Disclaimer: I do not own the Young Avengers, Runaways, or X-Men; I make no money from writing.
Synopsis: They said college was supposed to "prepare you for the real world," but does it really?
Karolina's new degrees aren't opening any new doors for her the way her acting career has, but she attended then subsequently graduated college to show her parents she could. A lot of good that did because now she's saddled with not one but two ultimately useless pieces of paper and the debt that comes with them. Plus, she can't find a job that separates her from the Dean name. Her new roommate is ridiculously hot. And to top things off she discovers she's an alien with alien fugitive parents.
Yeah, where's the help wanted sign for adulthood?
The phone sits ominously on the kitchen counter while Nico and Karolina hover over it staring at each other. "Why are we doing this again?"
"We aren't. I am. And I'm doing this because I can't spend the rest of our lives sleeping on your futon."
Nico looks down at the phone briefly before looking back up at Karolina's frowning face. "You know you haven't been here a full day, yes?" Karolina's frown deepens, "furthermore, you're hardly an inconvenience—"
Still frowning, Karolina shakes her head. "If you wanted a roommate, you would've gotten a two-bedroom apartment."
"Arguably, I could say had I known my best friend planned on moving out of her parents' place I would've gotten a two-bedroom apartment." Nico counters, "then, wouldn't you know it, we wouldn't be having this conversation."
"I wasn't planning on moving out. I mean, I was just... not the moment it happened... or the way it happened." Nico makes a go-on gesture. "Okay. We were arguing about my student debt, an argument we've had time and time again over the course of the past four-and-a-half-years so it the argument itself wasn't anything new. Mid argument, all of a sudden they said if I didn't like the way they ran things I was welcome to leave... so I did. Leave, that is. I didn't even grab my toothbrush or Ms. Snuggles! Hell, I wouldn't've had my wallet or phone if they weren't in the clutch I was carrying!"
"Ms—hold on. You're talking about that damned stuffed rabbit you've had since we were six? You're mad you didn't grab it?"
"Her. Mad I didn't grab her. And she's been a constant fixture in my bed for seventeen years so, yeah, you're damn right I'm mad."
"That is such a you thing, Karolina." Nico laughs, "you're more pissed about missing your favorite stuffed animal than you are about being homeless. Ordinarily, I'd say you not wanting your parents to pay off your student debt just isn't a smart decision on your part. However, your parents always have some bullshit up their sleeves so it's even smarter not to risk it. Also, I gotta applaud you for giving it to your folks; they're definitely not the easiest people to talk to."
Karolina snorts. "That's for damn sure."
"Having said that, creating a profile on an apartment finding app makes me uneasy as hell."
"How'd you find this place?"
"Uh. The old-fashioned way: An apartment booklet."
"A what?"
Nico shakes her head. "Never mind. Having randos looking at your information like this is how people end up hacked to bits and thrown into ditches."
"Nico, I'm begging you, please stop binge watching horror films." The phone pings and Nico picks it up before Karolina can reach it, holding it out of her reach. "Hey!"
Nico looks over the text. "Your payment went through? You already paid for a place you haven't seen?"
"I saw the place."
"When?"
"This morning when I took the digital tour."
"A digital—you realize how utterly ridiculous you are, right!? You don't have a clue what the place truly looks like and you know absolutely nothing about who you're gonna be living with! I swear I don't know how I keep forgetting how impulsive you are. You are the same person who decided to test just how allergic to latex you were by shoving your face into a box of gloves."
"Yeah, not my finest hour."
"I'm sure the hospital would agree with you. Or when you figured to shove your face into a bowl of jordan almonds?" As Karolina frowns again, Nico shakes her head. "'I'm sure they're not real almonds.'"
"You're gonna hold something against me that I did nearly thirteen years ago?"
"Considering you haven't changed since then? Yeah. I am. With your ever-present penchant for both figuratively and literally shoving your face into things without thinking, I need to personally make sure you don't wind up between the thighs of a serial killer."
"There are worse ways to go then death by post sex thighs."
Nico rolls her eyes. "I'm not even gonna address that." She sighs, "I don't suppose you made sure you can back out of the apartment if it's not what you want?"
Karolina gives her a one-shoulder shrug.
Nico facepalms. "I'm only surprised that I'm surprised."
"I'm sure, legally, it has to be, right?" Nico's still facepalming but she's shaking her head now too. "And I know stuff about my roommate. We texted before I decided I wanted to take the digital tour."
"Yeah. Okay. Great. I'm still checking this place out with you."
#
Sneaking into the mansion was a lot easier and far more exhilarating than Karolina anticipated. She never had the "luxury," so to speak, of needing to sneak out then back into her parents' place during her teenage years, but people often say there is no time like the present.
Although Karolina didn't have her key on hand, Nico still has the spare given to her almost ten years ago. Come to think of it, Karolina doesn't think Nico ever used or needed to use the key before today.
They enter the mansion through the kitchen/side door to minimize the risk of being seen. Leslie and Frank Dean only use the kitchen when they're hosting one of their (in)famous dinner parties. Other than that, the kitchen is purely a decorative piece. Even the butler seldom uses the kitchen.
Coincidentally, the kitchen entrance is also the quickest route to Karolina's (old) room.
The second Karolina enters her old room, she makes a beeline for the closet grabbing the donut backpack hanging on the door. Next, she heads to the joint bathroom and tosses in her medication bottles along with a few choice toiletries. Then, she grabs Ms. Snuggles off her bed and gently places her into the backpack. After that, she heads back to the closet and puts an orange pencil case in it.
"Was that a pencil case full of cash?"
"Yup." Karolina replies, taking clothes off their hangers then crams them into the bag.
"No. Never mind. I won't ask." Karolina digs into her closet and pulls out a unicorn backpack then proceeds to fill that halfway with more clothes. "You're only taking two backpacks worth of your shit?"
She walks over to her entertainment center and unplugs her xbox one before putting that and all its games into the unicorn bag. "I'm only taking what I can carry. Might have to make a second trip for my computer though." She goes back over to her bed and rummages under the pillows until she picks up her 2DS and puts that into the bag as well, along with all its games from her bookshelf.
