"Up and at 'em Runaways, we've got work to do!" Alex called as the three adults stepped fully into the backyard. The six teenagers climbed to their feet quickly, Molly obviously the most excited for their sparring lessons finally starting.
It had been a few days since Karolina, Nico, and Alex returned from L.A. and the unexpected meeting with the majority of their parents. In that time, Karolina's arm healed much quicker than anyone expected, an apparent by-product of her powers that Alex was quick to note down in her files of the Runaways, and Nico started showing Lena and Kara how the Staff of One worked. She hadn't done much with it and she had yet to be able to cast anything non-verbally, the way she had in L.A. Although, they did learn that Nico couldn't cast the same spell twice after she tried exactly that but ended up summoning a live chicken - which Old Lace had a great time hunting around the garden.
Because Alex had the morning off from the DEO, and Kara wasn't needed at CatCo, Lena had pushed her meetings back so she could be home for long enough to observe the first round of official training with the six teenagers. She trusted Alex and Kara to keep an eye on them when they were sparring, which they would only be doing under adult supervision until Alex cleared them, but Lena wanted to make sure that they all knew how to use the various workout machines she had purposed without hurting themselves before she left them to their own devices. Needless to say, all six teeangers were very eager to get their training underway, the deadline their parents had given them seeming to be a nearly physical weight on all of their shoulders.
"Once again, everything we show you is for self-defense only." Alex reminded them as she approached the group. It was a conversation that had been repeated at least three times in the past few days. "We know you guys are up against a lot, and you feel like it's your responsibility to handle it all. We want to help however we can." Alex paused to survey the determined looks the teenagers supported. They were so strong, and so scared at the same time. "We'll show you guys whatever we can while we have the chance, starting with a little demonstration."
Her speech finished, Alex turned to the mats laid out for the sparring and waited for her partner to join her. Surprising all but Alex, Nico let go of Karolina's hand and stepped onto the mat with Alex after shredding her shoes.
"Nico?" Karolina questioned with raised eyebrows. Nico winked in response and positioned herself in a loose fighting stance. "What? Oh!" Only Alex could see Nico's smirk, a long-forgotten memory having surfaced in Karolina's mind.
"What? What's going on?" Chase asked for the assembled group. Karolina shook her head rather than offer a verbal answer, gesturing to Nico and Alex. The pair circled one another in the rough circular shape of the mats.
They still as one, a tense beat of silence passing. Kara nearly bounced in place from her spot beside Lena, her anticipation exciting her. Without realizing it, her and Lena's hands linked together.
Nico gave a small nod. The fight was on.
Alex launched her attack, Nico dodging at the last possible second before retaliating with a sharp kick aimed at Alex's chest. Alex dodges nimbly and their deadly dance has begun. Karolina watches completely enthralled by Nico's graceful movements around the mat. Every strike is calculated, every movement sure and steady. For every blow she takes, Nico dishes out two. It's a breathtaking display that has Karolina feeling unnaturally warm. She's sure if she hadn't been wearing her bracelet, she'd be glowing brighter than the sun.
The match ended with a panting Nico landing hard on her back after Alex finally managed to get the upper hand. It was only Alex's extra years of constant use that had given her the advantage. Nico was simply out of practice.
"You almost had you me," Alex comments as she helps Nico to her feet, "nicely done, Nico."
"Not so bad yourself, Doc," Nico offered the woman a smile, the most genuine Alex had seen directed at one of the adults so far. They stepped off the mat together, but further conversation was halted by the sudden appearance of Karolina.
"What did you thi-" Nico's question is cut off with a squeak as Karolina sweeps her off her feet. Nico's legs wrapped around Karolina's waist automatically and she really hopes no one hears the noise that came from the back of her throat when Karolina kisses her, hard. It feels a little different than normal, Nico's not used to being the one who has to bend down when they kiss but she rather enjoys it.
