Rebecca knew her way around a photoshoot. She was no professional model, but occasionally, as an online personality who was admittedly pretty attractive, she was pulled in to model for a clothing line or collaborative project. There was even the ViewTuber sexy calendar that one year. Still, she had to be impressed by a professional high-end photoshoot for a fashion magazine.

Kalos asked if she was allowed to come meet her new aunt, but Rebecca gently told her she would meet Aunt Aoife next time. She wanted to meet her sister first, she reasoned, though the true reason was to fulfill her promise to Gawain. Before bringing Aoife to meet the family, she wanted to get to know the woman she was apparently related to, making sure she was the kind of person Kalos and Iris should meet.

A fussy administrative assistant spotted Rebecca and asked what she was doing visiting the shoot. Rebecca tried her best to explain the situation when a soft, sweet voice in a familiar Scottish lilt interrupted. ”Oi, Mina, calm doon, cannae ye teel by lookin' at 'er?” A stunning redhead in a tailored, unbuttoned suit stepped out from behind a wall of cameras and associated photographers. Aoife grinned. ”Mah wee sister's come by fur a visit.”

Rebecca felt warmth, because she had never been anyone’s sister before, and she was not expecting Aoife to call her that so readily. The word was validating, giving her confidence that perhaps the circumstances surrounding their births and separation might not prevent them from finding some relationship as sisters.

Mina was already apologizing, but Rebecca did her part to ease the situation. ”Nae, Ah’m a proper distraction, Ah gie it. Ah’m jist excited tae meet mah big sister. Maybe got here a wee bit tay early.”

Aoife buttoned her shirt and pulled off the sleek suit jacket of her ensamble. ”Yoo're reit oan time,” Aoife assured Rebecca, turning her focus back to her assistant or manager. It was hard to tell when Aoife was so clearly in charge. ”Mina, Ah’m takin' lunch. Ah'll be back later, but Ah hink Rebecca an' Ah ur gonnae dae some catchin' up.”

Mina seemed to consider protesting, but thought better of it. Aoife grabbed her purse and smiled, showing off flawless dimples. ”Mah treat; aam th' older ain, efter aw.”

Rebecca would have happily waited for the shoot to be over, but she would be lying if she said Aoife’s prioritizing did not make her feel welcome. ”Okay, bit… weel, thes is silly, bit…” Rebecca and Aoife were face to face, and the moment felt so surreal. This was her sister; someone she could have bonded with and depended on if their lives played out differently. She was here and they had a real chance to make up for that, and Rebecca did the emotional Rebecca thing and hugged her sister. ”Sorry, it’s jist… it’s guid tae finally meet ye, Aoife.”

Aoife was surprised, but her smile warmed and she accepted the hug. ”Nice tae meet ye, tay, Becca.” It was a big moment for both of them, so with that out of the way, they could finally pick the right cuisine to catch up on almost three decades of life stories.

Maya had been standing by for a text from her wife. It was the big day: the day when Becca got to meet her half-sister. They both agreed it was better for them to meet alone first; catch up, talk, get to know each other. If it all went horribly wrong, Becca had an out, having to go home to the baby. If it went well, Maya could join them later.
Apparently, it went well.

It took a couple of hours, but finally a text arrived. Kalos was doing teenage things with other teenagers from her class, so Maya took Iris and headed to the restaurant where Becca and Aoife were meeting. The timing wasn't exactly perfect - it was steam day, which meant both Iris and Maya were constantly letting off light steam from their skin, like two cups of hot tea. The puns never got old. Steaming baby in a carrier, Maya mirrorhopped downtown, and walked up to the restaurant. Luckily, it was nice enough to sit outside, and Becca was considerate enough to have picked a seat on the patio.

The woman who was sitting with Becca looked... as similar as a sister would. Definitely had a chic supermodel vibe, and seemed to be getting along with Becca just fine. Maya walked up to them, giving Aoife a smile over the head of the steaming baby.

"Hello, ladies. Left some dessert for us?"

Rebecca knew how to interact with fans and students, and some might even call her a social creature, but she knew how to be awkward with the best of them. It was fortunate for her that Aoife had the confidence and charisma of, well, someone who knew she was a supermodel.

