chapter five!
005. college reunions
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   NINA HUGGED HER knees as she watched Spider-Man slowly start to improve after he had dropped, unconscious out on her fire escape. She couldn't believe she had managed to stabilise his knife wound, but she supposed his enhanced abilities also gave him an enhanced healing rate. It wouldn't surprise her. It had been very awkward, though, afterwards. Nina didn't know what to say to him▬Spider-Man was in her bedroom. Spider-Man. Vigilante/New York menace/superhero (whatever people liked to call him) ... he was in her room. And she couldn't quite comprehend it after everything. Her heart was still racing as the adrenalin slowly started to fade away, and what replaced it was a disbelieving shock. 

    Spider-Man had moved to rest up against the edge of her bed, still wincing and clutching his side▬but he seemed much better than before now that he wasn't bleeding out on her floor. He glanced around her room, taking in all of her little bits and pieces. Her posters, her pictures in frames, her college textbooks, her mug of cold hot chocolate, her fluffy pillows...

    "Nice place," he managed after a short while. "Nice pillows."

    Nina flushed. She set her chin on her knees, hugging them tighter to her chest as she watched him carefully▬sort of afraid he might drop down unconscious again. "Thanks," she mumbled. 

    Spider-Man stared at her, and she didn't know how she felt to see nothing but his lenses and not the eyes behind them▬unable to tell how he felt, or how he was looking at her. He then shook his head and murmured: "No, I should be thanking you. Thank you, Nina Hart."

    She grew shy and shrugged, not able to meet his stare. "I ... it was nothing," she continued to mumble, blushing. "I mean▬what was I supposed to do?"

    "You could have left me there. Many others would have."

    "Left you bleeding out on my fire escape?" Nina pursed her lips, frowning. "It doesn't matter who you are, I could have never just sat there and let that happen. Besides," she shrugged again and fiddled with her fingers, "New York sort of needs its Friendly Neighbourhood Spider-Man."

    She wondered whether Spider-Man was smiling behind his mask. The sudden warm air between them told her that he might be. "You should tell that to Jameson."

    Nina chuckled, too, before she could think▬and some of the stress she held dissipated. "You listen to what he says?" she said, dubious. "Half of it's garbage."

    Spider-Man shrugged. "Eh▬he's not so bad. Anger issues, but he keeps me humble."

     She arched a brow, curious. "You listen to a guy that downgrades you constantly to keep yourself humble?"

    He nodded. "Yeah."

    Nina pursed her lips, her brows knitting together with a breath of intrigue. Then, when she realised she might have been watching him for a moment too long, she quickly looked away. Nina nudged her nose and sniffled as she felt some of her allergies again. "Um ... You can stay for a little while, if you want. Just so you can rest. You can't do any Spider-Man things like that."

    At the sound of his voice, she could tell he was biting back a grin. He mock-saluted her. "Yes, Ma'am."

     Nina blushed again and rolled her eyes, hiding her little smile. "Your jokes are dumb."

    Spider-Man chuckled and managed to sit up straighter against the edge of her bed. "Yeah, but it's a part of the whole superhero charm." When she wasn't looking, he most certainly was. Nina Hart had such a sweet look about her, with plump round cheeks and a bright smile that reached her eyes. Her hair was dark blonde, falling down her back. She had a bandaid with little hearts plastered on her knee through a ripped hole in her jeans. 

    It made him want to know more about her. To know about the girl that had pulled him inside and might as well saved his life. 

    Spider-Man continued to watch Nina Hart. "Tell me something about yourself," he asked her without thinking.

    She frowned at him for a moment, fighting back a smile. Nina then tilted her head and asked: "Are you playing with me?"

    Spider-Man chuckled and perhaps was glad that he was wearing a mask so she couldn't see the way his cheeks went red at the way she said that. "What? No, no▬" he continued to chuckle lightly. "No. I'm just▬I wanna know something about you."

    "Why would Spider-Man want to know anything about me?" chuckled Nina, her legs falling away from her chest and she crossed them. 

    Spider-Man's laughter was soft. "Why wouldn't he?"

    Nina's little chuckles fell away and she stared at him, lost in a soft breath. She blinked, taken aback and then blushed, biting her lip with sudden nerves. She tried to hide it and shook her head, looking down at her hands. "Um ... I▬well, what do you want to know?"

