Chapter Text
One month later
"Nico, have you seen my hairbrush?" Karolina called from the bedroom.
The two of them had slept through their alarm that morning and were consequently running late for school. To make matters worse, Karolina had felt along the length of both of Nico's dressers and her desk to no avail, and she officially had no idea where she could've possibly placed her hairbrush. It had definitely been in here last night.
When Nico didn't respond, Karolina hurried out into the hallway, stopping herself just in time before she crashed into the end table against the left wall that housed some kind of expensive vase. She always stayed lit up around the house to avoid any sort of accidents like the one that had almost just occurred.
Upon reaching the bathroom, Karolina knocked on the door. She could hear the hum of the fan from inside, and she realized that Nico hadn't responded because she hadn't heard Karolina shout.
"Who is it?" Nico asked.
"It's Karolina."
Nico's response came in the form of the lock clicking and the door being opened so Karolina could step through.
"Will you help me find my hairbrush?" she asked.
"I have it in here." Nico grabbed Karolina's hand before pressing the brush into her palm. "Sorry. I left mine at Gert's house."
Two nights ago, Nico had stayed the night at Gert's house, but Karolina had stayed home to study for a Spanish test she had the next day. She'd been afraid it would be awkward spending the night with Nico's parents without Nico, but she shouldn't have worried. Nico's parents had been nothing but welcoming since they'd met Karolina.
"It's fine. Thanks." Karolina gave Nico a quick peck on the lips before scurrying back down the hallway to finish getting ready.
When they were finally ready to leave, Karolina followed Nico in the living room to say a quick goodbye to her parents. Karolina was surprised at first by how much the Minoru parents already seemed to care about her, but she supposed she shouldn't have what with the immense love they so clearly had for their daughter.
"Did you finish that history project you were working on last night?" Tina asked her daughter before she could turn to walk out the door.
"Yes, Mom." The sound of Nico's voice told Karolina that she was probably playfully rolling her eyes.
"And are you wearing your bracelet, Karolina?" Robert asked.
Karolina held up her wrist to show him her bracelet was intact. He'd taken to asking her that question every morning after she'd tried to sneak out without her bracelet once during her first week of school, trying to trick Robert and Tina by killing her glow.
It had been hard for Karolina to get around school at first, as she wasn't used to the layout, but that was before she'd had time to familiarize herself with it and before she'd gotten a white cane to help her be more aware of her immediate surroundings. Now she was comfortable enough to walk around on her own, without Nico or any of her friends sticking around to guide her.
"Okay." Robert laughed at whatever pouting face Karolina was most likely making. "You two have a good day at school."
"And don't forget to text me when you get there," Tina called after them as they headed out to the car.
That was another thing. Nico's parents had finally gotten their daughter her own car to drive to school every day. Karolina suspected it had something to do with not wanting to hold Nico back from doing anything she wanted to after they'd seen what Karolina's own mother had done to her, but she didn't say anything about it. Perhaps she was wrong, and Robert just got tired of having to take Nico back and forth every day.
Karolina checked her phone for the time as they walked outside.
"7:35 AM," it read out to her.
"We'll make it in plenty of time," Nico assured Karolina.
"Really?" Karolina climbed into the passenger seat as Nico got into the driver's seat beside her. "Nico, it takes us fifteen minutes to get there."
"Okay, so we might have to walk fast to get to class on time," Nico admitted, "but don't worry. I'll still walk you to your first class."
"I'm perfectly capable of getting to class on my own," Karolina gently reminded her.
"You know that's not why I do it," Nico said. "I can't start the school day without my morning kiss. It's like my version of everyone else's coffee."
Karolina laughed. "We've already kissed plenty of tines this morning."
"It's not the same."
"You can have your morning kiss right now."
Karolina reached for Nico's face and brought their lips together, smiling into the kiss. After a couple seconds, she tried to pull back, but Nico gripped the back of her head to keep her in place, and Karolina felt all of the fight drain out of her.
She allowed Nico to turn her head, deepening the kiss, and she pulled Nico closer, opening her mouth to accept Nico's tongue as she lost herself in the kiss for several long moments.
When she finally came to her senses again, Karolina pulled back, ignoring Nico's disapproving whine at the loss of contact.
"What time is it now?"
Nico was silent for a few seconds as she presumably checked her phone.
"7:38."
"Nicooo," Karolina whined.
"We can still make it." Karolina felt the car begin to move as Nico pulled out of the driveway.
"Sure, we can." Karolina tried to sound annoyed, but she was having a hard time fighting off the smile that was threatening to break through.
"I'm still walking you to class, you know," Nico said.
"I know." Karolina couldn't help but smile.
As Nico shifted the car into forward motion and they sped off in the direction of their school, Karolina realized she wasn't really all that worried about being late. Because, despite Nico's assurances, there was no way they were going to make it to class on time that morning.
A tardy slip, though, was nothing compared to what they'd gone through last month.