That's What Friends Are For

by skylarkblue

Summary:

Gert's off her meds again, and the Runaways will do anything to help her feel better.

Notes:

This borrows from both TV canon and comics canon.

Gert’s off her meds again.

Normally, normally, it’s just a blip in their existence, the unsteady days between prescriptions. They have an in with one of the doctors at the free clinic downtown, now, so it’s not even like she needs her parents to sign off on her meds this time, but –

Gert’s off her meds, and she’s pacing a hole in the floor, and Karolina might throw her out a window if she doesn’t stop spiralling soon.

“Gert,” she says gently, reaching out to grab Gert’s arm and still her. She flinches away, not even stopping in her never-ending ramble about how the moon could fall out of the sky because of an impending alien invasion. The Skrulls on the news have dialled her anxiety up to eleven. Karolina’s seen her bad before, sure, but this is bad. “Gert, honey-”

“Rest,” Nico intones, waving the staff with one hand. Gert immediately crumples, hitting the floor with a thud, her eyes drifting shut. Karolina looks up at Nico in surprise.

“Nico!”

“She hasn’t slept in three days, Karolina, and she’s getting paranoid,” Nico descends the stairs like an ethereal goth goddess. “When she wakes up, we’ll make a plan of action.”

Karolina bites the inside of her cheek. She doesn’t like this. She doesn’t like this at all, but Gert is struggling and there’s not much more they can do. She nods, reaching for Nico’s hand. “Okay. I’ll see if I can get her into bed.”

“No need,” Chase’s voice carries through the Hostel as he approaches. “I’ve got her.”

Wordlessly, he scoops Gert into his arms, cradling her head against his chest. He heads upstairs slowly, so as not to jostle her, and before they disappear into their room Karolina catches him pressing a kiss to Gert’s dark roots.

Karolina exhales, slowly, her hand still interlaced with Nico’s. They head for the kitchen, Nico slinging the staff across her back as they try to scrounge up some food from the meagre offerings left in the pantry. Gert’s not the only one going without, either; they haven’t been able to get food, or medicine, or household products for about a week now. Chase is coming up with a plan to get some money, but so far…

“I’m worried,” Karolina says after a moment. “About Gert. She-”

“She’s just anxious,” Nico replies, taking a bite of an apple. “You heard her. Skrulls are on the moon, or something.”

“But she’s never had an issue with Skrulls before. I mean, Xavin-”

“Xavin was a unique case and you know it.” Nico laughs, wiping a little juice from the corner of her mouth. “They were your betrothed. Practically one of the family.”

Karolina can hear the derision in Nico’s words, and her stomach twists uncomfortably. They’d come to respect one another, Nico and Xavin, but no one would ever use a word so strong as like.

“I just think,” she leans in, murmuring in Nico’s ear, mostly so Chase doesn’t hear, “We should keep an eye on her.”

Nico nods and holds out the other half of her apple. Karolina leans down and takes a bite, chewing slowly, her head turning only when she hears Chase on the stairs again. He stops in the doorway and looks between them.

“Am I, like,” he gestures, “Interrupting a moment?”

“Not at all,” Nico says. “Come on in. We’ve got fruit… mouldy bread… there might still be pop tarts if Molly didn’t get into them…”

“She did,” Chase confirms sadly. “Where is Molls, anyway?”

“Went for a walk with Old Lace,” Karolina says, tucking a long blonde strand behind one ear. “Gert was, um, stressing her out a bit.”

Chase pulls a face and opens the fridge, pulling out a carton of milk. Before Karolina can point out it’s past its use-by, he takes a swig, immediately gagging and spitting it into the sink.

“Ugh,” he says as Nico and Karolina dissolve into giggles. “A little warning next time!”

“You should have checked the carton before you took a drink,” Karolina singsonged. Nico, smirking, added: “And you shouldn’t drink out of the carton anyway, you’re not an animal.”

Chase rolls his eyes and gives her a playful shove. “Shut up,” he says as he tips the rest of the milk down the sink. Karolina finishes the apple, tossing the core into the little compost bin they have going under the sink. Leaning against the kitchen cupboards, she looks between Nico and Chase, waiting for one of them to say something.

When it becomes clear they’re not going to, she tries again: “Guys, I am seriously worried about Gert.”

Nico sighs, coming over to wrap her arms around her. “I know, babe. But I promise. She’s just anxious.”

