It was odd how a few words could make you feel like you were made of air. A romantic statement from Seven made Mae feel like cotton candy: all sweet and sugary and light. She was pretty sure she would melt like cotton candy too. She kissed them, a bit more gently than she often did, but still filled with meaning. "Just once. Let's dress up, have fun...It would be something we've only ever done with each other." Mae didn't feel bad nudging Seven to do something outside their comfort zone when she was going to be dragged right along with them.

Thank goodness, they would wear flats. She laughed and then her breathe caught at the continued kissing. She forgot what she was laughing about. She found herself making a few embarrassing noises at the teasing, desire taking over her brain.

"If you start something, you better finish it," she sighed, offering more of her neck.

Thankfully, Seven was good at listening to cues. It was a late night, but definitely worth it.

The weekend came quickly, and Mae collected what they would need, as promised. She had a lot of the supplies taking over the table in the living room. Tent, check. Air mattress, check. Some food and a pan, bug spray, a lantern. She had to hold back packing the whole house, knowing they needed to be able to get to the camping site. Most of the supplies she wedged into two backpacks. The tend and the bag for the mattress had straps to carry. They would take an oober most of the way, and Mae managed to find a camping site that should be plenty far from other electronics for Seven to actually be able to relax.

She was clipping a small container of hand sanitizer to the outside of the bag when the door opened, and she turned to greet Seven. "I....I think I have everything?" she said, blushing a little. This was not her expertise.

"Yeah, just once. It'll be our special moment," they murmured. They didn't need persuading because it was Mae, but if they had needed coercing, that kiss would have done it.

"Oh, I will," they'd whispered almost forcefully. "Just because I follow doesn't mean I don't know how to lead..."

The rest of the week went by quickly, and before they knew it, it was the weekend. Mae had bought supplies while Seven was out tying up some loose ends before their vacation. Their. Vacation. It sounded rather nice, didn't it? They walked into the door, smiling as Mae spoke and they looked over everything.

"Looks like it. I got some extra food; marshmallows, a cooler of sandwich stuff, that sort of thing." Seven was new to this too, but they were also excited, which was a feeling they didn't normally feel. "You ready?" They asked, leaning in and kissing her gently.

Mae nodded when the kiss ended, and turned back, helping gather the supplies. She got a notification from her phone their ride had arrived, and together they got everything packed and were quickly on their way.

The ride was uneventful. Mae tried not to fidget during the trip, but this was probably the longest she had been in a vehicle since, actually, ever. In the end she found Seven's hand and held it, an action that helped her stop fidgeting, if nothing else.

When they finally got to the campsite, Mae breathed with relief. They unloaded, she paid the driver, and then they were alone. The manager had accepted payment online, which made it easier to stay where there could be silence for Seven.

"I think everything's set. Phone's off...How do you feel?" she asked, keeping her power's tethered to let Seven test what they could hear. With any luck...nothing.

The car ride may have been uneventful, but Seven's focus wasn't on the ride itself. Mae was fidgety, and they knew she wasn't too big on cars due to her power, so when Mae found their hand, they held on, giving it the occasional squeeze while their thumb gently caressed the back of her hand. They were silent, but their actions spoke louder than anything they could have said; they weren't good with words in these situations. They looked over at Mae with a small smile, the corner of their mouth tugging upward just slightly to let the girl know that they were here for her.

They unloaded the car once there, and Seven worked on getting everything together: the tent, where their campfire would be, the other belongings and whatnot. Once everything was in the right place, Seven turned their phone off and looked over at Mae. "I feel...weird. But it's a good weird. Unlike in your bubble, I can hear wind. Birds. Things that normally get drowned out by my powers. And I'm not hearing any radio noise whatsoever. It's....it's strange but at the same time it's nice. A true vacation, I'd say," they said with a smile.

Mae found comfort having Seven next to her. She still felt like she was in a parallel universe sometime having the tougher mutant being caring like this. Seven with their don't give a f*** attitude and laid back personality had become someone there for her when she grew anxious. That was more than she could have ever dreamed.

She walked up behind Seven and wrapped her arms around their waist, resting her head against Seven's back. "I'm glad. I was actually really nervous I wouldn't be able to find a place that would work for you. I mean, my powers are okay, but now we can at least use a lamp without having to get bombarded by noise."

After a few moments Mae pulled away and turned to their supplies. "So, tent? And then maybe a fire." She moved to where they had set the tent and started pulling out the posts and tarp. She hadn't been camping, but she had looked at the instructions a few times so she wouldn't look ridiculous trying to do this for the first time once they got here.

