished.

"Well, this is it… the Beast's Den!" Herrah showed a bit of fang to sell the effect.

"Cool name," Lace noted, entirely unfazed 

"I know right? It's because mom's full title is Herrah the Beast!"

"What would that make you then?" Lace asked, "Hornet the Beastling?"

"I believe it would be… Beast in training," Herrah joked, snickering when Hornet shot her a dirty look.

"Hmm… I think I'll stick with little spider." At that comment, even with her mask on, she could tell Hornet's face was giving her cloak's shade of red a run for its money.

"Anyway, would you two like to give me the grand tour?"

And so, Herrah and Hornet set off with Lace in tow, Herrah guiding the two around the den and Hornet going on tangents about Deepnest traditions, to the point that the party would sometimes have to stop to let Hornet finish her tangent before moving on.

Of course, Lace didn't mind at all. Hornet always put up an anti-social front around bugs she didn't know, so it always made Lace happy to see her let down her walls and obsess over her interests a bit. Plus, watching her get excited was cute.

"...and this here is Hornet's room, where the two of you will be sleeping."

The room was quite cozy, all things considered. While the cold stone walls of the rest of the den continued, the floor in this room was instead wooden, a dull blue-ish wood that hornet had explained earlier comes from one of the few varieties of tree in deepnest.

The furniture in the room was also wood, though painted a dull brown. Along the walls stood a dresser (though what it contained was beyond Lace as Hornet seemed to wear the same cloak every day), a toy box, and a large bookshelf, only the bottom half of which contained books. The top contained various things Hornet seemed to have deemed too important to keep in the toy chest, such as an extra mask, a training needle, a couple plushies, and some various other knickknacks.

In the corner stood a bed, covered in pillows, blankets, and sheets not quite as red as Hornet's cloak but still up there. Now that she was thinking about it, a lot of the decorative fabric in Deepnest was dyed that same red. Must be a cultural thing. But, she digressed, as there is notably only one bed.

Hornet seemed to realize this at the same time as Lace. "...You didn't bring a sleeping bag or anything, did you?"

Lace shook her head. "Perhaps," Herrah began, "she could sleep in a silk hammock? We can whip one up in just a few minutes."

Hornet shook her head. "No, even sitting in one of those can be disorienting for bugs not familiar with silk, much less sleeping all night in one. I'd prefer if she didn't get sick. Maybe I could sleep in the hammock and you could take the bed?"

"As much as I'd like to try sleeping on spider silk bedding, this is your home and your bed. I will be fine sleeping on some pillows and blankets on the floor."

"What?! You're the guest, I'm not gonna make you sleep on the floor!"

"Perhaps this is something to figure out once we actually get to that point," Herrah said as she placed a paw on their heads. "You two have some plans for today, right?"

"Oh, that's right!" Hornet motioned for Lace to follow her as she moved to the door. "I wanted to show you this bakery in the bazaar! They have the best fresh bread!"

Lace chuckled at Hornet's excitement. "You had me at bakery," she giggled as she followed Hornet out into the town.

The Distant Village Bazaar was a sight to behold. While the entire village was built up of suspended platforms, the Bazaar's platform was by far the largest, with a roof of great rolls of red silk to cover from falling water or debris.

Then there was the Bazaar itself. A vast array of open air shops built of wood, stone, and silk covered the platform, all selling various wares. There was a little bit of almost everything, from raw materials like woven silk sheets, fresh produce, and hunted meats to processed goods like silk clothes and fresh cooked food, to even imported goods like honey and wax from the Hive and metal and crystal from Hallownest.

And in between the shops, it was covered in bugs of all shapes and sizes. While a large majority were weavers and other Deepnest denizens, there were also a surprising number of travelers and warriors from the neighboring kingdoms.

"Here, this way!" Hornet yelled back to Lace as the two weaved back and forth through the crowd. Lace was surprised Hornet could move that fast in such a crowd, but then again, she had spent her whole life here. Lace finally caught up with her in front of a stall with a stone oven in the back, emanating the smell of fresh baked bread.

