Getting all the Atlantean kids sorted was nothing short of a mythical task. Mirror flew the Jet back to the Mansion, and then he and Becca spent most of the day, late into the night, finding rooms for them, getting basic paperwork done (names, ages, powers, etc.), and making sure they all had what they needed, and they all knew how to use things like the shower, the light switches, and all the other strange trappings of modern life. Maya had experience with Kalos, so she made sure all the kids were squared away before ordering a curfew. The next day, they could deal with an official welcome, and starting to teach them how to integrate into Mansion life. For now, as far as they could tell, they were all asleep (or hiding in their beds, as Praxi helped threaten them into submission).

Maya sat at her desk in the office, finishing up the last of the info sheets. They piled up neatly, showing just how many children they had brought away from the mob in Atlantis. It was a satisfying fight. Maya sighed, running her fingers through her hair. It was getting close to midnight. She looked up at Becca, who was dealing with her own pile of papers and planning.

"Successful day, huh." she noted with a smirk.

It had been a very long day. Rebecca and Maya had a successful mission in Atlantis, granting passage to orphan refugees and protecting the children from violent bigots. Rebecca would never want kids to be in a dangerous position if it could be helped, but once it was time to make a stand, Rebecca and Maya were everything superheroes should have been. The stakes were high and innocent lives were on the line, but Rebecca almost reveled in it. Being in the thick of the action got her blood pumping, as did watching Maya in action.

The heat of the moment had long since passed. They flew back to New York, arranged rooms for the new Mansion residents, and filled out a mountain of paperwork. Rebecca changed out of her X-Uniform when they landed, switching into a tank top and a maxi skirt kept in the closet in her classroom.

More and more time passed from the fight, giving Rebecca time to calm down in theory. In practice, something was keeping her from hitting the point where she was finally “chill” again. When she looked away from her papers and saw Maya, she would remember the way Maya moved when she fought and her swagger and grace under pressure. It was entirely possible Rebecca was intentionally letting her mind wander so she had an excuse not to ease up in spite of the tedium.

Maya drew Rebecca’s attention, earning a grin to match her own. With Maya sitting at the desk and Rebecca sitting on top of it, she was looking down at her friend. She was right; it was not everything Rebecca was hoping for (yet,) but the day was certainly successful. ”Aye, thes was ain tae remember. Yer great wi’ th’ kids, ye know.” That was another charming trait, but it was just another reason Maya was a hero.

Rebecca looked down at the paper in front of her, realizing that sometime amidst her autopilot writing, her last form was finished. Carefully shifting herself so her legs could dangle off the edge of the desk (without knocking over the pile of papers,) she tried her best to sound casual. ”Sae… is tha th’ last ay it?”

The papers were mostly squared away. They would need to start full paperwork for each and every one of the kids, but not tonight. Which was good, because Maya hated doing that part, and it was not normally her job anyway. She suspected Miss T would take over most of it.

>>”Aye, thes was ain tae remember. Yer great wi’ th’ kids, ye know.”

"Yeah, I don't know how that happened" Maya smirked, sitting back and folding her arms behind her head. Kids kept finding her, somehow. First Baby X, and now Kalos... even though she had never been the motherly type.

Becca finished her part of the work and sat on the desk, danging her legs. She was dressed casual now, while Maya still had half of her uniform on (having stripped the jacket off, leaving the tank top to match Becca's). Becca looked like she was done with being serious for the night.

>>”Sae… is tha th’ last ay it?”

"Yeah, I guess" Maya nodded, pushing the papers away "About damn time too, it's almost midnight..." she gave Becca a look "If you're about to say we should get drunk, I'll remind ya there're two dozen Atlantean kids that'll need looking after tomorrow..."

Rebecca was not surprised to see Maya could handle herself around children. They were getting older and more mature, and Maya was always someone to protect the defenseless. Kalos idolized her, and the other gorgon children felt safe with her. There might have been more of Jesse in Maya than she would admit.

Of course, for the moment, Rebecca was not interested in thoughts like that. She did not want to think about their married doppelgangers with a kid on the way. They were getting more mature, but they were still young. Dating had never been on the table with Rebecca and Maya, let alone anything more serious than that, and Rebecca was fine with that. After Vanessa and Agnes, Rebecca was starting to believe she was relationship Kryptonite. Maya was great, but she was just a friend, and any thoughts contrary to that would only doom a stable friendship.

