kids,i'm gonna tell you an incredible story

thank you so much anon!!! this fic is like my only finished work so i'm really proud of it teehee

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.

When Karolina gets a text from Gert asking her to meet for breakfast, she doesn't’ worry. Sure, they’re right in the middle of the week and they live in completely opposite sides of town, so it’s not exactly something they do often - they usually prefer to hang out on weekends - but she figures it’s probably just some last minute wedding stuff, nothing out of the ordinary.

The thing is: Karolina’s life is good, and has been like that for a while now. She goes to a great school that she loves, she lives close enough to home to see her childhood friends all the time and she has the world’s greatest girlfriend by her side. There was a point in Karolina’s life in which she thought she would never be able to let go of her past, but now? Now she lives in the present, and the present is good, so good that she never catches herself looking back anymore.

(Well, never might be a stretch, but most days she doesn’t).

She spends the 40 minute drive to Gert’s favorite diner listening to the upbeat playlist she and Julie made together, not letting the heavy traffic get to her. At the very least she knows the place has good vegan options, and it has been such a long time since she’s had anything other than almond milk banana smoothies for breakfast.

Gert is already waiting for her when she arrives, an anxious smile plastered on her face. Karolina begins to suspect something is wrong, but tells herself she’s reading too much into it. Gert is getting married in less than a month, of course she’s nervous.

“Hey there, bride to be.” Karolina greets her old friend with a grin. “Let me guess: you’ve changed your mind and want me to be your maid of honor after all.”

Gert’s laugh seems forced. “C’mon, you know Molly would kill me if I even considered it. She says is her right as a sister.”

“Never thought I’d see Gertrude Yorkes defending nepotism, but okay, I get it.” Karolina jokes, trying to lighten up the mood.

“I know, right?” Gert fidgets with the pepper shaker in her hands, avoiding Karolina’s eyes as she speaks. Something is definitely wrong. “But there is a new development in the wedding department that I thought you should know about…”

“Just say it, Gert.” Karolina says softly. “Whatever it is, I’m sure we’ll figure it out.”

“I spoke to Nico last night.” She spits the words all at once, her voice trembling. “She’s coming.”

Nico.

Karolina feels as if all of the air had suddenly been sucked out of the room, leaving her gasping for breath, and the fact that she is so taken aback by Gert’s words really is a testament to how much she has moved on. Not so long ago Nico would have been literally the first thing on her mind. Now, she hasn’t even heard her name spoken aloud in ages .

That name, along with all other Nico-related memories, has been confined to a neat little box pushed as far back as possible inside Karolina’s brain for so long it takes her a long moment to fully process what Gert is saying. Nico. Coming. Nico is coming to the wedding. Karolina is also coming to the wedding. Both Nico and Karolina are coming to the wedding. The same wedding. Therefore, Karolina and Nico will be at the same place. At the same time. In the very near future.

Gert shakes both her hands in front of Karolina’s face, trying to pull her away from her thoughts. “You look like your brain just short-circuited.”

“How did you even get her number?” She doesn’t even know why she asks that. Out of all of the questions running through her mind, it seems like a fairly unimportant one, but she’s probably not ready to handle anything more just yet.

“Well, Chase’s mom is married to her dad, so… It was not that hard to get.” Gert frowns.

“Right, sure.” Of course it wasn’t hard to get. Karolina herself probably could’ve found it too, if she wanted to. God knows she has thought about it many times in the past. Not lately, though. Not at all. “I had no idea you guys were still in contact.”

“We weren’t, Chase and I just called her last night. Neither of us has seen her in years. She never comes over, not for Easter, not for Thanksgiving, not even for Christmas. She tells Robert she’s spending it with Tina but…”

“She probably tells Tina she’s spending it with Robert.” Karolina completes the sentence without even thinking. It’s annoying, how even after trying so hard not to think about that girl, her subconscious still knows Nico like the back of her hand. Knows how she operates. Knows how she lies. “What happened? Why call her out of the blue like this?”

“We’ve been talking about it for a while, actually. She’s Chase’s step sister. She is - was - one of my best friends, and I know things aren’t exactly the same as they used to be but it just... felt wrong, getting married without her there.”

Seeing Gert talk so fondly about Nico catches Karolina by surprise. She’s so used to thinking about Nico as her past she sometimes forgets that she was important to everybody else as well. “So, how did that phone call go?”

Gert smiles a little. “Well, Chase guilted her with the whole step-sibling thing, and I gave her a whole speech about how, if it wasn’t for that one time in high school when she made us do seven minutes in heaven together, this wedding probably wouldn’t even be happening, so she absolutely has to be there to witness the patriarchal nightmare she put me into… And after about an hour of listening to us ramble in complete silence she just said okay in that dumb Nico tone she uses whenever she doesn’t want to talk about her feelings.”

