There was nothing like an annoyingly delayed period to get you to step back and take stock of some things.

Sure, it was not a big delay, but in that time, Becca got to thinking about things. Hypothetically, how would it have gone? She knew how she felt about Mirror, but there were things that went unsaid. The topics were not being avoided, she was certain, but things between them had been so effortless, they never felt the push to have some of the big conversations in a relationship.

Maybe they should, though. She was starting to realize they were not a new relationship anymore. The path together had gone well, but were they going down the same path? She did not want to scare them off, but maybe it was time to say something serious because she could feel herself on the precipice of getting serious.

And if she was going to have a serious conversation about life, she knew how she felt most comfortable doing that. She was in her kitchen dusting freshly made dark chocolate truffles with cocoa powder. It would go on the table, joining double chocolate chip cookies, chocolate covered strawberries, and a bag of chocolate-covered potato chips. (Maybe she was over-preparing, in hindsight, but baking was her nervous habit.

Feeling prepared, Becca washed her hands and looked at her phone. 10:49. Conveniently, Mirror’s trip to her place was quick thanks to mirrorverse shortcuts. She hoped her significant other was not already asleep, or this was a lot of prep that would wait for another day. Steeling her resolve, she opened up a new message

Hey babe, I was hoping we could talk. I know you’re not a late-nighter, but think you could come by my place around midnight?

Sighing, Becca set down her phone. If Mirror accepted her request, they would likely show up after midnight instead of before so they could handle their transformation before coming over. Now Becca could wait and try not to eat all the chocolate before her company arrived.

Even in a long relationship, one sometimes got confused about the nature of calls from their significant other. Becca had a tendency to call before midnight; she had a fascination with the shape-shifting Mirror went through at that time, and who was s/he to deny that to the girlfriend? 8Even if it meant staying up for the shifting, which was not exactly comfortable). When a text or a call came this late, it was either guaranteed to be a booty call, or meant something was seriously off.
Sadly, it was sometimes hard to tell which.

Gawain showed up at 12:15 in Becca's mirror, knocking before he entered. He looked a little tired, both from the day's work and from shifting awake, but nothing out of the ordinary. He looked around, noting the chocolate-flavored feast on the table, and quirked an eyebrow at his girlfriend.

"If this was going to be a midnight booty call, you should have specified..."

Rebecca was not thinking much about the way her text message might be perceived until after it was sent. Should she clarify that this was not the cliché “We need to talk” text message that preceded a breakup? Probably not, right? Things had been going well between them. Actually, compared to most of Becca’s dating in her twenties, things were going surprisingly well, so a breakup would be coming out of the blue.

…Unless the conversation did not go well. Oh heavens, that was not a great thought. What if Mirror got there, they talked, and they were on two totally different pages when it came to what they wanted from their relationship? If they were faced with that realization, would it make sense to keep going?

Gawain arrived at 12:15, two truffles, one cookie, and five potato chips into Becca’s nerves snacking. She wiped a smear of chocolate from her lip and called out, ”Come in!”

With the display he walked into, he was rightfully curious. ”It’s nae a booty call. Well, Ah guess it coulds be.” She did not want to rule that out yet. If the conversation went well, why not? But no, if this was a booty call, she might have picked out an ensemble a touch sexier than her sleep shirt and plaid pajama pants. ”Let’s nae rule that out fer later.”

Rebecca met Gawain at the door and gave him a tight hug, wrapping her arms around his waist. ”Good tae see ye, hun. Ah missed ya today.” Correction: she missed him most days they did not hang out. ”Think ye can join me on th’ couch tae eat some chocolate and talk?”

>>”It’s nae a booty call. Well, Ah guess it coulds be... Let’s nae rule that out fer later.”

"Sure" Gawain chuckled, pressing a kiss on Becca's forehead as she hugged him. She did not look horrible, which was a good sign, but she did look nervous, and judging from the smear on her lips, she had already been into the chocolate bounty that was spread out on the table. Stress baking?

>>”Good tae see ye, hun. Ah missed ya today. Think ye can join me on th’ couch tae eat some chocolate and talk?”

