Serena felt a bit weird being at home. She'd already made up her mind for sure that she was staying in New York again, but normally when she'd been here her life consistent of rushing from one thing to another, and her limited free time had been taken up by doing things with her friends. Here she found herself with the clearest schedule she'd had in maybe 10 years and she didn't really know what to do with it.

She'd passed out on her sofa the night before and hadn't braved cleaning yet. Everything was just so... dusty. Her fridge was also absolutely, completely empty. Thankfully she'd not left anything in it when she'd last been here, but there also wasn't any food to speak of in the apartment. Glancing around she sighed, rubbing her eyes before going to her room and procrastinating the cleaning some more.

Everything was so much worse to clean given the sheer amount of space. A 2 bedroom spacious apartment had sounded so ideal when she'd bought it with the sales from her brother's old apartment and her savings, and in theory it still was. If she had friends over she had plenty of room to hang out, do silly things like adult sleepovers, and even had a room for them to sleep in.

In practice however more space was more to keep clean. Normally she didn't mind too much, but when it hadn't been deep cleaned in nearly 2 years the place was in such a state. It wasn't like there was food or anything on the surfaces, or clothes strewn everywhere, it just didn't look lived in, and that bothered her.

So in true top tier procrastination, instead of cleaning she got dressed into some workout clothes and went out for a jog. Serena had actually kept in excellent physical condition, neither her physical training, martial arts or power training had slacked since she'd been in New York, it was an excellent if exhausting distraction to slow her from dealing with problems.

After a lengthy run she picked up a tea and a bagel on the way back to her apartment, eating half the bagel just on her way up the stairs, it maybe wasn't the healthiest or best place to eat breakfast but it was a genuine new york bagel with all the usual, it had been so long and she just couldn't resist.

She made her way into her kitchenette and leaned against the counter taking slow sips of tea trying to gather the courage to start re-organising her life before she heard a knock on the door and blinked slowly. New neighbour maybe? It could've been Alice she supposed but this seemed a little early for her. She hadn't yet told any of her friends she was back yet either.

Bemused with a little curiosity the Brit wandered up the door and opened it, too interested in who it could be to consider that her apartment was a in a state, and she looked (rightly) like she'd just been out for a hard run.

Serena Rivers was back in town.

Maya was a little miffed, if she wanted to be honest, about finding out about this from various people who had spotted Serena in the Mansion hallways. Really? How did she not stop by to say hello? Becca had been following her mutant issues blog, and it seemed like she had been all over the US, but somehow they both missed the memo that she was in New York City again.

It did not take long to track down her apartment (okay, so sometimes the X-men used some questionable methods as well, but at least they were the good guys, right?). Maya wondered how she was going to react to the unexpected visitor. Well, at least she was not walking in through a mirror like she could have. Instead, she knocked on the door.

Serena opened it. She looked like she had been working out, in true New York fashion. Maya could not help but grin at her, remembering how they had been in the opposite situation not so long ago.
Well. A bit long ago.

"Hello, Serena. So, I assume you had a good reason for not letting us know you were back in town?"

Karma. Was sometimes fun.

As she crossed the distance to the door, having left her tea and half bagel on the counter a whirl of questions and thoughts were going through her brain, trying to frantically work out who or why it could possibly be before she reached it and turned the handle.

And then she did. It was Maya! Serena's body moved totally of it's own accord and she rushed to something halfway between a tackle and a hug. On later reflection tackling an X-man seemed like a bad idea given combat reflexes, but Serena logic tended to get muddled when friends and hugs entered the equation, go figure. "Maya!"

It would take a minute of her flailing in affection over the first friend she'd seen in... A while. Before the blonde calmed down and registered what Maya had actually said when Serena had opened the door. Oh.

The Brit's cheeks reddened a little. "Yes. Uhm. Well.." She floundered. "The irony is not lost on me." She blushed.

Letting out a sigh and squeezing Maya with more huggable goodness. "I've missed you."

The door opened, and Maya was suddenly hit with a whole Serena, who basically tackle-hugged her across the hallway. Being the owner of a large and friendly dog, she knew how to brace herself for these impacts, but honestly it was nice to be greeted like this by an old friend. So many other old friends had turned to questionable paths from the X-men. And last time they met, it was Serena who questioned her about leaving without a note.

>>"Yes. Uhm. Well... The irony is not lost on me. I've missed you."

"Missed you too" Maya smiled, hugging her back before they let go "So, you are actually back? Like, living in New York again? Is this your apartment? Do you live alone or is there a roommate?"