Karolina knows exactly which tone Gert is talking about, and she catches herself picturing the way Nico’s nose must have scrunched up a little as she spoke, another classic sign of her discomfort when faced with emotional talk. She’s so distracted by the image in her head she barely notices Gert is still talking.

“...And I know this is a lot, specially for you, but I thought that maybe now that you’re doing so well and things with Julie are going great it wouldn’t be that big of a deal. I mean, it’s been like, what, four years?”

Three and a half . Not that Karolina’s counting or anything. She nods along quietly.

“Maybe now is the right time to patch things up, you know? I mean, Chase and I miss her, and I  know Molly does too. Even Alex probably does. Don’t you?”

Karolina can’t allow herself to even think about what the answer to that question would be, so she ignores it. “Is she coming just for the ceremony or…?”

“She’s coming for the Hostel thing, too. She said she’ll be here for the whole week.”

A week. Nico is going to be back for a week. Surely Karolina can handle having Nico around for a single week, can’t she? Definitely. Just seven quick days and then she’ll be gone and everything will fall right back to normal.

(Karolina had never thought her idea of normal would be one that doesn’t include Nico Minoru, but things change).

. . .

It feels like she’s been in the kitchen for hours, staring silently at her untouched cereal while she waits for Victor to wake up, Gert and Chase’s words still echoing in the back of her head. They’re getting married. How crazy is that? Back in high school she practically had to physically smash their heads together to get them to admit their feelings for each other, and now they’re getting married. And, for reasons she will never understand, they want her to be there. And how can she say no to that? They may not be in the greatest terms now, but for most of her life they were like family.

(But then again, Robert is literally family and Nico skipped his wedding without thinking twice).

(She regrets that now).

Truth is, she misses them, all of them. Gert, Chase, Molly. God, Molly must be what, 19? It’s crazy. Part of her has always selfishly thought that Brentwood would stay exactly as she left it, frozen in time forever. Clearly, that isn’t the case. Gert and Chase are getting married, Molly is probably in college, Alex must be working on some groundbreaking AI technology and Karolina...Nico tries not to think too much about Karolina. She just hopes she’s happy.

As for Nico… she’s okay. It took a long time and an overwhelming amount of effort, but she’s managing, which is why she agreed to coming to this wedding in the first place. Finally, she’s ready to face the ghosts from her past. Or at least she thinks she is. But she definitely can’t do it alone.

“What the fuck, Nico, how long have you been sitting there?” Victor asks groggily as soon as he comes into the kitchen, his eyes barely open and his hair uncharacteristically disheveled.

“A while.” She shrugs. “I couldn’t sleep and I really need to talk to you, so.”

“You could just wake me up, you know.”

“You’re kidding, right?” Nico lets out a breathy laugh. “You’d kill me if I messed with your beauty sleep.”

“Fair point.” He smirks. “So, what do you need me for?”

“How would you feel about an all-expenses paid trip to Cali? My treat.” Nico puts up her best saleswoman attitude, even forcefully attaching a smile to her words like they do on really bad commercials.

Victor is definitely not buying it. “I’d say there’s a catch hidden somewhere… didn’t you, like, grow up in Cali?”

“That might have something to do with the trip, yes.”

He furrows his brow at her impatiently. “Just spit it out, Minoru. I don’t have all day.”

“A couple of old friends from Brentwood called me last night. They’re getting married and… they want me to come, apparently. So I need you to be my plus one. Please.”

“Your old friends, huh?” His voice is still reluctant but his eyes soften immediately. For the billionth time in the last three years Nico feels immensely grateful for having Victor Mancha in her life, even though she definitely doesn’t say that to him as much as she should. Talking about her feelings isn’t her strong suit, but she’s working on it. “I’ll think about it. When exactly would this little trip place?”

“About a month from now. We’d be staying there the whole week.”

“Whoa, a whole week? What kind of wedding is this?”

“It’s not a weeklong wedding, dumbass.” She rolls her eyes at him. “But Gert said that since our friend group has been sort of scrambled around the country for a while, they wanted to give us a chance to reconnect before the ceremony or whatever, so we’re all staying at the Hostel for a week.”

“Weeklong bonding trip? And you agreed to that? You must really miss these people.” Victor raises an eyebrow at her, amused. “Anyway, what’s the Hostel ?”

“It’s sort of an underground mansion thing on a mountain range near LA. Gert’s parents own it, we used to hang out there a lot when we were teenagers. It’s got a really beautiful view, I get why they chose to get married there.”

(Maybe Nico, too, had once imagined her own wedding taking place in the Hostel).

“Underground mansion, huh?” Victor eyes her teasingly. “Sometimes I forget how absurdly rich you are.”

“You didn’t seem all that bothered by it when I bought us the VR kit for your PS4.”

“ Ay, cariño , no need to call me out like that.”

She really hates it when he calls her cariño , but that’s not really a priority right now.