Gawain nodded, following her to the couch, and taking up a comfortable position where he could both have an arm around her, and easily reach the treats. Picking up one of the truffles (and getting a fine dusting of chocolate on his shirt) he looked at Becca curiously "So, what's on your mind?"

The dusting did not go unnoticed, but Rebecca held her tongue, only smiling at the handsome man she joined on the couch. She grabbed two of the chocolate covered potato chips, which were honestly becoming one of her favorite sweet-and-salty guilty pleasures, and popped them in her mouth.

Now that they were settled in, Gawain finally asked what she felt the need to call him over for at midnight. It was a valid question, and one Rebecca would get to after circling her answer a little until she felt ready.

”So Ah recognize this isnae th’ kind ay greetin’ ye may hae been expectin,” she admitted. ”I dinnae think Ah ever mentioned it tae ye, but when Ah had roommates, whenever ain ay us had a big life thing come up, we’d dae this. If we needed tae vent or celebrate or ask fer advice, we’d talk it out over chocolate at midnight.” Maybe Rebecca was the only one who got invested in the tradition of it, but the Midnight Chocolates were important to her. They had the kind of magic big life events needed.

The chocolate was definitely great. Becca had a knack for good food, especially if it involved chocolate, and Gawain was not about to complain that his girlfriend made an assortment of delicacies for their talk. The amount, however, was a little suspicious, even if it successfully softened the dreaded "we need to talk."

>>”So Ah recognize this isnae th’ kind ay greetin’ ye may hae been expectin. I dinnae think Ah ever mentioned it tae ye, but when Ah had roommates, whenever ain ay us had a big life thing come up, we’d dae this. If we needed tae vent or celebrate or ask fer advice, we’d talk it out over chocolate at midnight.”

"Uh... huh?" Gawain nodded slowly, chewing on the truffle, and tooked curiously at his girlfriend. Okay, so this was a ritual. But for what? Life events? Celebrations? Advice?... His brain finally kicked into gear at the worst possible time. Okay, if she wanted to break up, this would not have been the best way. But something was up, and... he needed to know what it was before his mind went any further into why Becca was craving chocolate. "Okay so... in this case, are we celebrating, or discussing?"

Oh boy, this was a good time to grab one of the chocolate covered strawberries! So sweet with a shell that cracked at her bite. Definitely a large enough strawberry to take a moment before answering Gawain’s question. When she (finally) swallowed her treat, she replied, ”Discussing.” She did not want to be presumptuous and say this would be a celebration.

Okay, she would ease into this. ”It’s been really good, what we have, right? she asked hopefully. ”Since we’ve been together, this relationship has made me happy. Ah’ve had a great time with ye and Ah hope ye hae too?” How awful would it be to realize only now that she was the one enjoying the relationship and Gawain was entertaining her, or worse, tolerating her?

>>”Discussing.”

Whoookay then. Gawain picked up one of the strawberries too, and they both chewed in silence for a moment that felt way too long. Discussing what? Did something happen? Something probably happened. Was Agnes back again?

>>”It’s been really good, what we have, right? Since we’ve been together, this relationship has made me happy. Ah’ve had a great time with ye and Ah hope ye hae too?”

Gawain blinked. Relationship talk. While he was not as freaked out about it as many guys would have been, it did not exactly not freak him out either.

get a grip, you idiot

He looked at Becca. The question was genuine. Even in open and easy relationship like theirs, sometimes things went taken for granted. Or they were worth repeating.

"Yes. I'm happy." he nodded with a small smile. Who wouldn't be, with someone like Becca? He wanted to ask why this came up, but there really was no good way of asking.

Obviously she knew Gawain was happy in their relationship. It would be silly to think otherwise! That did not stop Rebecca from breathing a little sigh of relief and grabbing a cookie. "Good. Really good," she replied before biting into her cookie.

So they were both happy, which was important, but that brought her back to the reason for calling Gawain over in the first place: was that enough now? Or would it stay enough. "Things with ye hae been easy, an' Ah dinnae think Ah was really used tae that." Her dating history was not long, but it did include Vanessa and Agnes twice. "Ah'm used tae things gettin' complicated or messy in my relationships, and honestly, a huge part ay that was me. Ah think Ah was convinced Ah'd screw this up," she admitted. It was a bigger fear than she let on, given her bad luck even leading up to them getting together.

