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swarkler · 5 years

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Chapter 2 - Day 01 (read Chapter 1 on ao3)

“So, why aren’t we staying at the Hostel with the rest of your friends?” Julie asks as they cuddle in bed, her chin propped up in Karolina’s elbow, her lips pursed in the most adorable little frown. “Wasn’t that supposed to start today?”

“Well, since the Hostel is less than an hour’s drive away, I thought it would be more comfortable to stay here.” Karolina tries to sound as neutral and reasonable as possible. Lying was never really her forté. “We can still go to our classes like we usually do and we’ll swing by the Hostel at night for dinner and stuff like that.”

“Since when do you care so much about missing class?”

“I don’t, I just…” She scrambles for a good excuse. “I thought you liked having me all to yourself.”

“Well, of course I do.” Julie smiles coyly, her hand sliding down Karolina’s side and resting near her waist. “But I was actually looking forward to getting to know your friends a little better. How did Gert take it when you told her you aren’t coming? She must have been pissed.”

“Nope, she totally got it, actually.” Karolina nearly chokes on her words.

Gert did not, by any means, totally get it . In fact, she gave one of her classic 40-minute-long Yorkes Monologue about how Karolina was single handedly ruining everything . She even mentioned the carbon footprint of driving to the Hostel and back everyday in an attempt to guilt her into giving up. Still, Karolina played the Nico card and they were able to reach an agreement: Karolina is going to hang back initially and test the waters, and if things with her ex-girlfriend aren’t completely unbearable she’ll relocate to the hostel midweek.

What Gert doesn’t know is that there is another factor that will definitely contribute to the already overwhelming awkwardness: Julie doesn’t know about Nico yet - and it’s not just that she doesn’t know Nico is coming, she doesn’t even know who Nico is. Karolina has been trying to gather up the courage to tell her for the past three weeks with no success.

It wasn’t a conscious decision, not telling Julie about Nico. It’s not like Karolina was trying to hide anything, she just didn’t know how to bring it up and frankly she didn’t want to. She and Xavin talked extensively about Nico and it took a huge toll on their relationship. It was kind of cathartic for Karolina at first, specially back then when things were still so fresh, but it must have been no fun for Xavin, listening to their girlfriend go on and on about how she spent her entire life loving a girl who broke her heart. So when Karolina started dating Julie, she decided she’d done enough wallowing in the past and that she would only talk about Nico if it ever came up.

Except one day it did come up, and Karolina had gotten so used to not talking about Nico she chickened out completely. When Julie asked her about her past relationships, she told her all about Xavin, how they met when she was spending a year abroad in Europe and decided it was best to break up when Karolina came home. She never explicitly said Xavin was her first relationship, but she let Julie assume - which is just as bad.

In Karolina’s defense, she genuinely thought it would never be an issue. Her friends never talked about Nico, at least not while Karolina or Alex were in the room. She was their group’s version of Voldemort, always up in the air but never directly mentioned. They even replaced whatever framed pictures she was in with newer versions without her. She was erased, and it hurt, but not nearly as much as being reminded of her did. Karolina had made peace with the fact that she would never see Nico again, so what was so wrong about wanting to keep that particularly painful part of her past to herself? It had never even occurred to her that Gert would invite Nico to the wedding, much less that Nico would agree to come.

“Babe? Are you there?” Julie almost has to physically shake Karolina’s head in order to get her attention. “You kind of spaced out on me.”

Karolina blinks. “Uh, sorry, I… didn’t get much sleep last night.”

(She hasn’t gotten much sleep since Gert asked her to meet for breakfast three weeks ago).

“Poor thing.” Julie caresses her cheek affectionately, looking at Karolina with eyes so attentive and trusting it makes her stomach fill with guilt. “I was just asking you if we’re going over there tonight.”

“No, not tonight. Everyone’s probably jet lagged, I don’t think there’s any plans for today. We’ll swing by tomorrow, though.”

“Okay.” Julie nods, clearly a little disappointed.

Karolina decides it’s now or never. She has to tell her. “Hey, Julie?”

“Yes, love?” Her girlfriend smiles at her expectantly, looking particularly angel-like with her strawberry blonde hair falling carelessly around her face. God, she’s so beautiful. And loving, and kind, and hopeful. She realizes Julie reminds her a little bit of her 17 year old self, and she knows it’s the wrong thing to do but she can’t bring herself to let her, down not right now.

“How about we go out tonight, just the two of us?”

Julie grins contently. “I’d love that.”

If it’s their last night of normalcy before hurricane Nico arrives, they might as well enjoy it.

. . .

By the time they finally get to the Hostel, they’re both sweaty and exhausted. Their Lyft driver dropped them off about a quarter of a mile away from the actual entrance, and the rest of the path had to be done on foot. Nico realizes she had completely forgotten how hot the LA sun could actually get, specially when you’re wearing all-black.

They let themselves in through the open entrance and Nico is pleased to find that Gert and Chase have completely redecorated the place, making it look a lot more modern and a lot less like the Hostel from their youth. It makes it a little be easier to bare, not having all of those memories flushing back at once.

“Well, if it isn’t the prodigal daughter!”