"Yeah, unplugging and taking that thing with you will require a box. Plus it'll need a mode of transportation that isn't a bus. If you need to bring more of your shit gimme a backpack and I'll carry it."
"I don't need a third bag, I just need something small for my jewelry and make up. Ooh. I have the perfect purse for that." Karolina heads back into her closet then comes back out with a Hello Kitty purse.
"You never cease to amaze me, Dean. Truly. And I say that will all the sincerity I can muster." Nico takes the purse then goes into the bathroom. "You know you should've put your meds in the purse instead of a bag."
"Don't worry. The Karolina klutz-proof caps make sure they won't spill into the bag. Oh. Speaking of my meds, can you put the pill cases in there for me?"
"Got it and don't forget your keys this time. Unless you think Leslie and Frank will change the locks."
"I wouldn't put it past them to do that but I'll get my keys regardless."
Nico comes back in the room looking around, "you're not bringing along any more stuffed animals? Won't your precious Ms. Snuggles get lonely?"
"I know you're making fun of me but I'll have you know I thought long and hard about my decision not to bring any more of my stuffed animals."
"Maybe because reasonably not even a third of your collection of stuffed animals will fit into an apartment?" Nico gestures to the wall shelves filled with stuffed animals.
"That and it was difficult deciding who else to bring." Nico shakes her head.
#
Nico's grateful Karolina's new building is two blocks away from hers. That means when Karolina (inevitably) gets herself into shit, Nico'll now only be ten minutes away instead of a forty-five minute bus ride.
They take the stairs to the third floor and ring the doorbell of apartment 3I.
A few seconds after Nico rings the doorbell perhaps the most beautiful person in existence opens the door with a bright smile that could produce puppies out of thin air (if physically possible). "You must be Karolina!" They step out of the apartment to hug Nico.
Nico's never considered herself much of a hugger but despite that she quickly wraps her arms around Karolina's new roommate. And despite not being able to see her best friend, she knows Nico has a blissed out expression to go with her content sigh. Karolina shakes out of her stupor. "Actually, I'm Karolina. That's my best friend Nico." Her new roommate looks up at her then releases Nico with an apology. Damn, maybe she should've thought this through. How the hell is she supposed to live with someone this good looking?
Before she can think more about how screwed she is—and not in a good way, her roommate hugs her "It's good to meet you. I'm looking forward to living with you."
"Me too." Karolina chirps. She can see why Nico let out that sigh. "You told me the app autocorrected your name to Xander?"
They release Karolina with a smile. "Yeah. Guess Xavin isn't a typical name and I hadn't even realized it changed my name until you texted me. Oh. You bought some of your stuff with you already? Good! Come in. Come in." After entering the apartment and closing the door behind her, Karolina looks around. Huh. Seems like the digital tour was pretty accurate. "Guessing you want a proper tour that isn't through a lens?"
"That'll be great." Nico replies.
Xavin gives them the tour and Nico dutifully albeit distractedly asks about the building and its amenities as well as the neighborhood.; like she doesn't live in the same neighborhood. Karolina's only half listening because Xavin has a real nice voice. The star of her fantasies nice.
Karolina hears Nico ask: "What happened to your last roommate?"
"My last roommate was my cousin Teddy. He's a personal trainer, you see, so he needed a smaller place to stick his clients along with all his workout equipment. I got too accustomed to this place and didn't wanna downsize – plus there was the lease. He suggested the whole roommate ad thing and..." Xavin shrugs, "here we are."
"Wouldn't your roommate—cousin need a bigger place to fit in his workout equipment?"
"Common sense would suggest that, right? Unfortunately, his clientele are very... particular. They viewed a roommate as a distraction and for some that 'distraction' – otherwise known as me – was unwelcome. Plus, less room means less hiding places. They found that out the hard way. Right. Speaking of Teddy? He still has his key which means he'll just pop up from time to time under the guise of looking after me when in reality he's gonna gossip. Sorry in advance."
"That's alright. I'm gonna cut myself a spare to do the same thing."
Xavin laughs. "That's good. It would be unfair otherwise." Nico nods in agreement. "By the way, is Karolina okay? She seems a bit... dazed."
"Yeah, she always looks that way. It's when she doesn't is when you should worry."
"Uh. Got it."
Nico snaps her fingers in front of Karolina's face. "Huh? Wha—!?" She looks around. "What happened?"
The door opens and there's a tall, pretty blond in a black t-shirt that's not too tight but definitely tight enough to show off his unfair amount of muscles carrying a rolled up mattress. "Oh. I'm on time then."
Xavin sighs, "this is Teddy. Teddy, my roommate Karolina and her best friend Nico."
"I'd wave but..."
Does pretty run in the family? Nico subtly checks her mouth to see if she's drooling. "I can't thank you guys enough for giving me a bed." Karolina says.
"Teddy had a spare and I'd rather not have my roommate sleeping on the floor."
"Wait. You have a spare bed?" Nico asks.
"A friend of mine bought me one of those fancy, overpriced beds."
"A friend who buys you an overpriced, fancy bed typically wants to use said bed with you."
Teddy chuckles, "he wanted to but things didn't pan out the way he intended so he never got to 'test out' the bed he bought."
"But doesn't using the bed nightly remind you of him?"
"I thought it would but I'm usually out like a light the moment my head hits the pillow."
"He was an asshole." Xavin adds, "so the less you think about him the better. I keep telling my darling cousin he can do better than the assholes he seems exclusively attracted to but he never listens."
"I'm not exclusively attracted to assholes."
"Could've fooled me." Xavin mutters, "I've never seen a halfway decent guy brought into this apartment when you were still living here."
The cousins stare at each other until Teddy scowls. "I'm gonna put this mattress in your room."
"Wait. Isn't that my mattress?"
"I doubt you wanna be sleeping on his old mattress."
"And you think yours is any better?" Teddy calls out from Xavin's bedroom.
"Unlike you, I don't sleep with people on my bed."
"Then where do you sleep with them?" Nico can't help asking.
"I'm more of an against the wall kind of person."