And yet after that, things miraculously did not implode. "Ah hae a great time with ye and havin' ye around just makes me smile. Ah cannae help it." Even now, looking at Gawain, she was losing the fight against her smile.

Okay, here went nothing. "What dae ye want from us? Long term, where dae ye hope tae see us?"

This conversation was going somewhere, and all Gawain could do was wait for Becca to speak what was on her mind. Their relationship had been great so far, even if it was initially a surprise when it turned from friends (with benefits) to something more. People tended to have a romantic idea of what a great big love story would look like... while in real life, sometimes feelings snuck up on you.

>>"Things with ye hae been easy, an' Ah dinnae think Ah was really used tae that. Ah'm used tae things gettin' complicated or messy in my relationships, and honestly, a huge part ay that was me. Ah think Ah was convinced Ah'd screw this up,"

That. He'd heard that before. Agnes had done a number on Becca's self esteem, and she was still dealing with the aftermath, even if she did not always talk about it. It was not unexpected that she would become anxious simply from not messing up.

"You'd have to try a lot harder to screw this up, Becks" he sighed, wrapping his arm a little closer around her "We're good."

>>"Ah hae a great time with ye and havin' ye around just makes me smile. Ah cannae help it."

"Good." Gawain smiled back.

>>"What dae ye want from us? Long term, where dae ye hope tae see us?"

...
Ooof.

Gawain blinked, tilting his head at Becca. It was not... an unreasonable question, but also not an easy one. Especially in their case, since they had seen their doppelgangers from another universe happily married and raising a child together. At the time, they joked a lot about the similarities and the differences. But in the end, none of that really applies to their own situation...

Gawain cleared his throat.

"Becca, please don't hit me, but I've got to ask... are you pregnant?"

When taking a critical look at herself Rebecca knew she could be a harsh critic, particularly when it came to relationships. The way things went with Agnes the last time did a number on her. That said, she was not perfect, and she wanted to be kind to herself while acknowledging the damage she did to people she tried to love. Being with Gawain helped her get through those painful moments, because he made her feel like she was a great girlfriend. He built her up and was not shy about his feelings for her and all she did to cause them. He was wonderful, which was why she really hoped this went well.

Of course, he had to get one guess out of the way. She would have hit him if he was not close to the truth of what motivated this conversation. "Nae, Ah'm nae pregnant, Gawain," she assured him. "Mah period came a wee bit late, but it got here aw th' same." Another great reason for a night devoted to chocolate.

"But Ah think that's th' thing. What if Ah get pregnant? Or if Ah want tae someday. Dae ye want a family? Is that somethin' ye see in th' cards fer yerself? For us, she implied silently. "We're gettin' serious, or at least, Ah'm gettin' serious about ye, and Ah just want to know what life we both want, and if we want th' same things."

She grabbed a truffle, but held onto it as she clarified, "Ah think fowks call this 'Th' Talk.'" And now she could eat her truffle.

>> "Nae, Ah'm nae pregnant, Gawain. Mah period came a wee bit late, but it got here aw th' same."

Period scare. That explained the chocolate and the talking. Gawain had never been in that situation even as Maya, since she exclusively dated girls, but he could understand the nerves. And it was not his first time thinking he might become a father.

"Well... good, then." he pressed a kiss to her forehead again as they continued working their way through the chocolate.

>>"But Ah think that's th' thing. What if Ah get pregnant? Or if Ah want tae someday. Dae ye want a family? Is that somethin' ye see in th' cards fer yerself?... We're gettin' serious, or at least, Ah'm gettin' serious about ye, and Ah just want to know what life we both want, and if we want th' same things."

Getting serious. It felt... it felt good. It felt right. The way it felt right when they decided that as easy as it felt, this was more than a friendship. The questions she was asking made sense, even if they were very, very serious questions.

>>"Ah think fowks call this 'Th' Talk.'"

Gawain chuckled and shook his head.

