"It wasn't your fault, sweetheart,"
Nina collapsed right then and there. Everyone in the room was stunned. Only Thor reacted quick enough to catch her. Her body shook with uncontrollable sobs as an outpouring of gratification and affection continued on screen. Until that moment she had been fully convinced that what she had done didn't matter. That not saving that girl was her biggest failure. Hearing that very girl's mother, any mother, tell her that she was grateful for her intervention was more than she could handle.
"Come on. Come on, this is great! They love you," Olivia pulled Nina way from Thor and planted her on the couch between herself and Katerina, who both put an arm around her. Through her tears, she kept watching the broadcast, stopping every once in a while to wipe her eyes. It wasn't long before Olivia and Katerina were telling her how jealous they were of her official Avenger status and Nina was laughing. It was very likely that without her friends and the support of the people, she never would have been able to pull herself out of it.
Once things settled down, Olivia and Katerina started making plans. Having the day off and having been informed that the previous day was Nina's twenty-first birthday, they couldn't very well stare at the TV and cry all day. As much as they wanted to do something extravagant for Nina, she insisted they at least give her a day to recover. Instead of throwing a party or something of the like, they finally went to fetch Nina's belongings and stopped at a cafe on the way home.
No matter where they would have gone or what corner they tucked themselves into, they wouldn't have been able to avoid the questions. While the people of New York didn't know the identity of this 'Artemis' they did know Olivia, who had made no previous attempt to pretend she didn't know the Avengers. Her social media accounts were full to the brim of secretly snapped pictures and sneaky videos of the super heroes in their daily life at the Tower. After threatening to sick the Hulk on them enough times, the people crowding them dispersed.
"Christ, you're more famous than I am now," Olivia complained when they were finally in the safety of one of their town cars. Nina couldn't help but find it funny.
When they got back to the Tower, Olivia and Katerina started helping her put her clothes away.
"Dear god, is this a turtle neck?" Olivia held up a sweater. "What are you, ninety?" Nina rolled her eyes and went to snatch the garment out of her hands. Katerina was faster.
"She's right. You need a new wardrobe," Katerina insisted before tossing the sweater into a small waste basket by the bed.
Nina had a tendency to dress conservatively, which was a no go for both Olivia and Katerina. Without Nina's permission they begun rifling through her clothing, deciding what she could and could not keep. By the time they were done she wasn't left with much to wear. They promised to take her out shopping the next day. On them, of course. Even though Nina was a little frightened at the though of putting her wardrobe in Olivia's hands, she couldn't help but feel excited while falling asleep that night.
The next morning, they wouldn't even let her dress herself. They picked out for her a tight pair of jeans and a baby blue t-shirt than Olivia insisted must be knotted to make it into a crop top. Katerina dug through her own closet to find a pair of royal blue, velvet high heel sandals, which Nina was sure she would break her ankles in. Katerina then did Nina's makeup with a professional precision she could never hope to achieve and did her hair up in an elaborate bun that looked effortlessly messy.
By the time all was said a done Nina was feeling very attractive and very unsure of herself. The girls then paraded her through the house, leaving Steve and Bucky open mouthed in their wake before they left.
With Tony Stark's bank account at their fingertips there was nowhere they couldn't go and nothing they couldn't do. They spend hours on Madison Avenue poking around boutiques Nina would never have imagined even stepping foot in. Despite how she looked and the company she was in, she still felt very much out of place. By four o'clock that evening Nina's arms were weighed down by Armani, Chanel, and Fendi, among other things.
"I have just had the greatest idea of all time," Olivia announced as they left the Buttercup Bake Shop.