“Yeah, like,” Chase shrugs, “She’s been off her meds for about a week. She’ll settle down as soon as we can get that new prescription.”

“I guess so,” Karolina says sadly. She just hated seeing her friend suffer. Suddenly, an idea pops into her head. “Maybe we can do something nice for her. A self-care night or something. Pull up one of those old movies she likes on Alex’s laptop, project it onto one of the walls, get face masks, snacks…?”

She trails off when she realises that all of that requires money, and they have fuck all in the way of liquid cash right now. Their trust funds are still frozen, their debit cards long gone. It’s bullshit.

“No, that’s a great idea,” Nico says suddenly. She reaches for one of the apples, slowly softening in the summer heat. “I can mix these up into face masks, and we’ve got cucumbers in the fridge, I think-”

“I’ll take care of the snacks,” Chase promises. “Anything for Gert.”

“CAN ONE OF YOU DIPSHITS HELP ME,” comes a cry from outside. The three share bewildered looks and head out to see Molly, eyes aglow, Old Lace held over her head. “We were out walking when suddenly she just collapsed. I thought she was dead, but no, she just fell asleep.”

“Oops,” Nico winces, “That was my fault. Sorry, Molls. I was trying to help Gert calm down.”

Chase helps Molly lower Old Lace down into her nest by the staircase. As they head back towards the kitchen, he tugs her bright pink beanie down over her eyes, its little cat ears stretched over her dark hair. She swats him off, growling, “Chase!” and shoves him into the kitchen so hard it’s a wonder she doesn’t break something - like the kitchen table.

“Ow, my arm!”

Or Chase.

Molly skips past with a wave, heading for the fridge.

“There’s nothing in there,” Karolina tells her, but she checks anyway.

“Ugh,” Molly kicks the fridge shut. It leaves a little dent in the smooth, white exterior. “Why don’t we have any food? Or Gert’s meds? She’s acting crazy.”

Karolina sighs, pinching the bridge of her nose, just below where there’s a headache forming. To her immense relief, Nico steps in instead.

“You know it’s been an off week, Molls,” Nico says. She pulls the staff from her back and twirls it in her hand, something Karolina knows is an anxious gesture but probably just looks to the others like she’s deep in thought. “Chase hasn’t got work right now, and my online spellcasting business is moving a little slowly.”

The business had been Karolina’s idea. Nico makes little charm bags and braided bracelets and candles carved with protection sigils, all for anyone who is desperate enough to pay for a little bit of magic in their lives. She never uses real magic like the staff – though she’s snapped at them enough times that it is real magic, just of a different type – but the charms get packaged up and bundled off at the start of every month, and the site Nico uses sends her a check a few weeks later.

It's depressingly old-fashioned. But sometimes, it puts food on the table. Still. Like Nico had said. It’s an off week.

“I’m heading to the store, I might have some cash in the car. I’ll get snacks for tonight,” Chase says, turning his gaze onto Molly. “You coming?”

“Only if you buy me Skwinkles,” she replies, tugging her beanie off, running her fingers through her hair, and pulling it back on. Molly’s shot up over the past year – it’s too weird to think about for too long. It feels like only yesterday she was their kid sister. Now she’s a wholeass hormonal teenager, raiding the fridge at 3AM and arguing with whoever uses the last of the toothpaste.

Chase swipes the keys off the table and heads for the garage, Molly in tow. The second they vanish out of sight, Nico sinks into a chair and closes her eyes.

“How long do you think we have until Gert and Lace wake up?” Karolina asks, taking the seat across from her and reaching out for her free hand. Nico cracks an eye open.

“Why, what are you thinking?” She asks, and Karolina can hear the unspoken undercurrent of lust in her voice.

“No, not that. I have a headache, anyway,” she says. “I was going to set up the projector, make us all a cosy little nest to hang in tonight.”

If Nico’s disappointed that Karolina doesn’t want to fuck, she doesn’t show it. Instead, she smiles at her, squeezing her hand. Her nail polish is chipped on all but two fingers. Karolina makes a mental note to add nail painting to tonight’s self-care endeavours. Her own nails are painted with an iridescent shimmer, because in the light, Molly says, they shine just like she does.

It was sweet of her to say, but Karolina doubts it’s true.

“You have a headache?” Nico asks, concerned. She leans forward to press a tender kiss to Karolina’s forehead, and Karolina allows herself to sink into the gentle touch. Nico gets to her feet, heading for the cupboard above the fridge, where they keep the assorted medications. She’s a little too short to reach it, so she uses the tip of the staff to nudge the doors open, then drags a chair over to dig through it. She throws a bottle of aspirin Karolina’s way, and she smiles, grateful.