Rebecca’s history with the mirrorwalker was not all innocent, however. They always had Budapest, their one-time, no-strings-attached fling. It had been sexy and fun and uncomplicated; honestly, all those things sounded appealing to Rebecca.

Maya jumped to the conclusion that Rebecca was recommending drinks, but the redhead had a different kind of thirst she was dealing with. ”Weel then.”

Rebecca slipped down from the edge of the desk, sliding down so her legs were at either side of Maya. The further she slipped, the higher her skirt was hiked by Maya’s legs until Rebecca was sitting on the brunette’s lap, facing her. ”It’s a guid thing tha’s nae whit Ah’m saying…” Her body language, her hungry eyes, and the hands on Maya’s waist made it clear what she was trying to say.

To be honest, Becca would not have had to try very hard to get Maya to drink. It had been a long day, a good one, and also one full of adrenaline, so alcohol was not as strictly out of the question as Maya made it sound. In fact, they probably had a bottle of...

"Whoa!"

Becca slid off the table and onto her lap, and Maya braced herself in the office chair to keep from sliding backwards. Her eyes went wide.

>>”It’s a guid thing tha’s nae whit Ah’m saying…”

Ooooookay then. Alcohol was not what Becca had in mind. Which was even weirder, since the last time they ended up like this, there had been a lot of alcohol involved. Sober, it was definitely more surreal.

Maya's brain went a mile a minute, trying to find an excuse. They were both singe, and past the unofficial rebound deadline, so that was not it. The adrenaline had worn off by now, but it could be part of the reason... Becca was a friend, one very comfortable with her own body, and they worked well together in all kinds of capacities. Except for the relationship kind. God, that would have been a disaster.

"Uhhh... is this a Budapest thing?" Maya's hands twitched at Becca's hips too much skin "Or is this a 'our doppelgangers are happily married' thing?" she swallowed "It better not be a Maya thing, because it's basically midnight right about now..."

Maya was expecting something, but it was not a redhead in her lap. Rebecca took a small degree of pleasure from surprising her friend with the forward gesture. Back in Budapest, Rebecca was still a timid teenager learning to accept her sexuality. They could always blame some of those decisions on the alcohol. Rebecca was no longer a kid and she was past letting the stigma around sex deter her from pursuing what she wanted.

That night, Maya (or, subsequently, Gawain,) was what she wanted.

Rebecca was the one feeling confident and in control while Maya tried to understand how they went from paperwork to body contact in the span of seconds. She had three guesses, so Rebecca would handle them in order. ”It’s nae quite a Budapest thing.” Budapest was about exploring new feelings and desires while escaping recent heartache, which did not fit. ”An’ it’s definitely nae a doppelganger thing.” Rebecca was ignoring Jesse and Rebecca’s loving marriage, because it bore no relevance to her life. Marriage and love were the furthest things from Rebecca’s mind, and she could have done without Maya mentioning them.

Her hands traveled up Maya’s body, which would only be Maya’s body for another minute or two. Her thumbs did brush certain parts of Maya that would be vanishing soon, because it would have been a missed opportunity otherwise. Her arms finally looped over Maya’s shoulders, with her hands meeting at the nape of the girl’s neck. ”Thes is jist an ‘Ah’ve been wanting tae poonce ye since Atlantis an’ noo Ah finally can’ thing,” she admitted in a breathy voice.

”Unless yer nae interested,” she added cautiously. It was the first time all night she considered Maya denying her advances. That kind of total misstep would leave Rebecca with enough shame and embarrassment to deal with for the fall and winter. ”An’ Gawain’s jist fine wi’ me, if ye remember correctly.”

>>”It’s nae quite a Budapest thing. An’ it’s definitely nae a doppelganger thing.”

"Well...good." Maya was more than a little distracted by the physical proximity, but she did register that this was not about Budapest (mostly because both of them were sober this time), and not about Jesse and Other Becca being married with kids. That was good. Or at least cleared a few questionable options up.

>>”Thes is jist an ‘Ah’ve been wanting tae poonce ye since Atlantis an’ noo Ah finally can’ thing,”

Maya could tell Becca was being honest about her intentions. Missions like Atlantis, with high doses of adrenaline, usually came with an aftermath, that each X-man and woman dealt with in their own way. Some, if they had the chance, did it by physical contact. Sometimes intimacy. Becca, apparently, was circling back to old habits (that had never become habits, seeing that they only happened once). Maya inhaled as Becca slid closer and wrapped her arms around her shoulders.

