Karolina Dean stared at her wardrobe with disgust. She and Xavin were supposed to go on a double date with Wiccan and Hulkling from the Young Avengers, but she was beginning to wonder if the date was actually going to happen. Her worries had nothing to do with her desire to go on the date. Rather, they were focused on her inability to decide what to wear. Xavin had told her not to worry about it, but Karolina couldn't help it. She wanted to look perfect for this date, but at that moment perfection was looking like it would be impossible to achieve.
"Damn it." she muttered, glaring at her wardrobe. "Why can't I just pick something?"
"I think, perhaps, you're trying too hard K." said a familiar voice from the doorway.
Karolina turned to find her longtime friend Nico Minoru watching her with a look of amusement. She smiled, appreciating Nico's insight, and invited Nico in.
"Yeah, you may be right about that." she conceded. "It's just...I want tonight to be perfect, you know? It's been months since Xavin and I have gone on a date with Billy and Teddy and I just want things to be...I don't know, special maybe?"
"Do you really think your choice of clothing will make that much of a difference?" Nico asked. "Because I really think you're over-thinking this."
"Maybe I am, but like I said, I want things to be perfect." Karolina said. "To that end, do you think you could use the Staff of One to give me the perfect outfit?"
"It's a magical staff K, not a damn clothing store." Nico said, with mock irritation.
"Well, a girl can ask, can't she?" Karolina asked, grinning.
"Obviously." Nico said. "Anyway, I think you should just pick something and stick with it. Xavin isn't going to care what you wear and neither are Billy and Teddy."
"She's right, you know." Xavin said, as she strode into the room, her presence seeming to lift a weight off Karolina's shoulders. "I think you're beautiful no matter what you wear. Honestly, beloved, you are putting too much stock into the human belief in the perfect outfit."
Karolina smiled at that, comforted by Xavin's words, somehow. She knew Xavin and Nico were right, but she still couldn't shake her desire for a perfect date night. But she could see Xavin and Nico weren't going to let her stress over this any longer, so she made up her mind and chose a green, strapless top, a dark green skirt, and a black headband to hold her hair back.
Once she was dressed she turned back to Xavin and Nico and asked, "How do I look?"
"Perfect." Xavin said, smiling a crooked smile as she spoke.
"There's just one thing missing." said Nico, pulling a box from her pocket as she spoke.
"What's this?" Karolina asked, glancing at the box with curiosity.
"Something to make you even more beautiful than you already are." Xavin said, before Nico could reply.
Nico nodded and handed Karolina the box, which was small and rectangular in shape. Karolina took the box and opened it, her breath catching in her chest when she saw what the box contained. Inside was a beautiful necklace, studded with emeralds and diamonds. It was the most beautiful thing Karolina had ever seen, aside from Xavin, of course.
"Where...where did you get this?" she asked, her voice a whisper.
"We bought it." Xavin answered. "Well, more precisely, Nico bought it, but it is a gift from both of us, to show how much we care."
"Actually, it's supposed to be a gift from Xavin alone, but she insisted that we call it a gift from both of us." Nico said.
"Well, regardless of who it's from, thank you." Karolina said. "Thank you both. I shall treasure this for the rest of my life."
"That is all I could ever ask." Xavin said, with another crooked smile.
Karolina smiled again and put on the necklace, glad that Xavin and Nico had been there to help her solve her wardrobe dilemma before it drove her insane.
At that same moment, across town, Billy Kaplan, codename Wiccan, was also in the process of preparing for that night's date. Like Karolina, Billy was stressed, but it wasn't his wardrobe that was making him agitated. It was his responsibility as a Young Avenger that was doing that. He knew that he shouldn't be worried, but he couldn't help it. After everything he and his teammates had been through, Billy couldn't help feeling like he needed to be more cautious. But he couldn't let that distract him tonight. He had promised Teddy they would go on this double date with Karolina and Xavin and he intended to keep that promise, no matter what. Besides, it wasn't like there was much he or the others could do if something did happen. They were in Los Angeles now, which was clear across the country from their usual base of operations. Still, Billy couldn't shake the feeling that something was going to happen and his teammates could tell.
"Billy, you have to let this go." Teddy Altman, codename Hulkling and Billy's boyfriend, said. "You promised to just have fun tonight."
"I know and I'm sorry." Billy said, his tone apologetic. "It's just...I have this feeling something bad is going to happen tonight and I don't know why."
"Don't worry about it bro." Billy's twin brother Tommy Shepherd, codename Speed, said. "If anything happens, we can take care of it." He gestured at the others as he spoke, as if their thoughts on the subject were perfectly in line with his.
"Tommy's right." Cassie Lang, codename Stature, said, with a sympathetic smile. "If anything happens, we can handle it. And if we can't, we'll call the other Runaways and they'll help us deal with it."
Billy seemed to be comforted by their words, but Teddy could tell he was still on edge. "Come on Billy, nothing is going to happen, I promise." he said, placing a hand on Billy's shoulder as he spoke. "Let's go have some fun."
"Okay, I'll let it go for now." Billy conceded. "But if anything happens and you guys can't handle it, please call us back."
"Okay, we'll do that." Tommy said, though his tone sounded less than genuine.
