Sometimes you put things off for a variety of reasons by doing other things, sometimes the replacement activity was something you ought not to be doing and sometimes it was stuff that needed doing so that you felt more validated procrastinating something.

That was what Serena had been doing in regards to not seeing several of her friends, she knew that she should go and see them. Catch up, apologise and make up with them. Or at least give them the apology she definitely owed most of them. She'd pretended that she was too busy to see Rebecca yet, because she had to get some work done and then she was doing things with her sister, and then she was doing tryouts for the X-men. Most of these things were within easy reach of seeing Rebecca.

Enough was enough, she missed her friend. And though she felt pretty awful for ghosting her, among others, Rebecca had something to celebrate and Serena wanted to at least congratulate her in person.

The blonde English woman wrapped her knuckles gently on the door to Rebecca and Mirror's bedroom. She'd asked around to double check if she was in and was informed Mirror was not. Which was fine, not that she minded Mirror, she quite enjoyed spending time with them. But it was probably easier to get the awkwardness out of the way without an onlooker.

She was dressed in a teal dress, some light boots and had a fleece wrapped around her shoulders, leather jacket folded under one arm with a scarf, the hand holding a large gift bag. She wore a sheepish smile as she waited for the answer.

Pregnancy was weird. Waking up feeling nauseous was not fun. Cravings, while not new to her, were uniquely different from wanting Thai food, (though God, thinking about it, she would kill for Pad Thai.) It was still early, but she had ordered pizza the night before explicitly so she could order extra banana peppers on the side. She wanted to blame that on her pregnancy, whether or not it was the case.

Oh, and there was that other weird thing where she woke up with fox ears and a tail.

Yeah, the mystery box baby in her stomach had yet to disappoint. Whatever they had going on with their mutation, it was leaving Rebecca to switch to a new physical mutation each day. She imagined there was a cap, but had not seen duplicates yet. The changes ranged from innocuous antennae to a wicked harpy form to slightly corrosive sweat. She was glad they discovered that in the winter; when she woke up, the only major damage she had done was to the pits of her pajama sleeves.

Today, she would take fox ears as a win. It was a cute look, especially with the whiskers that kept tickling her and forcing her to scrunch up her nose. As a content creator, she was not going to miss out on this opportunity.

Pixelbecky was not a gaming ViewTuber like Vanessa and her team, but she was serviceable with a controller. After filming footage for two vlogs, one on cancel culture and one reviewing the latest Space Battles movie, she set up a livestream that was a mix of shooting the sh*t with her community, answering questions, and playing SquadBattle Strategies. It was an auto-battler, which meant it did not demand stellar gaming reflexes and she could focus on the chat. Her fans did not care if she sucked as long as she gave them more attention than the game.

Becca jumped at the knock on the door. She was getting better, but unexpected gusts still made her skittish. Of course, an attacker likely would not knock, so she calmed herself. ”Ain second, everybody! Seems ain ay th’ students micht need something.” She quickly repositioned one of the little characters on her field before jumping out of her chair and rushing to the door.

Peeking through the spyhole, Becca’s eyes widened at the realization of who was waiting. Opening the door, her toothy grin greeted Serena. ”Oy! Ah heard ye were back. Bout time ye foond me,” she teased, before pulling the blonde into a tight hug ”Guid tae see ye again, Serena. Ah…” She sniffed, twitching her nose and whiskers. ”Dae Ah smell… brownies?”

Serena had been told by Mirror about the whole animal features thing Rebecca was enjoying but she'd sort of not actually taken that in, the baby itself was super distracting awesome news. So when Rebecca opened the door it really struck her. She had... Whiskers. It was actually sort of unnervingly cute on Becca, Serena thought foxes were adorable already, fox ears on a person was a bit much on the cute-o-meter for her to deal with.

Normally being the one to initiate sudden crushing hugs Serena squeaked as she was suddenly embraced by her Scottish friend. Obviously she'd been distracted. She definitely blushed at the teasing, she still felt pretty bad for not coming and speaking to Rebecca yet, even more so since the whole pregnancy thing had occurred. "Sorry" She murmured as Rebecca hugged her.

A soft smile graced her features and she hugged back just as tightly. "I've missed you." She murmured in Rebecca's ear. She wondered if fox hearing was more potent or very different than human hearing, how that all worked. It was really a whole bundle of odd.

She held the hug for a few more moments. Well Rebecca didn't hate her. Damn. Serena was dumb sometimes.

She slowly disentangled herself from her fox eared friend. "You do~" She held up the large gift bag for effect, shaking it a little revealing the sounds of a few objects moving around. "I'm told congratulations are in order, and you are far far overdue an apology." She admitted.