They spend the next hour or so turning the living space into a perfect cinema, tacking a white sheet to one wall and dragging the couch over to face it. They throw pillows and blankets all over the couch and the ground in front of it, laying out a soft, thick blanket to serve as a rug on the ancient hardwood floors. Karolina slips into Alex’s den and manages to locate, and then set up, the projector, and before long they’ve got everything ready.

“Guys?” A drowsy voice calls from up above, just as Old Lace chitters and stirs. Karolina immediately heads upstairs, leaving the dour deinonychus to Nico.

“Hey, Gert,” she says, offering Gert a sunny-bright smile. “How are you feeling?”

“I, um,” Gert’s glasses are askew, her hair a mess. Her roots are dark, her once-vibrant purple now a faded mauve. Her nails are jagged and red around the edges from where she’s been biting them. But her eyes…they look a little clearer. “I feel a bit better. I think. Where’s Lace?”

In response, Old Lace comes thundering up the stairs, shoving past Karolina and nudging Gert’s face with her nose, cooing and trilling. Karolina takes no offence: the bond between a girl and her deinonychus is a sacred thing, after all.

Gert fixes her glasses and runs her fingers through her hair before following Karolina down the stairs. Old Lace plods along behind them slowly, making a sound not unlike a purr as she nudges at their hands, looking for treats. The good thing about being at La Brea is that they can let Old Lace loose in the park at night and she usually finds herself a wandering bird or two to devour.

The same can’t be said of them. Karolina hates off weeks.

“What’s with the set up?” Gert asks as they join Nico in the living area. Karolina wraps an arm around her shoulders and gives her a squeeze.

“Well, we know how stressed you’ve been, so we thought it’d be fun if we had a little Runaways movie night,” she says, steering Gert toward the couch. “Chase has gone to get snacks, and Nico and I were going to make up some face masks and break out the nail polish, what do you say?”

A small smile appears on Gert’s face. “You guys would do all that for me?”

“Of course we would,” Nico cuts in. “We’re your friends.”

For a distressing moment, it almost looks like Gert’s about to cry, but instead she says, in a soft, strained voice, “I really love you guys.”

Karolina slings one arm around Gert’s shoulders and gives her a squeeze. “We love you too. How about we get started on your hair while we wait for Chase and Molly to get back?”

Gert nods, and that’s how the three young women end up in the bathroom, a bowl of bleach mixture sitting on the counter and Nico and Karolina diligently applying it to every strand of Gert’s hair. They only need to do the roots, but still – she’s got a lot of regrowth, and her hair is dark. Karolina knows that Dale and Stacey used to shell out for Gert to get her hair dyed at one of those celebrity hair stylists, a Jonathan van Ness type with a less impressive name and less money, so the bathroom jobs they’ve been doing haven’t exactly been getting the same results.

Still. They’re trying. That’s worth something, Karolina thinks.

She brushes a little more bleach over Gert’s bangs, careful not to get any on what’s already that silvery-mauve colour, and clips them up off her face.

“How are you feeling?” Nico asks, not even looking up from the task at hand. Gert’s been picking at the side of her thumbnail for the past ten minutes.

“Just peachy,” Gert replies. The fidgeting stops, and after a moment, she says, “I wouldn’t wish this on my worst enemy, let alone you guys, but…sometimes I wish you knew what it felt like.”

“Is there anything we can do to help?” Karolina asks. “We could start doing morning yoga out in the park, or something-”

“I think we’re still technically fugitives,” Nico points out. She twists the strand she’s working on up and clips it. “But morning yoga could be nice, hey, Gert?”

“I don’t really want to try becoming at peace with my inner self, or whatever, Karolina,” Gert says. “But thanks, though. I know you’re trying to help.”

Karolina nods and gets back to work. They’re sitting around the kitchen table waiting for the bleach to lighten Gert’s hair when Chase and Molly finally make it back, Molly with a grocery bag slung over one arm, chewing on watermelon candy. Chase trails in with his hands in his jacket pockets, nodding at Nico, before catching sight of Gert. His face breaks out in a smile.

“You’re doing your hair?”

“Yeah,” Gert says. “Nico and Karolina wanted to see if it would help.”

