The thing about 'friends with benefits' that people tended to forget was that it included the 'friends' part. Even when not doing... recreational things, Becca and Mirror were friends, best friends even, and that meant they hung out a lot more than the casual encounter the idea entailed. Today, for example, Maya showed up at Becca's apartment in the afternoon, once the training schedule was done at the school, with snacks and drinks, ready for an afternoon/evening of watching movies, eating junk food, and... possibly benefits. But mostly the first two. It was one of her favorite things to do with Becca, commenting on movies, watching silly videos, and generally pretending that the world was not a messed up place with a gigantic rip in space and time spewing evil agents. And the benefits were really just that.

Sitting on the couch while Becca was... doing whatever she was doing in her bedroom (the guess would have been 'changing', but they really did not plan on going anywhere), Maya flipped through apps on the smart TV, thinking of things they could watch while waiting for pizza delivery. ViewTube was a solid bet. Pulling up the video listing, however, the mirrorwalker's hand froze on the remote.

"What the..."

Once upon a time, Becca had a love life. Nowadays, she felt like she had a mishmash of situations cobbled together to imitate a love life. There was a situation with Agnes that was… not what she expected. They had a romantic relationship and a romantic affair under their belts, but nothing felt “romantic” about their new situation. It was very new and likely fueled by ever-present sexual tension and Rebecca’s apparent desire to cede control. She had no clue how long it would all last, but she was letting things happen however they happened, which was becoming a mantra to live by.

Case in point: Maya was over her apartment again. It was amazing how different two “casual sexual relationships” could be. Where Becca and Agnes had something strongly tied to a sexual power dynamic, Becca and Maya were what they said they would be from the beginning: friends with benefits. Was there sex? Sure, and it happened pretty often and yes, it was toe-curlingly good. Their sexual chemistry was undeniable.

Honestly, it was their chemistry in general that was undeniable. They worked as friends because Becca genuinely liked spending time with Maya. They had a rhythm that just worked and she could not think of a bad time spent hanging out with her gendershifting friend.

It was shaping up to be yet another good night between friends, curled up on a couch enjoying movies and videos and banter, along with plenty of snacks. It was a very “Becca and Maya” night. If they spent the whole night like that without sex, she would have had a great night.

That was not to say Becca had no interest in the possibility of sex that night. She dismissed herself from the couch to go to her room and change into something more comfortable. She settled on a pair of soft pink cotton pajama shorts and a pink and pink and white striped tank top. It was a very comfortable outfit that just happened to leave plenty of skin on display. It also did not hurt that Jules was at Booker’s place for the night, leaving them as the only people in the apartment.

Indeed, Becca was feeling proud of her master plan when she emerged from her room. She felt less proud when she got to the living room and saw ViewTube open on the television, with her own channel pulled up. It was recently searched because a friend pointed out that one of her videos was close to breaking a million views, which was a huge deal for a channel of her size.

And now Maya, who Becca was sure knew nothing of her internet celebdom, had located the treasure trove of her videos. ”Heeey. Er, ready tae gie back tae th’ movie?” she asked nervously, somehow knowing their night was about to take a different trajectory.

The girl in the video was undeniably Becca. It would have been hard to mistake her for anyone else. At first glance, Maya had thought that it was a clip from some kind of an interview... but at closer inspection, one video turned into a channel, a whole lot of videos featuring Becca with titles that made the mirrorwalker's jaw drop.

Straight-Face Challenge: Porn Searches
Rant Time! Stop Being Rude/Dismissive/Creepy About Bisexuals!
Ghost Pepper Challenge
Dating Advice (From the Worst Dater You Know)
Q & A: Stop Kinkshaming Me!
Straight-Face Challenge: Best of the Worst of Trashy Romance
Rant Time! My Boobs and Your Sh*tty Comments!
How to Be Friends with Your Ex
Show-and-Tell! My New Tattoo!

Conclusion: Becca did not only have a ViewTube channel with thousands of views (and quite a few commenters, judging from the titles), but it was also a very... very personal one. Maya hesitated for a few moments. Should she? It was public content, and yet Becca had never really told her about any of this, and some of the topics sounded like she did not want to hear them... and in the end, she did.

