So... the talk with Sam could have gone better. Especially because when Doc found out where the bruises had come from, he categorically refused to heal any of them. Again. But at least he was happy that Mirror was back. Or so it seemed from him grumbling a little less than usual.

Gawain went to the kitchen to fish a pack of frozen peas out of the freezer. His knuckles were bleeding, his cheek was swollen, his chin was bloody, and the fake thugs in the DR had left quite a few scratches and bruises all over his body. Nothing he had not dealt with before, obviously, but it was still annoying. He already felt like he had been through an emotional blender - no need to actually feel like he had been put into a physical one.

Gawain made a painful sound as he held the peas to his cheek, and walked over to the dining room table to plop down on a chair. Eventually he'd have to make it to his own room... but for now, sitting down was good enough. Angua came up loping, sniffing at Gawain's hand, and he scratched her behind the ear with aching knuckles.

"Hey girl. It's okay. I just need a minute..."

If this was a few years ago, or even maybe a year ago Serena would be out of breath having gone on a long run along the mansions grounds before her booked time in the danger room. She was clad in work out clothes, hair tied back into a tight pony tail as she moved inside the building. She stretched out her arms a little as she walked, limbering them up. She'd not done physical or power training in a little while, she needed to top up.

She could really do with a drink before she went and did more. She eased up the backpack on one shoulder. And changed direction towards the kitchen. Maybe a cup of tea before she went and pushed herself more.

As she moved into the kitchen, hand on the door frame, she froze like a statue in the doorway. How long had it been since she'd last seen Mirror? Months at the very least. She stood there for a few moments before quirking an eyebrow and entering, walking straight past Gawain and to a cupboard to get out a teabag. "Well. You look like you've lost a fight with a blender over there." She sighed and shook her head.

She filled the kettle and flicked it on, spinning around to lean on the counter, her hands resting against it gently. "You gotten Doc to look at that?"

Gawain only noticed Serena once she walked past him. She looked... good. After having met Sam, he was worried that others in the Mansion might have gone through rough things in his absence, and changed for the worse... but Serena looked okay, probably ready for some workout.
That did not mean she was not equally pissed at him, though.

>>"Well. You look like you've lost a fight with a blender over there."

"Hi Serena" Gawain smirked, wincing a little. It was good to see her again.

>>"You gotten Doc to look at that?"

"Yep" the mirrorwalked nodded, none too enthusiastically. Angua padded over to nudge Serena with her nose "He told me I should not work family issues out with fists. He told the same to Sam. So. Ice pack it is."

He sat back, putting up a foot on another chair, and watched Serena move about "So... how have you been?"

Serena was a complex woman, and if her expression could reflect that complexity it would be a combination of anger, amusement and concern. She pulled out a mug and went about making herself a cup of tea as Gawain greeted her in response. She suppressed a grin. "Don't try and smirk at me, with all those bruises it makes your face look like a squashed raccoon." She teased.

She sipped her tea for a few moments, eyeing Gawain and his injuries and then put down her cup of tea, as she almost snorted it out in a giggle. "He said that did he?" She laughed, walking over to him and giving him a gentle hug. "I'm glad you're back." She whispered, sincerely.

Pushed herself away she couldn't keep the half amusement out of her voice. "I have no earthly idea how you all keep managing to piss him off, I've never gotten on the wrong side of him in all my time here. And I have had more injuries than a lot of the X-men" She chuckled. "Mind you, he even used me to Kick some sense into Cafas a while back. Sly old fox." She added with a little smile.

Rolling her shoulders a little she opened her back pack and pulled out a little first aid kit. "Still though, he should rely on a little more conventional medicine, especially if he isn't going to heal you his way." She put on a firm expression. "Sit up and still, I'll just clean the cuts and bandage them for you so they heal a little faster."

>>"Don't try and smirk at me, with all those bruises it makes your face look like a squashed raccoon."

Serena was not wrong on that count. Gawain had not examined himself closely in a mirror yet, but he did feel like a squashed raccoon on the inside. That had probably been Sam's goal in the first place...