Karolina hopes her blushing isn't obvious. She saw on the profile Xavin uses they/them pronouns. When they hugged earlier, she didn't feel anything soft against her body and it was a close, full-body, fronts touching hug. Not that breasts matter to her... much. She enjoys a good fondling as much as the next gal loving gal but she's been with girls without breasts before. Now because Karolina's an optimist and Xavin is both pan as all hell and not a dude, she's hoping she'll end up against a wall with them some time in the near future.
"I respect that." Nico says with a hum. Karolina was trying to slip into her new room unnoticed but Nico turns to her. "Need help setting your room up?"
"I—uh? Sure?"
"I'll help out too."
Karolina hopes she's smiling and not grimacing at Xavin. "Thanks." No real surprise the bedroom is empty safe for the full size bed in the middle of the room. Not that she was paying attention but Karolina doesn't remember any doors being opened in the tour. The physical tour. Karolina and Nico place Karolina's bags on the bed. "I need to buy some curtains... and sheets."
"We don't have any food so we can pick up your stuff when we go grocery shopping."
"Sounds good."
"You're vegan, right? Teddy tried going pescetarian for a while. Didn't work out."
"Veganism isn't for everyone. But you don't have to change the way you eat because of me or anything."
"Okay but I'll make sure not to cross-contaminate meats with your food."
"You don't have to worry about her going aggro for stuff like that. I've eaten plenty of hamburgers in front of her and she hasn't batted an eye. As long you don't try converting her to a carnivore she'll be okay."
"Noted."
#
Nico unlocks her phone. The wallpaper is a picture of the two of them wearing pink heart-shaped glasses (Karolina's idea) holding a spoonful of frozen yogurt in front of their opened mouths. (Karolina's spoonful is pink while Nico's is green.)
After leaving Karolina's yesterday, she didn't hear from her. Knowing Karolina, Nico's not sure if this is a good thing or a bad.
Her doorbell rings and Nico stills. Despite never using it, Karolina has a key to her apartment. Her mother also has a key and honestly Nico's not sure how but she's not surprised. She, thankfully, gets her craftiness from her mom.
When Nico looks through the peephole she hardly expects to see Leslie and Frank Dean on the other side. Shit. Of course they'd look here first for Karolina.
"I know you're in there, Nico." Leslie says. "Open the door. I have no problem standing out here all day."
Sighing, Nico takes the chain off the door and opens it. "Can I help you two with something?"
"As a matter of fact you can. I'd like to speak to my daughter."
"She's not here."
"Then where is she?"
"Maybe if you hadn't kicked her out of your house you'd know the answer to that."
"Is that what she told you?"
"Is she wrong?"
"No. But we both know Karolina. She'll be back within a week. Two tops."
"You didn't learn your lesson from the last time you underestimated her?"
"I've carried that girl for eight months and twenty-two days, I believe I know her better than you do. The college situation was a one-time thing."
"A 'one-time thing' that lasted four-and-a-half years."
"She's a Dean, Leslie, which means she's powered by spite – same as you." Frank says.
Leslie smiles. "How I forget. Nico, when you see Karolina tell her we have no intention of changing the locks or repurposing her bedroom. She may no longer be living there but she's welcome to visit whenever she wants."
"I'll be sure to relay the message." Nodding, Leslie and Frank leave. Nico sighs closing the door. Honestly, that went better than expected. Last time Karolina sought refuge at Nico's there was an hour long staring contest between their moms. You haven't seen a staredown until you've seen Tina Minoru do one.
She picks up her phone, unlocks it again, then dials Karolina's number. Karolina picks up on the second ring. "Hello?"
"Hey. Your parents paid me a visit."
"They did? Damn. What did they say?"
"Your mom said they're not gonna change the locks."
Karolina huffs. "That's something, at least."
"But that was after she said you wouldn't last two weeks."
"She once told me I wouldn't last two days in my composition and rhetoric class. Not only did I stay in the class the entire semester but I got an A+. I'm used to my mom not giving me the benefit of the doubt. What did my dad say about all this?"
"That you were powered by spite?"
"Guess that's true when it comes to them." She hears Karolina sigh on the other end. "Thanks for the heads up."
"Anytime. I'll call you later, alright?"
#
Xavin comes around the corner as Karolina puts her phone back into her pocket. "Was that Nico? Is everything alright?"
"Hmm. Yes and no. My parents are... being my parents. They don't think I'll last all that long not living under their roof."
"Am I your first roommate ever?" Xavin claps their hands together, "your mine too! Other than Teddy. Ooh. We should have a toast: to living without family members for the first time."
"I'm in. Frankly, I'll use any excuse to have a celebratory day drink."
Xavin nudges her, "that's the spirit."
Karolina manages to grab damn near everything she needs in one shopping trip to the superstore. A friend of Teddy's lends them his car. It's more like he drops them off at the store then picks them up since neither of them have a license. She's considering heading to her parents place for her computer but since they just showed up at Nico's there's no doubt in her mind they'll have some dramatic confrontation she's not interested in having.
Just as well, since she doesn't have anything to put her computer on. Yesterday, Xavin and Nico helped her put away her clothes into the closet because that was all she had to set up. Today, she has sheets and curtains for her bed, more clothes for her closet, a laundry basket, a 32" television, and one of those cute jewelry cases. Plus, there were a dozen multi-colored storage cubbies on sale.
Looking around her room, she realizes there's nothing to put the television on.
The room is still fairly empty but she's not sure if that's a bad thing.
There's a knock on the door and Karolina turns to find Xavin's head in the doorway. "I figured we should go out to toast. Seems more official that way."
"I'm game. Where are we headed?"
They fully walk into Karolina's room, Karolina is momentarily distracted by the navy romper Xavin is wearing. "Ever hear of The Prime?"
Karolina tilts her head to the left, "can't say I have."
"Great! This'll be another first for both of us to share."
Karolina looks down at her pink t-shirt and pair of jeans. "I'm guessing I have to change?"
"Ooh. I'll let you borrow something!" Xavin grabs Karolina's hand leading her into their room. This is her first time in Xavin's room so she's looking around. Xavin digs into their closet then holds up a low cut black sheath dress on a hanger. "What do you think?"