Serena felt a warm floaty feeling from seeing people she cared about and getting a similar response. Seeing Alice had been so awesome. It was great to see Mirror too. And Maya was definitely looking well. "I... Well." She smiled softly and took a breath. "I'm terribly sorry, I'm forgetting my manors. Would you like to come inside? Yes this is my apartment, and I am very sorry for the condition it's in, I've not lived here full time for about 2 years." She admitted.

Serena led back inside and picked up her tea, leaning against the kitchen counter, which was relatively close to the door. She'd sort of forgotten what a view her apartment had, the central area was a slightly lowered living room with a couple of sofas and a T.V with windows that opened out a little onto the skyline, the only area of the room that was actually ordered and clean was a writing desk off to one side leaning on a wall where she used to do most of her work, in contrast to the chaos of the rest of the room.

"I live alone. This is where I moved out from the mansion to after I sold my brother's old apartment." She smiled a little, more sad than before. "There is a spare room, but it's currently unoccupied." She had an idea for that actually, but she was going to wait a little bit before trying to get it sorted out.

"Yes. I think I'm back." She said, answering the biggest hanging question. "Would you like something to drink? I have..." She blushed as she remembered not having much of anything in the flat. "I think I have basically water, or about 50 different blends of tea."

>>"I... Well. I'm terribly sorry, I'm forgetting my manors. Would you like to come inside? Yes this is my apartment, and I am very sorry for the condition it's in, I've not lived here full time for about 2 years."

The apartment was definitely in a bit of a state, but honestly, Mirror had seen much worse, living in a Mansion full of kids. Hell, her own room was not usually the picture of order and cleanliness. And moving back in after two years, Serena probably had a lot of rearranging to do.

>>"I live alone. This is where I moved out from the mansion to after I sold my brother's old apartment. There is a spare room, but it's currently unoccupied."

"Nice place." Maya nodded, looking around. Spacious for one person, and had a great view. She was always sad when a friend moved out of the Mansion, but a place like this definitely had a lot to offer.

>>"Yes. I think I'm back. Would you like something to drink? I have... I think I have basically water, or about 50 different blends of tea."

"Tea is fine" Maya chuckled, leaning against the counter too. She was happy to hear Serena was back. "So, you are... back back? Are you working somewhere?"

Serena yawned a little and nodded sipping her tea and slowly filling the kettle and pottering around in the cupboards while she listened to Mirror and responded. "It's nicer everything isn't coating in 2 years of dust." She admitted sheepishly. She had been back to New York briefly a few times (Which she probably wasn't going to tell anyone) But It'd been little more than meeting her editor in person and sleeping in her own bed for a night or two.

"I... I needed my own space separate from the mansion where I could concentrate on being independent." She admitted, thinking back to what she'd been thinking several years ago when she'd bought it. "I actually kind of already had an apartment; my family's apartment was paid off and left in my name, that is my Brother and Father's apartment, but living there would've been a little too painful as well as a little two strange for me. So I sold it and bought this place with some extra savings."

The odd thing about living at the mansion as an orphan while she got her education, and then starting work while being there, as well as having real estate she could sell was that she was in a really really solid financial position when she moved out.

She found a mug covered in kittens and began brewing the tea for Maya. She'd chosen one that didn't need milk, for the obvious reason that she didn't have any. Not that she wasn't spoiled for choice... A quick glance at the Brit's tea cupboard would demonstrate that some things didn't change.

"I-" She blinked and was taken aback for a moment. "Have I never invited you to my apartment, AND never told you what I do for a living?" She shook her head, blushing with both embarrassment and amusement. "I'm a professional writer, I have an online platform, and I have published works. That's why I was able to up and leave like I did." She admitted sheepishly. She infact now had, 4 published works.

Serena got started on some tea. Mirror was generally not a fan of tea with milk the way the British drank it, but from the looks of it, she had a large assortment of options to choose from.

>>"I... I needed my own space separate from the mansion where I could concentrate on being independent. I actually kind of already had an apartment; my family's apartment was paid off and left in my name, that is my Brother and Father's apartment, but living there would've been a little too painful as well as a little two strange for me. So I sold it and bought this place with some extra savings."

It really was a nice place. And Maya could understand not wanting to live in an apartment with painful memories. She considered moving out of the Mansion multiple times, some for necessity and some because of girlfriends, but in the end, she never went through with it. In the most recent case, Becca and her agreed to try living in their Mansion apartment instead.

>>"I- Have I never invited you to my apartment, AND never told you what I do for a living? I'm a professional writer, I have an online platform, and I have published works. That's why I was able to up and leave like I did."

"I remember about the writing" Maya admitted a little sheepishly "And Becca follows your online platform, that's how I knew you were in New York again. Looks like you are doing quite well as an author. That's pretty cool." she added with a smile "So... what brought you back?"