    He shrugged. "Anything." The way his mask lifted around his cheeks told Nina that he was definitely smiling now, and her heart fluttered▬she could tell he had a wonderful smile. 

    Nina smiled at him, soft and delicate. She furrowed her brows at him, filled with a breath of memory▬even though she has never met Spider-Man before in her life; let alone know exactly what his smile looked like. But whatever this feeling was, it made her relax as she sat there with him▬and he no longer felt like a stranger. "All right," she relented. "I'll tell you something about myself. But in exchange, you gotta tell me something about you."

    Spider-Man tensed. "Uh▬"

    "Nothing big," Nina reassured him. "I'm not asking you to reveal your secret identity." Her smile returned, soft. "Just ... you know, something small. Like ... What colour are your eyes? Something like that."

    He tilted at her. He considered her proposition for a moment, but after deciding it could mean no harm, Spider-Man answered her question. "Green," he told her. "I have green eyes."

    Nina's brows lifted. "Green," she echoed, her heart fluttering once again. She tried to imagine green eyes behind those mask lenses and a warmth spread in her chest. Nina nodded. "Nice. You know green is a rare eye colour? Only like two per cent of the population have green eyes. I mean, they only appear green, because there's no actual green pigment so it's just▬" she spread out her fingers, "▬light scattering because there is less..." 

    She realised she was speaking very quickly and saying a lot at once. Nina flushed and stopped. "Sorry. I shouldn't▬I just▬I'm studying genetics with my biochem course and I just like learning random things..."

    "No, no▬" Spider-Man was still smiling. "Keep going. Don't stop..." he had seen the way her face lit up when she talked, and for once, Spider-Man listened instead of talking▬he didn't want to interrupt Nina Hart at all, and he did not do so once. 

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    NINA WASN'T the best at making friends. She was great at knowing people▬and knowing a lot of them▬but getting close enough to people to consider them friends? That was a problem she still struggled with. It was like the saying: jack of all trades, but master of none. Nina Hart loved talking to people, and she loved meeting people. She will walk straight into the crowd and offer her hand. She wasn't a stranger to many people, but that didn't mean she found a close friend in any of them. Nina learnt very quickly that she was too transparent. Like a mirror, she was great at reflecting whoever she spoke with to fit in▬agreeing with them, laughing at whatever they said; becoming the exact person she needed to be to get along in a conversation. But just like a lot of people don't like staring at their own reflection for too long, they didn't like being around Nina for too long, either. After staring into the mirror for a long time, people started to see imperfections, they started to hate things▬and soon enough, they couldn't stand to look at the mirror anymore until they noticed something else they liked ... and the cycle started once again. 

    Nina was a reflection that didn't like a lot of things girls her age liked. She was a reflection that became a little foggy after someone spent time in a hot bathroom for too long. Not every young woman was interested in Animal Planet documentaries and wanted to discuss theories on new organisms that were undiscovered deep within the Antarctic ice. When they saw Nina with her bright smile, chatty personality, hot chocolate and heart-printed sweaters from Target she's had since High School, most didn't want to get to know her past the reflection she had learnt to show. 

    But the quantity of friends isn't what mattered▬as Nina's mother always told her. It was the quality those friends▬even if there weren't many▬had. Nina's first best friend was Michelle Jones. They met each other Freshman year, stuck in social studies together and bored out of their mind. Since then, they bonded over making fun of their teachers, chasing wild conspiracy theories about secret agents on the Moon and government-issued pigeons. She was the first person Nina had met that was into very similar things to her, and yet couldn't be more different. Like the sun and the moon, Nina Hart and Michelle Jones thought they would rule the world, overthrow the government and make Chasity Rollins rue the day she ever slacked on their Physics project and ruined their sophomore grade. Michelle Jones was now in Boston, researching for a doctorate degree at M.I.T. Nina and Michelle don't conspire to overthrow the government or put stinky cafeteria food in Chasity Rollins's locker anymore, but Nina will receive a message from her every now or then about something ridiculous, and memories flooded back with nostalgic laughter. 

    Nina was a little too scared to call Vinnie her friend to his face, but she considered him one deep down. He told her to never text him outside of work hours and threatened to complain about her to the Board whenever she sneakily sent him a meme she thought funny on her lunch break. But then she'd get home and he'd randomly send her something at like nine o'clock in the evening complaining about whatever was on his mind (most of the time it was her). Vinnie was there to direct her away from the hot chocolate in the work cupboard, throw pens at her across their desks when their team leader was not looking and threaten to kill her multiple times during the day (and then wear the Christmas sweater she got him last year).