It probably won’t. Karolina knows that. But Gert already looks a little more relaxed, with something to fixate on that isn’t Skrulls on the moon or whatever. Chase smiles down at her like she put the stars in the sky and then digs something out of his pocket.

“Here,” he says. The paper crinkles as he thrusts it into Gert’s hands. “I had a little cash…and I found a coupon online-”

Gert doesn’t say anything, just gets to her feet and kisses him. After a few moments, her hands relax on the front of his jacket, and she lets him go, taking the paper bag from his hands. Inside, there are two bottles, both Gert’s much-needed anxiety meds. She unscrews the lids, shakes out a pill from each one, and tosses them back. She turns on the kitchen tap and blasts water into her mouth before standing and swallowing, wiping it on the back of her hand.

“You had money?” Nico asks in a low voice. Karolina can hear the unspoken question: we could have avoided all this?

“It was-” Chase glances back to where Molly is sharing her candy with Gert, talking a mile a minute about a service dog they saw at the store. “I donated plasma, okay? They gave me enough cash to cover Gert’s meds and I had enough left over to get us some food.”

Karolina’s heart sinks a little. But, she thinks, at least the crisis has been averted – and they now have a new potential income stream, should they need it. She, Nico, and Chase are all over eighteen and in good health, which means they’re all eligible to donate.

“That’s…” Nico pauses, gathering her thoughts, and Chase tenses up, like he’s waiting for her to blow up at him. Instead, she says, “That’s pretty genius, actually. Good work.”

Chase shoots them both one of his dopey golden retriever smiles just as Gert’s arms wrap around his waist. He turns and kisses her forehead, then winces, leaning back. Karolina stifles a laugh; the bleach is pretty potent. He probably just gave himself chemical burns all up his nasal cavity.

“Hey, can we do my hair?” Molly asks, ripping off another piece of watermelon candy with her teeth. “I think I’d be hot with some cool pink steaks.”

“No way,” Gert says. “You’re like, twelve.”

“And still in school,” Chase adds. “You know the Academy has a dress code.”

“Fourteen,” Molly cuts in. “More than capable of making my own decisions about my appearance.”

Karolina wavers, because on one hand, Molly is right, but on the other, Gert and Chase are too, and they’ve sort of stepped up as her de facto parents. Molly is looking at her like she’s going to be the one to be the tie breaker, but it’s Nico who speaks up and says, “Actually, Molly, I’ve got something in my room you might like.”

“What is it?” Molly asks, narrowing her eyes at the petite witch.

“Come on, I’ll show you,” Nico gets up and loops an arm around Molly’s, leading her upstairs. Karolina watches them go with a fond sort of smile. Nico’s good with Molly, even if they clash over the most ridiculous things sometimes. The toothpaste argument had made the whole Hostel miserable for a week.

“How long is left on the timer?” Gert asks. “My scalp’s getting a little warm.”

Karolina checks her phone. “About five minutes. You could probably go wash it out now and it won’t make much difference.”

“Nah, I’ll leave it if it’s that close,” Gert says. Chase whips his head around, almost dropping the snacks he’s unpacking.

“If your scalp is warm, doesn’t that mean it could burn you? Go wash it out now!”

“It’s fine,” Gert and Karolina say in unison, then laugh, linking pinkies. “Jinx.”

Chase rolls his eyes. “Yeah, Karolina, you would know.”

“Excuse you,” she shoots back, sitting straighter. “I’m a natural blonde, thank you.”

“Right,” Gert says. “That’s how you mixed the developer and powder with such precision.”

Karolina feels her cheeks flare red. “Shut up.”

Karolina is a natural blonde, is the thing. But you don’t get a certain summer sun-kissed blonde bombshell look without adding some highlights every now and again. It requires a certain level of precision. To know what volume to use, how much to mix, how long it needs to be left on the hair…

Gert’s in good hands. That’s all Karolina is saying.

“Okay, go rinse it off,” Karolina says as her phone trills. Gert disappears upstairs, and Chase watches her go with the look of a lovestruck fool on his face. Karolina smiles. Chase was never right for her – incompatible sexuality and all that – but seeing him with Gert makes her happy. They both deserve each other.

“Was she okay while we were gone?” Chase takes a seat next to her, shrugging out of his jacket to reveal some gauze taped to his inner arm. “I was worried she’d panic.”

“No, Nico’s knockout spell seemed to settle her mind down, at least a little bit,” Karolina says. She sighs, dropping her head onto his shoulder. “I worry about her. Nico too. They let everything fester inside them.”

