((After the baby shower))

The baby shower felt like the start of something new. Not because of the approaching baby - Maya had had ample time to wrap her head around that - but rather, because it felt like a true family celebration. The first one in a long, long time. Friends and Mansion residents gathered, brought gifts, and celebrated the baby with Becca and Mirror, and there was such an outpouring of kindness and happiness that it was almost too much to handle. It had been a long and exhausting day, but the good kind. The baby was going to arrive to the best village ever.

People had retired for the night, but Maya and Becca were still up in their room. It had become their nightly ritual to wait for the midnight shifting. Sometimes they found ways to keep busy until midnight, but after the day's celebrations, it felt nice to just lounge. Becca was sitting on the bed and Maya sprawled across her lap. She liked being close the kid. Maybe a little too much, but as the weeks went on, the baby bump was just becoming an object of constant fascination for the mirrorwalker. That was her kid in there. Hers and Beccas. Currently probably decorated with adorable little baby crystals.

"What a day" Maya murmured, smiling up at Becca from her peculiar vantage point "How are you holding up?"

It was an emotional rush to feel love and support from friends, family, and students. Maybe that was boosted by an influx of pregnancy hormones, but Rebecca was coasting on elated warm fuzzies. She was glad they ended up having a baby shower.

Moreover, she was happy to share this experience with Maya. After putting in so much effort to make the day happen, it ended up as yet another reminder of how lucky she was. Maya was in this one-hundred percent and Rebecca knew it. She knew it because she was there, too. This was another big moment they could share in starting their family and their lives together.

The day was wonderful, but being the center of attention all day was exhausting. She was glad, when all was said and done, to be sitting in bed with Maya’s head in her lap. The way she admired the baby bump and the child within was so wholesome. Content, Rebecca ran her fingers through Maya’s dark hair.

”Ah’m holdin’ up okay. Ridin’ th’ high of it aw, Ah think. Hoo abit ye?” She smiled warmly. ”Ye really made t’day happen. Ye were jist wonderful, bit ye must be spent by noo. Gonna fall asleep in mah lap ‘afore we shift?”

Maya smiled and closed her eyes, enjoying the rest before the midnight shift. Her powers always made her sleepy, and with a good reason, but she had been getting better and staying awake and not feeling too dizzy afterwards. It came with practice, and also the ever-present excitement of what powers Becca was going to manifest next.

>>”Ah’m holdin’ up okay. Ridin’ th’ high of it aw, Ah think. Hoo abit ye? Ye really made t’day happen. Ye were jist wonderful, bit ye must be spent by noo. Gonna fall asleep in mah lap ‘afore we shift?”

"Mmm, nah, just resting my eyes" Maya hummed, smiling "I'm glad you had a good day. I think the rainbow cake sold it." she chuckled, nuzzling closer. They had their own little private pocked of the universe. "Oh, hey." she looked up, placing a hand on the baby bump "You should definitely be asleep, kid."

Rebecca would not have minded if Maya just slept with her head in Rebecca’s lap. Having her presence so close was natural; they could sleep beside each other, work together, or just exist in a space. It all felt easy and right.

Listening to Maya talk to the baby in her tummy always put the broadest smile on the Scot’s face. ”Ye cannae blame her; she jist had a day where she was th’ center ay attention. Mist be aw worked up, the wee lass.”

Becca’s baby bump was Maya’s obsession in recent months, and Becca loved it. She adored knowing her partner was as excited and committed to their future as she was. ”Ye’re gonna be an amazin’ parent. Ye know that, right? Kalos an’ Iris are sae lucky. Sae am Ah,” she added, as the woman fortunate enough to be Maya’s co-parent.

There was movement under her palm, and May chuckled as she followed along. It had been a few weeks since the kicking became strong enough to feel from the outside, and every time, it was amazing.

>>”Ye cannae blame her; she jist had a day where she was th’ center ay attention. Mist be aw worked up, the wee lass.”

"She's gonna have to get used to it" Maya noted with a grin. This baby was not going to be the first at the Mansion, but definitely a very popular one.

>>”Ye’re gonna be an amazin’ parent. Ye know that, right? Kalos an’ Iris are sae lucky. Sae am Ah,”

Maya smiled, rolling over to rest her chin on the baby bump, looking up at Becca. Kalos and Iris. All of a sudden, they were about to have two daughters. It had been a long road from Budapest to here, but things could not have worked out any more perfectly. Even with the new-parent jitters, it felt like this was the best place to be in life.

"Becca?... Will you marry me?"

It was inevitable; Iris was going to be a little star at the Mansion. Xavier’s was a close-knit community and Becca and Maya had friends, some of whom were like family. Iris would never go without attention.

Love would be ever present, as well. Both parents were already full of love, and Kalos had come around to be ready for her little sister’s arrival. They had a family.

Over the years, there was a lot of uncertainty and maybes for Rebecca. Now, she finally felt past that. When Rebecca looked at her future, she saw this family. She could see herself happy with her two daughters, being there for them through anything.

And in every vivid, perfect image in her head, Maya (or Gawain) was right there by her side. It just felt right now. Being Maya’s and Maya being Rebecca’s in turn; it just fit.

Maybe that was why, when Maya proposed, the wide-eyed surprise was brief, quickly replaced by a content smile and a look of adoration.

”Yes, Maya. Of coorse Ah’ll marry ye. Ah’d want nothin’ mair.”

She said yes. Maya's smile brightened, and she propped herself up to lean over and kiss Becca, who had just leveled up from girlfriend to fiance... soon to be wife. How soon? Who knew? The moment was perfect and that was what mattered.

"Well, that's great" she smiled, leaning her forehead against Becca's "It would have been hella awkward if you'd said no..."