“So… will you come with me? Please?” She glares at him, pleading. “I need you there, Vic.”

“I don’t know, Nico...I mean, it’s a whole week. The kids…”

Nico already knew he would bring this up. It had been her first concern, too. “I already texted Carol. She says she and the rest of the crew can cover for us for the week. Plus, we’ll have our phones, and as you said, I’m absurdly rich. If anything goes wrong we can be back in New York in 6 hours.“

Victor is still not convinced.

“What about you, Nico? A week is a long time. Are you sure you’re up for it?” In a different time Nico might have been angry at him for questioning her like that, but she understands it now. She knows he’s just genuinely concerned. “Did you speak to Steve about this?”

“Um, yeah. He totally thinks it’s a good idea.” It’s not exactly a lie. Steve has said several times that he wants her to reconnect with her old friends eventually , but he definitely didn’t know she’s planning to do it within a month.

“Okay, then I’ll come. But only because I’m really curious to meet your super rich friends… specially the famous Karolina Dean.”  

in which Nico is lowkey jealous of Xavin and Karolina reassures her with stories from when they were kids

Karolina waltzes into her bedroom, thrilled to finally have a chance to lie down after a long day of fighting her evil alien family. Once again, she and her friends have barely made it out alive and their fight was far from over, but right now she’s just way too tired to think about any of that.

She sees Nico already lying in bed, which is very unlike her. Nico hardly ever slept, especially these past few days. Karolina takes a seat beside her, running her hand up and down her girlfriend’s spine but getting no response.

“Are you okay?” She asks softly.

“I’m fine.” Nico groans. They have been together long enough for Karolina to know that meant she was Definetely Not Fine.

“Hey, look at me.” She pleads, and Nico finally turns her head to face her. Her makeup is intact, so Karolina knows she hasn’t been crying, but there’s still some sadness in her eyes. “Tell me what’s up.”

“It’s nothing.” Nico replied quickly, always trying to avoid talking about her feelings. “I just wish I could’ve done more today, you know.”

“What do you mean?” Karolina furrows her brow. “You guys totally saved me and Chase back there.”

Nico avoids Karolina’s eyes as she speaks. “Some of us contributed more than others.”

Suddenly, Karolina knows exactly what’s going on, and the mere idea of it is so ridiculous she can’t help but laugh, much to Nico’s desmay. “Is this about Xavin?”

“Of course not! She was the one who got you to safety, you know that’s all I wanted.” Nico’s voice breaks a little, and Karolina realizes how much her girlfriend was hurting while she was being held hostage by Jonah. “I just… I wish I could’ve done more.”

“Hey, you did more than enough, okay?” She reaches out to grab Nico’s hand reassuringly. “You came back for me. You led the rescue mission that got me and Chase out. I know you wish you could’ve fought more, but now that our parents have that brain-jamming thing…”

“But that’s the point, isn’t?” Nico sits up, her tone louder now, angrier. “I couldn’t use my staff, so I was pretty much useless back there. You were right in front of me and there was nothing I could do to help you. Xavin, on the other hand…”

“Nico.” Karolina stops her, cupping her girlfriend’s face with both hands gently, trying to get Nico to look into her eyes. “You don’t have to worry about that! The important thing is I’m home now, and I’m safe, and I’m with you, okay?”

“I don’t know…” Nico is still looking down, her whole expression screaming heartbreak. Karolina wishes she could somehow squeeze the sadness out of her. Nico had suffered enough, she deserved to be happy. “I just can’t help but think that maybe you would be better of with someone else. Someone who doesn’t need a creepy magic stick to be there for you when you need it. Maybe… maybe someone from the same planet as you.”

“Okay, no, I’m not having this.” Karolina says decisevely, knowing damn well that this is the only way Nico will listen when she’s like this. “I’m not gonna leave you for Xavin just because she doesn’t need props to use her powers or because she comes from the same planet as I do.”

“You forgot to mention the part about how you two are apparently destined to be together by some sort of ancient alien prophecy.” Nico adds sourly.

“Yeah, I don’t give a shit about that either. I mean sure, it’s cool to have someone in my life that knows what I am and where I come from other than my sociopathic father, but you…” She smiles as she plays with a loose strand of Nico’s hair tenderly. “Nico, I’ve loved you since we were 6 years old. And these past few months we’ve spent together? Somehow, in the middle of all of this chaos, you and I managed to build something beautiful, and I’ve never been more sure of anything in my entire life. You have nothing to worry about, okay?”

“Okay.” Nico blushes, grabbing Karolina’s hand from her cheek and kissing her fingers. She is clearly still a tiny bit insecure, but they can work on that later. Karolina pulls her girlfriend in for a hug and the two of them cuddle in silence for a moment, just appreciating the feeling of each other’s company.  

“Hey.” Nico’s raspy voice breaks their comfortable silence. “Did you really mean that thing you said? About when we were little?”

