Archive of Our Own ^beta

Karolina blinks her eyes open, and she doesn’t know where she is. She looks around, taking it all in, and distantly notes that she also doesn’t seem to know who she is.

…That could be a problem for later.

She’s standing alone, and everything around her is bright, bright and blazing and wide open. She blinks a couple more times, just to see if it will help - predictably, it doesn’t, but she takes a halting step forward anyways.

Now, why is she here?

She’s… supposed to be looking for something. No, that’s not right – she’s missing something.

Yes. It’s missing.

She wanders through the haze, not sure what she’s looking for, and she follows one singular instinct until her feet lead her to some kind of archway, tall and luminescent and towering above everything else.

It’s beautiful, and there’s a girl sitting there with her forearms crossed over her knees, watching her with patient eyes and a gentle smile.

“Hey,” the girl greets easily, her voice carrying over and filling the space between them with a strange echoing quality. Her back is resting against the base of one of the arches, dark hair soft around her shoulders, and Karolina is mesmerized.

“Hey,” Karolina answers back automatically. The girl’s eyes are sparkling, reflecting something Karolina can’t see, and her head is tilted to the side expectantly. She’s looking for something too.

…Someone? 

Karolina tries to shake herself free of her confusing thoughts.

“So… what’s the deal with this place?” she asks, looking up at the arch again and then craning her neck to take in the space around them. “Got any ideas?”

The girl shrugs, and Karolina doesn’t think she knows her. But as soon as the thought crosses her mind, Karolina knows it’s wrong. She may not remember her, but she’s familiar. More than familiar. More than… more than anything, more than everything.

And that’s when it hits her.

Of course she knows her.

Images flash through her mind, images made of emotions and laughter and history dancing around her head just out of reach. It’s a convoluted mess, out of focus and full of noise, but it’s vibrant all the same.

There she is in a cape, then in a winter jacket rolling through the snow, then wearing skis on her feet. There in a flight suit, then in khakis, next with a set of feathered wings extending from her back. On a movie set, on a mountaintop. Behind a camera, standing tall with a sword, holding a guitar, hovering out amongst the stars.

There’s more, a lot more. They’re all new, and they’re all different, except for one simple thing.

There’s always someone with her. Always this girl.

Karolina blinks when she realizes she knows details about these scenarios, details that can’t possibly come from the brief glimpses she’s getting. Details that could only come through living them.

She’s lived them, all of them.

The dark–haired girl shifts, and Karolina’s eyes are drawn to her like she’s the only thing in the universe. Maybe, just for that moment, she is. It passes, fleeting like the mists of a willow, but they both remain.

Nico, the name comes to her, as if a whisper from a dream. The girl’s name is Nico.

Could be Nico. Will be Nico.

Karolina ponders it and settles on the last one. Her name will be Nico, just like hers will be Karolina.

Nico and Karolina. 

She smiles.

“How long have you been here?” Karolina asks, drifting closer. Something in her chest has settled, something she hadn’t even realized had been out of place, and her movements are lighter now, steps sure.

Nico’s lips turn up in another tiny smile as she exhales, and her expression is soft as she tilts her head back to look at her, curling her hands into loose fists. “You know I don’t mind waiting.”

And yes, Karolina does know that. She knows that with absolute certainty. She’d wait forever for Nico too.

She already has.

Now that she’s thinking about it, her thoughts seem to be getting clearer, less fuzzy around the edges. Her mind is sorting itself out, leveling off and coming together in a chaotic mess of memories, and Karolina nods in satisfaction.

She goes over to Nico, and she’s not quite sure her feet are touching the ground. She’s not even sure there is a ground.

“What happens now?” she asks as she sits next to her. Their arms are pressed against each other, and Karolina turns her head to the side so she can watch her properly.

The images come again, flashes of time and impressions of lives they must have lived overlaying the genuine expression on her face, and she furrows her brow as she tries to sort through them.

It’s Nico, wearing some kind of helmet and an orange t-shirt. Nico, underwater, Nico flying through the air. Nico, on a stage and backlit by a spotlight, Nico wearing a poodle skirt and a frown, and Nico as champion. Nico wearing some kind of armoured space suit, Nico in chainmail, in robes of silver and dust. She’s brilliant in yellow, in purple, in black and blue and gold.

The lives are still coming, still filling her mind with the infinite, and Karolina lets her eyes close for a moment.

There’s Nico again, holding her arms out and conducting the music of the universe, Nico crouched down smiling in front of a child, Nico watching a war–torn sky. Nico, Nico, Nico.

They start flickering, faster and faster until Karolina can’t hope to keep track of them anymore, but somehow she does. Somehow, they all line up in her mind, easy and right and everything she’s ever needed. Time seems to slow, and she manages to slot everything into place.

As always, it’s Nico. Just Nico, calling her home. 

“What happens now?” Nico repeats lightly, giving her a smile and a little shrug as she sways to press closer. “Guess we’ll have to wait and see.”

Karolina nods and settles against her, but they’re not waiting long.

Suddenly, there’s light across from them, a light so bright she isn’t sure she can see it at all. She can’t tell how far away it is, but she knows that it’s calling to her. Calling to them both.

“Do you see that?” she whispers reverently, and the way Nico is staring wide–eyed into the distance answers her question.

They take it in, and then Karolina pushes herself to her feet and turns, holding her hand out for Nico. The air around them is dancing, gathering together in preparation for something, and Nico is smiling again as she reaches out.

Taking a deep breath, Karolina pulls her up and then they both stumble, tripping over something she can’t see. She puts her hands on Nico’s arms to steady her, the movements as simple as breathing, and they share a laugh, their faces suddenly closer to each other than before. The light around them seems to brighten, and Karolina thinks Nico must be made of something similar to stars.

Nico smiles her thanks and leans forward to rest her head against Karolina’s temple, thrumming with life and pressing the ghost of a kiss to her cheek before pulling back, and Karolina flushes happily. Her eyes are shining, something soft and gentle like the light of the moon, and Karolina reconsiders.

Maybe it’s the stars that are waiting for them.

“Ready?” Nico whispers, letting go of Karolina’s hand to push her hair behind her ear, and Karolina nods. 

Together they make their way over to the light, and Karolina marvels at the way it seems to get brighter as they approach, almost as if it’s excited. As if it’s been waiting for their arrival. 

The universe hums around them, and Karolina takes another deep breath, feeling Nico do the same at her side. A shiver passes over her, and she jumps when a flicker of rainbow licks across her arm, just visible in the corner of her eye. When she turns her head to see if Nico has noticed anything, she sees that there’s now some kind of rounded staff cradled in the crook of her arm, but Karolina gets the impression that she doesn’t need to worry about it. It’ll make sense in time.

She reaches out and takes Nico’s hand at the same moment they step into the light, and then they’re gone.

And reborn.

Once again, it’s only the beginning.