"My God that looks tight."
"Perfect! Try it on."
Karolina takes off her shirt, silently thankful she's wearing one of her cuter bras, then slips the dress over her head pulling it down over her jeans. Xavin lets out an appreciative hum and Karolina gives a little twirl. "I like it but is there an option two?"
"Too much frontal attention?" Karolina nods. Xavin has to admit their eyes slid down to Karolina's ample cleavage in that dress, a bit more than their eyes usually slide down because the girl's definitely a D-cup. "Personally, I think you should show the twins off but if that's not what you're into I can see what else I have." Xavin has three more dresses like the one they pulled just in different colors. In fact, a large number of the dresses Xavin pulls are low cut or shoulder dresses.
"I'm sensing a pattern here." Xavin gives her an apologetic shrug but the look on their face is anything but apologetic.
Xavin goes back into the closet then pulls out a garnet one-shoulder bodycon dress that has a crisscrossing slit on along its sleeved left side in one hand. In the other hand is a dress the same color that's also one-shoulder but most of its mid section is cut out. "Here. Your breasts will be safely tucked away in these."
Karolina takes off the dress she's wearing then tries on the one Xavin had in their right hand. Or tries to. "Just my luck this one is too small." Then she tries on the other which is thankfully too big.
"I have rompers if you don't wanna go the dress route."
"You have a lot of clothes."
"I like clothes."
Karolina eyes the collection of dresses laid out on the bed. "I noticed." She picks up a violet off-the-shoulder bodycon dress then tries it on.
"You know, it's really unfair that everything you try on suits you."
"I'm sure the same could be said about you."
Xavin grins at her. Karolina grins back then tries on some more dresses. In the end, she settles on a dark grey one-shoulder bodycon dress.
Xavin also lends her a dark grey clutch and a pair of dark grey heels. "You're like a walking clothing store, Xav."
Xavin tries (and fails) not to blush at the nickname as they put the finishing touches on Karolina's make up. Damn, there's gonna be some other lucky bastard getting this close to the blonde? Honestly, Xavin's not sure how they feel about that.
Thankfully, the bar's not crowded when they enter and there are people in far tighter outfits than what they're wearing.
The two of them make their way to the bar. The bartender looks them over with a smile. "What can I get you folks this evening?"
"Two cherry cosmos, please." The bartender nods then starts making said drinks.
"One of those is for me, right?"
Xavin laughs, "of course. I mean, I could easily drink them off myself but we couldn't very well toast if only one of us has drinks can we?"
"True enough."
"I did some research last night and I had no idea a lot of liquor is already vegan."
"You did research?"
"Of course, I don't wanna accidentally give you something not vegan friendly."
"You're so sweet!" Karolina hugs Xavin. The bartender sets the drinks down in front of them. They both thank the bartender before turning to each other holding up their glasses. "What are we toasting to?"
"Hm. How about to each other and sharing kickass adventures?"
"I like the sound of that." With a smile, Karolina clinks her glass against Xavin's then they start drinking.
After a satisfying swig, Xavin notices the glint coming from Karolina's left hand. "Ooh. Your bracelet is so pretty and it even matches the dress."
"My what? Oh. That's my medical alert bracelet. That's honestly not why I picked this dress but this isn't the first time I used this thing as a fashion accessory."
Xavin lifts Karolina's left hand and examines the bracelet. "What's written on it?"
"My allergies, medication—it basically puts most of the stuff wrong with me in plain sight."
Xavin puts her hand down, "there's nothing wrong with you."
"I have over twenty years of doctor's notes and referrals that would disagree."
"I'm not saying you don't have issues or struggles, I'm saying you aren't in the wrong for having them."
"Oh. Huh. Um. Thanks then. As you can probably tell I'm terrible at interaction."
"I think you're too hard on yourself."
Karolina motions to the bartender for another drink then eagerly gulps it down when she gets it. With a sigh, she sets down the empty glass. "I get that from my mother. Unfortunately. She's been hard on me my whole life, but talking about my mom will turn this into one of those sad day drink sessions and we're supposed to be celebrating today."
"You've had sad day drinking sessions?"
"Oh, frequently. Especially when I was still in college and didn't have afternoon classes."
Xavin lifts up their half-empty glass and toasts against Karolina's empty one. "May there be more happy day drinking sessions in our future than sad ones."
"Here's hoping. So, tell me a little about you that we didn't text about."
"Well, I'm an only child. I was raised by my grandfather then Theodore's mom."
"Theodore? That's Teddy's first name?"
"Not his first name but yeah. It's what Teddy's short for."
"Huh. Um. You were raised by Teddy's mom and you guys' grandfather? What about your parents?"
"I don't remember anything about them."
"Oh man. I'm so sorry. Here I am complaining about my parents and—"
Xavin shakes their head, "no, it's alright."
"If you're sure."
"I am. Oh and I also like day drinking as much as you."
"All friendships start with a common interest."
"That they do. And I no longer have to worry about drinking alone because Theodore's a lightweight."
"Is he?"
"Yeah. It's actually ridiculous. We were out celebrating and one drink later he was face down on the table snoring. I'll find just about any reason to celebrate."
"So? That's not a bad thing. I love celebrating. Who even needs a reason?"
Xavin smiles at her, "hey, since we're just here sipping cosmos see anyone that strikes your interests?"
Karolina nearly spits out her drink, "hm?"
"You know..." Xavin lolls their head from side to side, "anyone you're interested in sleeping with."
"I know what you meant. I just wasn't expecting it." With her third drink in hand, Karolina looks around the bar. As beautiful as the women around her were, she'd much rather spend time with Xavin. "I think I'm good. What about you? Anyone tickles your fancy?"
"When I got a smoking hot lady beside me? Nah."
"Are you trying to get into this dress that you let me borrow, Xav?"
"Not on our first outing."
Karolina lets out a full-body laugh.
A melodious sound Xavin could get used to hearing around the apartment. Teddy said this roommate thing would be hit or miss and needless to say, Xavin is extremely pleased it is a hit. The last thing Xavin wanted was a boring roommate, they already experienced that with Teddy. The most exciting thing Teddy ever did was occasionally bring home "company" but he even managed to do that in a boring way. Plus, all his "guests" were assholes.