    But when she was in college at Empire State University, she had been alone. She never seemed able to find someone who wanted to stay friends with her long enough to get to know her, and for her to get to know them. Nina Hart didn't stay in a dorm room on campus, where most people she knew made their friendships. She didn't find herself with any motivation to join clubs, or to go out to events▬all she did was study, go to classes and lectures, and then go and study some more. 

    That was until she decided to volunteer at F.E.A.S.T., and there, she met Peter Parker. For the first time since Michelle Jones in freshman year, Nina Hart found a mirror that looked back at her in the shadows of the moon but brightened the moment they met her sunlight. Nina Hart and Peter Parker were so different in so many ways. He was older, she was younger. He was physics and she was chemistry. He was quiet and she was sometimes too loud. And whenever she talked, all Peter Parker wanted to do was listen to her. Yet Nina felt as though she had found the puzzle piece that had been missing in her life. She had found someone who had watched the documentaries she loved, understood the theories she couldn't stop talking about and still had the same jumper he bought from Target back in high school in his closet. 

    Through Peter Parker, Nina Hart found the first group of friends she has ever had. They were a little bit older and had known each other for longer than forever, but for once, she did not feel as though she was forced into someplace she didn't belong. On the other hand, Nina fit like the final piece of their own puzzle. 

    Harry Osborn brought life to every conversation. Before he left for Europe, he was everybody's favourite person. Outgoing, cheeky and incredibly smart, Harry had a constant summer charm that followed him wherever he went. He always bought Nina a hot chocolate in the morning when he got a coffee, bribed her away from her study with the thrill of adventure and managed to bring her back out of her shell all over again. Nina had gotten into way much trouble at Harry Osborn's side, but at the same time, also found a purpose in these substations that made her feel like she could finally make a difference▬a good one. 

    (And now, he wouldn't even open any of her text messages▬or answer her calls...).

    Next to Harry Osborn, Nina Hart also met Mary Jane Watson. 

    Mary Jane Watson wasn't a scientist. She wasn't a fan of watching documentaries or understood half of the things Nina would talk about with an eager smile. Mary Jane Watson was ambitious, she was straightforward and she knew how to get what she wanted▬whatever that might be. These days, Nina read her articles in The Daily Bugle instead of hearing all about them before they were posted. These days, Nina was left guessing rather than showing up at her apartment late in the night, passing off the information MJ always wrote as an anonymous source. They had been a team▬a team that got themselves into a lot of trouble, yes, but they worked well together. Mary Jane Watson was the greatest investigative reporter Nina knew (she didn't know that many, but that was not the point...). But she had also been, once upon a time, a friend that was a friend different in the way Peter and Harry had been. Mary Jane Watson took Nina Hart under her arm and became the type of person Nina could only imagine an older sister would be like. Nina trusted MJ with everything and anything ... until six months ago. 

    And Nina was terrified to even consider what Mary Jane Watson thought of her now. And MJ wasn't one to hide what she thought or how she felt. This meant that there were two possible outcomes that progressed from Nina calling her. One: she left a message and could deal with what came after later, or two: Nina will most likely die. 

    She stared at her phone on her coffee table. She had made her way back to her apartment after her dinner with Peter Parker was cut short. As soon as Nina had seen that newspaper article, she had known who she needed to call▬who could figure out why this file was so important and why these 'Demons' wanted it and who they were. 

    But unlike staring Peter Parker in the face, if Nina caught the gaze of Mary Jane Watson, she knew she would forget how to speak. Nina Hart had no way to explain herself and why she left. She had no reason to give her best friend as to why she pushed her away, too other than she had been scared. 

    Nina took a deep breath and picked up her phone again, her leg bouncing as she sat on the couch, barely listening to the news▬the sirens and the coverage of the robbery had become a muffled sound in the back of her mind. 

    Vinnie had already sent her a few messages that Nina was yet to open and properly comprehend (and try and come up with some great excuse to explain her behaviour). A few that she had glimpsed before she swiped the notifications away gave her the feeling that she was going to have a meeting, but not the meeting she wanted▬at all. 