Q & A: Pixelbecky’s “Type”

Really, it was such a low hanging fruit. Not that Maya needed to know. She had pretty solid proof that she was Becca's type, one way or another. But hell, she needed to see this. And then possibly never let Becca live it down.

Some of the questions were weird. Most of the answers were not. Maya chuckled at the descriptions of the kind of men and women Becca liked, and was relieved when the video turned out to not contain discussion of gender shifters. As she returned to the menu, however, another topic popped up, and it definitely had something to do with her.

How to Navigate a FWB Scenario

"Oh Becca, you didn't..."

It had a lot of views. Like, a lot. Maya suddenly had a flashback to the kind of things Maxine used to pull, talking about sex appeal and...

>>"THIS DOES NOT MEAN I HAVE A FWB"

Oh. Well then.

The door of the bedroom opened, and Maya scrambled to hit Pause on the video. It was too late to disguise what she had been doing, and for some weird reason she felt like she had just been caught doing something wrong. Becca looked the same.

>>”Heeey. Er, ready tae gie back tae th’ movie?”

Maya smirked a little.

"Dunno... I kinda like this educational program I found..."

Becca had taken too long in her room and she was paying the price. It was more unfair because it really was not her fault! It was supposed to be a quick trip to change her outfit but when she checked her phone, she had missed two texts from Agnes. Since the raven-haired beauty deemed the transgression as needing more than a simple “sorry,” Becca had to take a few moments snapping a picture that conveyed the just how badly she wanted to apologize. It was thankfully enough to prevent Agnes from telling her to come over, since Becca still had not gotten around to mentioning her arrangement with Mirror. Another problem for another day.

She was in the present day, and that came with a new problem: her friend with benefits discovering her ViewTube channel. Even worse! Discovering her fairly recent video on how to handle friends with benefits! Oh, it was as though there were little karma fairies guiding the world around her.

Proposing they return to their movie-watching was a last-ditch effort and, deep down, she knew Maya’s response. She was curious about what she found and, at the very least, watching with her might allow Becca to guide away from dangerous videos or give context to some of her more… unique videos.

Resigning herself to her fate, Becca sighed and rejoined Maya on the couch. ”If ye insist. Afair we continue, aye, Ah hae a ViewTube channel and, aye, some ay th’ content is pretty personal.”

The particular video they were watching was framed as objective and unrelated to Becca personally, but Maya knew better. ”Thes ain, honest tae God, was a request frae a fan. It was jist a well-timed request. Ye awreddy saw me gie ‘at big, untrue disclaimer. Believe me, Ah dinnae want tae toss uir business ontae th’ internit.” She made a clear effort to act like she was not engaged in a friends with benefits situation because she had more respect for Maya’s privacy than that. ”Ay coorse, some fans dinnae believe me an’ have guesses abit who Ah’m sleeping wi’ but yer nae e’en th’ top ay th’ betting pool.” Oh, the joys of being known on the internet. ”Shall we continue th’ video, then?”

Maya scooted over on the couch to make some space for Becca as she gave up the fight and resolved to her fate of watching videos that Maya did not know existed.

>>”If ye insist. Afair we continue, aye, Ah hae a ViewTube channel and, aye, some ay th’ content is pretty personal.”

"Yeah. I noticed." Maya was amused, more than anything. It was not like Becca had a dirty secret; more that she had a whole other Internet personality that she somehow forgot to mention. But now the cat was out of the bag and Maya was intent on having fun with it.

>>”Thes ain, honest tae God, was a request frae a fan. It was jist a well-timed request. Ye awreddy saw me gie ‘at big, untrue disclaimer. Believe me, Ah dinnae want tae toss uir business ontae th’ internit.”

"Yeah, I appreciate that." Redhead or not, Becca was not Maxine. The last thing Mirror needed after the darn AMA was for the Internet to talk about how two of the X-men were having a 'sex only' arrangement. Their PR was in a ditch already anyway.

>>”Ay coorse, some fans dinnae believe me an’ have guesses abit who Ah’m sleeping wi’ but yer nae e’en th’ top ay th’ betting pool. Shall we continue th’ video, then?”

