Booker snickered. Yes. That was decidedly a move their parents would make. They were the best at communication, unless they were being judgmental jerks about coming out. Booker they simply believed had entered a phase that he would grow out of eventually. Nessa, however, Booker always felt so bad she got the brunt of it. That was a deciding reason that he wanted nothing more to do with them.

Nessa communicating, though, that was her decision. He wanted to protect her, keep her away from those cruel people who practically tossed her out on the street. But he couldn't fight all her battles. Not even that one. She was stronger than she thought herself to be, so deep down, he knew she'd be okay.

This, however, was certainly going to be interesting. She was effectively living a large portion of her life again. This was going to be an interesting rerun.

Nessa of course had questions about Xavier's. That and how her coming out had been taken. He had seen the video. Seen the comments and listened as she vented to him. She could handle herself online but luckily those cruel words she did receive were drowned out by the applause.

"Pretty positive for the most part. Did a AMA and demonstration and all that. There were always going to be those trolls who try to stir the pot but," he gave her an encouraging smile. "You and the people you surround yourself with have been amazing. Honestly you won more followers than lost. Even I may consider resubscribing," he joked.

But Xavier's. He was sure than had worse than a telepath who required eye contact. He had only gone a couple times, when he and Becca were still good friends, but after the break up, he chose his side and hadn't been their sense. The school could handle her, but that wasnt what worried him. There was a certain ex that actually came to mind.

"Uuugh, well, I'm sure Xavier's can handle anything you throw at them. Most of their teachers are pretty famous, and the students they care for are pretty powerful," he bit his lip, looked guilty, the hung his head. "But I should probably let you know...you had...well...a pretty harsh break up with one of the staff there…"

There was something reassuring of knowing you managed to do things alright the first time around. She did not become a trans suicide statistic. She managed a career in gaming. She came out as a trans mutant and she survived it. So many of Nessa’s panic points felt easier to prepare for when she knew she did it once.

Hopefully this time around, Nessa would take advantage of the support structure she had in place. Maybe she could make better use of her time; make that time she was given back matter more.

While she figured things out, the Mansion was a good temporary solution. She was not going to take high school classes again or become a student, but it could be nice connecting with her fellow mutants for the first time.

Evidently, she had no problems connecting with her fellow mutants in the future. ”I dated a teacher? Well, that’ll be awkward for her. I couldn’t care les-- wait, I wasn’t the problem, was I? Tell me she’s the one who fucked up.” If she did something wrong, she did not want to come around and make her ex feel like she could not be upset about it. If it was her ex’s fault though? The screw her, she could deal with the awkwardness. Well, unless the breakup was messy for identity reasons, but she genuinely hoped she would not have dated a transphobe at any point. She liked to believe her judgment was better than that.

Okay. They had a plan. it honestly caused him to breathe in relief. Not just because his sister wasn’t going to be moving back in (there was a small, guilty part of him that was thankful), but because she would be around people who were more qualified to help her. Booker would have been there for her, but despite the fact that he was her brother and he could cancel out her abilities, he didn’t have the skillset to manage a young woman who has suddenly be deaged back to her teenage years. Where to even begin?

The Mansion. They could take care of her. They were taking care of a lot of people like her. Even if she wasn’t going there for classes, they could at least help get her on her feet. Just a bit of stability around her peers before she went out into the world on her own. Definitely it was the better idea.

However, there was one tiny, itty, bitty little drawback that he really needed to tell her about: her ex. She and Becca were hot and heavy for a while. The way that Nessa gushed about her, well, almost reached ad nauseum levels. It was to the point that Booker almost believed it could be more than just a few casual dates. Even Booker was becoming Becca’s friend! And then, well…

He sighed and then offered his sister a warm smile. ”She definitely screwed up,” he said.

He really didn’t know how good an idea it was to tell his sister that her ex cheated on her, but it was better than sending her in there blindfolded. That wouldn’t be fair at all. Squaring his shoulders, he continued on.

”You both were good for awhile. But…she...cheated on you,” he said cautiously. ”With her ex. For a while. But at least you definitely got the last word in, from what you told me.” Offered her a warm smile he reached over to hook her into a hug. ”Doubt she fully recovered from it.”

As a rule, Vanessa disapproved of cheaters. Cheating on her was a death sentence for a relationship no matter how hot or interesting a girl could be. Finding out Vanessa was cheated on in her future that would now presumably never happen was disappointing. Oddly, it was not the kind of anger or sadness she thought she would feel.

”It’s weird. I totally believe that I was cheated on, but… I guess it feels like someone I’ve heard of got cheated on.” Like a vlogger or a coworker from another department. ”I sympathize. But it happened to someone else.”

There was no emotional attachment to the situation, but Nessa was only ready to be so mature. ”What about the teacher? Did she learn a lesson? Or is she just a total bitch?” Nessa was not going to pretend all cheating was equal, though it was all unforgivable. She was curious if she would have dated the kind of girl to heartlessly betray someone without remorse. She hoped not.