“Well, yeah.” It’s Karolina’s turn to blush now. She has never spoken to anybody about this, especially not Nico. The two of them hardly ever talked about the times before their lives fell apart. “I remember this one time in first grade when this kid Jenna McNamara asked to borrow my scissors for a school project. I knew she was kind of a bully, but I genuinely thought she was just asking for a little help, you know? Anyway, the second I handed her my pair of scissor she cut my ponytail right off, no warning. I was devastated.”

“And then I grabbed your chopped-off ponytail and I hit her in the face with it.” Nico laughs, and it warms Karolina’s heart. She wasn’t sure if Nico would remember. “We were called into the principal’s office and everything. My parents were furious, but at least I got to take her down with me.”

“You were always such a tough kid, even before...” She doesn’t finish her sentence, leaving the circumstances unsaid. There’s no point in bringing up old wounds, not right now. “You protected your friends, whenever they needed you. I had no idea that having crushes on girls was even a possibility back then, but I knew I thought you were the coolest person in the whole world. I guess I never stopped thinking that.”

“Not even when I fell on my ass in the middle of the school cafeteria and injured my tailbone?” Nico teases, finally reverting to her usual self.

“Nope.” Karolina shook her head vehemently. “I remember that day, you and Amy were showing us your karate moves, I actually thought it was kind of badass. I mean, you injured your tailbone and you didn’t even shed a tear.”

“What?!” Nico raises her eyebrows, clearly not buying it. “C’mon, it was super embarrassing. I had to carry that stupid special tailbone pillow with me everywhere.”

“And I thought it was adorable.” She reaches closer, planting a soft kiss to her girlfriend's lips. “You even let me bedazzle it, remember?”

“How could I possibly forget?” Nico rolls her eyes.

“Well…” Karolina shrugs, grinning tauntingly. “I know it wasn't exactly my best fashion work, but at least it was funny. You could've bought yourself another one if you didn't like it, but you never did.”

“Of course not.” It's Nico's turn to lean in for a kiss. “A pretty girl made that one for me, I wasn't gonna throw it away.”

Karolina is more than used to people calling her pretty, so used to it that most of the time she'd prefer it if people could just compliment her on literally anything other than her physical appearance. Still, there's something about the way Nico says it that never fails to make her stomach flutter. She knows that the beauty Nico sees in her is about a lot more than the blonde hair or the blue eyes.

“Anyway, my point is…”  She backs away from Nico's lips just enough to be able to speak, still keeping their faces less than an inch apart. She loves watching Nico from up close, being able to see all the little details that are usually hidden by the heavy makeup. God, she loves this girls so much. "I don't care what any prophecy has to say. You've always been my hero, Nico, even before you found your staff, and I'm sure that if there's anyone out there I'm destined to be with, it's gotta be you.”

Kara Danvers wasn’t homophobic. Much to the contrary, in fact. She deeply believed that every kind of love is beautiful and that everyone deserves to be treated equally and respectfully. She had participated in a school riot when some teachers in Midvale High suggested it was not okay for two boys to come to prom together. She had made sure every single candidate she had ever voted for was LGBT-friendly. In 8th grade she had gotten into a verbal fight with Susan Dilson when she made fun of Jack Donovan for painting his nails. Hell, to this day she even had that pride filter on her Facebook photo. Still, her reaction to her sister’s coming out definitely wasn’t ideal.

Of course she’d love Alex no matter what, but the news really caught her by surprise. She and Alex had always been so close and she had absolutely no idea. How could she not have known? How could Alex not tell her? Did she not trust her enough? She didn’t care if Alex was gay, but she felt a little bit betrayed knowing that her sister kept such a huge thing from her for so long. It was stupid and selfish, she saw it now. She should have been more supportive instead of making it all about her feeling left out, this kind of thing was just so unlike her. She had already apologized about a thousand times, of course, and Alex said everything was fine, but Kara knew it wasn’t. Things were still weird between the two of them, they weren’t talking like they used to. And, to top it all off, Alex was extremely heartbroken from being rejected by that Maggie girl and, due to the complete mess she had made out things, Kara was being pushed away. She hated seeing her sister in pain and not being able to help. She had to make it right, and she had an idea. She was thinking it over when Winn met her for their daily breakfast appointment.

“So...what’s in your mind? You’re quiet. You’re usually never quiet.” He asks, sensing that something was off. They had only known each other for a few months, but he already knew exactly how to read her.

Kara chews at her Frappuccino’s straw. “Sorry… That fight with Alex is still on my mind. I came by her dorm last night and I’m pretty sure she was pretending not to be home so she didn’t have to let me in.”

“Wow, that hurts.” He says, frowning. “But I’m sure she’ll get over it in no time. You guys are family.”

“I know, but I’m just so worried about her. Alex has never been good at dealing with her feelings. She’s always been too...”

“Tough? Scary?” Winn suggests, and she kicks him lightly from beneath the breakfast table for it.