The Mansion had a transient energy, with people coming in and out over the years. Becca was not exempt from this; she moved out when her and Agnes were ready for their own place, then she stepped away from the X-Men for grad school. She had to return and re-adjust to the people she once knew, the people who were gone, and the new faces.

The first old face Rebecca came across was actually Serena, who pulled her own disappearing act, which was fine. Becca would not judge, because she had no grounds to stand there. All she could do was greet her friend excitedly, because it was nice to see her safe and home.

Also, the brownies were a nice touch.

”Congratulations? Whit coods a wee birdie possibly hae tauld ye tae gie ye 'at idea?” Serena was returning and greeting Becca with her own good news, so why not play dumb a bit to give her a hard time since she decided to find out somewhere else. ”Congratulations fur whit? Th' ears? Nae, it's really th' tail, reit? Ah know they ur new tae someain who hasnae bin aroond.” Rebecca smirked, and would not even comment on the apology thing, because that was just silly. Serena did not owe an apology; no, she just had to accept her teasing from Becca.

Serena's lips did that half amused, mostly excited smile thing she did when she was trying to contain a large amount of excitement. Showing some teeth if only because she was half biting her lower lip. "Well, a little birdie, which I'm told you are dating- congratulations by the way, I am so very thrilled for you." She chirped before pressing on. "Mirror came over and gave me the news, well she said it was to celebrate the whole X-men thing, but I think Maya was dying to tell someone else about your surprise~" She chuckled. Mirror excited was something new, and Serena thought it was adorable. She suspected this was an effect Rebecca had, and that was a very good thing.

Serena tilted her head, giving Rebecca another amused smile. "Also you look great by the way, the ears are adorable too." She chirped before jangling the bag again. "I have brownies, ice cream, some ginger tea that is wonderful for any potential stomach issues you might suffer, and some plain old chocolate. From the UK. Because I'm not a barbarian." She mused.

Serena was wearing her excitement on her face, which was adorable. She also did a lip bite thing that made Becca remember how she got familiar with those lips in one of her first days back in New York. Now that she was three years older and more mature, it was interesting to think back to those days. She absolutely made out with Serena, and they thankfully never made things weird. Nice to have at least one of those under her belt.

It was odd catching up with Serena and realizing how much had changed in two year. Becca knew her pregnancy was big news, but she was reminded that her relationship with Mirror was its own kind of news to someone who had been missing longer than twenty-eighteen. Becca simply beamed at the congratulations and let the chirpy hemomancer continue.

She did have to chime in as well when Serena dropped her own good news. ”Ah heard abit that! Ah’m glad Ah can finally congratulate ye oan joinin’ th’ team officially.” Serena, like Rebecca before her, had an extended tenure as a trainee, but now she was a true blue X-Men member.

Like a good friend, Serena was immediately supportive and ready to cater to Becca’s every pregnant need. ”Ye’re fantastic. Please feel free tae stick aroond for the next nine months or sae. Bit for noo, please come in? Kalos an’ Maya arenae aroond sae it’s jist us fer a bit.”

Serena giggled and shook her head in amusement. "Rebecca that is hardly big news compared to you having a baby~" She squeaked in excitement. Serena absolutely adored children, and she was so many different levels of excited for Rebecca, and simultaneously glad that she was never going to tackle the pregnancy thing. Becca was braver than her on that front.

"But thank you anyway. It's been a bloody long time coming." She admitted, pun not intended. "And after my time away and all the thinking I did, I figured it was time to stop pretending it wasn't a good idea and just accept it." She added with a small shrug. "You should've seen Maya when I said yes, I might have messed with her a tiny bit." She admitted coyly.

It was good that Becca was responding so well to the greeting and wasn't all that bothered about Serena vanishing... She felt immediately bad assuming that everyone was going to be furious with her over it, she'd been proven wrong with Mirror too. "Don't worry, I'm not going anywhere. You guys are stuck with me." She smiled warmly at Rebecca once again. "I would love to~"

Becca laughed, happy to downplay her announcement, even if she was actually over the moon about her most recent life development. “Pish! Fowk gie pregnant aw th' time. Hoo mony fowk become true blue X-Men?” Still, the joy was clear on Becca’s freckled face, so she did give up. ”Really thoucht, thenk ye, Serena.”

The recap on how Serena filled Maya in on the news made Becca smirk. ”Messin’ with mah girlfriend is aways encouraged. Noo come in, Ah was jist… oh. Um Freck.”

Leading Serena into the living room, Rebecca took quick steps over to the corner where her computer and streaming equipment was neatly set up. Each step came with Becca’s tail swishing from side-to-side to counterbalance which foot was leading. Tails were nifty.

What was not nifty? Her ongoing chat on Fidgit.TV.