"You got fans?" Maya smirked. Of course she did. She was a ViewTube personality. Maya only had a small taste of what that was like, but she was familiar with it. She did not generally like it at all. "... wait, who is on top of the betting pool?..." She had to ask. Not that it was a jealousy thing, that would have been stupid. But she wanted to know just how wrong people really were. "I mean, not that I want your fans to start stalking me, but..."

As expected, Maya was appreciative of all the effort Becca put into keeping their arrangement out of the public eye. While Becca did not feel ashamed about having a casual sexual relationship with another consenting adult, she recognized how it could impact the professional reputation of the X-Men, (assuming they had one of those in the first place.)

Maya also questioned Becca about her fan base and Becca could already feel herself blushing. She was not the most modest person, but she did feel weird bringing up her level of internet recognition. ”Um, yeah. Kind ay a community ay fans, actually. Sorry Ah didnae tell ye ‘at ye were sleepin’ wi’ an internet celebrity,” she joked, before wincing at her own comment. ”Minor internet celebrity. Loch, Ah’m still just a wee bit oer five hundred thousand subscribers.” Nothing to scoff at, but she was not playing ball with the biggest channels on the site.

Before they could return to the video, something Becca said seemed to click with Maya and Becca found her reaction to the betting pool terribly interesting. Was that… defensiveness? Maybe even the smallest traces of jealousy? ”Sae someain made a theory video ‘at really took aff abit me being Ghost’s mistress.” Around Maya, Becca referred to Ghost as Ghost, because calling her Maya to Maya when Maya was also Maya… one could see how it all got confusing and muddled fast. ”Ah know they’re wrong, but Ah’ll admit, they had some weirdly compelling evidence.”

Maybe she was curious about Maya’s initial reaction, but Becca decided to, very casually, drop something into conversation. ”Ah cannae imagine th’ kind ay lead she’d hae if they knew she’s seen mah boobs awreddy.” Totally innocuous comment.

>>”Um, yeah. Kind ay a community ay fans, actually. Sorry Ah didnae tell ye ‘at ye were sleepin’ wi’ an internet celebrity... Minor internet celebrity. Loch, Ah’m still just a wee bit oer five hundred thousand subscribers.”

"I always wanted to date a hot celebrity" Maya grinned. In her mind, internet celebrity was dubious at best, but it was something most people fantasized about, and she kinda happened into it without having to be one of those creepy stalkers that sought famous people out. Win, win. Plus a hot redhead with... "... five hundred thousand?!" she blinked in shock "There are five hundred thousand people trying to guess who you're sleeping with?!"

That was... a whole lot of attention. Like... a whole lot.

>>”Sae someain made a theory video ‘at really took aff abit me being Ghost’s mistress. Ah know they’re wrong, but Ah’ll admit, they had some weirdly compelling evidence. Ah cannae imagine th’ kind ay lead she’d hae if they knew she’s seen mah boobs awreddy.”

People made videos about other videos with theories about videos. Maya shook her head. The Internet was a weird place. She was so glad she could not accdientally mirrorwalk into that.

Wait.

"... wait, Ghost has seen your boobs?"

Becca almost made a comment about Maya dating a “hot celebrity” before, but decided it best to leave the past in the past. She did not know the details about what Gawain and Maxine had going on once upon a time; she knew that Maxine was the point of contention that broke up her relationship with Ami around the same time Becca and Agnes broke up. Becca also almost commented on Maya’s word choice, but she let it slide. They were not “dating,” but it was an easy enough slip of the tongue and not one Becca felt like questioning.

Maya was not expecting the size of Becca’s audience, which only enhanced the red of her cheeks. ”Ah mean, nae every subscriber watches every video, an’ it’s really only a fraction ay a fraction in th’ comments.” Her community was active and interactive, but no channel had one-hundred percent participation. If every subscriber she had watched every video she made and left a comment, she would be making the kind of money that made her question whether she should switch to the channel as a full-time job. Honestly, the thought crossed her mind already on some days.