"That was incredible!" Karolina cheers when they separate. She's still holding Nico's weight against her, one hand resting across the small of her back and the other buried in Nico's hair to rest against her neck. Nico's sweaty body is pressed against her chest, her face flushed, and chest heaving. Karolina has the sudden desire to see if the flush flows through the skin she can't see.
"Ahem," Chase clears his throat loudly, "ladies, there are children present. Well, a child." Molly punches him in the arm.
Karolina blushes crimson and sets Nico back on her feet. She's grateful she decided to keep her bracelet until she has a better handle on keeping her lights under control, otherwise she'd be glowing so bright she might have blinded her friends. They can feel the teasing looks coming from the others but ignore them for the moment.
"So, did anyone else just spontaneously remember that Nico's a fucking black belt?" Wilder asks. He receives stunned nods from all of his friends bar the girl in question.
"I can't believe you all forgot in the first place."
"You haven't practiced since we were fourteen," Karolina interjects, "you stopped because Amy wanted to, but Tina wouldn't let her unless you stopped too."
Nico nods in response, suddenly leaning heavily into her girlfriend. Karolina wraps both arms around her and kisses the top of her head. Nico's eyes fall closed, fighting against the memories that want to rise and the tears that will come with them. They open again when she feels another set of arms wrap around her and Karolina, Chase's sad smile swimming into view before it's blocked by Molly's ever-present cat ears. She feels Gert and Alex join on the other side and suddenly has to fight off the tears for an entirely different reason.
The adults look on sadly, the unspoken question shining in their eyes, but they stay silent and let the group have their moment until Nico's eyes open again.
"There's room for more, you know." If anyone seems surprised by her words, they hide it well. A rustle of bushes announces Old Lace's presence with the group. Then, six teenagers, three adults, and a deinonychus are hugging in the backyard of the old Luthor mansion.
Nico can't remember the last time she felt this whole.
The moment is cut regrettably short by a distant rumble of thunder that reminds all of them that their training time this morning is rather limited. Alex W. breaks away from the hug first looking like he can't decide if he was comfortable with the three women joining in or not. The rest of the group follows and one by one each of the Runaways spars against Alex on the training mats.
There weren't any major surprises when it came to the matches that followed. Chase had a small amount of experience but according to him, he had only been in one fight. The significant look he shared with Karolina when he mentioned the fight wasn't lost on either Nico or Gert, but now wasn't the time to question them with that. Gert was a little hesitant to step into the ring but after a bit of prodding, she admitted that that had more to do with her worry of accidentally triggering Old Lace to attack than to an aversion to combat. Alex held his own but it was clear that he had a lot of work to do and Karolina was at about the same level. Molly sparred against Kara since she didn't have full control of her powers yet and didn't want to accidentally break Alex's arm or something. Deciding to err on the side of caution ended up being a good thing because Molly got frustrated that she couldn't keep Kara in a headlock and ended up punching the older woman hard enough that she probably would have knocked Alex right out.
"Easy there, Bruiser," Kara said, holding her hand to her ribs. Lena looked slightly concerned at the motion but Kara didn't seem all that bothered by the impact, though she did look a little surprised at the force behind the punch. "Save some of that power for the real fight."
"Sorry," Molly looked down, dejected. Kara moved closer to her and placed her hands on the young girl's shoulder, giving her an encouraging smile when Molly looked up at her.
"Don't sweat it," Kara squeezed her shoulders. "Even I still lose control sometimes."
"Really?"
"Really," Kara confirmed, "a few months ago actually."
"What happened?" Karolina asked curiously, letting Kara know that her pep talk to Molly was being listened to by everyone assembled in the backyard.
"Lena was kidnapped by a radical group of terrorists," Kara began, shooting a glance at Lena.
"Who were under orders from my mother," Lena supplied helpfully.
"Right, they framed Lena for developing synthetic kryptonite, the only material on earth that can hurt me or my cousin, and had her arrested. They then broke her out of jail and used her to get into an armory full of weapons designed to take down Superman."
"And that made you mad?" Gert asked. Kara shrugged slightly.
