Zselyke hated election season. Sure, she excelled in debates and media appearances, and New York was a safe place to retain a seat, but it wasn't the stress of losing her job that got to Zselyke. In truth, election season was a year of campaigning with little time for much else. She hated how useless the Senate felt for a whole year, which was to say nothing about her personal life. Friends and Haven understood her need to vanish socially outside of event appearances, but that still drained Zselyke's battery.

There was also the travel aspect. She should have been smart and ran for a House seat; they had districts they hyperfocused on. Zselyke was running to appease the whole state of New York, which was larger than people gave it credit for. It was bigger than Hungary for goodness' sake! When she came to the States, grasping the sheer size of the country nearly broke her brain.

With the election in her rearview, Zselyke's shoulders could finally release months of tension and she could enjoy some temporary peace. Her office was packed with volunteers and campaign staff heading into November, but with campaigning finished, things quieted down considerably. She had some paperwork to take care of, so Zselyke went to the office in an attempt to focus. She even had a big bag of takeout so she could sequester herself.

She grabbed the door handle and prepared to unlock the door, but it seemed someone had beat her to it. Entering the large room where her interns and staff usually worked, Zselyke called out, "Is someone actually working today, or is this a break-in? If it's that one, this is a really boring place to rob, I promise."

Election season was finally over.

Between law school, the election, training, and wherever she managed to squeeze in something resembling a social life, Quin felt like she’d been on a runaway train since September.

At least things had settled into something of a rhythm once the five-thousand year old Egyptian Sorceress had been dealt with. It was still hard for Quin to believe that had happened or that she’d played a part in it, small as it had been.

Still. Today found the redhead sitting at her desk in Senator Lányi’s office, sorting through the last of what had been a massive mountain of backlogged paperwork. Elections were messy and there were so many moving pieces to coordinate that despite the fact that the Senator had been out of the office more than in it had felt like there was more work to do.

Still. It was over and it was quiet here and as the semester chugged towards a close Quin had brought her books and was planning to get some school work done before she headed home.

Sorting a pile of papers into things that needed to be shredded, things that needed to be filed, and things that were trash, Quin was surprised when the door rattled. The other interns in the group chat had said that they weren’t coming in. Who could it…?

A voice rang out and Quin grinned as the Senator herself entered the office.

“Unless someone is really interested in your travel itinerary or the food budgets for the campaign staff, they’re totally out of luck today.” Quin said, then tilted her head slightly in thought.

”Though honestly someone probably is interested in those things.” she added, then set the paper she was currently holding down on one of the piles.

“I didn’t expect to see you today Senator, is there anything you need?”

Zselyke made sure to familiarize herself with her staff, including interns. Remembering someone's name was the first step to gaining their trust and respect, and getting to know them further ensured Zselyke was surrounding herself with people who shared her mindset and mission.

Despite being an intern, Zselyke made a point to familiarize herself with Quincy Archer. Having another mutant around was nice, even if Zselyke kept her status quiet from others. She also made it a point to take the young woman under her wing when she was struggling to find direction after de-aging.

"No one exciting enough to perform a breaking & entering is interested in my paperwork," she answered with a grin.

She set her bags down on a table, unbuttoning her top two buttons. "Nice to my best girl busting her butt. I just thought I'd take advantage of the quiet office to handle paperwork I can't pass of to you all. But first," she opened a bag, releasing the scents of Indian takeout, "I'm think you've earned a break. I bought enough for at least four people."

Based on some of the absolutely wild attack ads that the opposition had tried to gain traction with during the election, Quin thought that someone probably cared how many sides of sour cream election staff had ordered on election night when the Senator had gotten everyone dinner. This had been Quin’s first election on a political staff, but nothing could have prepared her for the wild ride it had ended up being.

Senator Lányi had been the first person Quin had really talked to about how hard things had been after what had happened. That conversation seemed eons ago now, but the Senator had essentially told Quin that maybe she didn’t need to try to be who she had been. Part of the message had sunk in and Quin had pivoted her classes towards law instead of criminal justice. Now, six years later, she was about to start her last semester of law school.

As The Senator sat down her food she spoke and Quin shook her head a bit with a small laugh, “I’ve been meaning to dig through this pile for ages, but every time everyone is here there’s always more pressing issues. I figured if it was ever going to get done, I needed to find a time when nobody else was here.” She didn’t mention the study time, unsure if interns were allowed to use the office for personal use.

It did seem as though the Senator was here for a similar reason, though the rules were probably different for her considering it was her office.

Still, the other woman seemed to think that Quin had earned a break and as the smell of the food wafted in Quin’s direction she realized that she hadn’t eaten in quite some time.

”I always do the same thing…” Quin said, ”There’s no such thing as too much Indian food.” she said, sorting a couple more papers before moving around the desk and heading to the table.

There was something like-minded Zselyke saw in Quincy; either that or she was helping to mold the bright young woman's mind to be so. She had the same basic idea as the Senator; take advantage of the calm after the storm to get things done.

Pulling out clamshell containers and plastic tubs, Zselyke laid out the options as an offering for Quincy to build herself a plate. "Exactly. I've made a career out of sustaining myself with a fridge full of leftovers," she admitted, plating herself some rice as a base. "The necessities of living alone and not cooking."

Carefully tipping some curry out of a plastic container, Zselyke decided a meal would be a great time to check in on Quin. She seemed to be flourishing now that she was settling into a path, but Zselyke hadn't given her one-on-one attention in a while. "Are you the roommate that cooks? Or are you a fellow takeout junkie?" The question was less about cooking and more about fishing for details on Quincy's living situation. Roommates, partners, pets? Zselyke knew about her work-life, but what harm was there in knowing Off-the-Clock Quin?

Unless she wasn't looking to share, obviously. Zselyke passed all her harassment webinars because her burgeoning career wasn't going to be derailed by dumb decisions with a congressional staffer.

“That’s a relief.” Quin said as The Senator pointed out that she practically lived off of a fridge full of leftovers. Sometimes, especially lately, it had felt that way to Quin too. “I found myself wondering the other day if ordering extra portions specifically so I will have food for the next day was a sign of success or failure. I feel confident putting that mark in the success column now.”

There was a fair amount of food here and Quin felt a little less apprehensive about stepping in on The Senator’s meal as she grabbed a plate and dished up some rice and what looked like either butter chicken or tiki masala. Both were excellent choices and Quin sat down at the table as The Senator asked if she cooked or if she was a takeout junkie.

”I like to cook. Cleaner ingredients, healthier food and all that…but it’s just not practical..” Quin said.

”By the time I’m done with work, and classes, and studying…and now I’m adding Bar Exam Prep into it all…there just aren’t enough hours in the day to shop and cook. “ It sounded silly. People who were far more busy managed to do far more, but Quin also liked to at least try and mainitain something resembling a social life.

Quin still didn’t have a roommate, she supposed what she was doing would be considered squatting in the most technical of terms, but she was still living in the lovely apartment at Haven with the beautiful view or Central Park that she’d stayed in right after everything had happened. ”You must be relieved to be off the campaign trail. I can’t imagine it’s particularly comfortable.” Quin said, not wanting to focus too much on herself.