Suddenly, the bartender sets a rainbow colored drink in front of Karolina. "The gentleman at the end of the bar purchased this for you."
"Boy is he gonna be sorely disappointed." Xavin mutters. The two of them lean forward to eye the guy at the end of the bar lifting the same drink in his hands in a salute. There's an adorable crease between Karolina's eyebrows as she stares back at the drink. "Do you know him?"
Karolina looks back at the end of the bar but the guy is gone. "He looked familiar, but I gotta admit I'm actually quite terrible with faces." With a shrug, Karolina sips on the drink. "Wow, that's sweet. Try some." Xavin takes a sip and recoils. "Don't have much of a sweet-tooth?"
"I like sweets as much as the next person but not when it's threatening to coat my tongue in sugar." Karolina shrugs then keeps on sipping. "Does this happen often? Random guys buy you drinks at bars?"
"Not so much guys, but I've had my share of women buy me drinks and chat me up."
"Why wouldn't you? You're adorable."
"Thanks. I'm sure you've had people tripping over themselves and other people trying to buy you drinks."
"Well... I don't like to brag." Karolina laughs. "Come on, let's walk around and mingle. Your dress really isn't for sitting."
"That's for sure. This thing's been riding up like no one's business."
#
There was only a handful of other twenty-somethings in the bar to mingle with but there was a nice elderly couple who recognized Karolina's voice from some of her voice acting projects.
It's noon when they make their way back to the building. Much like Nico, Xavin is an early riser but unlike Nico, Xavin is actually out and about instead of spending hours laying in bed watching Hulu or Netflix on their phone. Karolina normally doesn't like waking up before 11:30am if she can help it.
As Xavin puts the key into the door, another apartment door opens. "Are you just getting back?" Karolina watches Xavin turn to the opened door across the hall. A beautiful black-haired woman in a purple jumpsuit is leaning against the doorway with an apple in her hands and a quiver on her back. "It's pretty late, even for you Xavin."
"Relax, Kate, we were celebrating."
The woman—Kate—turns her attention to Karolina. "Found someone to celebrate with you, then?" She walks across the hall to Karolina and engulfs her in a hug. "Sorry about Xavin in advance." She whispers, then she leans back to get a good look at Karolina. "Damn, you're pretty. Name's Kate, as you probably heard." With a pat on the shoulders, she releases Karolina.
"Um? Thank you. I'm Karolina."
"You're quite welcome."
"Kate's the building's main source of gossip."
"Rude!" Kate huffs, folding her arms over her chest. "I didn't hear anything about a new tenant." Xavin gives Karolina a look. "Oh. Shit. I just proved you right didn't I?" When Xavin nods, Kate snaps her fingers in disappointment.
"Karolina's my new roommate."
"Is she? That's great. I'm in 3B if you ever need to get away from Xavin." Xavin flips Kate off, "I'm also the building's factotum."
Karolina blinks. "The what?"
"Handywoman, in layman's terms." Karolina nods slowly. "Since you're living with Xavin, we'll be seeing a lot of each other."
"No, that was Theodore who always broke things."
"I guess we'll see, now won't we?" Kate gives them both a two-fingered salute. "Gotta pick up my dog from the groomers. Catch you later."
Inside their apartment, Teddy is at the kitchen table on his phone. Before Xavin can say anything he points to the living room, "your new rug is here. Had to let the people in to put it down and take away the old one." Karolina takes her shoes off then heads to the living room to admire the new rug.
"Thanks."
"No problem. I also got your spare key to my apartment and the spare for Karolina and another for her friend."
"Thank..." Xavin blinks at the container on the table, "did you buy muffins?"
"Cupcakes." Xavin's eyes snap up to Teddy's. "Muffins are—never mind. I need your help with something."
"Is it legal?"
"Is it—what? Of course, it's legal!" Xavin gives a one-shoulder shrug before making the go-on gesture.
"I went into that vintage comic book store that opened a few days ago and inside was the cutest boy I ever laid eyes on." Xavin whistles, "and his voice..." Teddy clears his throat. "I need an excuse to go back in there."
"Why don't you just buy some comics?" The cousins look over at Karolina laying on the new rug. "You said it's a comic book store, right? Oh, was this a private conversation? I'm sorry. I'll just continue to starfish-it here."
"No, you're fine. Huh. I can't believe I didn't think of that."
"Because you're a scatterbrain in the face of a hot guy." Teddy scowls at Xavin but doesn't bother defending himself. "I'm assuming they have a wide, non-linear selection of comics?" Teddy nods. "Karolina, you read comic books right?"
"Yup. I used to read all kinds but recently I've stuck with LGBT+ superheroes. Ooh. Maybe that place has some. Can I go with you while you try and woo your new crush?"
"And there is your reason. Taking your friend – make sure to specify she isn't your girlfriend and isn't even into guys – to see the spread." Xavin points in Karolina's direction, "you owe her for coming up with something."
"You don't have to tell me that, I already know. There's a vegan friendly ice cream parlor near the comic store."
Karolina pops up. "That'll do. You wanna head out now before you sike yourself out? I gotta change out of this dress first. Oh and we're getting the ice cream before heading to the comic store." She heads to her room whistling.
Teddy glares at Xavin, "don't look at me. You told me to try the roommate ad."
"Didn't think I'd be getting a peppier version of you."
"Isn't that great, though?"
"Yeah. Of course you'd think so."
"Are you sure you wanna wear that?" Teddy looks down at his plain brown t-shirt and pair of black shorts. "It's a comic book store, right? Throw on one of our thousands of nerdy comic book related shirts and a pair of jeans that really show off your ass."
"You can't turn the fashion consultant off, can you?" Xavin shrugs. "Fine. I'll be back."
Karolina comes out of her bedroom in a black Hello Kitty t-shirt and a pair of jeans, holding Xavin's dress on a hanger. "Didn't wanna just leave this laying around." She hands the dress to Xavin.
"Thanks. Teddy went to change." They hand Karolina the two spare keys. "Here you go."