"I mean, yeah, I hated that they had her, but I was more mad that none of my friends believed she was innocent the way that I did. James was against me, so was Agent Schott and Alex. Even my boyfriend at the time didn't take my side."
"You were with someone before Lena?" Chase asked lowly, though his question went unanswered. "That just seems weird."
"Anyway, I got really mad and went to vent some of my anger out. I ended up letting myself a little too loose and completely destroyed a cement block with one punch. Then I almost shot heat vision when my boyfriend walked in."
"Yeah, that's still weird." Again, Chase's comment was mostly ignored but Gert did nod her head in agreement.
"I didn't know you did that," Lena said, coming to stand next to Kara as the whole group moved to get a bottle of water since they were apparently taking a break.
"You didn't know I was Supergirl yet, so I never told you about it." Kara shrugged, flushing slightly. "Also that was maybe when I started to think that you might be more than a friend to me, and I wasn't quite ready to admit that to myself or you, so I just let it go."
"Well, I'm glad you got there eventually," Lena commented warmly, pressing herself against Kara's side as they turned to observe the kids taking their break.
"Me too," Kara pressed a short kiss against Lena's hair and wrapped an arm around her waist, shooting a small smile at her sister when she noticed the fake gagging Alex was making in their direction.
"I've got to get to the DEO, you good to work with them alone for now?" Alex asked the two of them after she stopped pretending to be grossed out by them. She was really happy that her sister had finally found her happiness, but she couldn't help thinking about the happiness she lost when she saw them together. It didn't sting as much as it had even a week ago but the sting was very much still there.
"Yeah, we got it. Tell Winn to keep checking on their parents and that digsite, just in case."
Alex nodded her agreement, waved to the kids, and then made her way through the house to her motorcycle after a brief stop in the downstairs bathroom to change into her work clothes.
"We're working with powers next, right?" Molly asked after Alex D. had walked away.
"Yeah," Karolina took Nico's hand and tangled their fingers together. "Kara said something about expecting rain later that day, otherwise we'd wait until this evening after Kara does her last sweep of the city."
"I think Lena's excited to see what the Staff can do." Alex noted, glancing over to where the Staff of One rested with Chase's Fistigons on one of the chairs. "As a scientist, I bet her curiosity is driving her up the wall."
"Except it's not science. It's magic."
"Magic isn't real, Nico."
"Yeah, well aliens aren't supposed to be real either, and I sleep with one of those every night."
"That explains the lights," Gert mumbled softly as Karolina blushed at the implications of Nico's statement.
"TMI, dude." Alex coughed. "I know we're good and best friends and all, but I draw the line at hearing about your sex life." He added a repulsed shiver for dramatic effect.
"It's not like we can't all see it." Chase said, already bracing himself for the elbow to the side he's going to receive from Gert when he continues, "Karolina's not exactly subtle when she's powered up. I've always assumed the brighter the lights, the more fun they're having."
"Think about their sex life a lot, do you?" Gert smiled satisfied when Chase winced from her elbow impacting his ribs.
"Hard to avoid when it looks like there's a rave going on at the end of the hall every night."
"Is that what you guys are doing down there?" Molly asked, receiving a mortified gasp from Karolina. "I guess that's why you chose the room farthest away from all of us."
"Okay, I don't know what you guys are talking about, but I think you should stop before Rainbow over there spontaneously combusts." Lena's voice interrupted the conversation as she moved away from Kara and stepped towards the six teenagers.
As one, the Runaways turned their heads to look at the obviously flustered Karolina who refused to look any of them in the eyes.
"Aw, babe," Nico pulled her closer by their joined hands. Karolina felt Nico lean against her and wrapped an arm around her waist, still looking away from the group. As if she could feel Karolina's eyes on her, Old Lace lifted her head and moved her tail in the dinosaur's approximation of a wave.
"How bright do you think she'd be glowing if she wasn't wearing her bracelet?" Gert whispered to Chase. Chase took a moment to observe Karolina's full-face blush before answering.