>>"He said that did he?... I'm glad you're back."

He hugged Serena back, putting the ice pack down for a moment, and smiled. It was good to see his friend again, and good to know that she was happy about his return, and not about to punch him some more.

"Good to be back. Missed ya."

>>"I have no earthly idea how you all keep managing to piss him off, I've never gotten on the wrong side of him in all my time here. And I have had more injuries than a lot of the X-men. Mind you, he even used me to Kick some sense into Cafas a while back. Sly old fox."

"Good to know his hatred is not general to all patients" Gawain chuckled. DocProf was a nice guy, and they could always depend on him in life-threatening situations. But he also had his limits when it came to X-men beating each other up. "I think he made a policy about not healing fist fight wounds if they were dealt by another X..."

>>"Still though, he should rely on a little more conventional medicine, especially if he isn't going to heal you his way. Sit up and still, I'll just clean the cuts and bandage them for you so they heal a little faster."

Gawain complied, sitting up and allowing Serena to do... whatever she planned on doing with the first aid kit. It was good to have someone fretting over him for a change, and some of the scratches definitely needed attention. Oh well, at least he did not have any bones broken. Probably. His hands hurt like hell, though.

"Sam was... um, not happy about me up and leaving" he explained with a sigh "It seems like I missed some important stuff... Are you doing okay?"

Not too many people would know just how loyal and protective Serena was over her friends, other than those that spend a lot of time with her, but she really started to worry when she'd not heard from them for a long time. She had a lot of faith in Mirror as a person though, they were an adult and could really take care of themselves and all that. Still though...

She smiled lightly and shook her head. "He doesn't hate anyone. I don't think so at least. He cares a lot, and you've got to remember how his power works, it must really suck sometimes." She replied soothingly.

She gently applied disinfectant to a cotton bud and dabbed all of the little cuts and wounds one after another, cleaning them out. She was pretty gentle at it. She felt a flash of anger and irritation at Sam. "I can see that." She replied, her voice dangerously even.

She didn't look up at Gawain's face as she pulled out some badages and gently wrapped the knuckles to stem bleeding and help them heal. "I just assumed that you had a good reason for not letting friends know where you'd gone, regardless of how worried they were." She murmured softly.

Her eyes flashed back up and she stood up, putting plasters on the other cuts where bandages wouldn't be suitable. "Sam." She began her voice teetering on an edge. "Needs a thoroughly good slap sometimes."

>>"I just assumed that you had a good reason for not letting friends know where you'd gone, regardless of how worried they were."

"I did." Gawain sighed, relaxing his muscles as Serena worked on the first aid "I did have a good reason. Sam doesn't agree, but in the end, it was better for everyone. And I'm back now anyway."

>>"Sam. Needs a thoroughly good slap sometimes."

"He got some." Gawain chuckled, flexing his right hand with the bruised knuckles "It's the way he communicates best. With me, anyway. I hope he doesn't do that with his girlfriend."

As bad as the fight had been, they did seem to work things out by the end. Partly, at least. They had been training together for years; it was a language they both spoke, when words threatened to fail.

"At least I still got a place on the team..."

Serena sighed, still a little hurt but glad that Mirror was back at least. "Well I trust your judgement, but I do wish you would have at least said something or sent a message to me, I worry when my friends drop off the face of the planet, It's not fun stressing out about friends" She added softly, not angrily.

Serena's eyes flashed at Gawain's again and she grumbled as she finished cleaning him up. "No, It's the way that muscle brained idiots communicate. Freaking testosterone." She paused for a second before looking up, her mind flashing back to what Evelyn would have thought of the whole situation, but thought better of bringing her up as she hadn't seen Evelyn around for the longest time either.

"And you don't need to worry about Jules, she can take care of herself. And even if she couldn't she has enough people like me and Rebecca ready to eviscerate him if he mistreated her." She added, proud of herself and her friends.