He had always been terrified of Alex, though Kara could not understand why.

“I was gonna say closed off. I’m afraid that she’s just gonna end up bottling it all in and eventually she’ll blow up into tiny pieces. I gotta do something about it.”

“I get the feeling you already have that something in mind.” He smirks. Winn loved a good action plan.

“Well, I might have a plan, but there’s still some key elements missing…” She scratches her chin. “Where does one find single lesbian women in this campus?”

Winn nearly spits all his grape juice. “What?”

“I’m going to find Alex a new girlfriend, one way cooler than Maggie Sawyer…” She says her name as if it was some sort of contagious disease. Kara had actually never met Maggie Sawyer but she broke her sister’s heart so she automatically dislikes her. “But I don’t know any gay women, so I need help finding one.”

“You can’t be serious!”

“I am. I even tried using Tinder earlier this morning, but for some reasons I haven’t gotten any matches yet.”

“Let me see if I’m getting this right…” Winn says, looking overly amused. “You created a fake Tinder profile for your sister?”

“Well, yeah. And I plan on using it to find Alex’s perfect girl, as soon as those matches start coming in.”

“Can I take a look?”

Part of her considers saying no, but to be completely honest she was terrible at this kind of thing and she was going to take all the help she could get, so she opens the app up on her phone and passes it to Winn so he can take a look.

“First of all, why are you in all of these pictures? Isn’t this supposed to be Alex’s fake Tinder profile?”

“Alex is in them too! I didn’t have any single shots of her on my phone, I just have our selfies.”

“Well, cut yourself out of them, then.”

“Why would I do that?” She feels mildly offended. “I know I don’t necessarily look my best but I didn’t think my face was what’s Alex from getting matches.”

“Well, of course not, but people probably think that you guys are like girlfriends or whatever.”

“Oh.” She realizes that Winn was probably right. She looked at those photos and they seemed super sisterly to her, but she and Alex looked nothing alike, it would actually make sense if people assumed they weren’t related. “Fine, I’ll cut myself out. Anything else?”

“Yeah, why is the description like 10 pages long?”

“Oh, c’mon.” Kara resists the urge to roll her eyes. For a genius, Winn sure didn’t like to spend a lot of time reading. “It’s literally one paragraph.”

“Yeah, and in Tinder world, that’s like a Game of Thrones novel. Talking too much about yourself makes you seem kinda desperate. You have to be a little more mysterious if you want people to actually be interested in talking to you.”

“That doesn’t make any sense.” She sighed. “I’m just not good at the whole flirting thing.”

“Well, your love life seems to be working fine. Speaking of which, where’s the boyfriend? I haven’t seen him in a while.”

“He’s in Europe with his parents, they have this yearly tradition thing. He should be back in a couple of days.”

“Does he know you’re on Tinder while he’s away?”

Kara laughs. “I’m not on Tinder, Alex is on Tinder. She just doesn’t know it yet.”

“And judging by this disaster of a profile, she’s probably better off that way.”

“Well, it was the best idea that I could come up with. I mean, it’s not like I could just set her up with a friend. I don’t know any gay people. Do you know any gay people?”

It was more of a rhetorical question, so it takes her by surprise when Winn seems to be thinking over the subject. “Well… I do know this one girl. My lab partner. She’s a lesbian.”

“Lab partner? How come you waited this long to mention that?”

Winn only took extremely advanced science-related classes. If this girl was his lab partner, she was probably really smart. Alex was also really smart. Kara felt excited about this already.

“It’s… complicated.”

“Why? Is she a terrible lab partner?” Kara sure hopes not. This girl was her plan’s first light of hope.

“No, actually, she’s a great lab partner, but she’s a bit of a loner.” Winn seems unusually uncomfortable.

“Okay, Alex is a bit of a loner. What are you not telling me?”

“It’s Lena Luthor.” He breathes out. “My lab partner is Lena Luthor.”

“Wait…” It takes Kara’s mind a few seconds to connect the dots. “Luthor as in Lex Luthor?”

“Yes. She’s his little sister.”

“Lex Luthor’s little sister goes to our school? And she’s your lab partner? How come I didn’t know about this?”

“She keeps a pretty low profile, I guess. And I didn’t say anything to you because I thought it might be weird because of, you know…”

“Her brother being behind the terrorist attack that nearly killed my cousin last year?”

Kara hadn’t fully processed what happened yet. Her cousin was the only biological family she had left in the world, and he was like a superhero to her. He was only 17 when their entire family died in the Kosovo war, but he still managed to bring her to safety and find her the wonderful people that she was now proud to call family as well. He studied journalism in university but eventually went into politics, fighting for more rights for refugees like them. He became very popular in the media, but at the same time he was extremely hated by those who disagreed with his views. In fact, Lex Luthor hated him enough to design a bioweapon to murder him. Clark was lucky enough to survive. The 6 people who were with him that night weren’t. It broke Kara’s heart. Her cousin was the kindest man she had ever met. She couldn’t understand how someone could be so hateful, so cruel, to try to hurt somebody like that. She vaguely remembered hearing in the news that Lex had a sister, the now heiress to the Luthor empire, but she had no idea they were going to the same school.