"Still not as bright as behind closed doors."
"I heard that, asshole." Karolina flipped Chase off as her skin tone finally returned to normal.
"Anyway," Lena rolled her eyes at the teenagers' antics, "we thought you guys would like to eat lunch before we got started with your powers. Kara and I will set out the stuff for sandwiches and you can join us in the kitchen whenever you're ready."
"Sounds good, boss," Chase threw a thumbs up in Lena's direction and laughed at the way Lena's eyes narrowed at the nickname.
As Kara and Lena walked into the house proper together, the six teenagers took a moment to themselves. Karolina and Nico were still casually holding on to one another, Chase and Gert had moved closer together as well but they weren't as comfortable with public displays of affection yet, even when just around their friends. Molly had drained her second bottle right as Alex finished his third.
"So…" Alex started, "that was a moment."
"Yeah," Nico agreed, leaning further into Karolina's side, "But a good one, I think."
"They're good people. I wasn't sure we could trust them at first but…"
"But it's pretty hard to not trust Supergirl, and Lena's a force of nature all on her own, despite what her family is like." Gert summarized the group's general thoughts.
"Makes it a little easier to believe," Chase mused, "I mean that we aren't defined by our parents. Lena's related to the most notorious criminal of this century but she's nothing like him."
"I was wrong about them," Alex looked down, ashamed. "I was wrong about a lot of things."
"Yeah, but we still love you," Molly knocked her head against Alex's shoulder playfully. "Most of the time anyway."
"I just meant, after what happened with Amy…" Alex took a deep breath as he shared a significant look with Nico. Nico nodded her head slightly, letting Alex know that she was okay with whatever she had to say. Karolina caught the silent exchange and squeezed Nico's waist in comfort. "She knew that there was something going on with our parents."
"What do you mean?" Gert asked.
"A few weeks before…" Alex swallowed against the lump in his throat. "Amy hacked into Wizard's servers, where the videos of our parents' sacrifices were stored. She was found out but I don't know how or by who. Next thing I know.."
"She's gone." Nico finished, her eyes squeezing shut as she turned her head to hide against Karolina's shoulder for a moment.
"And they did it," Gert slipped her hand into Chase's and squeezed.
"You don't think they…" Chase slipped out, his thought too horrible to be said out loud and his words unnecessary anyway. All five of the others could and did fill in the blanks on their own.
"We can ask them, after all of this is over. We deserve at least that answer." Karolina wrapped both of her arms around Nico to hold her tight. "And then…"
"Then they can rot in jail and we'll be done with it." Alex decided for the group, letting a small smile stretch across his lips as he saw his friends nodding in agreement. "Maybe this will be over by the end of the summer and we can go back to school."
"Of course you'd be excited about that," Molly snorted as she began making her way to the backdoor that led to the kitchen. "I'm hungry, let's eat."
Shrugging in agreement, the other five teenagers followed after the youngest member of their group. They found Kara and Lena already half way through their own lunch in the dining room.
"I've got to make a quick call before we get started again," Lena said as an explanation. "You guys can eat in the kitchen, just clean up after yourselves."
"No problem, boss," Nico spoke for the group. As they made their way back to the kitchen, Lena's voice could be heard.
"Why are they calling me boss?"
"Well, you are pretty much the one in charge," Kara said, the way she shrugged practically audible to the teenagers. "I think it's a good thing."
"Really?"
"Really," Kara confirmed. "They gave you a nice nickname, that means they like you."
"That's not always true for nicknames."
"Nicknames aren't always nice," Kara sounded like she was talking with her mouth full. "If they were calling you 'bitch,' then I'd be worried."
"I suppose that's a fair point."
All six teenagers were laughing quietly as the exchange ended.
Lunch was a quick and quiet affair, at least as quick and quiet as it could be when feeding six teenagers, one of whom was an alien and another who was probably not human but also probably not an alien, and a dinosaur. Needless to say, it was something that could quickly descend into chaos.