"Nope, Becks, The Talk is what teens get before they do all the things we have been doing." he smirked "But this is definitely a talk..." he sighed, thinking it over for a moment, taking a cookie "I do want kids. I mean, I've had two already, not really, but kinda... But it was enough, even while it scared me sh*tless, to know that I do want that someday... Do you?"

Even amidst the weight of this conversation, Rebecca broke into laughter at Gawain's joke. Okay, he had a point; that was "The Talk," but this was definitely still "The Relationship Talk." One of those talks stopped being relevant to both of them a long time ago, while the other... well, here they were.

Rebecca tried not to hold her breath and hang on Gawain's next comment, but it was impossible; it meant a lot to their potential. That was why it was such a weight off her chest when Gawain confirmed that he did, in fact, want kids. She was a believer that love could conquer many things, but that could have been a challenging hurdle for them to work around.

With the question turned around, Rebecca smiled softly, resting a hand on Gawain's leg. She took a break from snacking to lean into his shoulder. "Ah dae. Ah think Ah always have. Mah ma and Ah hae always been close, and one day Ah'd love a daughter or son or whoever tae share that with. Ah almost tossed about th' idea of gettin' a doner when Ah started gettin' mah life taegether, but Ah wanted tae wait. Ah want th' joy ay sharin' that experience, raisin' a child ay mah own, with someain Ah loove."

From her place resting at Gawain's shoulder, Rebecca looked up to find his eyes. "Ah can see that with you, Gawain. That hit me, and Ah realized Ah loove ye. Ah really dae." She did not want to scare him away, so she had danced around that word, but she had to tell him now. She loved him, and one day, she really could see him being the parent to her child.

It wasn't unusual for a couple to talk about these things. Technically, Mirror and Becca had not been together for terribly long... but there was a long history of friendship before that, not to mention being teammates. They had been spending time together a lot longer than they had been girlfriend and... mirrorfriend. Still, nothing made one feel like an adult quite as much as bringing the topic of family up...

>>"Ah dae. Ah think Ah always have. Mah ma and Ah hae always been close, and one day Ah'd love a daughter or son or whoever tae share that with. Ah almost tossed about th' idea of gettin' a doner when Ah started gettin' mah life taegether, but Ah wanted tae wait. Ah want th' joy ay sharin' that experience, raisin' a child ay mah own, with someain Ah loove."

Gawain arched an eyebrow at the idea of Becca getting a baby from a donor. She really did give the family thing a lot of thought, something Mirror could relate to. He had a similarly close relationship with his international assassin of a mother as well, which did play a big part in him wanting his own family one day. Hopefully a better one, in terms of time psent together... And, knowing Becca, he had no doubt she would have gone after her dream too like she'd planned, if not for...

>>"Ah can see that with you, Gawain. That hit me, and Ah realized Ah loove ye. Ah really dae."

She looked up to look into his eyes. She was beautiful in that moment (not that she was not beautiful in all the other moments), and Gawain leaned in to rest his forehead against hers in a gentle gesture. As always, her closeness felt right. She had a warm light in her, as she took the courage to be vulnerable, and he loved her for it. For many things. "I love you too, Becca."

Rebecca did not have much experience dropping the L word in a relationship. She had two committed relationships before Mirror and she never reached the point where she could honestly tell Vanessa she loved her. All she could do was leave her honest feelings bare and vulnerable. She saw a possible future with Gawain. She loved the gendershifter and wanted that out in the open.

She felt the warmth through her when Gawain met her eyes. He pressed his forehead to hers and they were just together for a moment. All nerves Rebecca felt were eased and somehow, everything was perfect. His reply filled her heart; Gawain Morris was the person for her who could make a perfect moment better.

Not able to resist, she tilted her head to meet Gawain’s lips in a kiss. She was smiling from ear-to-ear when she pulled away, and the question slipped out. ”Move in wi’ me?” The words were a surprise to her, like a thought that occurred to her aloud, but she did not back away from the request. ”Ah mean, nae pressure, but Ah’d loove tae wake up next tae ye each mornin.” They woke up next to each other often as it was, but then they would end up at their own places. She wanted her place to be his place too.