They could have delved into a conversation about dating theory videos, but Becca’s curious gamble worked. Maya’s response to the Ghost news was both genuine and fantastic. ”Yes, Ghost has seen mah boobs. It was ance and it was by accident,” she admitted, smirking more at Maya’s reaction than the memory of the event itself.

Rebecca gestured to the screen. ”But Ah’m sure yer nae interested in aw that. We shoods continue wi' th' video. We can gie tae th' part whaur Ah talk abit nae gettin' jealoos when a mutual friend catches a peek at mah boobs,” she teased, feeling smug and proud of herself.

>>”Ah mean, nae every subscriber watches every video, an’ it’s really only a fraction ay a fraction in th’ comments.”

"Sure" Maya smirked. Even if only a faction watched and commented, out of half a million, that still had to be a lot of interaction. It was strange to think about how many people followed Becca, and maybe thought that they were a part of her everyday life, while none of that ever really showed enough for Maya to notice. The Internet was weird that way. An army of ghosts...

>>”Yes, Ghost has seen mah boobs. It was ance and it was by accident. But Ah’m sure yer nae interested in aw that. We shoods continue wi' th' video. We can gie tae th' part whaur Ah talk abit nae gettin' jealoos when a mutual friend catches a peek at mah boobs,”

Oh, now she was just teasing. Getting over the embarrassment of being found out as an Internet celebrity, Becca seemed to enjoy Maya's suspicion of the whole boob thing, and the 'betting pool' of potential... friends. Maya wrinkled her nose at the comment about jealousy. She really had nothing to be jealous about. She had more than accidentally seen the boobs.

"Sure" she chuckled "And can we do the tattoo reveal next? I kinda considered doing one for mine, but I wanna see how it's done..."

Maya was willing to drop the Ghost topic, though Becca had a sneaking suspicion it might come up later. She had not even revealed why Ghost saw her boobs or the sexy harness at fault for the whole event. It would make for an entertaining conversation, but first, they had videos to watch. She did tuck away the nose-scrunching reaction Maya had when accused of being jealous, though; who knew if that could prove useful?

Fiddling with the remote, Becca resumed the video, but almost immediately paused it when Maya’s comment sank in. ”Wait! Ye hae a tattoo? And Ah huvnae seen it yit?” she asked incredulously, ignoring that she was the pot calling the kettle black with her own fresh tattoo. ”We'll finish thes video, but dinnae think Ah am nae demandin' tae see yer ink.”

The video finally resumed and Becca got to enjoy the always surreal experience of listening to herself from the television speakers. ”Sae obviously, loch Ah said, setting expectations is important, but things can change an’ that’s normal. Ye hae tae be ready fur 'at. If ye realize they micht be wantin' somethin' mair, it's time tae chat. If ye realize ye want somethin' mair, rin. Okay, mebbe nae rin, but definitely come clean. Tryin' tae pretend those feelings arenae thaur will only screw ye in th' lang rin, an' nae in th' fin way.”

Becca chuckled, not at all feeling awkward about the Pixelbecky version of her more or less espousing potential exit strategies to her and her friend with benefits. ”It’s still mad tae me that Ah have people who really look tae me fur advise. Ah still barely feel loch a put-together adult half th’ time.” Who was expecting sage wisdom from a trainwreck like her, anyway? Even so, Becca still felt it was important to be there for her community, and she just gave her honest opinions. Sometimes she wondered if she was better at giving advice than following it.

Becca had the exact reaction Maya was expecting to get.

>>”Wait! Ye hae a tattoo? And Ah huvnae seen it yit? We'll finish thes video, but dinnae think Ah am nae demandin' tae see yer ink.”

"Maybe" the mirrorwalker smirked. The tattoo was recently healed, and she had not shown in to Becca yet. She had been waiting for the right moment, and, thanks to the videos, this seemed to be it.

Becca turned the paused video back on, and they kept watching as she gave advice on how to navigate a FWB situation. On a purely theoretical level, obviously.

>>”Sae obviously, loch Ah said, setting expectations is important, but things can change an’ that’s normal. Ye hae tae be ready fur 'at. If ye realize they micht be wantin' somethin' mair, it's time tae chat. If ye realize ye want somethin' mair, rin. Okay, mebbe nae rin, but definitely come clean. Tryin' tae pretend those feelings arenae thaur will only screw ye in th' lang rin, an' nae in th' fin way.”