"Ah, greetings, young Hornet!" The rather large weaver behind the counter exclaimed with a hearty laugh. "To what do I owe the pleasure? Oh! And who's your friend here?"

"This is my friend Lace. We were looking for some fresh glowshroom bread."

"Aye, you're right on time! The last batch of the day is nearly done. I'll give you first pick."

"Wow, thanks!" Hornet turned to Lace "You  haven't lived until you've tried glowshroom bread straight from the oven," Hornet explained as she pulled a leather pouch out from under her cloak and began picking through it. "How much do I owe you?"

"Let's see, for two loaves, plus a returning customer discount, that'd be… 22 geo." Hornet muttered to herself as she counted out the coins, then placed them on the counter. "Ah, perfect." The baker dropped the coins in the geo sack on their belt and turned to the oven. They removed a stone tray covered in slightly cyan loaves (which smelled like heaven, if Lace might add) and placed it on the counter. "Take your pick! Careful though, they're hot."

After Hornet picked out the biggest, puffiest loaves, the baker placed them in a paper back and pawed them to her. Hornet thanked them and was just about to dash off into the crowd again when Lace stopped her.

"Wait, Hornet!"

"Huh? What's up? Is something wrong?"

"Last time you darted off like that I nearly got lost."

"Oh, I'm sorry. I'll slow down so we don't get split up in the crowd, this place can be confusing if you aren't used to it."

"Here, I have a better idea." Lace reached out and took one of Hornet's free paws in her own. "There, now we won't get separated."

Hornet stared at their paws for a second. Yep, there was that blush again. "W-well, if you want to, I guess."

And so the two set out through the crowd again, slower this time. Hornet led them to a booth that sold honey, and bought a jar for the two of them to put on their bread. As she led them to the edge of the Bazaar, she looked dead ahead, though she occasionally stole split second glances at their intertwined paws. She was so cute when she was nervous.

The two found a bench at a much less populated corner of the Bazaar, overlooking the edge of the suspended town. Only once they sat down and began getting out their snacks did Hornet let go of Lace's paw.

"Alright, time to eat!" Hornet went to take her loaf out of her bag, but then immediately dropped it back in, shaking her paw.

Lace giggled at her. "Careful, it's hot. Maybe we should let them cool off a bit"

"Pff, yeah, I knew that." Hornet rolled the bag's opening back up and placed it to the side, and leaned back on the bench.

The two looked out into the distance together for a minute.

"The village is a lot busier than I thought it would be for being in the middle of Deepnest."

"Yeah, ever since my moms and dad finished the trade route between here and the Hive, business has really picked up."

Lace turned to Hornet with slight concern on her face. "You sound almost sad about that."

"Not really. Well, maybe a little, but not much. It's dumb."

"It most certainly is not!" Lace exclaimed with mock insult. "What's got you down about it?"

"Well…" Hornet thought for a moment. "I like that all the businesses and stuff are making more money, and it certainly seems like everyone is happier. It's just…"

Hornet paused to look at Lace, who was watching her intently. "...I don't like crowds."

"Oh, little spider, that's not dumb at all! Between you and me," Lace leaned close to Hornet (she could feel the heat coming off of her face) and whispered, "I don't like crowds either."

"What? But you can always talk to people so well!"

"Yes, well," Lace leaned back in her seat, "being good at something doesn't mean you have to like it. In my case, it's because it was expected of me."

"Oh… yeah." Hornet looked out across the cavern and watched some young weavers, swinging and playing in midair. "I guess I'm kinda similar with weaving."

"What?" Lace stared at Hornet in shock. "But you love weaving!"

"I guess it's kinda the opposite actually. I'm the princess, everyone expects me to be really good at it, and I do like it. I'm just… not great at it."

"Nonsense!" Lace was even more shocked than before. "You're great at weaving!"

