Kid arrived at Nia's and knocked on her door. The girl answered wearing a yellow tank top and a pair of cargo shorts. He smiled when he saw her, but his smile quickly fell as he realized she wasn't in a good mood.

"Hey, you alright?"

"Yeah," Nia answered, the response was quick, but hollow. He wasn't going to push it, he knew better than to press her. If she wanted to talk about what was bothering her, she would.

He watched as she left the house. Kid glanced back inside and waved goodbye to her grandfather before closing the door and following her.

She was walking fast, fast enough that the normally slowed pace he had subconsciously used to walk beside her had quickened to his normal pace when walking alone. She kept up the rapid pace until she suddenly spun around and blurted out, "Where's this damned trail supposed to be anyway? I thought you were gonna lead!?"

"I would but you were walking a lot faster than normal and I figured you probably needed to blow off some steam," Kid answered, his hands now stuffed into his shorts pockets.

She let out a roar of frustration, her fists coming up to tug at locks of her dark blonde hair. Kid's eyes widened as he reached out, loosening her fists from her hair and then holding her hands. When she couldn't pull her hair she turned her fists on his chest, striking him repeatedly. He blinked but didn't stop her. He'd never seen her upset like this before and if he was honest it was a little terrifying.

Not that he was afraid she'd hurt him, he knew he could overpower her effortlessly. The top of her head barely reached his navel, and she had a very petite frame, however what scared him was the thought of what had pushed her to this level of rage or anxiety.

He waited while she lost control, letting her scream and thrash until the screams turned into sobs. He gingerly wrapped an arm around her, pulling her in close.

Kid knew he'd been distant in recent weeks, for almost a month actually, the new medication and diagnosis was weighing heavily on his mind. He pulled her in close to him, his other arm coming up to fully embrace her while her tears soaked into the fabric of his shirt. Had he done this? He'd said he'd be her pillar—but he had certainly not been a pillar for anyone lately. The new medication had made him exhausted and his new diagnosis had sent him into a tailspin.

He finally heard a strangled word escape her, "why?"

Kid swallowed hard, feeling his heart break inside his chest as he asked, "Why what, Pip?"

He braced himself for any number of questions she could ask about his distance, but instead he was surprised to hear her ask, "why is he such a selfish jerk?"

"Uhh—dunno. It'd help if I knew who 'he' is," he hinted.

Nia pulled away from Kid, wiping her face with the back of her hand, mumbling an apology about his shirt. He responded by grabbing the hem of his shirt, and using it to dry the tear streaks off her face. He smiled, gave a small chuckle and reminded her, "water dries. Don't worry about it."

He glanced around and spotted a soup truck nearby. He nodded to it and asked, "want some cocoa? Sometimes it helps."

"It's 110 degrees," Nia reminded him. Her steel eyes as cold as cold as ice.

He shrugged while asking, "so? Sometimes you want ice cream in winter—and when you're feeling crummy—a hot chocolate's hard to beat."

Nia shrugged a little but made her way towards the soup truck, Kid followed behind her. Soon as she got near the soup truck she seemed to change her mind and start walking way. Kid was quick to grab her wrist.

"Why ya leaving?"

"I don't have any money on me," Nia stated, plainly.

"I got paid yesterday—besides, remind me who's birthday it is?"

There was hesitation before she answered, "it's mine."

He placed the order for the hot chocolate, then approached Nia, handing the cup to her. She sat down on the bench for a moment before looking at his empty hands, "where's yours?"

Kid shrugged a little at the question. She raised an eyebrow at him before starting, "Chri—"

"I can afford one. So it's yours, Birthday girl," he cut her off before she could use his full first name.

Nia blinked at him before standing up and walking back to the soup truck. She returned a moment later with an extra cup. She sat down, took the lid off her cup, and poured some of the steaming chocolate into the second cup she'd gotten from the soup truck worker. When she was satisfied they were of even portions, she extended her arm towards him, holding out one of the cups. He smiled in wordless thanks as he accepted the beverage from her and sat down beside her.

They sat in silence sipping the hot beverages for a while before Nia admitted, "it's the anniversary of my Dad's death."

Kid nearly choked on the sip he'd been taking. Damn. Of all the rotten luck to have a parent pass away on your birthday."

"I'm sorry—I didn't know—"

"Of course you didn't. I didn't say anything about it until now," Nia reminded him.

Kid swirled the hot chocolate in his cup. He looked to her as she kept her eyes on the remaining hot chocolate in her own cup. He almost felt bad at what they were planning for her. It had never occurred to him that she wouldn't want to celebrate her birthday. He knew he wanted to celebrate her.

He observed her for a moment longer before asking, "what do you wanna do?"

"Hmm?"

"It's your day, and I just found out there's a shadow that hangs over it. So you tell me: what do you wanna do?"

She bit her lip a little and shrugged before admitting, "honestly? I don't think about my birthday. I actively try not to—so—I guess anything that feels like a normal day?"

Kid nodded a little in understanding as he processed, "okay… any random day, nothing special."

"Yeah—maybe if you wanted to do something for my birthday we could try in a week from now—but today—I just want to forget what day it is," she suggested.

Kid nodded, he could understand that, and he felt he now knew who she was calling a selfish jerk earlier.