"Thanks. Nico will love the skull key."
"I'm gonna go change. There's no way I'm gonna miss Teddy embarrassing himself in front of a cute boy."
"I'll be here."
Teddy arrives back at the apartment the same time Xavin emerges from their bedroom. "Better. No guy who's attracted to other guys will be able to keep his eyes off you."
The short trek to the ice cream parlor is only made longer by Xavin and Karolina having to forcibly drag Teddy down a block because nerves stilted his movement.
After ordering their ice cream, the three of them sit at a table. "Were you always vegan?"
"No, not always. I started when I was twelve. It was the latest dietary fad my parents wanted to try so they made me do it with them. It was a struggle at first because a lot of places weren't vegan friendly all those years ago but as the years went on it got a whole lot easier. Xavin said you tried going pescetarian?"
"Yeah. Did it for a month, I was working with a client who tried it and I said I'd try it with her. She barely lasted the week, but after I gave myself food poisoning I figured I'd hold off on fish for a while." Karolina whistles, "never tried going full-on vegan though. I've heard mixed reactions to it."
"There are mixed reactions to pretty much everything in life." Xavin comments, sipping on their smoothie.
"True."
Teddy spends the next fifteen minutes slowly eating his melted ice cream before Xavin gets up and throws it away then pulls him up and drags him to the comic store next door.
When the door opens the chime sounds like the intercom noise from Star Trek. "Welcome!" Someone calls out.
Making their way to the register, Xavin sees a woman with a shirt that says: "Beam Me Up Scotty, There's No Intelligent Life Down Here." She's also wearing a pair of earrings with the Star Trek insignia on them. Her "name-tag" says Dammit Jim I'm A Cashier is filled out in a neat cursive handwriting. Below that says Not A and Rocket Scientist is also filled out in the same handwriting.
The woman is typing away on the laptop in front of her, long brown hair tied up into a low ponytail. "I'll be with you in just a sec." She says without looking up, which honestly amazed and startled Xavin.
"S-Sure. Take your time."
After a few more seconds of clacking away, the woman looks up from the laptop at Xavin with a smile. "Sorry about that. Taking inventory. What can I help you with?"
"What do you sell here?"
"Comic books, mostly, but we also have other types of books – mostly cooking from what I've seen. There's also collectibles, posters, toys, DVDs, other forms of videos, I think I saw some records laying around, retro video games, some current video games. We also accept that stuff and give you a trade cash value."
"Sounds cool. How long have you guys been open?"
"Less than a week. It's just the two of us and our boss at the moment." As cute as this woman is she isn't Teddy's type, so it's either the other employee or the boss that has Teddy nervously fumbling around the store.
"So you take just about anything for trade?"
"Just about, yeah. Everything we have so far came from the boss herself—" That takes the boss out of the equation too, "and some of her friends."
"Sorry it seems like I have so many questions but what do you do with the money you make here?"
"That's alright. Everybody's got questions about this place. The novelty hasn't worn off yet. We donate our profits to LGBT+ shelters. A customer came in the other day and told us about a few places that needed some help. If you have any more we're all ears. I know I sound strangely rehearsed but the boss made sure I had this stuff down."
"That's perfectly fine. I like that you're to the point. I had a friend who ended up in one of those shelters because their parents kicked them out for being who they are instead of who their parents expected them to be. I'd be out of my mind not to help donate."
"What happened to your friend?"
"Thankfully, my building had an opening and she's now living in it and fixing it up."
"Glad to hear it." Teddy makes his way over to the register with a stack of comics. "Wow." He looks up and blinks at the cashier. "You got these from the dollar bins, right?" He nods. "How many do you have?"
"Thirty-two."
"Let's see with a 6.6% sales tax, your total comes up to $34.12."
Xavin whistles, "you just did that in your head in two seconds. That's amazing."
"Thanks. Most people don't see it that way though."
"Well I'm a total math snob, I need to be great at it in order to get paid."
"Same here. Plus, you know, I like math. I didn't always like it but I do now." Xavin nods in agreement.
A yawning woman with bright pink hair comes out of the door behind the register. Karolina comes from behind a shelf and gasps. "You're Alison Blaire!" The woman sleepily rubs at her eyes but nods. "I love you! Wait. That was weird. I mean—"
Alison chuckles then finally opens her eyes. "It's—wait. I've heard your voice before. You're Carnation from Princess Crayon Castle!" Karolina blushes as Alison dashes over to her and grabs her hands. "I love you!"
"I've seen that show." The cashier says, "I love Carnation too. She's my second favorite princess after Teal." While Alison and the cashier are talking to Karolina, Xavin pulls out their phone to see what the hell they're talking about. This princess... thing is a cartoon, with a relatively small fanbase, that was released last year. Essentially all the royalty are named after obscure crayon colors with a few exceptions such as teal (a fan-favorite) and scarlet. Karolina voices a major character, although not the main character. Oddly enough, this Carnation Princess Karolina voices favors her slightly minus the aptly named princess' skin color.
"When do you think they'll get PCC merchandise?" Alison asks.
"I don't know. They don't tell me that stuff."
The Star Trek sound starts up and Xavin can hear Teddy's sharp intake of breath. Wearing a pair of oversize red headphones is a brunet with a thin pair of brown glasses wearing the same grey t-shirt as the cashier and a pair of black jeans. Objectively, yes, the guy is attractive so Xavin can see Teddy's instant crush. Speaking of Teddy, he might as well be projecting hearts straight from his eye sockets with how intense he's staring. His "name-tag" has the standard Hello! My Name Is: but written in the same handwriting as the other cashier is: Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die.
Closing the door behind him, the guy is carries in two boxes that nearly reach his glasses. Although this would've been a perfect opportunity for Teddy to initiate a conversation or – for fuck's sake – move, he just stands there gaping at the guy as he reaches the register. He takes his headphones down to around his neck. "Star said Julio doesn't need these anymore." Huh. Teddy was right about that voice.
Alison takes a break from her barrage of questions at Karolina to thank the guy. "This is Princess Carnation. I mean, shit. That's not right. I'm sorry. What's your name?"
"Karolina."