"Well yeah, I'm alright, but…" Hornet looked out to the children swinging above the darkness below. "I'm not nearly as good as the other weavers my age."

"What are you talking about? You could do everything that they can! You could even do better!"

 Hornet twiddled her paws. "Not really. I can't even make actual silk, only soul silk." Hornet shot a strand of silk to the ground. "It works well enough, but after a while…" Hornet let go of the silk and watched as it faded out of existence, "...it just disappears."

"So?" Lace looked as if Hornet had insulted her and not herself. "Your soul silk works just as well as any other silk, it just doesn't stick around! I've seen you do amazing tricks with your weaving!"

Before Hornet could get out a retort, the two heard a thump in front of them. They turned to see the weaver children they had seen above the town approaching them, with the tallest one leading the others.

The tall weaver child had a smug look on his face. "Oh look, it's the jumping spider!"

The other weavers stayed back. "Steeve, that's the Beast's daughter! Don't pick on her, or her mom'll get you!"

The tall weaver turned back to his posse with an annoyed look. "Yeah yeah, gimme a sec." He turned to Lace. "What's a pretty bug like you hanging out with a reject like her?"

To Hornet's surprise, Lace looked quite flustered. "Aw, pretty? Me? You're too kind!"

The tall weaver scoffed and extended a paw to Lace. "Why don't you come with me and I'll show you what real weaving looks like?"

Lace took his paw, stood up, and promptly pulled him into an armlock.

"How about you stop picking on my little spider and never show your face to me again," Lace whispered to him with a smile, "or I'll make sure you never regain feeling in this arm ^v^."

Lace released the weaver's arm from behind his back, and he and his cronies promptly fled. 

Lace turned to Hornet with a chuckle. "Man, what a dickhead, right Hornet? He can talk shit, but he sure can't take it."

"...I think I'd like to go home now."

All the mirth left Lace's face. She gathered up their still uneaten snacks, and followed Hornet back to the Beast's den silently.

Good. Lovely. Fantastic way to start this sleepover she had been planning for weeks.

When they got to her room, Hornet sat on her bed. She barely noticed that Lace sat next to her.

She needed to think about something else right now. Anything.

"...We still have our glowshroom bread. Do you want yours?"

Yeah, that'd work.

The glowshroom bread was good, as always. A little cool, since they had sat for a bit, but they were still plenty warm enough. Lace gushed about how good the bread was, which always cheered Hornet up for reasons completely unknown to her.

After they were finished eating, Hornet went and got out some of her board and card games. Lace had proved she was as vicious with cards and dice as she was with her pin, resulting in a few extremely close games of spy cards.

"Bang!" Lace raised her arms above her head in victory, "Nosk card. That's another win for me!"

"Aw man, I was so close! I just needed one more dirtcarver…"

"Well I believe that leaves us at four to three, which means I win the tournament! Unless you'd like to go another round?"

"Nah, I'm good." Hornet laid back on the wooden floor and stared up at the ceiling. They had been at it for a good few hours at this point, though exactly how long Hornet wasn't sure.

Earlier Herrah had come to check on them, and Lace had told her about the kids teasing her. Herrah then had to step out for some "Queen business," which they both knew meant she was going to go rip that kid a new one.

That kid…

Sadly, this hadn't been the first time Hornet had been bullied, nor was he the only child to do so. She knew it was best to not listen to bullies, but…

…It makes her wonder.

"...Hey Lace?"

"Yes, little spider?"

"Why do you hang out with me?"

Lace suddenly shot up. "What on earth do you mean? It's those kids, isn't it? Hornet, you really shouldn't listen to anything they say."

"Yeah, yeah, I know, it's just…"

Hornet focused on the web designs in the ceiling.

"...All the other kids around town are always terrified of me because I'm the queen's daughter, and the ones who aren't make fun of me for not being able to make real silk. So… Why are you here playing card games with me in my room? Why aren't you out there playing with the kids who—"

"I'm going to stop you right there, little spider."