>>”Unless yer nae interested. An’ Gawain’s jist fine wi’ me, if ye remember correctly.”

"Oh, I'm definitely interested" Maya smirked, tilting her head and looking up at Becca. She was not going to turn her down, unless she had a good reason to, but she had found none so far "As long as we're clear about the nature of the pouncing..."

They were both on the same page; neither of them had intentions of following in their doppelgangers’ footsteps. Rebecca’s most recent relationship was months in the past, but she had no desire to move into a new love affair. All she seemed able to do in a relationship was hurt people and break hearts. The men and women of New York were safer with her relegating herself out of the dating pool.

Romance was off the table, but Rebecca still had needs and desires. She was only human, or rather, she was a mutant whose mutation did nothing to bolster her willpower. Even if she had the ability to resist temptation, why would she? If there was a similarity to Budapest, it was that they were both single and old enough to make their own decisions.

There was the possibility of Maya turning down Rebecca’s advances, but as caught by surprise as she was, Maya was along for the ride. Something about them worked, and they had earned the right to a reward after such a long day of heroing.

”Oh, Ah know,” she agreed with a grin, stealing a slow kiss while Maya’s lips were still the soft, full lips of a woman. Rebecca was happy with any version of Mirror, but she wanted to at least give Maya a goodbye kiss before she became Gawain. ”Ah’m pretty sure th’ nature ay this ain is, ‘Becca takes whit she wants.’ Tha’s hoo we got here, richt?” Rebecca was bold and Maya/Gawain was too much to resist. She leaned in again for more kisses, content to savor each Maya kiss until it was time to enjoy her time with Gawain.

>>”Oh, Ah know,”

Maya hummed as Becca kissed her. It was very clear what she wanted, and she was about to get her wish too. The whole thing was like a real-life repeat of a memory that was somewhat hazy (they did drink a lot in Budapest) and somewhat surreal (having seen Jesse and Other Becca kiss), and felt like a natural conclusion to the day they had.

>>”Ah’m pretty sure th’ nature ay this ain is, ‘Becca takes whit she wants.’ Tha’s hoo we got here, richt?”

"That's how it works" Maya smirked as they continued kissing. It was midnight now, so the mirrorwalker made an effort to pull away from making out with the redhead, and lift her back to sitting on the desk "Talkin' about timing... I need to get out of my clothes."

And the rest simply just made sense.

When they kissed, Rebecca could feel the hum caught in Maya’s throat. The way she responded to being kissed gave Rebecca anticipatory goosebumps. What was coming next was something they both wanted, which only made it feel more natural.

Their kissing was interrupted by Maya pulling away just in time to go through her transformation. Rebecca had seen the process before, so even that felt natural. Maya did not let the kissing continue, so Rebecca’s lips just found her neck and left kisses until the slender, feminine body beneath her became broader and stronger. The years had been just as good to Gawain as they were for Maya.

The differences between Gawain and Maya, (many of which were quite apparent from Rebecca’s position,) meant she was looking at a man barely fitting in a woman’s tank top.

Slipping off her new boytoy’s lap, Rebecca took the hem of the tank top in her hands and pulled it up Gawain’s body. ”Aye, thes looked great oan Maya, but Ah hae a different look in min' fur ye.”

With the assistance of Gawain’s raised arms, Rebecca was able to peel the tank top off and over his head. The piece of clothing was tossed aside so she could take a look at a pleasantly shirtless Gawain. As she thought, five years of fighting and training did wonderful things to a body. The moment did invoke memories of the first time in the X-Jet, gawking and touching and marveling.

Rebecca stepped back and sat herself on the edge of the desk. She reached for Gawain’s arms to pull him closer until she could press a hand on his muscular chest. Some things never changed. ”Much better,” she decided, a mischievous look in her eye.

Flirty, fun, and uncomplicated. Gawain was exactly what she needed.

Becca held on while Maya shifted into Gawain. It was not his first time shifting with someone in... uh, close physical proximity, but definitely the first one while he was being... uh, active. Becca definitely enjoyed touching, and she did not bother with taking a break while the shift completed. Which meant that Gawain was having trouble getting out of his clothes in time. Becca managed to peel the tank top off, and thank God the cargo pants had some give (designed that way, really), but now he had more than one single incentive to shed more layers.