WAIT WHAT??
PREGNANT! ZOMG!
There’s a new X-Man?! There hasn’t even been an announcement yet!
A baby pixelbecky <3333 an x-baby! The forums will go nuts!
THE NEW X SOUNDS HOT. THINK A FIGURE OF HER WILL COME OUT SOON?
I knew she was pregnant! This totally proves my fan theory linked here at…

Well, that was what she got for getting distracted by a long-lost friend. Well, this and a seventh place finish in SBS. Mirror was going to kill her. Sighing, Rebecca looked over to Serena. ”Weel hun, Ah neglected tae say ur think abit it, but our conversation maaaaay be public knowledge noo.” Becca moved to her keyboard and mouse, preparing to close the stream. ”Micht need tae cut th’ stream, fowks, plans clearly came up.” She looked over her shoulder to Serena when she finally hit the mute button. ”Stay o’er there for a few seconds unless ye want tae say hi tae a few thousand ay mah fans.” Like this stream was not about to be clipped as a highlight. Yep. She was a dead woman when Mirror found out.

Serena giggled. "Folk do get pregnant all the time true, but they aren't you." She chirped. It was really nice that her friend was so happy and together with her life, even if the baby was throwing some random physical mutation shaped wrenches into the works. The fact that Rebecca was holding together so well in the face of an impending baby was excellent. "You are very welcome Becca, I'm so very happy for you."

For a split second there had been concern that Rebecca would react negatively to Serena messing with Mirror, but it was swiftly replaced with embarrassment. She really needed to stop letting insecurities effect how she viewed her friends.

And then Rebecca's reaction shifted an eyebrow raised. What could possibly be concerning, was she unwell? She looked fine. As Serena was led into the room her jaw dropped.

She was. So stupid. How could she forget Becca was a viewtuber?! She should have checked if she was actually available before she started chatting with her. Crap.

"I-uhm." Dammit. "I'm sorry Becca, I should have checked if you were busy" she stepped further into the room, unsure of where the camera could actually see. "Well I suppose I'd already resolved to step more into the spotlight with becoming a member anyway." She sighed.

It was comforting having support from close friends and family. Having a baby was a big life change, so Becca and Mirror needed people they cared about to rely on. They had told Becca’s parents who were thrilled from Scotland. Some of their closest friends now knew.

And now her fanbase knew. Well, that was not going to be a secret forever, but she was hoping to keep it to herself a while longer. She joked that the fox ears were a gift from some Mansion mutant, which was… well, almost true?

”Nae apologizing, Ah shoodsa thoucht abit it. Ah was jist sae excited tae see ye.” There were worse things she could accidentally do on camera.

Becca had everything ready to close, but Serena seemed on the edge of both the camera and the precipice of going public. She wanted to step out into the spotlight but, despite her young successes, she was apprehensive.

The redhead smirked and unmuted he mic. ”Weel, ‘afore Ah head it tae catch up, Ah think mah friend wants a proper introduction.” Reaching away from the desk, Becca snagged Serena’s hand and pulled the blonde woman into the center of he frame.

”Alright, aw ye Heart-Eyes, meet Serena! She’ll be a great addition tae th’ team as…” Becca paused and quietly asked, ”Hae ye picked it a codename?” Some people came in knowing what they wanted to be called, but others never considered it. Meanwhile, you had people like Becca who changed codenames over the years.

”Bit yeah, since we’re nae abit tae gie intae my announcement here, why dinnae we let th’ newest hero ay New York introduce herself a wee bit?”

It made her feel all warm and fuzzy being around Rebecca. She didn't even care that Serena had been gone for so long, well it wasn't bothering her actively. The whole accidental reveal of the baby and Serena's new status was largely her fault and Rebecca just immediately dismissed it. It also made Serena feel even better about being on the team.

Cafas, Rebecca, Mirror, Sam, Ghost... They were all such wonderful people. Serena definitely had suffered from a little bit of hero worship where the X-men were considered, it was probably part of the reason it had taken her so long to accept the inevitable.

Rebecca had a look on her face, like she was contemplating something. Serena was definitely unsure about stepping into the light, so to speak.

It helped that her friend was helping her make the decision, it was mostly nerves anyway and she should've gotten over them by now. This was new, the whole stream full of people thing. Serena waved timidly at the screen. "Er. Hello." How did you greet this many people at once?

Signings were the only vague comparison she had, and that was both a fraction of the people involved, and she was greeting them one at a time. This was... A lot.

"Codename? Mirror asked me that. Hemorrhage is too dark, which someone had suggested to me forever ago. I was thinking something like Sanguine?" She fished for Rebecca's opinion, she really wasn't sure as this was still all kind of new to her.

Serena fidgeted with her shirt a bit, not realising from where she was standing it was probably very visible. "Introductions, right. Hello, I already said that. My name is Serena, I'm a professional writer, obviously a mutant and if you hadn't noticed I hail from the UK like Becca." That wasn't too awkward, right?