Hornet suddenly felt pressure on her mask, and realized that Lace had placed her paw on her cheek.

"I'm here because I am your friend. You are one of the kindest, funniest, and smartest bugs I know," (why was her heart speeding up?), "but I'm not here because of any of that. I'm here because I enjoy spending time with you. Now, I don't want you going down this line of thinking any more, alright?"

Hornet sat up, momentarily stunned by Lace's passion. "...Okay. Thank you very much for that, that helps a lot."

"Of course, little spider. Would you like a hug?"

Her chest was tightening again. Maybe she had too much honey or something. "...S-sure."

Lace scooted closer to Hornet and wrapped her arms around her, squeezing firmly but gently. Hornet hadn't noticed before, but Lace was… incredibly soft. Warm, too. Being in her arms felt strangely comforting in a way she rarely felt, like being wrapped in blankets after a long day out in the cold. It felt like she could stay right here forever…

It wasn't until Lace's giggling pulled her out of her brain that she realized she had returned the hug and had rested her head on her shoulder.

"Hehe, affectionate today, aren't we, little spider?"

Hornet immediately pulled away from Lace, blushing bright red. 

(Did Lace seem… sad?)

"Ah! I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to—"

"Hornet, calm down, it's fine!" Lace reassured with a giggle, "I really don't mind at all. I was the one who hugged you first, after all."

"Oh… right." Well, now she just felt stupid. "I guess I'm just getting kind of tired or something."

"Perhaps. …Speaking of sleeping, we still haven't figured out our sleeping arrangements, have we?"

"Yes we did, you can sleep in my bed and I'll sleep in a hammock."

"No we did not! I'm not kicking you out of your own bed."

"You're our guest! I'm not gonna make you sleep on the floor."

"Hm. Well, it would seem we are at an impasse then."

Lace suddenly looked like a light went off in her head. "Unless…"

"Unless what?"

"We could share the bed?"

"W-what?!" Hornet was flabbergasted.

"Well, neither of us want to make the other vibe up the bed, and it is definitely large enough to fit both of us, so why not?"

"W-well…" Hornet rapidly tried to think of an excuse, though she didn't know why she needed one. "I-it'll be too hot! We'll both be under the sheets, and it'll store all our body heat, and we'll get really sweaty!"

"Deepnest is already rather chilly. If anything, the extra heat would be more comfortable." Lace's expression turned to one of concern, "Do you feel uncomfortable sharing the bed? We don't have to if you don't want to."

"No! I-I…" Hornet was now trying to think of a reason to share the bed. She really needed to make up her mind.

"...Fine, we can share the bed."

The evening was relatively uneventful after that. The two played games for a while longer, until Herrah returned with dinner. Eating with both her mother and Lace made Hornet nervous again for some reason, but the two hit it off quite well. Afterward, it was back to work for Herrah and back to playing for Hornet and Lace.

Then, it was time for bed.

"Are you sure you'd rather share the bed?" Hornet asked once more as she pulled the blankets over her legs, "I tend to be a rough sleeper."

"Little spider, its fine!" Lace reassured as she slipped under the side of the covers. "I promise you I will sleep perfectly well.c

"For the last time, stop calling me little! I'm taller than you!"

"You're still younger than me."

"By three weeks! That's barely anything."

"Well, you're taller than me by three centimeters, so you aren't exactly in a position to argue semantics. Besides, 'big spider' doesn't exactly have the same ring to it, does it?"

"I… guess not…" Hornet couldn't think of another retort, so she resigned herself to sinking backwards into her pillow.

"Oh, chin up, little spider!" Lace slid closer to Hornet than she was expecting (there goes her heart rate again) "You'll always be stronger and better at weaving than me."

"Y-yeah, but there's also a ton of stuff you're better at than me at"

"Oh? Such as?"

"...You just wanna hear me compliment you, don't you?"

Lace shifted to laying on her side with her chin resting on her hand. "Maybe," she said with a smug grin.