”I need to know the right amount of sass to give this lady, and remorseful screwups get slightly kinder treatment than unfaithful succubi.” The difference between teasing and cold reminders of her flaws as a person.

Booker and Nessa were close but in most respects he tried to give her space when it came to her relationships. Of course he met them and could be a contact, but aside from a few indiscretions on both sides, he did his best to not be too involved. But Becca was a different story. The both of them had become quick friends, sharing many fandoms and the like. Some even thought that Becca was dating both Booker siblings at the same time, which wasn’t true, they were just all that close.

It damn near broke his heart when Nessa revealed what had happened. To know that his friend had cheated on his sister, it sucked. It forced him, then and there, to pick a side. And, let’s face it, he wasn’t going to take Becca’s side in the matter. So he embodied the “good brother” trope and stayed by Nessa’s side, and attempted to refute all attempts by Becca to maintain any kind of friendship.

That didn’t last. At the end of the day, as much of a big brother as he was, he was also a decent person. Becca had messaged him a few times, not desperately but enough to want to apologize, and stated that she knew what she did was wrong. It was her apologies that really pulled Booker back in.

He knew she was sorry and while that wouldn’t completely forgive her cheating on his sister, he wasn’t the type to hold a grudge on anyone (unless they were his parents). So when Nessa inquired how Becca was handling the aftermath, he shared a small smile with her.

”Little of column A and B?” he said, shaking his hand. ”Not long after the big blow up she contacted me to apologize and wanted me to pass it along. You were happy with Gina and seemed to let it go. She definitely felt sorry about what she did.” He agreed. ”Though I dunno if she learned learned her lesson. I didn’t get details but her and her ex apparently had their own bad blow up before splitting. Now she’s dating one of the X-Men who also work at the mansion, Mirror is their name.”

Booker was an incredibly loyal brother, so Nessa was sure he would have been there for her through a breakup. If she was cheated on, he would taker her side and condemn her ex’s actions. She would take that grain of salt with the points he made, possibly for the benefit of the woman she was.

”Sounds like she had plenty of trouble. Definitely not going to do that again.” She looked up from her snacks and figured she should add, ”Not that I was planning to. I figure I should learn at least one lesson from older me.” Nessa was not above the scandal of flirting with a teacher, but there were certainly teachers who were not well-known cheaters.

So the Mansion had its complications, but it sounded like a logical place to go for the time being. She needed to get comfortable in this near-future and she needed to feel safe as a mutant with other mutants. ”Well, it sounds like I have some important calls to make. The Mansion… Gina.” That last one was not a call she looked forward to, but it had to happen. She would start moving forward, and she had to do that as herself and not the woman she was or would have become.

Sipping her soda, Nessa set her cup down and wrapped her brother up in a tight hug. ”Thank you, Booker. When I started to figure out what happened, the best news I could cling to was that you were still in my life.” She rubbed her face against his sleeve to deal with the water dotting the corners of her eyes. ”This feels more doable knowing you’re a phone call away. On my awesome new phone. Because seriously, phones are fucking awesome now.”

There were definitely somebenefits to being in the future.

Booker smiled encouragingly as he looked at his sister. He really was lucky to have her. It was admittedly tragic that she fell victim to this deaging phenomena but at least she made it back to him in one piece and she wasn’t in some government lab or being brainwashed into some kind of assassin a la Manchurian Candidate. Oof, his sister as a sleeper agent assassin. While that sounded pretty cool, it was hardly the most believable option.

Whatever. That wasn’t the case now. She was home, she was safe, and the mansion would help figure out what to do with her. He couldn’t have been more grateful for that. But first there was going to be some calls to make. Booker would allow Nessa her privacy as he really didn’t want to eavesdrop on those conversations.

But a hug would come first. As she leaned closer, Booker wrapped her in his much larger arms and pulled her close into a tightening hug. He would be there for her through all of this, as much as he could. Surely it shouldn’t be that difficult for her to find some normalcy again. POW Block Party should be pretty understanding and, if not, the Mansion or himself, will surely help to get her onto her feet again.

”Of course,” he said softly, patting the back of her hair and sighing. ”I’ll always be here for you, kiddo.”

As she leaned back and began to voice her admiration for her phone, he had to crack a smile. He shook his head as he leaned back, grabbing a chip to munch on.

”Wait until you see all the new social media apps. Pretty sure I won’t hear from you for days,” he chuckled. He then reached over, ruffled her hair and got up. ”Listen, make your calls but I insist you stay here tonight. I’ll make some dinner, you can meet Javi, and tomorrow I’ll take you to the Mansion so we can see where to go from here. Good? Good. Just make yourself at home...lord knows you did it plenty the last few years.”