    She chewed on her bottom lip, hovering her thumb over MJ's number. Nina Hart knew she couldn't back down now, not after she had started herself back on this race track▬not until she made it to the finish line. 

    So, she took a brave breath and pressed her number, holding her phone to her ear. At first, she didn't expect Mary Jane Watson to pick up until the ringing stopped▬and a breathless voice spoke through, shocked to see Nina Hart's name appear on her phone as she sat alone in her apartment. 

    "Nina?" muttered Mary Jane Watson, voice hitched in the back of her throat.

    Nina swallowed harshly, suddenly having a lump in her throat. "H▬Hey, MJ. How ... how are you?"

    "How am I?" she expected the miffed tone in her friend's voice. "Are you serious? Six months, Nina▬and at first, I gave you the benefit of the doubt. But six months?"

    Nina bit her bottom lip. She sat back on her couch and pulled her knees up to her chest, watching the breaking news coverage on the Shocker▬who was caught in a robbery only just after he had been released on bail. "Look ... MJ, I▬I understand. And ... and I'm sorry. But I need to talk to you. It's serious."

    "So ... you call up again just like that?" Mary Jane grumbled on the other end. "With no explanation. After everything?"

    She hugged her knees close to her chest, her heart racing with the fear of finally confronting everything that had happened▬and all that she had left behind. But she wasn't going to run away, not this time. She had thrown herself too far into the deep end to climb her way back out, now. "I'll explain, and I'll do anything, but you'll want to hear this▬I promise. Just ... just give me a chance, MJ." She chewed on the inside of her cheek and then offered in a soft voice. "I▬I'll make hot chocolate? My place?"

    Nina's heart pounded in the silence that followed, anticipating Mary Jane's answer with a bated breath. But then she heard her old friend sigh on the other end of the line. "Fine," she said. "I'll be over in an hour. And I'll need a coffee."

     "Thank you," whispered Nina. "See you soon. Bring your notebook."

     There was a Starbucks and a 7-Eleven still open down the road from Nina's apartment. Incredibly nervous, she got Mary Jane a coffee▬a grande cinnamon dolce late (which was a medium size which didn't make sense because grande is Italian for large...), a MJ special with an extra shot which only made the cinnamon become a bitter taste, but her friend loved it. Nina then spent probably a little bit too much on candy and potato chips▬but the coffee-hot chocolate and extremely unhealthy binge food was what they always had when discussing theories and Spider-Man-related problems. Nina hoped that her bag full of food that would make her dentist scream and the coffee might soften MJ's anger. 

    As she waited for the next fifteen minutes for MJ, hoping her coffee wouldn't go cold before she got here, Nina watched the rest of the news. She held a familiar feeling▬a breath of what people might call deja vu▬when she saw the news coverage of Spider-Man taking down Shocker in just ten minutes, and Herman's petty crimes were vanquished with a few dumb quips and a lot of webs. 

    Nina wondered why the Shocker kept on trying the same old tricks when he knew that Spider-Man would get the upper hand. She wondered why was committing the same crimes so soon after he had been released from prison. Peter would often say that Herman was a cupcake with not that much frosting in his head, but Nina never considered even the Shocker to be this soft in the head. 

    But he was now going to be back in prison, so Nina supposed there wasn't too much for her to think and worry about. It was just the average night in New York City▬as Spider-Man would say. 

    (Until it wasn't, and Nina was watching the live news with her heart in her throat at every time Peter was knocked down or barely missed a deadly blow). 

    Her mind wandered back towards the mysterious new gang on the streets that she had met at the Fisk Estate Sale. Those guys now had that file she had found▬and while Peter wasn't too bothered, she very much was. They had forced their way in, guns blazing and with strange energy-manipulation powers, and did everything they could to get their hands on that file. They wanted it for a reason, and with the words Devil's Breath that Nina had read ... she couldn't help but feel a little bit scared. 

    Nina glanced at another sternly-worded text message from Vinnie after she hadn't responded to his last five when she heard a knock on her door. Nina's breath hitched and she dropped her phone down onto the coffee table. Her heart pounding with a new type of fear, Nina Hart scrambled to her feet and stumbled over. She grasped the handle and opened her apartment door, and just like that, she forgot what she was going to say when she saw Mary Jane standing opposite. 