"Well there's lots of things. Like… you're better with crowds than me."

"What else?"

"...You're really good at tricking people, like earlier."

Lace shifted to a more comfortable position, propping up her chin with both paws. "...Anything else?"

"Well… You have a really wide vocabulary, and you're really good with a pin, and… you always have a really good outfit, and you're always so graceful… a-and you have a really nice laugh, and r-really pretty eyes, a-and you're really n-nice to me, and you tease me sometimes but you never do it to make me uncomfortable, and you always listen when I talk about things I like, and—"

"Oh, come here, you!"

"Ah!" Lace suddenly wrapped her arms around Hornet and pulled her into a tight hug, stunning Hornet entirely for a couple seconds. Lace pulled her closer, tucking Hornet's head under her chin and scooting her legs to be flush with Hornet's.

Hornet was going into panic mode. Her face was heating up, her heart was beating so fast she could hear the blood rushing in her ears, her chest was doing somersaults, and her mind was racing. Every logical part of her brain was screaming that she was in danger, that she was being trapped, that she was embarrassing herself, and yet…

"...C-can I hug y-you back?"

"Of course you can, my little spider. Why would I hug you if I did not wish to be hugged, silly?"

Hornet distantly recognized that Lace had not only called her 'little spider' again, she had called her her little spider. However, she was distracted by how soft Lace was, how warm she was, how comfortable she felt in her arms, how her head seemed to fit perfectly in the crook of her neck.

"...Thank you Lace."

Hornet didn't notice how Lace had responded "of course." She didn't notice how she had wrapped all four of her arms around Lace, or how they both began squeezing each other tighter, or how Lace had begun gently petting her back. She didn't notice how sleepy she had become.

Hornet didn't even notice that she had drifted off to sleep in Lace's arms.

If she was being honest, Herrah was a bit worried about Hornet. Her queenly duties meant she didn't have much time to check on Hornet and Lace, and while she knew they were perfectly capable of taking care of themselves, a mother can't help but worry.

It was eleven, and she was finally done with her work for the day. She decided to check on the children briefly before heading to bed herself.

She walked down the hall to Hornet's room and… hm. That was odd. No giggling, no yelling, no talking… nothing. She was sure they would still be up by now, she had expected them to be up until at least two.

She reached the door to Hornet's room and cracked open the door. "Hornet? Lace? Are you two still—"

"Shh, she's asleep."

Herrah looked to the bed and saw Hornet, stoic, headstrong, independent Hornet, curled up on Lace's chest, clutching her with all four arms, fast asleep as Lace gently pet her back. It took all of her willpower (and she had a lot) to not coo at the sight.

"...How long has she been out for?" Herrah whispered.

"Oh, only a half an hour or so," Lace quietly responded as she stared lovingly at the spider in her arms, "Poor thing must have been exhausted. She passed out nearly as soon as we started cuddling."

Herrah chuckled softly. "Yes, I believe she has stayed up too late the last few days in excitement for today. You know, I've never seen her more excited to be around someone as she is with you."

"Oh, well," Lace giggled, blushing, "I'm proud to be her favorite person. I'm also glad that I was able to help her get some decent sleep, it seems like she really needed it."

"Yes, I'm quite glad she is so happy around you as well. Do you need anything? Any snacks, a book?"

"Thank you for the offer, but I'm quite alright. I believe I'll fall asleep shorty as well, I just—" Lace suddenly cut herself off and stared down at Hornet in surprise.

"Is everything alright?" Herrah took a step into the room.

"...Oh dear." Lace turned back to Herrah with a look of amusement. "It would appear she has begun purring."

Herrah listened closely, and… sure enough, she could hear a low rumbling noise from Hornet as she nuzzled deeper into Lace's arms.

It was quite the adorable sight. So much so that it took a few seconds for Herrah to fully process the implications.

"PFFT—" Herrah covered her mouth in a failed attempt to contain her laughter.