Luckily, for today at least, lunch remained relatively calm. Kara and Lena had passed through the kitchen together about ten minutes after the kids started eating and were setting up in the backyard for their afternoon training session. The Runaways finished eating one by one but all of them remained at the table together, laughing and joking in a rare moment of levity. It was much needed with all the chaos in their lives at the moment, with the added bonus that it gave them the perfect opportunity to tease two of their members.
Nico and Karolina had been in their own little world for the duration of the meal, which wasn't that much of a surprise. Karolina, intending to gather the plates at the table to take them to the sink, had leaned in to press a short kiss against Nico's lips. When she started to pull back, Nico had lifted her hand to Karolina's neck and kept her in place and, as a result, their lips pressed together.
Gert, Alex, and Chase all rolled their eyes at the display while Molly exaggeratedly covered her eyes with her hands.
"I'm going to start throwing things at people making out around me." Molly proclaimed loudly.
"I'll help." Wilder agreed as the rest of the table laughed.
"We should probably clean up. Kara wanted to work with our powers before the storm hit." Karolina said, untangling herself from Nicos to gather up their plates. Nico grumbled as her girlfriend moved away, which put an end to their kiss, but dutifully stood to help clean up. The others joined and the teasing conversation moved into the kitchen, where flicking bits of food at one another became Chase and Alex using a pizza box from the night before as a frisbee while Gert flicked water at anyone who put more dishes in the sink.
"Chase! Get over here and help! I'm not doing the dishes just because I'm a woman."
"Yes, dear." Chase called, tossing the pizza box to Karolina as he moved over to his girlfriend. They continued in the same manner until Karolina missed the box thrown her way because she was looking out the backdoor.
"Babe?" Nico came up behind her and peeked over her shoulder to see what she was looking at. "Oh my god."
"What? What's going on?" Gert asked as she joined the girls with Chase close on her heels. "Molly, are you ready to throw something at people making out?"
"Who's making out?" Molly asked, seeing all couples in the house currently standing close together but thankfully keeping the PDA to a minimum.
"Kara and Lena."
"What?" Alex rushed over the kids and looked out the door only to see her sister and Lena sitting on the bench next to the mats, lips locked together. "Someone please throw something at them."
"Wait, hold on a second." Gert closed her eyes for a moment, searching for her link with Old Lace. Feeling her companion agree with her plan and get into position, Gert motioned for her sister to come closer. Karolina silently pulled the door open as Molly stepped up, pizza box in one hand and awaiting her sister's signal. "LACE, FETCH!"
Lena pulled away from Kara as she heard Gert's yell, turning to see Molly, eyes glowing, hurl a pizza box directly at them. Kara stood from the bench and caught the box in one hand.
"What is happ - oof!" Kara's sentence was cut off as Old Lace came barreling out of the garden behind the bench, leaping over the wooden platform and gracefully tackling Kara without hitting Lena at all. "Gert, call her off!" Kara called out over the laughter of everyone else as Old Lace proceeded to lap at Kara's face like an overgrown, scaly, golden retriever.
"Good girl, Lace!" Gert cheered, telling Lace to let Kara go whenever she wanted. Lace continued to lick at Kara's face but allowed the Kryptonian to push her off of her body. Kara huffed as she climbed to her knees, laughing as Lace rolled over like a puppy wanting a belly rub.
"Yeah, good girl, Lace," Kara chuckled, looking up at Lena. "You okay?"
"I'm perfect." Lena smiled back as the rest of the family walked over.
"So," Molly started as Kara offered Lena her hand once she was done petting Lace, "did the two of you leave us to clean so you could come out here and make out?"
"I wouldn't phrase it exactly like that," Kara answered, shooting a short glare at Lena when she laughed.
"We were actually checking on the storm." Lena informed the kids, but her cheeks were still flushed from the kiss and Kara's lips were covered in Lena's lipstick so none of them really believed her.
