Pippa fidgeted with a loose thread on her glove as she stood in the foyer of the Haven building. Refugees from the Mansion, and people who had been in the battle, were trickling in, to be quickly ushered away by Haven employees and volunteers to get food, medical attention, and temporary accommodations. Pippa had watched the battle unfold on TV, feeling utterly useless and helpless. Sabine had been there, inside the Mansion, coordinating defense. She was inside when the building blew up. Until there was word from her again, Pippa felt like time had stopped, and her insides had been replaced by lead. It felt like she didn't even draw a breath until there was word from her again.

Sabine, thank god, was fine. Or so she said. After the cleanup at the battle site, she was supposed to be on her way back to Haven for debrief. But other people had come in now, and she was still nowhere to be seen. Pippa's anxiety grew with every passing minute. If things continued like this, her glove would not be the only thing that unraveled.

Coming from a world where she was a tool of an oppressive government, Sabine hoped her second lease on life could mean a better, simpler life. After a few years, she could confirm that her life was better, but it was far from easy. The battle with the Betsy Button at an abandoned mall was more chaotic than most of her ops in the other world, but the Battle of Xavier's was on another level.

They were dealing with magic. They had to fight what Sabine and anyone with eyes would call a demon or eldritch demigod. And during that potentially apocalyptic battle, Sabine was in the X-Men War Room coordinating their battle. The experience was surreal, yet it was supposed to be just another day in her life as a SUPER Agent.

Sabine was one of the last to arrive to the Haven location, feeling responsible for following up with her own agents and even the leaders of the X-Team. It was only when she walked through a door and saw Pippa anxiously fiddling with her gloves that the reality of the situation hit her: she could have died. They all could have died. And she had someone who cared enough about her to worry herself sick. "Pippa..."

Pippa drew a deep breath, as if she was surfacing from being underwater, as she saw Sabine walk in. She looked worn, but she was arriving on her own feet, not missing any limbs, which was a good start. Pippa hurried over to her; her first instinct was to launch herself at Sabine, but they were in the middle of Haven, and their relationship - whatever the status of that was - was definitely not public, let alone known to her other employer. She pulled up short.

"Are you alright?" She asked nervously, looking Sabine over. "Were you injured?"

Sabine brightened, walking toward Pippa to close the gap as her sweet partner rushed over. Pippa might have stopped short, but Sabine didn't. She was finally feeling the nerves that came from almost being buried alive or killed by magic. This was almost a moment she didn't get to have with Pippa again. She could not let it pass without scooping Pippa into a hug and lifting her off her feet.

"I'm alright. They really did set me up in the safest room they had." There were doubts when the Mansion collapsed around her that the War Room wouldn't hold up to its reputation, but the X-Men clearly built that thing out of the right stuff. "If anything, I might've been too safe out there."

Sabine scooped her up and Pippa put her worries aside, clinging to her in a tight hug. She was back. She was alright. The reality of how close they had been to not meeting like this again came crashing down on Pippa. Luckily, since people were still trickling in and Haven was fighting to accommodate everyone, their hug seemed nothing our of the ordinary. Emotions were running high all around.

"No such thing" she muttered against her shoulder. Too safe indeed. She had been in a battle with some literal demon. "I thought, when the building came down..."

Sabine had the sense not to kiss Pippa in the middle of Haven, an organization the PR mastermind worked for. Sabine and Pippa were seen in public together, but that was perceived by most to be a professional relationship. People hugged their close friends, but kissing would be much harder to explain to Sveta and Devon, let alone Sabine's superiors.

"Yeah, the Mansion collapsing was definitely as scary underneath it as it probably was to watch," Sabine admitted. There was nothing Sabine could do but hope for the best when she watched The Fifth collapse the building. "You know me; I hate situations that I can't control. But I guess I was safer than the Agents and X-Men on the surface."

Looking around at the crowd of people looking for friends and loved ones in a large room, Sabine spoke close to Pippa's ear. "Is there somewhere we can talk more privately?"

>>"Yeah, the Mansion collapsing was definitely as scary underneath it as it probably was to watch,"

No. Watching had been worse. For a long time, feeling like an eternity, Pippa had not known whether Sabine was still alive. But she was not going to argue her point. She was happy she was alive. She drew back, trying to keep control of her emotions.

>>"Is there somewhere we can talk more privately?"

"Yes." Pippa nodded. "Yes, there... Haven is housing a lot of refugees right now. They converted some of the offices too, we... can use the small one I used to have when I worked here?"

Sabine loosened her tight hold of Pippa and nodded. "Right. Your office. Good. I'd like a chance to debrief away from civilians." Sabine hooked her arm around Pippa's arm and let the blonde lead the way.