"Shh! You'll wake her up!" Lace aggressively whispered.

"Yeah— Yeah I know, it's just— No, nope, I can't tell you, that's not something for me to say. Oh, Gods— Alright  I'm going to go. Sleep well, you two."

Herrah closed the bedroom door on the now very confused Lace and speed-walked down the hall until she was roughly out of earshot of Hornet's room, before she let out the rest of her laughter.

"Purring! Ha! Just blatantly purring, loud as can be, right on top of her! Oh, Gods…"

"...Oh, that poor child is so gay."

Hornet awoke wrapped tightly in a blanket, and laying on top of a very comfortable pillow.

She felt incredibly well rested. Now that she thought about it, that was probably the best night's sleep she had had in a long while. No nightmares, no waking up in the middle of the night, just warm and comfy dreams.

She nuzzled her face deeper into her pillow, and it giggled at her. It made her feel even more relaxed, hearing that giggle, though she couldn't place her claw on why.

…Wait, pillows don't giggle. What was she—

Hornet craned her head up, to see she was staring directly into Lace's eyes.

"Good morning, my little spider," Lace softly greeted with a smile.

Hornet felt embarrassment start to rise in her face and attempted to pull away. "OH, I'm so sorry, I didn't—"

Lace held her tighter, preventing her from escaping her arms. "Oh no you don't," she giggled, "we cuddled all night long, I at least get to have a little morning cuddle with you."

Hornet let herself fall back onto Lace, stunned. "All… night…"

"Yes, and I have to say, it was very cozy. Speaking of, did you sleep well? You seemed like you really needed it."

"Did I…" Hornet's brain slowly recovered from its short circuit as she allowed Lace to pull her a little closer. "...Yeah, I slept really well, a-actually. A-are you sure you're okay with… this? It— I know it's kind of weird—"

Lace suddenly pulled Hornet's face to be just a few centimeters from her own. "I won't tell a soul about this, my little spider," she gently whispered, "I promise."

Hornet sat there for a moment, taking in how close Lace was, the heat from her face, the sound of her breathing. "...Thank you, Lace," Hornet relaxed onto her chest a little, "I really—"

"Wait." Hornet suddenly pulled back a little. "'MY' little spider?"

"Oh, would you prefer I not call you that?" Lace suddenly looked flustered, "I can stop if you don't like it."

"No no, it's—" Why was she saying it's alright? Everything in her brain was telling her that it was embarrassing, that it was demeaning, that no proper princess of Deepnest would allow anyone to call her that. However…

"...It's alright. It's… I kind of… like..? It?"

This only made Lace squeeze Hornet harder. "Then shall call you that as much as you wish, my little spider."

Hornet could feel her heart rate rising again, though at this point she didn't care. Hesitantly, she placed her head back under Lace's chin, which Lace allowed happily. The two layed there for a while longer, happily embracing each other, just enjoying each other's presence.

"...Grrbmblmm…"

"...Was that your stomach?" Lace asked with a giggle.

"...Maybe." Hornet pressed her face further under Lace's in embarrassment.

"Alright, maybe it's time to go get some breakfast then?" Lace giggled. In response, Hornet just grunted and squeezed Lace harder.

"Hornet," Lace laughed, "we can't get food if you don't let go of me!" Hornet didn't budge.

Lace spent a moment petting the once extremely independent spider that was now refusing to let go of her, thinking of a way to convince her to feed herself.

"Tell you what," Lace bargained, "if we go get some food now, I'll hold your paw on the way there. Would you like that?"

Hornet grunted and loosened her grip enough for Lace to escape. She slipped out from under the spider (though she swore she could hear her whine as she did), and got out of bed and stretched, her back cracking from spending so long in the same position.

"C'mon, let's go!" Lace extended a paw to help Hornet up, who, after hesitating for a moment, took it.

Hornet gripped Lace's hand tightly as the two walked down the hall to the kitchen. She was on edge, constantly vigil for anyone that might see their display of affection.

