"After how amazing that casserole was, I… um… I hope this at least tastes good…" Nadine grimaced sheepishly, indicating the cake sitting on the counter next to the kitchen table, trying not to flush at the abysmal decorating job she had done that afternoon. Green frosting covered the top of the cake and most of the sides, though the streaks along the edges where the frosting was either too thick or not thin enough were painfully obvious – even a scattering of sprinkles hadn't managed to hide those spots. A blob of yellow frosting in one corner that was supposed to be a flower half-covered the slanted letters on the top spelling out "Congratulations," leaving the message nearly unreadable. She had intended for the flower to be the top of the "C," but somehow the frosting had gotten away from her, leaving it looking more like a melted candle had dripped on the cake. She had tried adding a few other flowers around the cake to hide her mistakes… but each one had just compounded the problems. Nadine swallowed nervously, wrenching her gaze away from the mess.
Maybe she should have listened to that quiet voice in her head that had been warning her all day not to even bother trying to make this stupid cake. She couldn't do something like this; she would just embarrass herself in front of her friends. And looking at this monstrosity now, after dinner…
Standing at the counter, Mylène gave Nadine a reassuring smile. "I'm sure it will taste amazing; if it tastes half as good as it looks, we'll be in for a treat!" she assured her. "I especially love the flowers; Marinette has tried to show me how to do those more detailed designs, but I didn't quite figure out how to get them right – not like she could, at least."
Nadine's eyes widened in surprise. "You can't decorate cakes either?"
"What do you mean, 'either'?" asked Mylène rhetorically. "These flowers look great! I've tried a few times, but it never comes out like I want it to – you should have seen the cupcake cake I tried to make back in lycée – shaped like a dog, with a nose and ears and collar and leash…" She stifled a giggle. "I think I was being a little over-ambitious. It was for Rose's birthday… but I ended up scrapping the whole thing from embarrassment."
Ivan cocked his head to one side. "Is that what that was supposed to be? I thought it was a squirrel."
Mylène blinked. "Why would I have made a squirrel cake?"
Philippe draped his arm over Nadine's shoulder and snorted. "Maybe squirrels were your favorite animals?"
Sitting on the table, Mullo folded her arms with a harrumph and turned her nose up. "Squirrels? Squirrels? My girl has much better taste than that! Those lousy, no-good rodents…" the Kwami grumbled.
Stompp raised an eyebrow at Mullo. "And yet, it was your girl who found Dorreen…"
Mullo blanched. "Don't remind me."
Carro cleared her throat. "Dorreen isn't that bad," she insisted. "She just… has a lot of energy…"
"I think she could do with a little less energy…" Ivan muttered under his breath.
Nadine tried to match Mylène's smile, though she couldn't quite manage it. Tonight had been so nice. Mylène had invited them over for dinner – not for anything special, but just because it had been so long since they had hung out. Nadine had been so excited she had spent half the afternoon baking that stupid cake… and for some ungodly reason, she'd decided to make it from scratch, only to then turn around and use storebought frosting on it. And now, even apart from the awful decorating job, she wasn't sure if the cake would even be edible, let alone whatever processed crap was in that frosting.
Cutting four large slices of the cake, along with cutting a fifth piece into thirds for the Kwamis, Mylène placed the plates out in front of them with a smile before flopping down into her chair next to Ivan. Nadine watched nervously as she took her first bite of cake, but Mylène let out a contented hum before quickly polishing it off. "It's really good!" she assured Nadine, licking the frosting from her lips and smiling broadly.
"Really? You're not just saying that?"
Mylène gave her a look of surprise. "No; of course not."
Nadine hummed, relaxing her shoulders just the tiniest bit. "It's just… Lila always said my cooking was so terrible – back when we were living together. Or, I was living with her and doing all the cooking and cleaning and…" She let out a breath and looked down at the cake slice in front of her. "I guess… I was worried that maybe my cooking really was as bad as Lila said, and you were just being polite."
"Every word Lila spewed was crap," Philippe spat, hugging Nadine protectively. "You are amazing. Nothing Lila could say could ever change that."
Mylène placed a hand on the table between herself and Nadine. "Lila can't hurt you anymore," she assured her quietly. "She's gone. Her lies are nothing anymore."
Nadine nodded slowly. "I know – I know Lila's gone. But I still sometimes hear her voice – even though I know it's all lies!" she added, glancing over at Philippe. "But you hear something often enough and… I don't know, I guess you kind of start to believe it."
Mylène gave her a sympathetic smile. "Then let us replace the lies with the truth. Starting with this cake," she added. "It's really good! I love the chocolate flavor to it!"