“Look, as the son of a convicted murderer, I thought it made sense I gave her the benefit of the doubt before crucifying her. Her brother might be a monster, but that doesn’t make her one, you know? She’s actually kind of cool. And a damn good lab partner. But I understand if you don’t wanna be setting her up with your sister.”

Winn had only told her about his father a few weeks before. It was understandably very hard for him to talk about it. Still, no matter what his dad had done, Winn was the sweetest guy she knew. She supposed that mean that girl deserved a chance too. “Well, if you say she’s cool, I’m okay with it. Can you introduce us?”

“Don’t you mean introduce her and Alex?”

“Of course not!” She exclaimed. “My sister’s just had her heart broken, I’m not setting her up with some stranger. Before I introduce her to Alex, I need to make sure this girl is the real deal.”

“Aren’t you worried that maybe you’re meddling into your sister’s life a little bit too much?”

As her phone screen lit up, Connie knew instinctively what it was about. Still, she unlocked the screen and read the text half-hopong she was wrong. She wasn't.

Sorry, babe, can't make it tonight. Total crisis with Henry here. Love u, D.

"She canceled on you again, didn't she?"

For a second, she had forgotten Monty was even in the room. Connie considered lying and saying that no, she did not get stood up for the third time this week, but it was useless. Monty wouldn't leave until Dorothy showed up. And Dorothy, as usual, wasn't going to.

"Yes, she did." She tried to sound less heartbroken than she actually was, but failed. Monty knew her way to well to fall for it anyway.

"Bonnie..." She started, wearing a sad look on her eyes thar Connie did not like.

"Please, don't. Let's just get back to whatever we were talking about before. I'm fine."

"No, you're not." Of course Monty wouldn't let it go. She was Connie's best friend, after all. "Why do you put up with this? You say Dorothy makes you happy, but when she's not here you're always sad, and she's never here..."

Connie suddenly felt very protective of her relationship. "Look, I know, but Dorothy has her own life, her own friends, and I have to respect that, okay? I can't expect her to put me before everyone else, that just wouldn't be fair."

"That's true." Monty shook her head in agreement, seeming a little pensive. "But since I got here, she's had a lot of friend crisis' to take care of. Her friends are always very crisis-y. And you're always left behind. I know she can't always put you before everyone else, but it's kinda like she never does."

Connie felt her eyes filling with tears. Those words had been echoing in her head for weeks, but hearing them from someone else made it 10 times more real. That was exactly like she felt: like she was last on her girlfriend's priority list. She loved Dorothy's big heart and the way she'd literally drop everything to help a friend, Connie would never want that to change. Still, it would be nice if she did the same for Connie once in a while. But then again, Connie wasn't in a crisis. Or maybe she was and Dorothy just wasn't around enough to notice it.

"Monty, I..." She couldn't keep the tears from falling. "I would really rather not talk about this with you..."

"Why not?" She asked. "I'm saying this as a friend. I know you love Dorothy, not me, and I can't change that. But you've been my best friend since forever and I can't just watch you suffer like this. You deserve a lot more than being taken for granted like that, Bon. You deserve someone who sees you, who listens to you, who recognizes how lucky they are to be with you. You're smart and talented and beautiful and incredible and... "

Connie looked hard at Monty. Nice, familiar Monty, who had always been there for her. Who had dropped everything for her. Who still had her back, even knowing that Connie was in love with someone else. Almost subconsciously, Connie kissed her.

For a second, it felt warm and familiar, just as their kisses used to feel. But then, she thought of Dorothy's kiss. Dor was a messy kisser, she'd go back and forth and from one side to the other and kiss and pull back and kiss some more and... With her it was always intense and confusing but so so amazing it could turn Connie's world upside down. Dorothy's kiss was everything Monty's kiss wasn't. It was also everything Connie wanted.

She broke it off as soon as she realized what she was doing, but it was too late. She looked at Monty, standing right in front of her stunned, and started to sob. "I'm sorry, I...I shouldn't have, I..."

"Bonnie, it's okay..."

"No, it's not!" She didn't meant to scream, but it just came out. She couldn't get the image of how heartbroken Dorothy would be once she learned about what Connie had just done and the guilt was too much. "I just ruined it. I ruined everything. Dor messes up a lot but she definitely doesn't deserve this. I can't believe I just..."

"Hey, she doesn't need to know about it, if you don't-"

"Are you suggesting I lie to her? I may be a cheater, but I will not be a lier."