Once the door behind them was finally closed and the blinds shuttered, Sabine grabbed Pippa's face with both hands and pulled her in for a long kiss. Her body relaxed for the first time all night and she could catch her breath. "I missed you. I'm so sorry I had to leave you panicking and worrying. This is the first major disaster we've had to deal with since... well, I'm not used to having someone home worrying about me." Before Pippa, anyone who would have been concerned for Sabine's safety worked for SUPER in a similar capacity and dealt with the same risks. A civilian girlfriend took some reasonable adjustment.

Pippa led Sabine to her former office, which was a small space, not currently used by anyone. She barely had time to shut the door and the blinds before she was pulled into a kiss. She didn't resist; she melted against Sabine. It was a kiss they both needed. It said things she could't put the words to, and left her breathless.

>>"I missed you. I'm so sorry I had to leave you panicking and worrying. This is the first major disaster we've had to deal with since... well, I'm not used to having someone home worrying about me."

"Well... I worried." Understatement of the year. Pippa gave her a sheepish look. "Is it bad that I think I prefer to be kidnapped and shot at with you, to this?"

Sabine understood where Pippa was coming from; even before they were together, the pair experienced their own life-or-death misadventures. Going through those trials together was a unique bonding experience, and Sabine was glad she was there with Pippa, knowing she could do whatever was needed to keep Pippa safe.

"I get it, but also: absolutely not." In Sabine's eyes, she was allowed some hypocrisy in this situation. "I signed up to throw myself into trouble, but I'm most at ease when you are far, far from harm's way."

Sabine offered her shoulder for Pippa to rest her head on; this had been an exhausting day. "But I guess I can't imagine being in your shoes for this." If all Sabine could do was watch and pray silently for Pippa to be safe, she would have lost her damn mind.

"I have to warn you: there's no promising we won't have to do this again. Not the big archdemon, obviously." Hopefully. "But when everything goes down, it's likely I'll be in the middle of it. I need you to really consider if you can deal with days like this, because there are much safer women to love out there."

>>"I get it, but also: absolutely not. I signed up to throw myself into trouble, but I'm most at ease when you are far, far from harm's way. But I guess I can't imagine being in your shoes for this."

"What, am I your princess now?" Pippa hugged her, resting her head on her shoulder. She was aware that she was not combat trained or ready for any field missions. But she also hated the helpless feeling she had experienced today.

>>"I have to warn you: there's no promising we won't have to do this again. Not the big archdemon, obviously. But when everything goes down, it's likely I'll be in the middle of it. I need you to really consider if you can deal with days like this, because there are much safer women to love out there."

Pippa blinked. She still had her face buried in Sabine's shoulder, which was just as well, because she was suddenly at a loss of what to say. She felt her cheeks flush. What did one say to that? It wasn't an admission; it was an assumption. Not that Sabine was wrong... And clearly, the emotions of the day overruled the fact that they had only been dating for a few months in a cautious way. By the time she realized she was not saying anything, it had already been several moments too long.

"Maybe you are my princess, you goof. Have you ever thought of that?" Sabine didn't have a complex when I came to saving people, but she still had a vested interest in protecting Pippa.

Being Sabine's girlfriend, in the opposite end, meant signing up for more stress. Sabine wasn't sure how serious her question was, but it got a heavy pregnant pause before any potential answer.

Sabine interjected instead. "To be clear, I don't want things to end here. But I know what this job is and I feel like a bad girlfriend for putting you through all that worry."

Pippa was still at a loss, so Sabine spoke again, clearly oblivious to the wording of her previous statement. It seemed like they were worrying about two completely different things.

>>"To be clear, I don't want things to end here. But I know what this job is and I feel like a bad girlfriend for putting you through all that worry."

Different things. Pippa took a deep breath. It had been a slip-up, obviously. And Sabine was right. The bigger question was... could a relationship survive so much stress? She lifted her head, looking up at Sabine.

"You never called yourself my girlfriend before..." she noted with a small smile.

The point caught Sabine by surprise. Had she really never used the word? In a way, it felt a bit High School, but she liked saying it anyway. "I guess maybe it always felt implied. But that's what we are, right? You're my girlfriend." They couldn't talk about it often, but that didn't mean Sabine saw their relationship as anything other than deeply real to her.

"Implied." Pippa chuckled. She had been working for Sabine long enough as a PR person, not to mention dating her, to know she was not a mushy romantic person. She was something much better: she was honest. And trusting, at least towards Pippa. With all the heavy feelings today, Pippa felt giddy at having this moment with her. Something lighter. Because they were both alive. "Yes. I am." She nodded, framing her face with her gloved hands. "Although we could circle back to the princess part..."