Chase snorts.

“Did I say something funny?”

“Let’s face it, we’re not exactly winning any awards for emotional stability, either.” He swipes his hand across his face. “I get angry, you lash out…”

“Here’s hoping Molly turns out better than the four of us,” Karolina laughs weakly.

Molly comes thundering down the stairs with a bright smile. “Look!”

Nico has somehow made Molly’s hair pink. Not all of it – but a few streaks in the front, curled to match the rest of her dark hair. It suits her. Chase looks like he’s about to throw something at Nico, who walks in serenely behind Molly, and says, “Relax. They’re clip ins.”

This does seem to make Chase relax, a least a little.

“But they look so real!” Molly bounces, throwing her arms around Nico. “They look like they’re my hair!”

“They’re human hair extensions,” Nico explains, tracing a finger down one pink curl by Molly’s ear. “They can be straightened, curled, washed, and can handle just about any product your actual hair can.”

Karolina raises an eyebrow. “Where did you get human hair extensions? In pink?”

Nico shrugs, black lips pursed as she suppresses a smile. “Baby Goth Nico experimented with colour before committing to the standard issue black and fishnets.”

“We should do your hair next!” Molly exclaims, still bouncing on her feet. Karolina is a little scared she’ll wear a hole through the already-cracked floor.

“What, me?” Nico snorts. “What would that look like?”

“I’m thinking blue tips,” Karolina smirks. “There’s still some bleach mixture left.”

Nico rolls her eyes, but that barely suppressed smile hasn’t left her lips. “Maybe.”

Which is how, about fifteen minutes later, they’re all squished into the bathroom once more, this time with Chase and Molly, too. Gert is carefully blow-drying her hair, to ready it for the next stage of the dyeing process; Molly is painting her nails a ludicrous shade of pink; Chase is painting his nails a ludicrous shade of pink; and Karolina is carefully and diligently applying some bleach to the ends of Nico’s dark hair, supercharged courtesy of the Staff of One.

“This is so much harder than you all make it look,” Chase says after a moment, tongue poking from the corner of his mouth as his brow is furrowed in deep concentration. “Aw, fuck.”

He’s smudged his nails again, and Molly, rolling her eyes, passes him the acetone. Nico barely looks up as she says, “That’s strike two, Chase. If you get any nail polish on the tub, you’re scrubbing the whole bathroom, top to bottom.”

Chase makes a face, then relents. “Yeah,” he sighs. “That’s fair.”

Karolina smiles and sections out another part of Nico’s hair, clipping the first part up as she gets back to work. There’s only enough bleach left to do the very ends, maybe an inch or two of hair at the most, but it’s going to look so cute when they’re done with it.

“Hey, Gert,” she raises her voice to be heard over the blow dryer. “Do you have any colours other than purple?”

“Huh?” Gert calls back, then stops the dryer, setting it down at the counter as she feels her wavy hair, trying to determine if it’s dry.

“Any more colours,” Karolina says again. “Of hair dye.”

“Yeah, I think I might have something,” Gert is wringing out her hair over the sink, though not even a drop comes out of it. “Blue, maybe? Or there might still be some neon green leftover in my travel bag.”

“Pass on the neon green,” Nico laughs. “But blue could be cute, maybe.”

Karolina beams. Blue would be cute.

“Hang on, babe,” she says after a second. “Can you take your choker off? I don’t want to get bleach on it.”

Nico’s pale hands reach back and unclasp the black studded choker from around her neck. She winds it around her wrist and clips it in place, adding it to the mess of leather bracelets and silver bangles already on there. She has her rings on, too, her black filigree thumb ring and the silver one with the huge piece of onyx in it.

“Hey, Nico,” Molly says, inspecting her nails, “Can I paint yours next? I promise I won’t do them pink.”

“Have at it,” Nico presents her hand. Molly grins and opens up the cupboard under the sink, digging through the little stash of nail polish the four girls keep there for nights just like these. She pulls out a vibrant ruby red and holds it up, but Nico tilts her head, considering it. “If I’m going for blue hair, maybe I should try blue nails, too.”

“That’s going to look sick!” Molly exclaims, plucking free a sparkly blue. Karolina’s not so sure that’s what Nico meant, but she sees Nico’s eyes light up in her reflection.

“Perfect,” she says. One hand reaches up behind her to cup Karolina’s cheek. “We’ll match.”