Cheater. She couldn't believe she'd just said it. She was a cheater. She had just cheated on the greatest thing that had happened to her since she came to Dumas. She had just broken the heart of the most loving, caring person she'd ever met.

"Bonnie, just calm down, let's-"

"Monty, get out. Please, just leave."

During the three years she was at the South Pole healing, Korra thought about that kiss nearly every single day. 

She didn’t know what it’d meant. Most days, she wasn’t even sure if it had really happened. Could it have been just a dream? Some sort of strange hallucination? After she was poisoned, it all seemed so foggy and unclear that she couldn’t risk mentioning it in case it had been all in her head. Still, every single day she relived it, a strange mover eternally playing in her mind.

They were in Zaofu, enjoying a nice dinner with Su Beifong and her family, feeling as if nothing could reach them here at the safest city in the world. Once the main course was finished, Su served them with her finest local wine, leaving Korra feeling warm and maybe just a little tipsy. After their meal, she decided to walk Asami to her room before going to bed so they could finish a conversation they were having about something silly Mako had said earlier. 

“Poor Mako.” Asami said, in between laughs. “So uptight. Will he ever be able to act normal around the two of us?”

It was probably the wine talking, but something about Asami’s laugh caught Korra by surprise. Had she always been this pretty? Had her eyes always been so shiny? Either way, Korra realized she needed to say something she probably should’ve said before.

“Speaking of Mako...” She started, hesitant. “I think I never thanked you for...you know, sticking around. I mean, you started hanging out with us just because you and Mako were together, then all that stuff with your dad happened and I pretty much stole your boyfriend...and you stayed. You’re kicking ass at running Republic City’s most revolutionary company and you still manage to find time to risk your life on a daily basis by helping us save the world. Anyway, what I’m trying to say is...  You’ve got a lot on your plate and it would have been totally understandable if you had decided to focus solely on that but you’re still here fighting with us. So thank you. Team Avatar definitely wouldn’t be the same without you.”

Asami blushed lightly. “I guessed it stopped being about Mako a long time ago. Being on Team Avatar... it just feels right, you know? Especially after I found out that my dad was involved in all of those horrible things... It gives me purpose, I guess. Makes me feel like I’m doing real good for the world. And also, you guys became my friends. You became pretty much my best friend.”

It was Korra’s turn to blush. “Crazy, huh? Judging by the way we met, anyone would guess we’d end up hating each other.”

As she took a short step closer, something in Asami’s eyes changed. Korra couldn’t pick out what exactly it was, but it made her stomach feel weird. Butterflies?

“Well, to be honest, when I first realized you had feelings for Mako I kinda did try to despise you but I just...couldn’t. I don’t think I could ever hate you, Korra. In fact, the more I get to know you...the more I know that meeting you was the greatest thing that ever happened to me.”

She didn’t remember exactly who started the kiss. All she knew was that one second she was staring at Asami’s bright red lips as she spoke, and the next second she was feeling them against her own. She definitely hadn’t been expecting this. She had never even thought about it before. But it felt...right. It felt good. It felt like that’s where her lips were supposed to be all along. 

She also didn’t remember who stopped it, but she would never forget Asami’s smile as she whispered “See you tomorrow, Avatar” and walked into her room, closing the door behind her and leaving a very confused Korra wanting more. She must’ve stood in that corridor, puzzled, for at least 10 minutes, trying to remember how to make her legs move.

She went to sleep that night feeling a rush that she just couldn’t understand.

Unfortunately, that was the very same night that Zahir drugged her and tried to kidnap her. And after that, everything happened so fast that Korra didn’t even get a chance to mention it, and Asami was acting so naturally that she wondered if it had happened at all, and those doubts only got worse with the poison.

Maggie Sawyer felt like crap. Not that she wasn’t used to it - these days feeling like crap was pretty much just a part of being awake - but, as she watched Alex Danvers walk out of that bar, she felt like crap in a whole new level. 

In a different world, being kissed by Alex Danvers would be pretty much a dream come true. Danvers was smart, quick, witty, extremely tough yet surprisingly soft, a damn good pool player and, yeah, she was pretty fucking hot. None of that was lost on Maggie. Not at all. In a different world, Maggie would’ve been all over her. But she lived in the real world, and in the real world things tend to suck.

Maggie did not regret what she had just done. She did the right thing, and she knew it. She remembered what it was like, figuring out. Coming out. That adrenaline running through her veins nonstop because everything was so new and so exciting and so scary. Coming out was like getting to know yourself all over again, and it was just as amazing as it was confusing. Alex didn’t need a girlfriend, not right now anyway. Alex needed a friend. Someone she could talk to, someone who would understand, someone who knows what it’s like to be there and also knows what it’s like to grow out of there. God knows Maggie could’ve saved a good couple of year’s worth of therapy if she’d had someone like that back in the day. She wanted to be that someone for Danvers. Danvers deserved it.