Maya arched an eyebrow. Feelings? That was very murky territory. For example, one could care a lot for their friend with benefits (again, people tended to completely forget the friend part, which had to come with trust), and on the other hand, some things just worked too well to be temporary... Maya did not want to think about these things, that's not why they hung out together. But apparently it was a topic that people wanted to known more about. Becca looked a little awkward.

>>”It’s still mad tae me that Ah have people who really look tae me fur advise. Ah still barely feel loch a put-together adult half th’ time.”

"Well, you are saying useful things" Maya pointed out, sitting back "I mean, that's nothing we have not talked about. Yeah, if I was a random dude on the Internet, I'd guess you have personal experience too." she grinned.

It was a little weird watching a video about friends-with-benefits when Maya was basically the subject of the video. Becca could frame it as something impartial, but when she came up with her advice, she reflected on her situation with Maya. How she would want her friend to come clean if she felt something more than friendship and attraction. The best way Becca could logically handle if she was the one who suddenly wanted something more. What they could do if one of them showed unexpected jealousy beyond the silly faux jealousy Becca accused Maya of. There were plenty of ways things could get messy and Becca was trying her hardest to avoid mess.

Maya made it easier. She was right; they had talked things out before. They knew the guidelines and the rules. If things had to end, they would be adults and talk it out maturely. She had more wisdom than she gave herself credit for, and apparently the internet took notice. ”Weel, as video-me is saying, be careful nae tae bring jealousy intae thes. Who knows if Ghostie has seen th’ last ay me, efter aw.” Ghost did do her the kindness of complimenting her butt, after all.

The video came to an end and Becca used the remote to navigate to the video announcement of her new tattoo. Pixelbecky opened up with the same enthusiastic opening she started all videos with, then let her audience know that she and her roommate took a friendship affirming trip to the tattoo parlor. Looking to waste no time, she repositioned the camera to focus on the inside of her hip.

”Those ay ye fa can hear me shoods nae be surprised tae know Ah’m Scottish, but unless yoo've bin watchin' fur a while, ye micht nae realize 'at isnae aw Ah am. Sae mah new tattoo reflects aw th' things 'at make me th' Pixelbecky ye know an' loove.”

Current day Becca took the opportunity to reposition herself on the couch, pulling down the waistband of her cotton shorts and her panties just low enough to reveal the flowers etched into her skin spanning the edge of her stomach and her hip dip. With her free hand, Becca grabbed Maya’s and led her fingertips across the tattoo along with the on-screen narration.

”Th' tudur rose represents Englain. th' daffodil fur Weels. Th' shamrock fur Irelain, ay coorse. An' lest but nae leest, th' thistle represents Scootlund, prickly an' stubborn.”

With the end of the little tour, Becca let Maya’s fingers rest on her tattooed thistle, glad the markings had finally healed. Pixelbecky continued to talk about the vine connecting the four different plants, but Becca shifted her focus to Maya. ”Weel, Ah've shoon ye mine. Ah believe it's only fair... ye shaw me yoors?”

>>”Weel, as video-me is saying, be careful nae tae bring jealousy intae thes. Who knows if Ghostie has seen th’ last ay me, efter aw.”

"Who's jealous? I'm happy for Ghost. Teammates and all" Maya grinned. It was a safe joke, since Ghost had a boyfriend, and as far as Maya knew, she was not interested in girls. And, as Video Becca had pointed out, this was all that FWB was about.

They moved on to the tattoo video. Maya was genuinely curious. Not only because she did not know about said tattoo, but also because she was curious how Becca was going to rev...

>>”Those ay ye fa can hear me shoods nae be surprised tae know Ah’m Scottish, but unless yoo've bin watchin' fur a while, ye micht nae realize 'at isnae aw Ah am. Sae mah new tattoo reflects aw th' things 'at make me th' Pixelbecky ye know an' loove.”

Oh.

Maya's attention was momentarily divided between the screen and the couch as she was apparently getting a live reenactment of the tattoo reveal to Becca's many online fans. Not that she was complaining. Oh, she was NOT complaining.