Aoife shared some of her upbringing as an orphan, but did not dwell on her youth, focusing on the big breaks she got after high school, making the most of her resourceful mind and beautiful appearance.

Despite her own exciting life, Aoife was more interested in Becca's life. The X-Men, ViewTube, and now specifically her family. Conversation came so easily and Aoife was so friendly, Becca took the chance and invited Maya, knowing she could meet them at the cafe in minutes.

Becca sipped her cappuccino, smiling over the brim when she spotted Maya slipping out of nearby glass. She giggled, remembering the mutation of the day. "Aoife, meet mah smokin' hot spouse, Maya."

Aoife brightened, her eyes seemingly sparkling at the sight of the woman and the baby. "Weel, they gie here fast! Nice tae meet ye. An' th' wee ain es... Iris, richt?" Becca had given a brief rundown of the family, and Aoife was trying to commit everything to memory. "Es th' steam Maya ur th' baby?"

>>"Aoife, meet mah smokin' hot spouse, Maya."

Maya grinned, and pulled up a chair to join the redheads at the table. Iris looked around with wide baby eyes as Maya turned her around to look. Sitting on her lap for a few moments, the baby made grabby hands at Becca.

"Nice to meet you, Aoife."

>>"Weel, they gie here fast! Nice tae meet ye. An' th' wee ain es... Iris, richt? Es th' steam Maya ur th' baby?"

"Right now, both" Maya chuckled. Now that Iris was sitting on her lap it was more obvious that both were steaming. "Iris' powers transfer on skin contact. So, if she steams, we steam too. But it goes away after a while."

Becca weighed the pros and cons of lifting her daughter and accepting the mutation she was carrying today. She ultimately wanted to hold her daughter enough to live with hot, steamy skin. She took the grabby baby, flinching at the heat of Iris's skin before her own skin got hot to match.

"Soonds loch a parentin' challenge tae me. Gosh, Ah've never seen a baby mutant," Aoife admitted, genuinely curious. "Sae ye're a mutant tay, right Becca? Anaither thing ma only gae ain ay us."

Becca awkwardly chuckled, assuming that was not meant with ill intent. "Ah am, though Ah gie mah powers late, sae Ah was a very normal baby."

Aoife gestured her finger between the couple. "Sae what dae ye both dae? Must be impressive tae be superheroes! Any chance of a demonstration?"

Becca grimaced, still in no condition to demonstrate her powers. "Ah'm a magnetic manipulator, but... er, mah powers have been a wee bit haywire thes past year, sae now demonstrations. Sorry..." She really needed to spend more time out in the desert, refining her control somewhere she couldn't break a building.

Becca took Iris, and now there were three of them steaming. Maya took the opportunity and stone some of Becca's dessert. Iris cooed happily, not at all bothered by the steam.

>>"Soonds loch a parentin' challenge tae me. Gosh, Ah've never seen a baby mutant. Sae ye're a mutant tay, right Becca? Anaither thing ma only gae ain ay us."

Maya glanced between the two sisters. She could tell there was still a lot of awkwardness between them, and that comment... was off. Aoife clearly had issues to work through. It was very much understandable in her case. Becca just found out she had a sister her mom gave away... but Aoife just found out she had a sister her mom kept.

>>"Ah am, though Ah gie mah powers late, sae Ah was a very normal baby."

"Yeah. Iris gets the early mutation from me" Maya added with a smile.

>>"Sae what dae ye both dae? Must be impressive tae be superheroes! Any chance of a demonstration?"

>>"Ah'm a magnetic manipulator, but... er, mah powers have been a wee bit haywire thes past year, sae now demonstrations. Sorry..."

Maya glanced at her wife again. Becca had been awkward about her powers since the pregnancy. She was not actively back on the team yet either.

"I'm a teleporter." she supplied, to keep the conversation going "... and I turn into a guy every other day. But that part is not really useful for the... superhero business." she chuckled.

Being the only mutant daughter, Becca was not prepared for how Aoife might feel about being the human sister. Mutants were wildly divisive, and even people who did not hate them occasionally envied them. The comment Aoife made could have hinted at that, but she said it so light and casually, Becca was willing to assume it was a joke. It made her feel awkward, but she would not get stuck on it.