>>”Much better,”

"Are you really sure you wanna do this here?" Gawain inquired as he simply lifted Becca and sat her on the desk. She needed to stop wiggling around. He was getting distracted. From what, exactly?... They were making out on top of the office desk, which would get them into all kinds of trouble, and would doom any future team members with psychometry to an eternity of torment of things that can't be unseen.

With the pesky matter of Gawain’s shirt out of the way, the two X-Men could focus on more important things like Gawain hoisting Becca onto the desk. Gawain was well past the point of talking her out of what came next, but he did make an effort to remind her where they were. Logically, he had a point; the office was a risky place to do something so intimate and Gawain lived in the Mansion. Theoretically, they could have picked themselves up and walked through the hallways until they made it to the staff housing wing.

The main problem was distance. Gawain’s room was close but it was not as close as the office they were in. ”Ah’ve been waitin’ impatiently since Atlantis. Ur ye really gonna make me wait longer?” she asked, whispering centimeters from his ear. They were already in the heat of the moment and one piece of clothing was already on the floor. It was hard to put a pin in something they already started. ”Naeain’s still up. We’ll catch way mair looks if Ah’m snoggin’ ye through th’ halls.”

Rebecca’s fingers were already hooked through the belt loops of Gawain’s pants, tugging to bring him closer. It was not the thrill of combat, but maybe Rebecca was getting a thrill from knowing there was the smallest chance they could get caught. She would reflect on that thought later; she had a handsome man’s lips to concern herself with for the time being, so she leaned in and resumed the kissing a transformation had so unfairly halted.

Becca seemed very sure about her decisions. Gawain was not exactly resisting either. The office was probably not the place, but they were not going to worry about that now. If anyone had a problem, they could worry about it later.

>>”Ah’ve been waitin’ impatiently since Atlantis. Ur ye really gonna make me wait longer?”

"No ma'am" Gawain grinned as he leaned closer "You're the one running the mission."

She was the boss in Atlantis, and since technically they were still working on Atlantis... He was not gonna say no. Not that he wanted to.

>>”Naeain’s still up. We’ll catch way mair looks if Ah’m snoggin’ ye through th’ halls.”

"Snogging sounds good" Gawain chuckled, before they exactly that.

The rest was easy, carefree, and much needed.

FTB

Panting and feeling the cool of the air against her glistening skin, Rebecca was certain she could skip the gym for the next day. Between fighting in Atlantis and everything that had just happened on the office’s desk, she was treated to a day full of workouts.

Rebecca was still flat on her back, regaining her bearings amidst the cloud of post-coital endorphins and oxytocin. Enduring the painfully long lead-up and building up anticipation cranked up Rebecca’s tension, but the payoff was well-worth it, and every muscle in her body was relaxed.

There should have been some urgency to clothe herself; Rebecca remembered all too well how dawdling after sex worked out for her after her first time in the library. Learning no lessons from the past, Rebecca was choosing to bask in the glow. They were long past midnight and there was a resident staff member on call in their apartment, so there was no reason for anyone to drop in on the office.

”Okay, ‘at was worth th’ wait. An’ nae tae take away frae our time in th’ X-Jet, but ‘at was e’en better than Ah remembered.” They were still young the first time, and with the alcohol in their systems, it was a miracle Rebecca remembered much of the experience at all. She was glad she took the chance to experience Gawain with a clear head, and as evidence, she wore a satisfied grin (and nothing else.)

Once things had simmered down, and the tension was all gone, Gawain managed to work his pants back on before he collapsed back into the office chair. Adrenaline and attraction had been replaced with relaxed muscles and a sudden urge to cuddle, which was not exactly easy to do, given the setting. He ran a hand through his hair, which was sticking out in all directions, and gave Becca an amused look.

>>”Okay, ‘at was worth th’ wait. An’ nae tae take away frae our time in th’ X-Jet, but ‘at was e’en better than Ah remembered.”

"Age and experience, I guess" Gawain grinned at her, stretching his legs. There were papers and office supplies on the floor. Now that the moment had passed, he had to admit that they had not exactly been behaving in a very mature way. "We have a whole lot of cleaning up to do..."