LIAR, LIAR. Peter Parker

six. happy birthday

And for someone who was an attention seeking bitch like her, she felt more comfortable keeping her little secret to herself: that way, nothing bad would happen.

But nothing, to repeat, nothing could prepare her for the day that would pass.

It started in the morning - she had woken herself up at six thirty to at least make herself look a little bit presentable in case Betty and Alaska post pictures; but when she finished her routine, there were nearly thirty people posting her on their stories - some people she's only spoken to at least once.

So that was a bit weird.

When she walked into the dining room, there was a literal full course kitchen in her house - maybe Nikaia summoned it - and there was food; a lot of it - but what had caught her attention the most was right in the middle; a cake covered in pink icing, with the messy words, HAPPY BIRTHDAY, NINA! scribbled in her dad's ugly handwriting.

A birthday cake.

She's never had a birthday cake before — ever. Samara always wanted to make them cakes despite Illiana's refusal since apparently, it adds more happiness to the occasion, symbolises success and milestones, and makes a perfect gift to warm the heart of the celebrant. Nothing can beat the power of cakes to light up the party and make things extra special.

Nina used to think it was bullshit. It was a cake. There's absolutely nothing special about bread coated in overpriced icing and sprinkles that way were way too sweet for anyone's own liking. It was cake. She could get it anywhere in New York.

But as her parents bring the cake closer to her, telling her to make a wish as they skipped the sheer awkwardness of having to sing her a song, it breaks.

She doesn't care if she's crying - her parents... her parents had made her her first ever birthday cake to this day and it touched her so deeply that Nina was convinced that she would burst into happy tears any moment from now.

And she did.

Nina is only halfway through blowing that one candle out when the tears that have been pricking her eyes since she had first start rolling down her face.

"Oh fuck, she's crying." Nikaia instantly panics, setting the cake down on the nearby counter, instinctively wrapping her strong arms around her daughter, gently stroking her soft hair.

"Are these sad or happy tears?" asks Druig, touching her shoulder gently. "Did we upset you?" He sounds so caring that it makes her cry more.

"Happy tears," she managed to mumble out, sniffling softy into her mothers shoulder, finding comfort in the fact that she was stroking her hair. It's true, despite her unreliability as she was literally a pathological liar, but it was true. She was happy.

She had a family who loved and supported her, despite being a little bit unconventional, she had a job she absolutely loved despite her shit bosses, she had Betty and Alaska there with her every step of the way... and she had Peter - who was just... indescribable in the most frustrating yet the best possible way.

"Thank you for this," Nina says through the tears, gesturing at the cake. "And for everything." she adds, smiling softly at the sensation of a hand running through her hair and the relaxing feeling of her father stroking her back.

That day - the nineteenth of June, is the first time she cries without the feeling of shame weighing her down.

Pepper dragged her away from her screaming boss as well, and having a break from Crazy Dan was already gift enough on it's own. She tried insisting on working, since she was getting paid to do her job as a PR Assistant. It was bad enough that everyone was constantly undermining her for her age and her close relationship to the CEO of the company, but Pepper had insisted - since apparently, she only turned seventeen once, and the three of them (including Morgan) had spent her morning shift in her office, catching up over the past month's events. Samara and Illiana were mentioned here and there, but Pepper didn't really go into full detail, knowing that it might upset Nina.