>>”Th' tudur rose represents Englain. th' daffodil fur Weels. Th' shamrock fur Irelain, ay coorse. An' lest but nae leest, th' thistle represents Scootlund, prickly an' stubborn.”

"Nice tattoo." Maya grinned. She was not sure how she felt about the thousands of other people who got to see it online, but honestly, it was pretty. "Surprised ViewTube did not ban it. Risqué."

>>”Weel, Ah've shoon ye mine. Ah believe it's only fair... ye shaw me yoors?”

"Well, it's gonna be a letdown after yours" Maya chuckled, turning her back to Becca "I mean, I decided to get it because... doppelgangers and all, I have been kinda surrounded by shifters lately, and I wanted to... y'know, get something that is uniquely mine. So." she pulled her shirt over her head, revealing her back and the tattoo on her right shoulder blade. It had recently healed, and now the design of Sir Gawain's coat of arms and Maya's veil around it was visible in its full colors. Maya glanced back over her shoulder, her arms still tangled in the shirt, to see Becca's reaction.

It was a hollow ploy using Ghost as any kind of threat since she was straight (Becca was somewhat sure) and very taken. She only meant to tease; there was no desire to seriously antagonize or make Maya feel threatened. There was no reason, after all; they were just Friends with Benefits. No reason to get territorial, even if the little flares of possessiveness were adorable.

Maya responded positively to Becca’s more direct presentation of her tattoo, which gave Becca just as much of a tingling sensation as the act of guiding Maya’s fingers across her skin. They were close and they got along very well, but Maya also found Becca as beautiful as Becca found her. There was something satisfying about the way Maya looked at her.

Okay, time to control herself. They were not at that point of the night yet. Maya thankfully made a comment about the maturity levels of her content, which Becca immediately met with a dismissive, ”Bah! It barely e’en dips pest th' waistbain ay mah jeans. Yoo'd see mair ay me at th' beach.” If ViewTube had taken down her video for just a little peek of skin, they would have dealt with several phone calls and emails from an angry Scot. No one wanted that.

Displaying her own tattoo earned Becca a look at Maya’s, which meant the brunette would turn away from her. That part was slightly disappointing. Watching the shirt pulled up Maya’s back was significantly less disappointing. She looked in awe at the piece adorning the bare expanse of skin, her fingertips delicately tracing along the edges of the ink. Gawain’s name was so unique, Becca had at some point asked Maya where here name came from as well. Thanks to that conversation, she recognized the significance of the coat of arms and the veil.

”Th' tois sides ay ye,” she replied warmly. ”Ah loove it. Ah loove th' duality.” It was not just Becca fetishizing Maya’s mutation; she enjoyed how Maya and Gawain were so clearly one person, yet as she spent more time with them, she could start seeing small differences depending on who they were.

She looked at the tattoo a moment longer, before following a sudden desire to lean forward. She planted a kiss at the center of the tattoo. Slowly, she pulled back, pleased with herself. ”Nae a let doon.”

ViewTube was a strange world of its own. Maya did not usually indulge in it (which is why she had missed that Becca was apparently a celebrity), and honestly, from the outside, it was a little strange to think someone could show off her new risqué tattoo and not be bashful about thousands of anonymous people seeing it all over the world.

>>”Bah! It barely e’en dips pest th' waistbain ay mah jeans. Yoo'd see mair ay me at th' beach.”

"Now there's an idea" Maya grinned. Becca in a bikini was definitely a sight to behold. Not for ViewTube, necessarily. But a fun one to think about.

Next, it was Maya's turn to show the tattoo off. She did so, peering over her shoulder to see Becca's reaction.

>>”Th' tois sides ay ye... Nae a let doon.”

Maya smiled softly as Becca kissed her shoulder blade. She did not need to explain what the tattoo stood for. They knew each other well enough. Maya leaned back, settling comfortably against Becca.

"I thought, with doppels running around everywhere... especially for someone like me, who's a shifter... it's good to have a distinguishing mark." she shrugged "Who knows how many other handsome Mirrors are running around in the multiverse..."