    Everyone called Mary Jane beautiful. She was stunning with dark red hair, bright blue eyes and the same oval face, soft-cheek complexion that movies loved. But she was more than that. Back in college, Nina remembered hearing all the compliments, having to tell boys she wasn't interested even before they got the chance to talk to her, and watching MJ get frustrated over how almost every date she had wanted to know more about what she could give them, and compliment her looks rather than listen to anything about her. They had all seen her as nothing more than two-dimensional. Like she was the theory of the fourth dimension in space-time, they couldn't comprehend her layers and instead merely saw the surface▬when in fact she was something special, and somebody incredible. She was Time, which was what Einstein deemed included in the fourth dimension. No one could understand Time, because the average mind could never see their world in anything more than three dimensions. It was a mystery, with no evidence to completely sustain this theory. It was incredible and it was thorough and it was filled with so many layers, depths and theories▬if it was real, it would explain so much of their world and offer so many different possibilities. 

    That was Mary Jane Watson. 

    And Nina Hart was like every other person who saw her as nothing more than what was on the surface because she had walked away and left her▬she had taken her best friend for granted. And no matter all of the reasons Nina had and believed she deserved, she regretted keeping MJ out of them all the most. 

   MJ's red hair was pulled off her face in a tight ponytail tonight, with her bangs falling over her brows. She had thrown on a green down jacket over her simple shirt and jeans with black-heeled winter boots. 

    At last, Nina took a breath and said. "Hey."

    "Hey," replied MJ in the same breathless tone, except hers was far more rigid and it made Nina purse her lips. 

    She twiddled her thumbs before gesturing behind her. "I ... got you a coffee?"

    Mary Jane pursed her lips and hesitated for a moment but then stepped inside Nina's apartment. She quickly closed the door and glanced back, watching her old friend walk over to her small dining table and immediately go for the coffee (even though it was well past the evening). She glanced at the bowls of junk food and candy Nina had set out as she took a sip of her coffee, admittedly surprised. 

    "I ..." Nina chuckled anxiously as she picked up her hot chocolate and awkwardly sat down. "I got a little nervous."

    MJ set down her coffee and didn't say anything at first. For some reason, Nina thought she seemed just as nervous. At last, she sighed and sat down. It was a painfully long silence with the news playing in the background. "Thanks for the coffee."

    Nina nodded. "Thanks for coming over," she corrected.

    Mary Jane took a short breath and leaned forward on the table. Her bangs drifted away from her eyes slightly as she exhaled. "So ..." She arched a red brow at Nina across the table. "How ... how are you?"

    "Okay," murmured Nina. Her hot chocolate warmed up her hands. "Work is a little hectic at the moment. OSCORP keeps trying to shut down Harry's substations and won't look at any of my reports. How ... how about you?"

    "Work's busy," said MJ. She took another sip of her coffee.  

    "Are you ... still talking to Pete?"

    "Yeah," Mary Jane frowned at her briefly, slightly intrigued by Nina Hart's tone. The younger girl blushed and looked down at her hot chocolate. "You've spoken to him," deduced MJ easily. 

    "Only today," murmured Nina. "Just an hour ago."

    MJ sat back in the chair, continuing to eye Nina. "So ... Are you making the rounds, is that it? Finally, after six months?"

    Nina winced. "It's ... more complicated than that."

    She knew MJ was hurt by the way she said that and Nina flushed, ashamed▬she didn't mean for it to come out like that; as if the only reason she was speaking with Mary Jane now was to get something ... But how else was she going to put it because ... that was sort of why they were here. Her old friend scoffed slightly and scratched at her brow. "Wow ..." she murmured. "Six months of not talking▬six months, and now you want to talk again? And that is your answer?"

    "It is complicated," Nina tried to explain with a sigh. She rubbed at her brow, too. "It's ... I don't know how to explain what happened, I just ... I just needed to step away from ... from it all. From Spider-Man and▬and all that came with it."

    "Me included."

    "MJ..." her words fell dry. She didn't know what other excuses she could come up with. So, in the end, Nina sighed again and murmured. "I'm sorry. I really am. I should have spoken to you again sooner but I just ... I got scared."

    "Of what?"

    "Of this," admitted Nina. "Of▬of talking. Of facing you guys again. I just ... I knew you'd be mad."

    Mary Jane Watson set her jaw. She brushed her dark fringe out of her eyes, tucking it behind her ear. Nina wondered whether she was going to say something else▬but like that, the conversation changed. "So, what did you want to talk about? Why did you want me to come over?"