"She's a good influence on him." She suppressed a grimace at that next comment. "You're still more stable than at least two of the team leaders as far as I'm concerned, thank god Juliette helps him keep his drinking under control. The site of him near students with a 0.5 Blood alcohol was disturbing." He should be a role model, he didn't have time to avoid his issues that hard.

She smiled a little. "I thought for a bit that I'd scared you off by asking you about your plans for the future, to be honest."

>> "Well I trust your judgement, but I do wish you would have at least said something or sent a message to me, I worry when my friends drop off the face of the planet, It's not fun stressing out about friends"

Gawain muttered something that sounded like an apology. He had not even left a note for Evelyn or Sam; he knew that anything he might leave would have been a clue about his disappearance, and his friends and family would have set out to find and help, putting themselves at risk. That justification did not make him feel any better about leaving, though.

>>"No, It's the way that muscle brained idiots communicate. Freaking testosterone. And you don't need to worry about Jules, she can take care of herself. And even if she couldn't she has enough people like me and Rebecca ready to eviscerate him if he mistreated her. She's a good influence on him."

"I hope so." Gawain muttered again, wincing as Serena worked on his wounds. Juliette sounded like a good influence - just that fact that she existed, and was willing to be Sam's girlfriend, was definitely a good sign. Gawain hoped he'd meet her soon.

>>"You're still more stable than at least two of the team leaders as far as I'm concerned, thank god Juliette helps him keep his drinking under control. The site of him near students with a 0.5 Blood alcohol was disturbing."

"Well, this school has seen worse." Gawain noted. Not that that was a good thing, but really, a drunk Sam was still better than burning angels and mutants battling things out in the hallways...

>>"I thought for a bit that I'd scared you off by asking you about your plans for the future, to be honest."

Gawain chuckled at that, shaking his head. "Nah. I'm not that afraid of career choices... I just had to make sure first that I had a future at all. And now that that's sorted... we'll see how things go."

Serena chuckled lightly at Gawain's worries over Juliette. She knew Jules pretty well, and that was a girl that could take care of herself. "Trust me Gawain, that girl can look after herself." She chimed sincerely. "Oh, you'll probably meet her soon enough regardless, As I understand it she's on your team now. I don't think you could be a kickass mutant dating Sam and NOT be." She smirked.

Serena nodded. "Yeah, I remember a few particularly violent incidents when I was here. And some ridiculous ones." She laughed at memories swimming all around her mind. "Like Carrick barreling in from the snow straight up nude." She couldn't really contain the laughter at those memories, and how embarrassed her teenage self had gotten over the entire situation, leading to a conversation with her best friend and roommate at the time, Liz. Who had just laughed it off and put her at ease.

"Or that Kaitlyn girl sneezing and blowing up half the bloody building!" She recalled with another chuckle. Okay, that one was less funny she'd ended up at the docks again from a few large... Planks of wood embedded in her side. But she'd impressed Amelia with that situation, so worth it.

She put her hand on the silly Sex shifter's arm and looked him straight on in the eyes, with the most reassuring smile she could manage. Which for her, with all the practice smiling was pretty damn radiant. "You know you can talk to me if you need someone to chat to, right? I'm even pretty good in a pinch if you need that." She chuckled. "I might not be Sam, or an X. But I can give him a good work out on a good day, so I'm no pushover." she meant that in more way than one, she was very stable.

Juliette was on the team, then. Gawain was not surprised. Sam had a thing for strong, badass, independent women, and every once in a while, when he got lucky and one liked him back, he worked well with them too. Gawain had no doubts that Juliette would be a great addition to the X-men.

>>"Yeah, I remember a few particularly violent incidents when I was here. And some ridiculous ones. Like Carrick barreling in from the snow straight up nude... Or that Kaitlyn girl sneezing and blowing up half the bloody building!"

Gawain chuckled at the memories. A whole lot of weird, and occasionally severe, things had happened at the Mansion over the years; some became hilarious with the passage of time, while others were still painful. Luckily, Serena managed to bring up some of the funnier ones.

"Or me fighting Allison over a baby." he added with a grin. That was one of the memories that was not funny at the time...