Karolina’s cheeks flush pink and she keeps her attention on Nico’s hair, mostly so no one can see her smile. They all do, though: it lights up her face like the sunshine from which she draws her energy.

“The two of you are so disgustingly in love,” Gert says, just as Chase adds, “Gross.”

In lieu of a reply, Karolina looks up and says, “Is your hair dry enough to dye, Gert?”

“I think so,” Gert says, turning back to the mirror and feeling her hair. It looks bone-dry, which is supposedly the key to getting vibrant colours to pop, or so said Gert’s fancy celebrity hairstylist (and the covert Google search Karolina had done just to be sure Gert wasn’t pulling her leg.)

“I’ll do it,” Chase immediately volunteers, jumping to his feet and waving his hands furiously, as though that will make his nails dry any faster. He blows on them and inspects them closely, giving them an experimental poke. His finger leaves the tiniest indentation in the lurid pink, and he shrugs. “Good enough. Sit on the tub, babe, I’ve got this.”

Gert makes a face that implies she does not think he has this, but she diligently takes a seat, shrugging out of her jacket. Chase sneaks a look at Karolina, who mouths “Section it!” like instructions are going to make any difference in this disaster waiting to happen, and starts carefully parting and tying off sections of Gert’s hair.

As he works, snapping on a pair of latex gloves and squirting the bright purple dye into one hand, he murmurs, “How are you feeling?”

Karolina keeps her attention on Nico, but she knows they’re all listening when Gert says, “Better. A lot better. Thanks for getting my meds.”

Karolina is choosing not to think too hard about how Chase got Gert’s meds. He donated plasma, sure, and had some cash laying around, but they don’t exactly have insurance and pills cost money, especially the kind of magic pills that make panic attacks up and vanish in less than half an hour. She’s choosing just to be glad that Gert feels better. Mentally, she makes a note to talk to Nico later, after the others have gone to bed – they need to come up with a plan, a foolproof plan, that ensures this doesn’t happen again. Gert can’t go without her meds any more than Nico can go without magic. Those awful first few weeks they’d been on the run had been hell on Gert, and Karolina never, ever wants to see a repeat of it again. This had just been an aberration, she keeps telling herself, even though she knows it’s not. Now that they’re old enough to be classed as adults, they need to start taking this stuff seriously: insurance, healthcare, where their next meals are coming from.

She swipes bleach over the last section of Nico’s hair and watches as the goop, charmed by the Staff of One, starts working immediately to lift the dark strands. They’re not really sure how effective the spell is going to be, but based on what she can see, Nico’s hair has already gone from black to a reddish brown in the past five minutes. It seems to be working pretty well, but still, she sets a timer on her phone knowing she’ll have to keep an eye on it. Nico has gotten better – a lot better – at using the staff, but that doesn’t mean it’s perfect.

“Hold still,” Molly says, tongue poking from the corner of her mouth in deep concentration as she paints Nico’s nails. “They’re almost there.”

Karolina didn’t see it, but Molly must’ve cleaned the old, chipped polish off before starting, because Nico’s nails are beautiful. They’re a bright cerulean blue, and under the light they glimmer and sparkle and shine. Nico’s smiling, and she feels something in her chest constrict, looking not only at her but at Molly and Gert and Chase too: these are the people she’s chosen. This is her family. Sometimes as a child she’d never been sure she’d have one of those, between her sexuality and her distant parents. She knows that’s not necessarily true now, and part of it is because she’s found them on her own. In the beginning she’d thought being a runaway had ruined her life. In reality, it’s the best thing that’s ever happened to her.

“I love you guys,” she blurts out.

The others look up at her, surprised. It had come out of nowhere, after all.

“We love you too, Karrie,” Chase says. He’s managed to get purple all up his arms despite the gloves and all over the tub, too, but Gert’s hair looks better than it has in weeks. She digs through the little toiletry bag in her lap the dye had come out of and tosses a black tube to Karolina in lieu of saying anything at all.

“You are so weird,” Molly adds. “But, yeah. I love you guys, too.”

“Are we really doing mandatory team feelings time in addition to mandatory team bonding time?” Nico asks wryly, but she reaches up to squeeze Karolina’s hand. Karolina smiles and squeezes it back, careful not to smudge her nail polish.