Nadine quirked one corner of her lips up in a smile. "Thanks. I was worried it might make you sick." Mylène cocked her head. "Have you been okay with eating lately?" Nadine asked. "I've heard that pregnancy can do weird things to your appetite – or at least your stomach."
Mylène giggled. "Actually, it hasn't been too bad," she assured Nadine. "I had a couple days last week that I nearly threw up after breakfast, but that was it for morning sickness – so far, at least. And the rest of the day it's been… fine." She shrugged. "I've eaten a lot more potato chips lately, but that's about it. Those salt-and-vinegar chips are absolutely heavenly…"
Ivan grimaced.
Nadine nodded. "Sounds like you got off lucky," she observed, turning her attention back to her cake. "From everything I've read or heard, it makes it seem like pregnancy is…" She paused. "… It's hard on your body."
Mylène shrugged. "Not too bad. At least, not for me, not yet. Why do you ask?" She raised an eyebrow in amusement. "Thinking about having one of your own?"
Nadine's eyes widened. Beside her, Philippe tensed. "I've thought about it," Nadine admitted, heat rising in her cheeks. "I mean, I've wanted to be a mother for years – since my little brother was born. But now…" She shook her head. "I don't know. What with everything that happened over the last few months…"
Mylène sighed. "Don't let Lila's abuse stop you from living your life, from doing the things that you want to do. Lila isn't worth it."
Nadine gulped, trying to nod though her head only made a sort of jerking motion. She sniffled quietly. Had anyone heard that?
Philippe squeezed Nadine's shoulder. "I think we will at some point," he promised Nadine, giving her a nervous smile. "That's something I'd like, too! But… not yet. Not until you're ready."
But when will I be ready? Nadine wanted to scream. She had been so ready to start her life with Philippe, after Angola, after the Tarasque, after everything. She had been so excited for what the future would hold. The moment they had decided to move in together for university, it had felt like all of her hopes and dreams of the last years were coming true. They were going to start a family – they were going to be a family. After all the stress and trauma, things were finally starting to turn around, and not just for them but for the whole city!
But all of that joy had turned to ash since Lila – since the reality of what Lila had been doing and what she'd been using Nadine to do – since all of that had come out. How could she imagine being happy, or having a family, or any of those things that she'd been wanting for years, when she had allowed Lila to get away with so many terrible things for so long? Lila had done them… but Nadine had known about them.
Over the last month or so, she had been seeing Sabrina regularly. Sabrina hadn't judged her – how could she, when she had herself turned on everyone while they were in Angola, blinded by her grief at Max's presumed death? But Sabrina had guided her to talk about what had happened, to place the blame on Lila instead of taking it all on herself. And after how much progress Sabrina said she had made over the last month, Nadine had thought that maybe she was starting to get over everything. But then she would see a picture, or someone would say something, or a memory would come back to her, and she would go right back to where she had been right after finding out about Lila.
Letting out a breath, Nadine glanced up and around the table. Philippe and Ivan had started talking about the building they were helping to build this week – a recreation center that had replaced a destroyed mall – but she had felt them staring at her, just moments before. Mylène, however, was watching her, a mix of sadness and concern in her eyes. But by the time Nadine could really focus on her, Mylène's expression had shifted to one of contentment.
"I'm sure you'll be a mommy when you're ready," Mylène told Nadine. "But I think you'll be great with kids." Glancing up at Ivan as he and Philippe broke off their conversation, Mylène smiled. "Actually, we've talked about it, and we want the two of you to be our baby's godparents." Nadine's eyes widened. "To take care of them if anything happens to us," Mylène clarified, though as she said it she stifled a laugh. "And I'm hoping you can watch him or her for us if we ever need a babysitter!"
Nadine gasped. "Y–yes! O–of course! I'd love to do it!"
Philippe gave Mylène and Ivan a dubious look. "Er, are you expecting anything like that?"
Ivan shook his head. "Expecting? No. But…" He gestured toward his nose ring and raised an eyebrow meaningfully. "You never know."
Philippe hummed. "Understood. You can count on us," he promised, squeezing Nadine's shoulder.
"Then are you still going to be Heroes of Paris?" asked Nadine, giving Mylène a nervous look. Mylène nodded. Nadine pursed her lips in thought. "Oh. I… I guess I was figuring you might quit now that you're going to have a baby."
Mullo bristled, letting out an indignant squeak.
Mylène shook her head. "No; not quitting. Although Marinette did say I might need to… step back a little from the Heroes of Paris. Just until the baby is born. But beyond that…" She shrugged, a look of disquiet on her face. "I guess that's a good question."