It happened so easily, but it felt so right. Maya chuckled happily and snuggled in again next to Becca, still keeping a hand on her belly. This was what having a family of her own felt like. It felt the best.

"It feels like overkill do have a wedding right after the baby shower though..."

"We'll figure it when," she assured Maya, thinking about how they should share the news of their engagement with friends. Of course, that assumed that was part of the plan. "We hae a lot going on. Eventually, we need tae talk over th' kind of wedding we're lookin' for." Maybe she was love drunk, but Becca loved the idea of being Maya's wife as soon possible.

Becca pressed her hand to Maya's cheek, shaking her head. Evidently, one day was ticking over to the next, as the cheek beneath her touch shifted. The softness of her wife-to-be's cheek was replaced by the tougher, bearded skin of her husband-to-be.

Likewise, Becca's crystal growths receded. She was unsure of the new power replacing them, hoping it was nothing dangerous. She could not see the shift in her own eyes, as her irises and pupils became heart-shaped and her eyes showed slightly larger. "An' Ah was ne'er gonna say no, Gawain. Th' question is only how badly Ah cannae wait tae say 'Ah dae'."

>>"We'll figure it when. We hae a lot going on. Eventually, we need tae talk over th' kind of wedding we're lookin' for."

Midnight passed, for once forgotten, and Mirror shivered while shifting from one form to the next. Gawain looked up at Becca, making sure her transformation was not painful. Or dangerous. She kept her hand on his cheek, and he kept a hand on her belly. They would be married, soon. It felt right.

>>"An' Ah was ne'er gonna say no, Gawain. Th' question is only how badly Ah cannae wait tae say 'Ah dae'."

Gawain looked up at her and broke into a grin. Becca's eyes had shifted, slightly wider, like a movie character's, and her pupils were friggin heart-shaped. Was that some kind of an emotion-based signal, or just a lucky coincidence in general? Either way, Gawain laughed, and leaned up to kiss her. His heart-eyed baby mama wife-to-be.

"You..." he muttered against her lips, still very amused "... need to look at a mirror." he blinked, then chuckled again "An actual one."

Gawain seemed surprised by something, but whatever it was, it did not keep him from leaning in to offer her a kiss. She felt his words against her lips, raising an eyebrow. Not wanting to stray too far from her comfort zone, Rebecca leaned over toward a nightstand and rifled around a drawer for a hand mirror. Pun aside, given who her partner was, they usually had a nearby mirror on hand somewhere.

Checking her face in the reflection, the change was quick to spot. After checking her cheeks, mouth, and hair for changes, she settled on her eyes. The heart-shaped pupils were a minor change, but wholly appropriate. ”Ah guess Iris coods feel th’ loove,” she suggested. Brushing Gawain’s hair, she met his eyes again. ”Ah wonder if they have any effect. Maybe they’re loove eyes? Dae ye feel mair in loove when ye look in mah eyes, Gawain?”

Gawain grinned as he watched Becca spot the difference in her mirror. The power roulette kept on giving. This one was definitely new for the list.

>>”Ah guess Iris coods feel th’ loove,"

"She'll be the prettiest baby ever" Gawain chuckled. Imagine those eyes on a cute baby. It was the stuff Internet fame was made of. Not hers, hopefully, but still. Cute.

>>”Ah wonder if they have any effect. Maybe they’re loove eyes? Dae ye feel mair in loove when ye look in mah eyes, Gawain?”

"How can I possibly tell?" he asked, grinning, running a hand through her hair. He leaned in to give her a kiss, longer this time. The eyes were definitely a plus. But probably not in a mutant way. And not more than the rest of her. "I hope not, though. That would be... weird on so many levels."

Rebecca was going to have to resist the urge to bring Iris into whatever videos she made online. She would never exploit her adorable child for views, but she could already feel proud mama instincts rising in her. She made this wonderful baby, so the instinct would be to tell the world how awesome she is.

Heart eyes would rank high on Becca's list whether they had a special effect or not. "Relax. Ye know Ah only hae heart eyes fer ye, Gawain," she promised, smiling dreamily at the man who was going to be her spouse. This wonderful person she was so head over heels for. "Ugh, Ah'm just sae ready tae be yer wife. Nothin' soonds better than 'at. If th' courthouse was open right noo, Ah'd probably be draggin' ye there noo." No one ever accused Rebecca of patience.

>>"Relax. Ye know Ah only hae heart eyes fer ye, Gawain,"

Gawain chuckled and rolled onto his side, looking at Becca. The heart eyes were amusing, and they would take some getting used to, as everything she was currently saying was automatically underscored by her anime-style gaze. God bless them, they would have to deal with a toddler's whims, and the toddler was going to use the hell out of those eyes....

>>"Ugh, Ah'm just sae ready tae be yer wife. Nothin' soonds better than 'at. If th' courthouse was open right noo, Ah'd probably be draggin' ye there noo."

Gawain laughed, sitting up to wrap an arm around her. "I don't think anyone would dare say no to you if you dragged the officials out of bed" he grinned "But maybe we wait till morning at least? I don't think Kalos will ever forgive us if she doesn't get to be flower girl."

That was a lovely sight to imagine; Kalos as their flower girl. Even if they decided on the small courthouse wedding, their first daughter would, of course be there. This was yet another step in their family becoming what it in many ways already was.

In fact, there was another step they still had to take, and the gears churned in Becca's head. "Ye know. Maybe nae tomorrow, bit if we really want tae dae a courthoose weddin, it coods be a guit time tae gie another bit ay paperwork done there." She lazily grabbed her phone and swiped in a search for the proper steps. "Ah think we need tae gie some stuff it ay th' way first, bit... what if we gae, gie married, then make our family official? Let our first act as a married couple be tae adopt our daughter?"