Serena passed the tea over to Mirror as it was done and then nibbled the corner of her bagel a little more before taking a sip of her own tea. She'd had coffee before, and she didn't hate it. But Serena was much more of a tea person to be honest, it was probably largely due to the people she hung out with most in her teenage years, the Brits had reinforced eachother heavily in that area.

Thinking about old family memories and the old apartment was odd. She wasn't nearly as sad as she used to be, maybe it was also because it was kinda in the back of her mind due to Alice anyway.

Serena chuckled heartily. "It's okay if you don't, I've never made a big deal out of it. They aren't even under my legal name, I was so nervous when I wrote the first one." It wasn't a secret really anymore, she did write for a sort of magazine and blog a lot, people had connected the dots long ago. And Serena just made enough to get by, her books were successful in author terms but that by no means made her another RR martin or King. She just had appropriate savings, a second job and a moderate following.

"Becca..." She murmured, feeling embarrassed again that she'd not kept in touch. "So many people I need to apologise to." She muttered quietly.

She stretched out, aware that she was still in Gym clothes and the apartment was a mess, trying to ignore the innate embarrassment that went along with those factors. "Well that's the million dollar question isn't it?" She smiled to herself.

Serena had been amused with how long Alice held out asking it, Mirror was pretty direct and they had an easier relationship than Serena and Alice, that was for sure. "It's a number of things." She thought before answering. "This place, this city, the mansion even. They're my home. For all the mixed memories, and the fact that I'm not even American, this is where I belong." She admitted earnestly. That realisation had taken some time.

"There are other things. I assume you know I've been doing some activism and charity work? I want to do more here to help. Equal rights for everyone and all that, I've just not figured out the total direction yet..." And then there was the elephant. The big one.

"And then there is Alice." She paused, a soft and warm smile slowly separating her lips, showing her teeth a little. "My little sister."

>>"It's okay if you don't, I've never made a big deal out of it. They aren't even under my legal name, I was so nervous when I wrote the first one."

To be fair, Mirror was hazy on the details, but she knew about the writing. It was fascinating to know someone who moved in that world, and according to Becca, was good at it too.

>>"Becca... So many people I need to apologise to."

"Don't sweat it too much. Life happens." Maya smiled, sipping her tea. People came and went around the Mansion all the time. She'd sorely missed Serena, but following her path was not really anything to apologize for. Especially now that she was back... for whatever reason.

>>"Well that's the million dollar question isn't it? It's a number of things. This place, this city, the mansion even. They're my home. For all the mixed memories, and the fact that I'm not even American, this is where I belong... There are other things. I assume you know I've been doing some activism and charity work? I want to do more here to help. Equal rights for everyone and all that, I've just not figured out the total direction yet..."

"Those are all good reasons" Maya admitted with a grin. She would have stood by her friend no matter what, even if she'd come back because she was in trouble, or needed to hide out. But it was good that her return was a decision of her own, and that she'd missed the place as much as they missed her. And someone working passionately on equal rights was always more than welcome at Xavier's.

>>"And then there is Alice. My little sister."

Right.

"Yeah." Maya nodded "She's been... slacking off on her training and stuff... I bet she's happy you are back." she paused, arching an eyebrow "... talking about training... are you thinking about doing more than just charity work around the Mansion, maybe?"

Serena was glad that most of her friends hadn't pushed her when it came to writing, they were pretty patient about waiting to read what she'd done, and to be fair she'd sent most of them copies of the book when it was done, and the same with the second book. Which might have had a little dedication to someone special in it. Her third, had a little dedication to family, inspired by her her little blue haired surprise.

Serena grinned happily when Maya responded kindly. "Thank you for understanding." She smiled inwardly. "I suppose you would, last time I dropped in on you unannounced you looked like a raccoon that had lost a fight with another, burlier raccoon." Sam and his methods of problem working out left something to be desired. She chuckled at the thought. "I do hope Sam's not thinking similar thoughts when he sees me. Though I suppose I was never as tied to his life as you are, even if I did abruptly vanish from it."

"There are so many. There is only really one bad reason." Her mind drifted to Ami. But she wasn't likely to run into her in a city this big, right? And if she didn't want to even do Serena the cutesy of speaking to about it then Serena wasn't going to worry about it. Right?

That caught the brit's attention fully. "Yes. She said." She thought for a moment "She's had a rough year with getting back ontop of classes. She's very happy that I'm back." She admitted before pressing on. "I seriously appreciate you making sure she can look after herself, but I hope you're not thinking of asking her to fully join the X-men." There was a slight edge to her voice.