"Whatever you say boss," Chase grinned as Lena flicked his arm gently. "Are we good to go?"
"For now, I think, but the storm's moving in pretty fast. We should get started." Kara nodded at the four non-powered teeangers and gestured for Nico to grab the Staff. The rest of the group spread out around the backyard to get in some non-combat strength training with the various machines as Nico brought the Staff back over to Lena.
"Okay, Nico, let's see what this thing can do," Lena directed Nico to extend the Staff and watched closely as it activated. "You said it's blood activated?"
"It pricks my finger every time I use it." Nico supplied, holding the Staff of One out from her body so Lena could see it.
"May I?"
"I'm actually not sure," Nico continued after seeing Lena's curious frown, "Alex tried to grab it from me once and it burned him. I'm not sure it likes it when other people touch it."
"Okay," Lena blinked, "so what have you been able to do with it?"
"I made it snow in my mom's office the first time I used it, but I don't know how."
"What was happening at the time?" Lena asked.
"I was looking for something and I found a snowflake, you know, like the ones kids make by cutting shapes out of paper. It was one that Amy had made, years ago." Nico's eyes took on a glazed quality as she thought back to that day. Her joy of finding Amy's diary, her sorrow as she remembered all that she had lost, and the melancholy feeling of looking back on the good times she shared with her sister knowing there would never be another.
Lena watched as the black ring perched atop the Staff started to glow golden, a faint buzzing noise reaching her ears. Nico appeared to have not noticed, her eyes still looking far away, as small flurries of white landed in her and Lena's shoulders. Lena watched, transfixed, as snow fell from seemingly nowhere and covered the ground around them in a neat circle.
"Nico?" She questioned softly and watched closely for any change to the Staff of the snow around them.
"What? Sorry," Nico apologized as she came back to the present, "I did it again?"
"It looks that way." Lena smiled at her reassuringly. "You said before that Tina worked with you a little. What did she say?"
"Not much, really, just the Staff is powerful and I could do great things with it if I can control it." Nico shrugged. "She told me I could make anything I want happen, so I made it so she couldn't speak."
"Nicely done," Lena chuckled lightly. "So it reacts to what you're feeling? Or thinking about?"
"I guess so," Nico frowned thoughtfully as she recalled the events that transpired in LA four days ago. "My mom used commands, verbal ones. That's how she made the pool freeze over."
"Have you tried any of those?" Lena nodded when Nico indicated that she hadn't. "Alex said you used it in LA to help you guys escape."
"I made them freeze in place, all of our parents, but I don't know how. I don't remember saying or thinking anything like that."
"Okay, don't worry," Lena touched her shoulder reassuringly. "The great thing about science is that we can test it. We'll figure out how the Staff works, Nico, I promise."
"Even though it's magic and not science?" Nico smirked.
Lena shrugged, "Magic is just science we can't explain." Lena looked up to the sky, watching the great dark clouds in the distance inch closer. "We still have some time, let's test verbal commands."
"Great. How?"
"First, do you think you can make it stop snowing?"
"Oh, uh…" Nico looked at the half-inch of snow that had gathered around them. "Stop snowing!" The Staff pulsed once in her hand and the snow stopped falling at the same time the Staff stopped glowing. "Now what?"
"Well…" Lena hummed and then let out a sharp whistle. Around the backyard, the others paused in their movements. Molly and Wilder looked up from where they were discussing adding more weight to Molly's bench press, Danvers paused in her efforts to show Gert how to flip someone over their shoulder, Karolina dropped down from the pull up bar next to Chase who had been counting her reps for her and Kara handed her the tank top Karolina had discarded earlier when she had realized how sweaty she had gotten that morning. They all looked at Lena expectantly.
"We're gonna test Nico's Staff, so let's make some room." Lena directed the group to move out the way, just in case. She didn't expect the Staff to react badly to what she had planned, but it was better safe than sorry. Considering they were dealing with an unknown possibly mystical item with what could possibly be unlimited power, Lena felt it was appropriate to err on the side of caution. "Bruiser, can you grab some empty pizza boxes for me?"