"Karolina: The voice of Princess Carnation."
"From that crayon show?" The cashier and Alison nod. "Nice. I'm—" He blinks at Karolina who blinks back.
"Billy." Behind her, Xavin and Teddy exchange a glance. "It's good seeing you."
"You too. I'm not as knowledgeable about that crayon show as Kamala or the boss so that's probably why I didn't recognize your voice when I first heard it."
"I wouldn't say my voice is all that distinct." Billy laughs. Xavin notices the Miraculous Ladybug earrings in his ears now that they aren't covered with headphones. "This is my roommate Xavin and their cousin Teddy."
Teddy actually flinches at his name, and lets out an audible gulp (that thankfully only Xavin hears) when the four of them stare at him. "H-Hi."
"Good to meet you both." Alison says, "and thanks for the purchase."
"Ah. I haven't gotten anything for me yet." Xavin says then walks toward the shelves pointedly ignoring Teddy's panicked expression.
When Teddy came in here yesterday, he toppled over the display because he was gawking at Billy who was seated behind the counter. As far as embarrassing himself went, it was a 6.5 compared to some of the other shit he's done. Because he basically wasted a day's work with his clumsiness, after helping fix the mess me made, he just grabbed the first thing he could reach and purchased it. It's in an unmarked box so he still doesn't even know what it is. The two of them talked a bit about comics while they were fixing up the display but Teddy never got a name nor did he give his name.
"Good to see you again." Billy greets.
Thankfully suppressing a whimper, Teddy nods. "You too." He's surprised his voice came out at all let alone evenly; he's also thankful he hadn't said something idiotic in return to that greeting.
"Are you paying for your stuff separately or together?" Alison asks.
"Together." Teddy says. Any excuse to just stand here and not doing anything is alright in his book.
Alison nods then starts pulling out stuff from the top box, examining them.
Xavin and Karolina return to the register from different parts of the shop and put their purchases on Teddy's stack of comics. There's an adult coloring book and a pack of scented crayons. The two of them look down at the stuff then at each other.
"Weird." Karolina says. "I was just about to look for a coloring book."
"And I was gonna get some crayons." Xavin says, chuckling.
Why did Xavin have to have all the damn charm in the family? "Kamala will ring you guys up." Alison says, handing the unopened box to Billy. "Let's see what my son brought in today. Thanks for stopping by." She says then disappears behind the door with Billy.
"Did you guys find everything alright?" Kamala asks. Teddy almost wants to say no so Billy will re-emerge but he refrains and nods instead. "Great." Kamala rings everything up and puts them in a paper bag and hands it to Teddy. "Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see you guys again."
"Definitely." Xavin says, "and I'll bring all my comic loving friends by."
"Thanks." With a nod, the three of them exit the store.
Teddy manages to wait until they're across the street to hang his head down and sigh heavily. "You got no one to blame but yourself." With another heavy sigh, he nods.
"Can't really blame him, Billy wasn't there for most of the time we were."
"Oh. I can blame him and I will. You didn't see him carrying two boxes Theodore could've easily helped out with and had the opportunity to flex in one go."
"I don't think Teddy needs to flex to get his muscles noticed."
"Although that's true, a little flexing never hurt."
Karolina hums. "Guess that's true too."
"But I guess if you know him all isn't lost. He's gonna owe you more than just some ice cream though."
#
Karolina normally doesn't plan ahead and Nico often berates her for it. This time it isn't Nico who's gonna berate her as she steps into the apartment finding herself face-to-face with Tina Minoru. "Karolina. You've gotten taller since the last time I saw you."
"Honestly, I'm not all that sure... but thanks?"
Tina gives Karolina one of her rare smiles. "Leslie told me you moved out." That's not surprising. "Good for you. Are you getting my daughter out of this dump?"
"No. I moved in with someone else."
Tina hums. A small sound with far too large a meaning. "You'd rather live with a stranger than my daughter?"
"What? No." Tina purses her lips. "Nico loves this place. I wasn't gonna force her to move to accommodate me."
"If that truly is your reason, I thank you for thinking of Nico. Still, she could do a lot better than this place." She hums, "where are you living now? I mean, how far away is it?"
"Less than ten minutes walking."
"That's good. Are you still on speaking terms with your parents? Will you be joining us for brunch?"
Shit. Karolina forgot about brunch. Tina is Leslie's agent so they get together weekly to go through all Leslie's acting offers. In recent months, neither Leslie nor Frank got as many offers as they usually do.
"I'll have to see." Fuck. Tomorrow is Saturday – otherwise known as brunch day. Does she really wanna sit through her mother passive-aggressively bullshitting her over a three-course meal? No. But if she doesn't have a legitimate excuse, one that excuses Nico as well (because Nico will never forgive her otherwise), she'll have to show up.
She heads to Nico's room and puts the key under her pillow with a sticky note.
As she's leaving, Nico is coming into her apartment. "Hey, you."
"Hey. Your mom's here, I gotta go."
"What?" Karolina's already running down the stairs. Sighing, Nico enters the apartment. "Mom."
"Nico. I was just asking Karolina if she'll be joining us for brunch tomorrow."
Nico grimaces. She forgot about brunch. Hardly her favorite meal, but it keeps their moms occupied long enough to stop criticizing every decision they've made for the past week for a few hours. "What did she say?"
"'She'll see.'" Dammit. That means she's got nothing. Not that Nico's in any position to talk. "You look as though you're thinking of a scheme to get you and Karolina out of joining us tomorrow."
"And here I thought I had a really good poker face. Mom, you don't like talking to Karolina's parents anymore than I do."
"I do when it concerns business. Managing one of them is difficult enough, I can't imagine the hell I'm getting myself into becoming Francis' agent as well."
"Then why do it? You have plenty of better clients than the Deans."
Tina shrugs, "every little bit helps. Besides, you and I know both know those three would fall apart without our help."
"Doesn't mean you have to play babysitter."
"At least this way, I'm getting paid to babysit."
"Yeah, okay. You got a point mom."
"And the Deans aren't terrible clients. Terrible people, sure, but not terrible clients."