>>"You know you can talk to me if you need someone to chat to, right? I'm even pretty good in a pinch if you need that. I might not be Sam, or an X. But I can give him a good work out on a good day, so I'm no pushover."

"Thanks, Serena." Gawain smiled back; he really appreciated the gesture. It was good to know that Serena still cared, even though he had left without a word. "And you should be on the team. You're more balanced than the most of us..."

As far as X-men went, Serena had far less issues than most, anyway.

"So... what's new on your part?" he asked, once the first aid was done "I assume that since Sam finally got a girlfriend, that means everyone else already has one..."

Serena chuckled and thought about Gawain's words. She'd heard that one a million times, the cat fight over the baby that turned up, but she'd never actually met the woman whose child Mirror had accidentally stolen, or whatever it had turned out to be in the end. That whole situation had been kind of confusing, which could apply to a great deal of things at the mansion. Like the burning angel slap story.

She didn't laugh so much at the notion of her joining the team, but her reaction wasn't exactly outwardly favorable either. At this point she'd had that suggestion from several different team members. She would barely need to train compared to most of their new blood either, she was in excellent condition and had very precise power control at this point.

"I'm not..." She paused before answering, originally when she was asked her answers were a lot more snappy and certain. That had wavered now. Was she actually considering it? She was unsure. "Okay, I'm not completely opposed to that notion, but I have more than enough going on in my life right now to add more to it, and also there are people I wouldn't get to see as much if I was any more busy."

Ah. Good time to bring up said people. "Yeah, about that..." She didn't think of an eloquent way to word it, and to her surprise she didn't feel embarrassed or guilty bringing this up to Mirror, even though she had done when she'd thought about this conversation before. And why should she? Serena was happy, and she shouldn't need to apologise for that to anyone, period. "I'm dating Ami." She added, simply.

>>"I'm not... Okay, I'm not completely opposed to that notion, but I have more than enough going on in my life right now to add more to it, and also there are people I wouldn't get to see as much if I was any more busy."

"Makes sense." Gawain shrugged. He was not about to pressure a friend into joining the X-men. He knew for a fact what a pain some missions could be, and not everyone was motivated to make a career out of being a semi-legal vigilante. Besides, team or not, Serena had helped them before with her powers when it was needed. There was no need for a badge to do that.

Gawain arched an eyebrow at the pause that Serena have at the question about girlfriends. Did he walk into something? Was she single and ashamed of it? It would have been surprising, a girl like Serena not...

>>"Yeah, about that... I'm dating Ami."

Gawain blinked.

"Oh." it took him a moment to realize why that admission had taken a pause. He had dated Ami, a long time ago, before Evelyn... Exes and friends tended to get complicated, or so most people believed. The mirrorwalker chuckled at Serena. "Well, good for you. Ami's a nice girl. And she's damn lucky, I hope she knows that."

Serena nodded to Gawain by way of appreciation. She was actually seriously thinking about all the nudges in the direction of the X-team now, but she didn't want to feel pressured into it. It had to be her decision and it merited some serious though. But she was more interested in catching up with Gawain right now anyway, she flashed him a small smile.

Even though Serena had resolved to remain happy about the situation no matter what Mirror's reaction, the pleased reaction still made Serena smile broadly. "Thank you very much." She replied at the comment of approval.

She chuckled nervously and blushed a little at the compliment. "I think I'm the lucky one to be honest, she's super amazing and extremely affectionate." She muttered, feeling a lot shyer.

>>"Thank you very much. I think I'm the lucky one to be honest, she's super amazing and extremely affectionate."

"Ooh, someone's smitten" Gawain cooed with a grin. It was good to see Serena happy, and he honestly wanted Ami to be happy too. They both deserved it. It was kind of amusing, having one of his best friends ate his ex... but then again, the Mansion was a small world with a surprisingly large percentage of girls who liked girls, so it was not exactly a surprise. Gawain lifet the ice pack back to his face before Serena had a chance to smack him. "It's good to be home."