    Nina pursed her lips but she let it pass. Taking a sip of her hot chocolate, she briefly glanced at the news that still headlined Shocker's short-running thievery. "Pete and I spoke for a reason."

    "I got that."

    She chewed the inside of her cheek and shuffled forward against the table. MJ arched a brow, watching the shift of her tone. "I heard something, today, at OSCORP."

    Immediately, Mary Jane's interest was piqued. Her eyes widened and she set her full attention on Nina. She reached out and took one of the many very unhealthy food choices Nina had set out on the table. "What did you hear?"

    "Something strange," Nina tapped her fingers on the edge of her table. "First off: these board members▬I saw them rush past. They were talking about Fisk and some file▬something that they didn't want the police to find. Or anyone for that matter. And then later, I caught one of them on the phone with Harry's dad and the file was mentioned again. And so ...  I did some digging."

    MJ tilted her head, her brows knitting together as she listened intently. Nina continued. "I ... I figured that if Fisk was keeping a file anywhere, it would be at one of his estate sales. Rosemann had one today and I went."

    "You found it?" murmured Mary Jane.

    Nina nodded, grave. "I did ... And I'm so confused by it. There was something in it called 'Devil's Breath'. Fisk compared it to Pandora's Box. He was wary of it a▬and Pete says that Fisk doesn't scare easily."

    "He doesn't," MJ started to look troubled but also very intrigued▬she started to understand why Nina had called her here. "Do you still have it? The file?"

    She shook her head. "That's the thing. This ... this gang came in. They had these antique masks▬They spoke Mandarin. They stormed in, armed and ... and they got the file and got away. If Pete hadn't been there..." Nina pursed her lips and looked down. "I won't say this to him, but I'm lucky he was there."

    Mary Jane picked at some candy between her fingers thoughtfully. "I can't think of a gang like that off the top of my head. They must be new on the streets." Nina nodded. "But ... what would they want with a file off Fisk?"

    "It has something to do with OSCORP and the Mayor," Nina answered. "There's got to be a connection between there, Fisk and this gang."

    "Well, we all knew that Pete taking down Fisk would open a few cans of worms..." MJ nodded to herself, her mind running with thoughts already. "Have you got anything on these guys?"

    "Pete took one of their masks," Nina said. "I was thinking that maybe you could...?"

    "Look into it?"

    She nodded. "If anybody could help us figure this out, it would be you. And you'd get a story out of it, too. You know The Bugle would eat this up."

    Mary Jane frowned again. She tilted her head, watching Nina with fresh curiosity. "Us," she echoed. "You said 'help us' ... Does Pete know you called me? Does he know you want to get involved in this?"

    Nina grew sheepish. She took a few more sips of her hot chocolate before answering. "Well ... no▬"

    MJ sighed. "Nina▬"

    "▬I was gonna call him after I spoke with you!" said the biochemist in a high-pitched voice. "I'll convince him, it'll be fine. He'll be fine with it. He'll agree to it ..." at Mary Jane's look, Nina pursed her lips and added in a less enthusiastic murmur: "... eventually."

    "He won't be happy about it."

    "Yeah, well," Nina shrugged, growing flushed at the cheeks in both frustration and with an annoying flutter to her chest, "he'll just have to realise that I got myself thrown into this, and I'm not leaving until I figure this out. Until we figure it out."

    MJ kept watching her with that knowing stare that made Nina grow even redder. Finally, she murmured. "You still have feelings for him, don't you?"

    Nina set her jaw. She didn't want to admit it, though when it came to Mary Jane, she was sure it was written all over her face. Eventually, she muttered: "No, I don't. I'm over that."

    "Yeah," muttered Mary Jane, too. Her tone was disbelieving. "I'm sure."

    At her look, MJ soon sighed. "All right, fine," she decided in the end. "I'll help. Text me once you get news on that mask." Nina went to say something as she grabbed her bag once again, ready to leave even though they had barely eaten any of the junk she had bought. Nina tried not to feel hurt▬after six months, she supposed she should have expected it. "Good luck."

    She huffed. "Yeah," she couldn't help but agree, already imagining what Peter was going to say. "Thanks."

    MJ stood up and went to leave, taking her coffee and things with her. Though, just as she made it to the door, she turned around▬as if rethinking her exit. "Look, it ..." Mary Jane managed a smile, "it was good to see you again, Nina."