Billy nodded and he and Teddy headed for the exit, both of them ready for a night of fun with Karolina and Xavin.
"Have fun you two." Cassie called after them, her words somehow managing to lift Billy's spirits ever so slightly.
An hour later Billy and Teddy met Karolina and Xavin at a little deli Karolina claimed made the best sandwiches in Los Angeles. The plan was to eat dinner and then hit some clubs, though Teddy had also suggested the possibility of going to a movie.
"Hey guys, you look nice." Karolina said, as a means of greeting.
"Thanks." Teddy said. "But we really just threw on whatever we could find."
"Well, you still look nice." Karolina said, her tone suggesting that she didn't believe Teddy's claim. Teddy was dressed in dark pants and a cream colored sweater, while Billy was dressed in dark pants, a dark polo shirt, and a fashionable leather jacket.
"You two look nice as well." Billy said, glancing at Karolina and Xavin, who was dressed in dark pants and a purple blouse as she was in her female form.
"Thank you." Karolina said, smiling at Billy as she spoke, though she could sense the tension in his stance. She decided not to comment on that however.
"Dorrek VIII, it has been too long." Xavin said, bowing to Teddy as she spoke.
"It has indeed." Teddy agreed. "Though please call me Teddy, Xavin. I prefer that to my real name."
Xavin nodded, though she seemed to dislike having to call Teddy by his human name. It was a point of pride for her to call Teddy by his given name, as Dorrek VIII was said to be the savior of the Skrull Empire, a claim that is disputed by the Kree, who believe Dorrek VIII is prophesied to be the savior of their empire instead. For his part, Teddy just wants to live his life on Earth and has no intentions of being the savior for either of the races that birthed him.
"Well, shall we head inside?" Billy asked, before Xavin and Teddy could get into another argument about Teddy's supposed duties to his people.
"Yes, let's." Karolina said, with a warning glance at Xavin.
Xavin and Teddy nodded and followed Billy and Karolina inside, both of them sensing that now was not the time for pointless arguments.
"This place looks nice." Teddy said, as they took their seats at a table near the back.
"Yeah and the food is fantastic." Karolina said, grinning.
"That's what you said on the phone, but I'll try it for myself first." Billy said.
"Suit yourself, but I promise you, it's great." Karolina said, still grinning.
"Should we be worried that she's grinning like that?" Teddy asked, glancing at Xavin.
"I wouldn't think so." Xavin answered. "But then again, I've never been here either, so maybe we should be."
"Oh come on." Karolina said. "Do you really think I'd bring you three to a shitty restaurant on our first double date in months?"
"She's got a point." Billy said. "That does seem more like something Tommy would do."
"Or Chase." Xavin put in, her tone somewhere between disgust and amusement.
"Yeah, I guess you've got a point there." Teddy conceded. "So it's not a trick on Karolina's part. I just wanted to be certain."
"Of course." Karolina said, with a shrug. "One can never be too careful when trying a new restaurant for the first time. I completely understand."
"Well, now that we've got that figured out, shall we order?" Billy asked.
"Yeah, I'm starving." Teddy said, moving to examine the menu as he spoke.
An hour or so later, having stuffed their faces with a ton of good food, the four made their way towards the exit. Billy and Teddy had been pleasantly surprised by the quality of the food and Karolina couldn't help feeling giddy about that.
"So, did I tell you or what?" she asked, glancing at the boys.
"Yeah, you were right." Billy said. "The food there was awesome. I'd definitely eat there again. What about you Teddy?"
"Oh yeah, I would too." Teddy agreed, grinning at Karolina as he spoke.
"I told you they would bend to your will." Xavin said, smirking. "No one can resist your charms, my love."
"God I love it when you talk like that." Karolina said, leaning in to kiss Xavin on the lips.
"Yeah, that kind of talk gets me hot as well." Teddy said.
"Oh really?" Billy asked. "Well why didn't you say something sooner?" With that he pulled Teddy into his arms and kissed him, ignoring the fact that they were in public and people could see them. Not that he really cared. He and Teddy were gay and if the world couldn't accept that, that was their problem, not his.
Karolina and Xavin seemed to have similar thoughts on that subject, for they had yet to break apart and for a moment all four of them stood, locked in embraces of romance, all other things completely forgotten as time seem to stop.
And then the moment ended and Billy found himself wondering what was going to happen next. "So, where to now?" he asked.
"There's a club just down the street, if you guys are up for it?" Karolina said.
"Sounds like a plan to me." Teddy said, grinning.
With that, the four of them made their way to the club, none of them realizing that Billy's worries about something happening were about to come true.
A/N: And that's the first chapter of my first Runaways/Young Avengers crossover. I know not a lot happened in this chapter, but things will get more exciting as the story progresses. Also, things might be a little awkward at times as I have never written a story focusing on gay couples before. As I am not gay myself, I may struggle to bring that aspect of the characters out. Please let me know if you think I can improve on the romance parts. By the way, this story was inspired by a suggestion from my brother (that'd be Wiccan103 here on ). Finally, Runaways and Young Avengers are the property of Brian K. Vaughn, Allen Heinberg, and Marvel Comics, lest we forget. Hope you enjoyed. Cheers, Kamari Turen.