#
When Karolina comes into the apartment, Xavin and Teddy are staring at a black box sitting on the table. "I'm back. What's that?"
"Theodore doesn't know. He made an impulse buy because he felt like an idiot knocking over a display at that place we visited yesterday."
Karolina hums, takes her shoes off then joins them at the table. "Open it. Unless either of you have x-ray vision, you'll never know what's inside otherwise."
Teddy sighs then carefully unwraps the plastic from the box before slowly opening it. Inside the box are four workout DVDs, a pair of grey eight pound dumbbells, a pink and white stripped jumprope, a black reusable water bottle, and a deflated red workout ball. "Oh."
"Damn. I was thinking something heinous was in there. Hoping more like."
"I already have all this stuff already, do you want it?" Xavin shakes their head, "what about you, Karolina?"
"Yeah. I'll take 'em. Thanks." Teddy puts the box in her hands. "I need a workout regiment that involves more than taking the stairs."
"What's in that bag around your elbow?"
"Oh!" Karolina gently places the box down on the table then puts the bag next to it. "I got a brand new, still in the box Star Trek bluetooth communicator for $10 at Dazzler's." Xavin and Teddy blink at her. "The store we went to yesterday? It's called Dazzler's Warehouse: Making Vintage Shine Again." They both nod slowly. "Anyway, someone brought it in yesterday after we left. I have no idea how to even use it but I've always wanted a communicator replica."
"Personally, I've always wanted a phaser replica."
"One replica at a time, Teddy."
"Did you get one of those shiny light sticks?"
"That's Star Wars, Xavin." Teddy says with a frown, "and it's called a lightsaber."
"I knew it was Star Something with a light-something."
Karolina giggles, "I'm not into Star Wars. A boy Nico was dating was completely obsessed with it and made her watch the most recent one? She brought me along because the guy conveniently had a female friend he could set me up with. Turns out the two of them were in an open relationship and they both wanted to sleep with the two of us together."
They're both silent for a while before Xavin blurts out, "did you do it?"
"No, Nico did though. Wasn't into the girl... or her boyfriend so I passed on the opportunity. Besides, last time Nico and I went the group route it got us a stalker."
"Have you two ever had sex without a buffer?"
Karolina's nose scrunches up adorably. "Is that a sex thing?"
Teddy barks out a laugh and Xavin elbows him in the stomach, "I meant have you two ever had sex without someone else there?"
"Oh. Oh! Yeah, once. Twice, actually. Thank God it wasn't weird. I don't know how I would've survived senior year otherwise. But back to the movie, I guess I didn't get it because I didn't see the other... what was it eight? Seven? However many movies exist. But ask me about every Star Trek series and the reboot movies and I can tell you just about anything."
"Have you watched Discovery yet?"
Karolina sighs, "sadly no, but I've never watched a series as it was airing live so—" She trails off with a shrug.
"When you say the 'most recent' Star Wars movie, are you talking about episode eight or the Han Solo movie?"
"If I'm being completely honest, I wouldn't be able to tell you. All I remember was the cute technician. I didn't have to pay for anything and I got an extra large tub of popcorn I put kettle corn seasoning in. Everyone could've been set on fire in front of me and I wouldn't've noticed."
"I sincerely hope you mean everyone in the movie getting set on fire." Teddy says.
"Yeah, you know. That, too."
Teddy looks at her suspiciously. "When did you see the movie?" Xavin asks.
"Uh. What is it now? August? It was definitely before A Wrinkle In Time. Ah! I still have the ticket stub."
"Xavin collects those too." They elbow Teddy again. "Ow. Stop that."
Karolina takes her wallet out of her pocket and shuffles through it. "Huh. I have the Wrinkle In Time stub and the Power Rangers one from last year? Nope, no Star Wars. Just those two with some old receipts I should be throwing out. I could ask Nico but she'll need a few hours to cool off because I ditched her because her mom stopped by her apartment." Xavin and Teddy whistle. "Yeah. Not my finest moment. But~" She cradles the communicator box. "I'm gonna put this baby somewhere to display proudly." Then she scoops up the box with the workout equipment under the communicator box. "Thanks again, Teddy."
"Anytime!" The two of them watch Karolina head to her bedroom. With a hum, Teddy sits down at the table. "Let me ask you a serious question: How screwed are you?"
"You can't already tell?"
Teddy cracks a smile, "I wanna hear you say it." Xavin glares at him, "come on! You've given me so much flak for my crushes. Hell, you did it not even an hour ago when you were talking about Billy!"
"What's your point?"
"My point is, it's not like you to develop a fondness for someone so quickly."
"Yeah, well." Xavin shrugs, "you've met her have you not? Can you tell me you aren't fond of her already too?"
"Maybe not to the extent that you are but yeah, she's something else." He puts a hand on Xavin's shoulder, "good luck. I have a feeling you're gonna need it. First comes roommates, then comes what?"
"Closer friends, naturally. She slept with her best friend and suffered no moral conflict so it's not a question of whether or not we'll sleep together, it's when and what happens after."
"Sounds like you got it all planned out."
"I'm an expert strategist, my dearest cousin. I'm not gonna let an extremely attractive person with her adorable dimples, bubbly personality, very long legs, and incredible breasts distract..." Xavin scratches their head, "shit, I forgot where I was going with my monologue." Teddy slowly shakes his head.
Karolina comes out of her room. "I don't know how Nico found out about Dazzler's but she wants to check it out tomorrow after we go to brunch with our parents." She sticks her tongue out at the last bit, "did you wanna come with us, Teddy?"
Teddy raises an eyebrow, "to brunch?"
"What? No. I wouldn't put you through that. I meant back to Dazzler's. We can put in a good word with Billy for you."
"Yeah?" Karolina nods. "That's—"
"Maybe you should wait a while before trying to set them up. Theodore did dismantle an entire display attempting to be subtle." Teddy glares at Xavin who smiles back.
"Yeah?" Sighing heavily, Teddy nods. "That's okay. You just have to do something that'll make him forget all about that."
Xavin laughs. "Oh. This'll be priceless. No way I'm missing that."
"No one's asking you to come."
"You're not asking, you're practically begging."