For a while, Laura forgot all about Vordenberg, the Anglerfish and the likelihood of a fast-approaching apocalypse. She wasn’t sure of how long that while had been exactly, time had suddenly become very hard to tell. Her friends would sit next to her, holding her hand and whispering comforting things on her ear, but she felt nothing and heard none of it. All she could do was sit on her couch and stare at the walls in front of her, almost completely unaware of the world around her. None of it mattered, not at that moment. The only thing that was truly relevant was the fact that she’d screwed it up for good this time, and there was no way she could ever make it better.

She kept replaying it over and over again. How roughly Carmilla had gripped her with the very same hands that had once caressed her cheeks. How the anger in Carmilla’s voice had been enough to give her chills. And her eyes...Laura had never seen eyes like that. So full with a cocktail of emotions, mixing up devastating sadness and grief with confusion, betrayal and hatred. Carmilla hated her. She didn’t know how she could ever be able to make peace with that. The mere thought of it made her feel as if her heart was getting increasingly smaller, painfully shrinking until there was nothing less. She was responsible for the death of Carmilla’s sister. Who could ever forgive that?

Even worse than knowing Carmilla would never love her again was knowing just how lost she probably was. Carm only truly cared about two people in the planet. Now she had no one. It terrified Laura, thinking of what would become of her beloved monster.

In which Laura and Carmilla finally have an honest conversation.

At last, the two of them were left alone in the room, giving them their first chance to talk in private since Mattie and Carmilla had come crashing through the door.

Laura sits on the desk, trying to do some work in her computer but lacking any willingness to do it. Instead, she turns around and stares at Carmilla, who happenes to be facing the opposite direction.

“Oh, c’mon, you can at least look at me.” Laura breaks the increasingly heavy silence, feeling more worn out than she’d ever been in her life.

“Sorry, cupcake, but I find it very hard to look at you right now.”

“Fine.” Laura turns back to the computer, opening up a new video project she was editing, but quickly changes her mind. “You know what? Not fine. I know we’re not exactly in the best terms with the break up and all, but I’m helping you out here, and the least you could do is not act like a 5 year old and pretend I’m not here.”

“Oh, so I’m acting like a five year old now?” Carmilla’s voice is weakened by her injury but the sarcasm is still strong as ever. “I’m sorry, I didn’t realize that not wanting to face someone recently threatened to kill me  - someone who I once trusted - made me a five year old, but I’ll be sure to try and behave better from now on.”

“What? I didn’t threaten to kill you.”

“Oh, yes, of course. You threatened to let me die. If Mattie didn’t go along with your little plans - which turned out so well last time - you planned on just watching me bleed to death on Mother’s Persian carpet.”

Laura couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “Come on, you’re being unfair and you know it. You and your lovely big sister were having loads of nice, murderous fun around campus and I needed to put an end to that. It was the right thing to do.”

“Yes, yes, Laura Hollis, always thinking about The Greater Good.” Carmilla rolls her eyes. “Yeah, maybe it is a little childish, but it did hurt to see that my life is worth so little to you that you’d use it as a bargaining chip.”

“Stop okay? Just stop. You know me, I know you do, and you’ve known from the very beginning that I cannot just let innocents die and do nothing about it. I saw an opportunity to do something about your fraternal killing spree and I did it. What I do or do not feel for you wasn’t really part of the equation.”

“I know, I know, but do you really not understand why that bothers me? It just feels like that’s all I ever was to you: means to an end. I had to carry out my mother’s dirty work for centuries, if there’s something in this world I don’t like, it’s being used.”

“You were never means to an end to me.” Laura’s tone is suddenly very serious.

“Are you sure about that? Because it looks like you got what you wanted all along: to use me as a way to stop Mattie. Sure, first you tried to put me into a pedestal and make me into some sort of hero who betrays her own sister, but when that didn’t work, you got a brand new opportunity to use me as a pawn in your weird little game.”

She just couldn’t listen to it anymore, not without exploding. Laura clings to the table in front of her, taking deep breaths, trying to calm herself down, but it’s worthless. When she turns around, there are tears in her eyes and she’s shouting even though she didn’t mean to shout it.

“Are you kidding me?! Do you think it was easy? Do you think my heart didn’t instantly stop beating the second she carried you through the door? Do you think I wasn’t freaking out? I was! I know exactly what it feels like to watch you die, and trust me, I don’t ever want to go through that again, especially not this time, because you know what? I love you. I realized it the moment I saw you were hurt, I friggin love you, but that doesn’t mean the lives of your future victims suddenly aren’t important to me. I may love you, but innocent lives always come first, even when it causes me actual physical pain, and believe me, negotiating with Mattie while you were bleeding definitely did.”

Laura was full on crying now, but Carmilla still sounded dry and skeptical. “I don’t believe you. Not even a little bit. Because, if you did love me, you wouldn’t have wasted so much effort on making me into someone I’m not.”