With her powers being out of whack since the Arctic Mission, Becca was glad to have Maya taking some pressure off her shoulders by shifting the conversation to her own mutation.

> "I'm a teleporter... and I turn into a guy every other day. But that part is not really useful for the... superhero business."

"It's pretty useful fur th' marriage business, at leest," Becca joked, hoping that would not be the thing to weird her sister out. An anti-mutant bigot would be one thing, but she refused to consider her sister could be a homophobe in the Year of Our Lord Twenty-Twenty-One. "But besides bein' th' world's sexiest wife and husband, she can travel atween mirrors. it takes a while tae gie used tae, but it saves sae much time an' gas jist bein' able tae pop atween mirrors."

Maybe Becca was talking up her partner by over-explaining a bit, showing off her genuinely impressive spouse. If that was the case, it worked. Aoife looked back to Maya with fascination in her eyes. "Those ur some amazin' gifts! An' th' gender hin' does answer some questions Ah hud abit th' little one," Aoife admitted, smiling broadly at the pair. "Ah didn't realize my little sister would have such a lovely family for herself already! Color me a little jealous," she teased. "But ye mentioned anither dochter, didne ye? Ah'll admit, Ah was hopin' tae meit baith mah new nieces."

Maya watched Aoife's reactions to the news that just kept coming: the powers, the baby, the gender shifting, the superhero business. It was natural for her to have a lot of questions. Maya just hoped she would not react badly to any of them. Iris made happy cooing sounds and tried to put a hand into Becca's cup.

>>"It's pretty useful fur th' marriage business, at leest. But besides bein' th' world's sexiest wife and husband, she can travel atween mirrors. it takes a while tae gie used tae, but it saves sae much time an' gas jist bein' able tae pop atween mirrors."

"Especially because the only thing I know how to drive is a jet." Maya grinned.

>>"Those ur some amazin' gifts! An' th' gender hin' does answer some questions Ah hud abit th' little one,"

Okay, good. She was on board with the gender shifting. Or at least decent enough not to judge out loud. Maya knew people made all kinds of assumptions about their family on Maya days.

>>"Ah didn't realize my little sister would have such a lovely family for herself already! Color me a little jealous. But ye mentioned anither dochter, didne ye? Ah'll admit, Ah was hopin' tae meit baith mah new nieces."

Jealousy, even though as a joke, popped up again. Some of it was natural. But Maya made a mental note anyway before she smiled.

"Yes, we also have a teenager, Kalos. She's from Atlantis, we adopted her. She's off doing some teenage thing with her friends. You'll get to meet her next time." As long as there was a next time. Iris would not remember Aoife if things went wrong, but Kalos was a different thing. Maya was glad the kid had other things to do than tag along.

"An adopted dochter frae Atlantis," she repeated, evidently surprised by the twist. "Becca, ye really leid a unique life. Usually Ah gie a lot ay mileage frae 'Scottish orphan plucked frae obscurity goes frae local actress tae international model.' Next tae ye, 'at soonds awmost plain!" There was something melodic about Aoife's laughter.

Becca joined in, wanting to downplay what had admittedly been a weird life by anyone's standards. "Aoife, yer special. There's naethin' plain abit ye. Yoo've dain sae much oan yer ain tae build sich an amazin' life. Ah... really wish Ah coods hae groon up lookin' up tae ye," Becca admitted, feeling a slight blush of embarrassment creep up on her cheeks. It was not Becca's fault she did not know she had a sister, but she still felt guilty not being there for Aoife.

The genuine confession caught Aoife by surprise. She softened, taking a deep breath. "It wasnae easy," she admitted quietly. "Growin' up oan mah ain. Ah willnae pretend Ah was happy nae knowin' fa mah family was."

The model brightened, lifting her expression back up. "But that's wa Ah'm glad Ah finally foond uir ma. Glad Ah can meit mah sister an' gie tae ken 'er family. Mah family," Aoife added hesitantly.

Becca felt a tear forming in the corner of her eye which quickly evaporated and joined the rest of the steam piping from her skin. "And Ah'm glad ye asked tae meet. Mah family is yer family, Aoife. Ah'm glad fate put ye back in mah life."

Aoife presented a smile to Becca and her partner, worried a wicked grin might slip past if she did not wear a mask. "Fate indeed, sister."