"Hornet, if you're this nervous, we can just stop."

"No, I—" Hornet's brain rushed as she attempted to find an excuse, "...I-I want to, it's just… private. Besides, this early, there won't be anyone in the kitchen. Speaking of, here we are."

Pushed open the door to the kitchen to see it full with the few attendants their home had busy cooking breakfast, assisted by Herrah herself.

Hornet yanked her paw away from Lace and hid it behind her back. "Heyyyyy, mom!"

"Ah, I was wondering when you two would be up. You slept in quite late, you know."

"...And what time is it, exactly?"

"Oh, about 10:30 or so."

"...Ah."

Lace snickered at her, earning a mean look from Hornet. "10:30 is late for you?"

"She's usually up and about by 7 at the latest," Herrah explained as she went back to cleaning a dirtcarver. "...Stayed up late playing, I presume?"

"...Yes. Yes, we stayed up quite late playing games and talking, that's why I woke up so late."

Lace and Herrah exchanged a knowing glance and giggled at each other.

"...What?"

"Oh, nothing," Lace and Herrah said at the same time. Herrah shooed the children away, "Go wait in the dining room, breakfast will be ready soon."

The two sat next to each other for breakfast, Lace gushing about how good Deepnest food was and Hornet stealing brief glances at Lace while eating. They spent a little while longer playing in Hornet's room after that, with a few more close matches of spycards. However, no good thing lasts forever, and soon, Lace's mother had arrived to pick her up.

"Thank you very much for allowing me to stay the night," Lace said with a bow as the four of them stood outside the stag station, "I had a delightful time in your wonderful village."

"Of course, it was no trouble." Herrah said with a wave. "You are welcome here any time."

"Lace! Time to go!" Fibril called over her shoulder as she approached the stag.

"Coming mother!" Lace called before turning back to Hornet. "Oh, and, Hornet?"

Lace suddenly ran up to Hornet and gave her the biggest hug she could manage. "We should do this again soon," she whispered, "I had a wonderful time together with you."

Hornet was stunned briefly as she felt the heat in her face once more. "...My pleasure. I'll see when my mom has enough free time next."

"Good!" Lace pulled away as suddenly as she came in, "It's a date!"

Before Hornet could respond, Lace was running into the stag station.

"Goodbye, Hornet!"

"...Bye."

Herrah and Hornet stood next to each other in the door and waved as they watched the stag depart.

"...So, 'a date,' huh?"

"Shut it!"

The following night, Hornet couldn't sleep. Her head was swimming with thoughts of Lace, of how they spent the previous night together. Ugh, if only she could fall asleep as easily as she did then.

…Wait. Wait no she wasn't trying that. It was stupid, it was a one time thing, and there was no way it would work anyway, she just needed to close her eyes and sleep.

…But still…

After hesitating for a long moment, Hornet slowly took a pillow and clutched it close to her chest, wrapping her arms around it. It wasn't perfect, but it'd do.

If she closed her eyes, she could almost pretend that Lace was there next to her again.

She fell asleep not long after that.

After she had got back to the palace in Pharloom, Lace had spent the day searching the palace library for books on spider biology. She had a hunch, and she was following up on it.

Turns out, not much was written down on the subject. Lace chalked it up to the spiders being quite solitary and not reacting well to a pompous bug walking into their village and asking to poke and prod at them. However, she did eventually find a book on the information she was looking for.

"Though it is rare, some species of spider are capable of subconsciously purring when in the presence of a possible mate, with the intensity of the purring correlating to the amount of attraction. A quiet rumble is usually indicative of a small crush, while a purr audible from upwards ten meters away is only seen rarely in extremely loving couples and long lasting."

So she was correct. Of course, this came as no surprise to her, Hornet's crush on her was obvious to seemingly everyone but herself, but it was nice to have it confirmed.

A mischievous grin spread across Lace's face. Yes, it was certainly nice to have it confirmed. Made it a much safer bet to tease her about it.