    Something inside Nina lifted with relief. She breathed a smile, as well. "You too, MJ."

    She watched her old friend wave goodbye before disappearing out through Nina's door. She closed it behind her and Nina let out a long sigh, rubbing at her brow and reaching out to grab some candy for herself. 

    She grabbed her phone and stared at the screen for a minute, trying to figure out how she will explain this to Peter. When nothing came to mind, she pursed her lips and pressed his number. She sat back in her chair, waiting with her phone to her ear, listening to the ringing of the phone with her eye on the television.

    Nina was a little surprised when he answered almost immediately. 

    "Hey," the way his voice sounded told her that he was midswing between New York streets. He seemed surprised that she even called. "You're ... you're up late?"

    "Uh ... yeah," she sat cross-legged on her dining table chair. "I'm just ... you know, catching up on the news. Shocker, huh?"

    He hesitated, sensing the careful tone of her voice. "Yeah," said Peter in the end. "He was unusually combative. Anyway, thanks again for dinner. What do I owe you?"

    "Actually," Nina swung her legs off the chair and stood up, starting to pace as she tried to think of what to say, "there is something. Do you still have that mask from the gallery?"

    "Yeah. I'm actually on my way to the F.E.A.S.T. Center now to ask Martin Li about it."

    Nina stopped her pacing and turned on the spot, confused. "Martin Li? Why?"

    She heard the sound of Peter landing on a rooftop as he spoke with her. "He has a degree in Art History. If anyone knows about the origins of that mask, he will."

    "Okay," she nodded. She fiddled with the hem of her jumper, growing a little nervous again. "Well ... I was just thinking that once you do that ... let me know what he says?"

    She could hear the suspicion in the silence. "...Why?"

    Nina chewed on her bottom lip and swung on her feet, back to pacing. "I▬uh▬MJ would like to know about it, too. She's going to be writing a story and helping out."

    She expected the rushed tone▬a mixture of surprise, exasperation and worry. "You called MJ? Nina, are you serious▬?"

    "Yeah, I am," she cut him off, talking very quickly to make sure she was able to get everything out before she lost the chance. "I swear that this isn't just something ordinary. OSCORP, Harry's father, Fisk and these mask guys are all connected to this file and this Devil's Breath. MJ is our best shot at trying to figure out what that connection is."

    "It could be dangerous," Peter argued and she pursed her lips, resisting the urge to pinch the bridge of her nose. "Very dangerous."

    "I got myself into this," she argued back, "I'm not gonna stop until I figure this out. I can't just let this go. I'm not changing my mind, Pete."

    Nina heard him sigh on the other end. She crossed an arm across her stomach and added, softer: "You wanted to start over. I can't just sit and do nothing, Pete. I'm not going to be sitting and waiting, worried by my open window." She sighed, too. "Let me help you, please. I'm in OSCORP, I could try and figure out what's happening over there."

    She knew he was considering what she was saying▬regrettably realising that not only was she right, but she also wasn't going to take 'no' as an answer. Either way, she was involved. 

    Finally, Peter Parker let out one last sigh. "Okay. I'll let you and MJ know what Martin Li says."

    "Thanks," murmured Nina. She smiled. "We're gonna figure this out. Like▬Like we're a team. Nina Hart and the Bug Boy."

    She felt her heart flutter when she heard Peter unable to fight back a chuckle. "What did you just call me?"

    "Come on," she teased. "Like you haven't heard that before."

    Nina Hart was smiling when she heard him chuckle once again. She had missed Peter Parker. She heard the sound of him dropping down onto another level. "So..." He said after a short silence. "Does this mean I can call you, like whenever?"

    She nodded. "Yeah," she replied probably a little too quickly. "Yeah, of course." She back-tracked. "I mean, yeah, sure▬Whenever, whatever..." Nina winced at her attempt to sound nonchalant. "I should get some sleep. Uh▬talk to you later, Pete."

    Nina ended the call. As soon as she did, she couldn't hide the small smile on her face.

▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃

    no one:

   nina and peter in every universe: *cute noises*

    i need some nina and peter cuteness after i've reached the nwh plot in deja vu. *sobs*

    also nina literally describing mj is goals. she could just say that mj's incredibly smart and more than what people see her as but nope she'll go into a whole scientific analogy that i don't even understand but try to for the sake of one description >>