It was still odd, being the comforting and supportive one, but they were getting used to it, and Mae seemed to appreciate it, which told them they were at least doing a decent...or okay job at the very least. They closed their eyes slightly when they felt Mae's arms around them and her head against their back. Having her close like that just felt...right. Seven let one hand rest on top of Mae's, fingers gently dancing along the back of her hand.

"It's nice. My range is about ten feet, but when you're in the city there's something everywhere it seems like. But this....I like," they murmured softly. "This is going to sound cheesy but...I couldn't imagine doing this with anyone else. Alone, I'd go crazy, and...I don't like many people," they said with a small snort.

The embrace ended too soon for Seven's liking, but that was technically any embrace with Mae. They helped Mae with the tent, with few hangups, and then started on the fire, getting everything together, and then pulling out a match and tossing it on there, eventually forming small embers that slowly grew. Once the campsite was settled, they sat down next to it, patting the ground for Mae to sit next to them.

Mae sank next to Seven, enjoying the heat of the fire and grinning happily. She always seemed to be the cold one, so it was nice having a heat source so close. She found herself looking around, taking in the trees and the sounds. This was new to her. She didn’t think she would feel so happy to go somewhere just to sleep on the ground.

”Is it weird I never went camping? The most I ever did was go boating with my dad, and... well, the last trip didn’t end so well. It was quiet on the water but not like this. I’m glad I get to be here with you. Sharing adventures together just feels special to me.”

She leaned her head on Seven’s shoulder, listening to the fire crackling. It was ironic to be so comforted by the little fire so soon after someone tried to burn a building around her. ”I have avoided water a lot since then. Just never felt safe. But then this whole fire incident should have made me feel scared too, I would have expected. But, I’m not. Hard to ever worry when I know you have my back.”

The heat and the crackling of the fire, Mae's words, the ambient sounds of nature. No radio noise whatsoever. It was easy to get lost in the tranquility, if they were being honest. And having Mae there just made it better. "I did once, when I was thirteen, but it wasn't fun in the slightest. My dad was in the military, and he took me one weekend. It was less camping and more survival training. It was just sleeping bags and the bare essentials in the woods. Not even an official campground. He'd told me if I didn't want to be feminine he'd see how masculine I was. There were still electronics on his person, so it wasn't even this quiet...not long after that, I ran away." They looked over at Mae, having shared something they'd never told anyone.

"I understand. I mean...that was probably hard. Though...I have no problem rushing into a burning building for you. Or whatever I need to. I'll always have your back," they murmured, wrapping an arm around Mae's shoulder and leaning their head against hers before their voice became a little more tender, though loud enough for Mae to hear it clearly: "I love you, Mae..."

Mae listened, not wanting to scare Seven out of their story. It took a lot of courage to admit things that bothered them from the past. For Seven, it was their parents. For Mae, there were raw nerves regarding her X. The closer they got, the more they opened up, and Mae held close, trying to be encouraging but not clingy. "Well, I'm glad we could replace those memories with something better. I'm glad you are who you are. I hate the ideas that masculine or feminine have to be such a definition. Yeah, I think you would be incredibly attractive dressed up with me, but I also think you're stunning when you are just wearing a t-shirt and lounging around the house. To me all those things are separate but equally great pieces of who you are."

Mae relaxed, listening to the words, and then the admission came that left her a little breathless. "I love you too, Jess," she responded, pulling the other into a kiss.

Once that started, it would be hard to pull back away. They were alone, after all, and had the weekend to do whatever they wanted, or heck, nothing at all.

Seven found Mae's closeness refreshing and not clingy; they found that Mae being right there made them more comfortable sharing some of the darker bits of their past. Besides, it was just them out here, even more than when it was them at the apartment because there were no neighbors, no other people nearby, and there wasn't even a signal for Seven to pick up, which made everything that much more intimate.

"You're clearly the attractive one of this pair, but...I enjoy the compliments. Even though I don't understand it, I like knowing you see me that way," they admitted. "I just never really saw myself that way. I'm more scary than anything, my figure is boring, my hair's a mess, my nose has been broken a few times, and it shows...yet you still find me attractive." Their face melted into a smile.

Then Mae said the words back, and the name Jess sent shivers up their spine. But they didn't have time to respond because the kiss followed, and it did not show signs of breaking. Seven's arms wrapped around Mae, melting into the smaller woman as they closed their eyes, blind to everything but the heat of the fire and their girlfriend being right there.