They end up in the kitchen while Nico washes the bleach out of her hair twenty minutes later. From what they could see, the supercharged bleach had the tips of Nico’s hair almost flaxen in that time, so Karolina was the one to call it. While Nico’s in the shower, Karolina cuts up the too-soft apples, mushing them into a paste they can use as a facemask. She adds a few drops of lavender oil, half-listening as Gert, Molly, and Chase argue about what movie they’re going to watch tonight. Gert is making a passionate and admittedly solid argument for The Birds, Chase is arguing that a horror movie is going to trigger her anxiety, and Molly wants to watch The Princess Diaries.

“I like The Princess Diaries,” she comments offhand as she mixes the apple, lavender oil, and a squirt of honey together in a bowl. Molly cheers in the background while Chase groans and Gert says, “You would like The Princess Diaries. A typical so-called girl power movie that just implies nepotism is necessary to generate social change.”

Karolina rolls her eyes. She hears the shower go off and smiles, placing the facemask bowl into the fridge and turning to face her friends.

“Your turn to wash the dye out,” she says to Gert. The shorter woman gets up and heads toward the bathroom, leaving Karolina with Chase and Molly. “What snacks did you get for tonight?”

“The three Cs, my friend: chips, cookies, candy,” Chase replies, counting on his fingers with each new item. “And some carrots, cheese, and crackers, because I know you don’t love all that unhealthy stuff.”

She’s a little touched.

“That’s six Cs,” Molly yawns. “I’m going to claim my spot on the couch before you nerds get to it.”

Chase opens his mouth to retort back, but she’s already disappeared through the archway. He turns his head to fix his gaze on Karolina, and she can’t help it, she cracks a smile in seconds. They both break down into laughter: good, proper laughter that has Karolina clutching her abdomen and Chase wiping tears from his eyes. She’s not even really sure why they’re laughing. Maybe it’s relief. Maybe it’s because Molly is such a teenager now, and neither of them can recall a time they were that bad.

“We didn’t talk to our parents like that, did we?” Karolina asks, rubbing the heel of her palm across her right eye. “I never had that much attitude.”

“I did, but my dad kept trying to beat it out of me,” Chase grins, and suddenly they’re laughing again.

Nico joins them, wearing a black lace bralette and shorts with studs along the pockets. She’s drying her hair with a towel, the ends silver-bright in the artificial light. It’s so beautiful Karolina almost doesn’t want to stick blue over it.

“What are we laughing about?” She says. Karolina and Chase meet each other’s eyes again and start laughing harder. Nico rolls her eyes and sidles up beside Karolina, pressing a kiss to her shoulder and pulling her in close.

“Molly,” Karolina explains, somewhat breathless. “And also child abuse.”

“Normal day in the Runaways household, then,” Nico grins. She pulls Karolina in for a kiss, and both of them shove a middle finger in Chase’s direction when he makes gagging noises. They break apart, and Karolina is drowning in love again: always, forever, this is her family.

They join Molly on the couch, where Old Lace is sitting on her haunches, staring up at the young teen and chittering excitedly. Molly is stroking her head, eyes on her Instagram feed as she scrolls. She’s taken the liberty of setting the TV up, and yes, they’re watching The Princess Diaries. Karolina’s just thankful that disagreements in this household are verbal spats more than anything. The last thing any of them need is to get thrown through a wall by Molly’s super strength, or eviscerated by Gert’s deinonychus, or sent to the shadow dimension by Nico’s staff. Karolina’s blasts of concussive light feel pretty useless in comparison, but she has gotten better at using them, and besides: she doesn’t need to worry about using them here.

Gert comes bounding down the stairs, her hair still wet and shockingly purple. She greets them with a wide grin and squishes herself onto the couch between Molly and Lace, leaving Chase, Karolina and Nico to the nest they’ve made on the floor. Karolina smiles to herself as she cuddles up to Nico and steals a watermelon Skwinkle out of Molly’s pocket. She pops the candy in her mouth and leans back, getting comfortable.

“Hair looks good,” she says to Gert.

“Thanks,” Gert says, somewhat self-consciously, as she scrunches her soft waves in one hand. “I feel a little bit more like me. I don’t know if that’s the meds or the hair, but…thanks.”

It can be both, Karolina thinks as Gert reaches down to grab Chase’s hand. It doesn’t need to be one or the other. It can be both.

“I’m glad you feel better,” she says, and she means it. Hopefully Gert never has to go through this again. She looks up at Molly. “Are we watching this or are we sitting around all night?”

“On it,” Molly replies, and she picks up the remote to hit play.