Serena was a good person at heart. Becca liked to believe that about people who joined the team, but she was sure of it with Serena. The redhead was certain Serena was the kind of person who could do a lot of good in the public eye. She was passionate and intelligent. She had convictions. She just needed a little push to get her started.

At least this was not Becca leaving the blonde to sink or swim. She was here for the new X, as a friend and a team leader. She would not steer Serena wrong.

"Sanguine! Ah approve. Mair elegant than Hemorrhage, sae Ah think it suits ye." The name Hemorrhage did not evoke images of a pretty blonde crime fighter. Maybe a comic villain or professional wrestler.

Serena was nervous, but she did not freeze up. Word vomit was still better than panicked silence, as long as she did not spew anything too sensitive. "Yep, professional writer frae th' UK. Also, sweit friend, total badass, an' advocate fur those fa need it. Sanguine is wonderful an' yoo'll be seein' plenty ay 'er huir real suin."

Beaming proudly, Becca was ready to outro, giving her traditional double wave at the end. "Until 'en, thes is Pixelbecky signin' aff. Bye!"

And with that, she leaned forward to hit the button ending the stream in spite of the wave of inquisitive comments still flooding in. She turned to face Serena, sitting on the edge of her desk and sighing. "Sorry if Ah put ye oan th' spot. Th' cat was awready it ay th' bag, sae Ah figured we coods give th' world a taste ay ye." Thankfully, it had been Serena's choice in the end, at least.

Serena had gone through several phases between her teenage years and where she was now. When she was in public school she'd been a pretty typical social butterfly, if a little timid in some places, and then after her power had manifested she'd become a lot more anxious and quiet than she had been previously. Over time she grew into a more confident and secure young woman. College and the book had helped a lot, as well as dating, and meeting people like Rebecca.

This however, was making her feel like she was back in one of the first two phases. When Rebecca approved of the name, followed by a genuine sweet compliment to Serena the blonde blushed from head to toe.

Chuckling a little nervously. "Well it's partially my fault, and that wasn't nearly as mortifying as it could have been, only slightly massively." She moved to hug Rebecca again tightly. "Thank you. I'm sorry for accidentally outing you like that, but it does make me very happy how supportive you are of my whole thing."

She backed off and gave her friend some space before gesturing to the bag. "Well I came here with the intention of apologising, and then hanging out and celebrating your baby. We've only done the first one, really." a timid smile spread across her lips, the anxiety starting to melt away.

The transformation Becca went through after coming to America was a drastic one. In so many ways, the move and all her new experiences helped her blossom. She was no longer a meek introvert. She was not closeted, nor was she unsure of herself. Still, knowing what it was like to be the introvert, she had a soft spot for Serena who was more private and shy by nature, but still found the strength to put herself out there.

”Ye did great,” she assured Serena, accepting the hug. ”Our news was gonna get it there eventually. Heroes dinnae gie tae hide.” Hopefully Mirror could appreciate that.

Realizing they now finally had time to settle in, Becca’s eyes lit up and she pulled Serena toward the couch. ”Ay coorse, Ah’m aw yers unless thes wee one decides Ah need tae run tae th’ washroom for the fourth time today.” Well, that might have been TMI, but it was also a truth of her pregnancy.

Taking the bag from Serena, Becca helped set out treats that immediately filled her living room with delicious scents. ”Sae hoo is it settlin’ back in? Seen many fowk yet? Sam? Gemma? ...Amelia?” She did not intend to pause there, but there was hesitation when she realized she did not know how Amelia and Serena left things.

The writer nodded slowly. Most of Serena's friends were pretty out going, sociable and confident. Rebecca was a prime example, though Serena could usually keep up with most of them without bringing a conversation or activity down too much with awkwardness she couldn't really be blamed for bringing on the awkward in a situation like this one.

Serena smiled and was happily tugged over to a sofa to sit down, sitting next to Rebecca and glancing around. "The rooms are certainly bigger than I remember." She admitted. She'd not lived here as staff though, so it was probably different.

Once again, she was glad she was never going to deal with this. If and ever Serena was ever ready for kids, she was adopting.

Smiling timidly she thought she was ready to respond until Amelia was brought up. It must've showed on her face. She'd not spoken to anyone about this, but maybe she should? Serena spent most of her life repressing one thing or another, but Rebecca was a good, real friend. Besides that, it wasn't like she could avoid it. Becca was perceptive, and her face definitely darkened when Amelia's name was mentioned.

"No. Just a couple." She admitted, a little embrased. "My- Oh dear." had Rebecca met Alice, or did she in fact know about her relationship to Serena? Serena was aware she was an English teacher, and Alice had talked about her. But clearly the two hadn't interacted directly much. "The first thing I did, was see my little sister. We haven't spoken since before I met her, have we?"