Nico barely recognizes Gert and she comes over to greet her, the familiar purple hair she knew replaced by a much more sober shade of brown. Still, the fiery spirit in Gert’s eyes thankfully hasn’t changed a bit, and Nico can tell her old friend is still every bit of the unstoppable activist she knew.

Chase looks just about the same as always, now sporting a scruffy beard to hide his eternal baby face. He wraps her up in a bear hug as soon as he sees her, and she’s not nearly as bothered by the contact as she thought she would be.

“You’re still just as tiny as remember, maybe even tinier.” He looks to Gert. “Does she look tinier to you?”

Nico shrugs. “Maybe you got bigger.”

Chase is annoyingly pleased at this, opening up his signature goofball grin as he stretched out his arms. “You know what? Maybe I did.”

She turns around to make introductions, but Victor is already shaking Gert’s hand.

“Hello there mis amigos , I’m Victor. Victor Mancha. I’m Nico’s plus one.”

Nico can’t help but roll her eyes at his smug face and suggestive tone. That boy can’t even introduce himself without seeming flirty. She doesn’t even have to look at Chase to know he’s giving Victor the death stare right now.

Gert and Chase introduce themselves politely, and Victor’s eyes light up instantly. “Oh, Nico told me about you guys! Gert, you’re the social justice warrior, right?”

She seems a little proud to know Nico has talked about her. “Well, I prefer the term activist , but sure, that’s me.”

“Great! We seriously need to talk about your wedding venue accessibility problems.” He rolls up his cargo pants’ left leg to show off his prosthetic - a rather flashy piece of black and silver titanium he made himself using their university’s medical-grade 3D printer. “The Lyft driver can’t get anywhere near this place, we’re on a literal mountain and this bad boy here wasn’t really designed for hiking.”

“Damn, he’s right!” Gert stares at him in what could only be described as awe. Did he just call her out? Did Gert just enjoy it? “I’ll ask my parents to bring their jeep up here, that way we can get everyone all the way to the entrance with no trouble.”

“Hey, Vic?” Nico tugs at his jacket, trying to get his attention. “Can you drop our stuff at our room while the rest of us catch up?”

“It’s the second door to the right.” Gert adds, still smiling at her new best friend Victor Mancha.

“Sure thing, cariño .” He grabs Nico’s wheel bag from her hand and disappears into the corridor.

“I love him!” Gert exclaims as soon as he’s out of earshot. “Can we keep him?”

Chase looks considerably less pleased. “ Cariño, huh?”

Nico rolls her eyes once again. Victor seriously needs to be stopped. “He only calls me that because he knows I hate it.”

“So, are you two, you know…” Gert makes smooch-like noises while Chase uses his hands to mimic two people kissing. Nico feels as if she’s been thrown straight back into 8th grade. Half of her is amazed that these dorks really are old enough to get married and the other half is annoyed at how perfect they are for each other.

“No, we’re not. He’s just my roommate. And my best friend, I guess.”

“Well, you do have a bit of a history with best friends…” Gert starts.

Nico doesn’t even know how to react to that. Thankfully, Chase looks at his fiancée disapprovingly. “Too soon, Gert. Too soon.”

The three of them stare at each other in silence for a second before Gert speaks, her tone quiet and serious. “Just so you know… she’s not staying here with us. She says she’ll come over tomorrow for dinner, though.”

Gert doesn’t need to specify who she is, they all know exactly who she’s talking about. Nico thought she would be relieved to find out she still has some time to prepare for what will probably be the most intense moment of her trip, but it turns out all she feels is concern. She knows Karolina would never pass up an opportunity to spend a week hanging out with her friends, and for a moment Nico feels that familiar feeling creeping in again, that dark mix of guilt and self-hatred that silently whispers to her that this is all her fault. She’s been back for all of five seconds and she’s ruined Karolina’s week once again. Hasn’t she hurt her enough? Can’t she just stay the hell away and just let Karolina be happy?

Nico shakes her head to stop the thoughts from continuing, taking deep breaths and counting down from 10 just like Steve told her to. She reminds herself that this is Gert and Chase’s wedding, and they reallywant her to be there. She wants to be there. And Karolina has the right to stay away if that’s what makes her most comfortable, and Nico should respect that. She can’t change what she’s done, but she sure as hell can make sure she will do better from now on.

Gert and Chase definitely realize something is going on with her, both eyeing her sympathetically, but they give her time to gather herself instead of asking if she’s okay and she’s grateful for that.

“So, there’s something else I should probably give you a heads up about…”

“Let me guess…She’s bringing over some over-achieving, supermodel-looking girlfriend with her?”

Chase holds back a chuckle. “Yep, pretty much, yeah.”

“Of course she is. I’m happy for her.” Nico is surprised at just how much she means what she says. God knows she could be a annoyingly possessive of Karolina back when they were young - it was hard not to be when everyone within a 10-mile radius instantly fell in love with her girlfriend - but now she’s made peace with it. She’s just glad to know that Karolina is happy and that she loves somebody who loves her just the way she deserves.

(Maybe deep down Nico is just glad to know she didn’t wipe out Karolina’s light entirely).

“You seem different, tiny one.” Gert dips her head a little bit to look at Nico, scratching her chin and squinting as if she were staring at an unsolved puzzle.

Nico smirks. “I like to think I’ve matured.”

#deanoru #karolina dean #nico minoru #runaways #marvel's runaways

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