Serena blinked. "Well... I'd be lying if I told you I hadn't thought about it. You guys are sort of the poster group for positive impact for mutants. I want to do more of that, and It's not like I don't have training." That was an understatement, she was probably better trained now than a few years ago, hell better trained than almost every X when they joined the team.

There was really nothing to be angry about someone leaving the Mansion and then coming back a few years later. Last time Mirror did it, she had gone to help her mother figure out the whole 'international assassin' thing, and most of her friends still did not know how exactly that had gone down. She was in no place to judge.

>>"Thank you for understanding. I suppose you would, last time I dropped in on you unannounced you looked like a raccoon that had lost a fight with another, burlier raccoon. I do hope Sam's not thinking similar thoughts when he sees me. Though I suppose I was never as tied to his life as you are, even if I did abruptly vanish from it."

"Sam's been working on his own stuff. Luckily, it involves not punching people as often." Maya noted with a grin. She doubted he would punch Serena. It was a thing he tended to reserve for Gawain. Other trainees were usually safe. Alice, for example. Alice had been Mirror's trainee, and had not been punched yet.

>>"Yes. She said. She's had a rough year with getting back ontop of classes. She's very happy that I'm back. I seriously appreciate you making sure she can look after herself, but I hope you're not thinking of asking her to fully join the X-men."

"That's entirely up to her" Maya held up her hands. No one got forcefully recruited to the X-men. If they wanted, they could just train for self-defense, or for getting a better grip on heir powers. "The same goes for you, you know."

>>"Well... I'd be lying if I told you I hadn't thought about it. You guys are sort of the poster group for positive impact for mutants. I want to do more of that, and It's not like I don't have training."

"Not always positive. We could use some good press, honestly." Maya admitted with a shrug "But you'd be awesome on the team, I'm not gonna lie. We have had some... crazy situations recently."

That was true, Serena supposed her and Kate's relationship with Sam had definitely been very different to Mirror's. Sam seemed to treat Mirror more like family, Serena had more of a close friend mentor relationship with Sam. Which she was absolutely fine with, her family was all kinds of convoluted and confusing as it was, she didn't need to add more layers to that.

"Good. He's on my list of people to see. I hope he's more together." More guilt at leaving him when she was unsure of what state she was in. Great.

She nodded, regretting her sudden fire. "Yes, I understand sorry. It's just..." She blushed a little and smiled awkwardly. "I'd gotten so used to not having any family, now that I do and her being so special, I'm protective." She did consider it for a moment. "I don't think she'd stick anyway. She just has too many complications with her power for it to work." She was mostly thinking of the hunger bar.

She considered that. "I'm sorry to hear that. And I'm sorry I've not been around. I plan on going to donate some blood to the doc, I should probably make sure you guys have some on hand for emergencies." Did Mirror know about that, actually? She wasn't totally sure.

She giggled. "I'm not sure how good I could be for press either, my power isn't exactly PG." She teased.

>>"Yes, I understand sorry. It's just... I'd gotten so used to not having any family, now that I do and her being so special, I'm protective. I don't think she'd stick anyway. She just has too many complications with her power for it to work."

"That's okay. I think she has other things on her plate, too." studies, for one. Mrs. Taylor-Cervantes was handling that part, which was good, because Mirror liked to focus on power training anyway. And Alice was nowhere near ready to try out for the team. Not even as much as Skye. With the crazy things they had run into lately, she was not going to start taking rookies to the field.

>>"I'm sorry to hear that. And I'm sorry I've not been around. I plan on going to donate some blood to the doc, I should probably make sure you guys have some on hand for emergencies... I'm not sure how good I could be for press either, my power isn't exactly PG."

"Blood?" Maya arched an eyebrow. That was new. "I mean, it's not all about the powers, really. It's just... all the things we had to face lately, it would be good to have you with us. Not for what you can do, really, just... you know. I know you'd have my back."

Serena nodded. "Thankfully it seems like at least our Grandmother is leaving her alone. Perhaps because she knows I'll make her life a living hell if she bothers Alice." She admitted with a little pride. Something struck Serena. Is that why she didn't know Alice for so long? Why her Grandmother had kept them apart? This merited further consideration for sure.

Serena actually chuckled and playfully punched Maya's arm. "I've always got your back dummy. Even if I'm not on the team, I take my friendships seriously. If you ever need anything you only need ask." She replied warmly. Serena finished her tea and deposited the disposable cup in the bin, stretching and yawning a little. The run and the tea had really helped wake up her sense a bit.

"Oh! I suppose we've never really talked about my power, have we?" She realised. "We discovered a couple of years ago that my blood can heal others, quite rapidly and quite thoroughly. You know Ghost?" She smiled fondly, remembering the other Maya fondly. "I helped her become more permanent." She admitted with some pride. It was great to do something positive with your power.