There was a moment of quiet confusion around them until Molly remembered what Kara had said to her early that morning. Grinning at the new nickname, Molly rushed into the kitchen.
"What are we doing?" Nico asked, making a conscious effort to keep focused on the task at hand and not on the still shirtless Karolina making her way over to them.
"Field test," Lena answered, "you stopped your parents from moving without using a command, so we're going to see if you can do the same verbally. Thanks, Molls." Lena asked Molly if she'd like to throw the boxes for Nico to freeze, since she seemed to enjoy throwing things so much.
"Let's do this." Molly agreed easily and stepped up, box in hand, awaiting the signal from Lena.
Lena made sure the group was assembled behind her, Nico and Molly before signaling for Molly to toss the box.
"Freeze!" Nico commanded as the box soared through the air. It landed with a dull thunk. Lena looked at the ring of the Staff, noting that it was no longer glowing. "Well, that was exciting." Nico deadpanned but Lena could hear the disappointment in her voice.
"That's why we have more than one box. Try again." Nico did so, same result. Nico's shoulders tensed and she clenched her jaw at her second failure. Karolina looked like she wanted to move closer to Nico, but Kara stopped her after seeing Lena shake her head. "One more time. Don't think, just feel."
Nico closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She could hear the wind pick up as the storm moved closer. She could feel Karolina's presence, a hair closer than the rest of the group, behind her. Karolina reminded her of what happened the last time Nico tried to use the Staff, the sound of Karolina's arm snapping in half and her pain-filled whimpers. Nico never wanted to hear that again.
Steeling herself, Nico opened her eyes and nodded to Lena. Molly threw the box in the air.
"STOP!" The Staff lit up at Nico's command and the box froze in mid-air, immovable even in the rising winds. A cheer rose up from behind Nico and she couldn't help but feel a little bit of pride. She hadn't done anything impressive, it was just a pizza box, but her family cheered her on anyway.
"Great job," Lena told her, pulling Nico into a hug which Nico returned warmly. They'd come so far in such little time.
"Thank you." Nico said into Lena's ear, her tone giving away more than the words. Lena nodded and squeezed Nico again before releasing her.
"Still say magic doesn't exist, Wilder?" Nico turned to her friends with a wide smile.
"Bite me, Nico." Alex rolled his eyes at his best friend and then frowned as the wind picked up again.
"I think we should head inside before the rain hits." Lena said, a rumble of thunder in the distance echoing her sentiment. The group voiced their agreement and started to head for the door until only Nico and Karolina remained in the backyard.
Nico looked up at the still frozen pizza box, her smile growing wider as familiar arms slipped around her waist and pulled her into a warm, slightly sweaty body. Karolina kissed her temple softly.
"You okay?"
Nico hummed in response, turning in the circle of Karolina's arms and lifting one hand to grip Karolina's waist. "Yeah, just kinda proud of myself, for getting the Staff to work."
"You should be," Karolina kissed her nose, "I'm proud of you." Nico smiled against Karolina's lips as they pressed against her own. Her ears registered another rumble of thunder, louder than the last one and indicating that the storm would start at any moment but Nico didn't care. She had Karolina in her arms, safe and sound. Her family was waiting for them in the house. They were one step closer to stopping Jonah.
Karolina pulled back as the rain started to fall around them, laughing as she tipped her head back and the water splashed against her skin. Nico could feel the three words she desperately wanted to say burning the tip of her tongue with the desire to be said. She almost said them, had just started to open her mouth when an extraordinary thunderclap shook her to the core as the bottom dropped out of the storm. They were both soaked in seconds, Karolina giggling as Nico's makeup smeared slightly under the heavy torrent.
"We should probably head inside." Karolina said, kissing Nico again before ending their embrace and reaching for Nico's hand. Nico powered the Staff down, the pizza box getting lost in the wind as the spell ended and allowed Kara to lead her inside.