>>"I'm sorry, I just...I've never... I've never done anything like this before and I'm worried about going farther than we're ready for, than I'm ready for...

Gawain fought really hard to keep his face straight; randomly blushing into the room's surrounding colors, Twyla looked unbearably adorable. And still pretty much freaked out. The young knight chuckled once in a while, trying to hold it back but not always succeeding. He waited patiently till the end of her speech before he shook his head with a smile.

"Geez, girl, take a breath already." he moved to hug her again, just because she looked so shy, but decided against it, and only touched her chin to tilt her face up to his and look into her eyes. "Twyla. I know." he kissed her on the cheek "I know I'm a guy..." quick glance at a clock "... for another half an hour or so, but trust me when I say 'hold you' I mean exactly that. I'm not gonna rush you or anythin'. Especially not after today."

You were right about the 'seems totally awesome' part too, by the way...

"... annd, I'm serious 'bout the rest of it too. If you want me to stay, I can sleep on the floor. I don't mind."

I can wait. I can.

Any chuckling was missed when Twyla went off on her nervous mini-rant. While she was speaking she had been more focused on how awkward it was to talk about something like that and the fact that her powers were acting up than on Gawain's reaction to everything. When his reaction was finally noticed the girl felt even more embarrassed than before. I think you've just totally made a giant deal out of nothing and now you look like some crazy paranoid chick who keeps sending out mixed signals and who has no control of herself. A split second before there was a hand under her chin that chin was pointed downwards so she could stare angrily at the slowly receding camo of her legs. When her chin was tilted she was forced to look up.

At least he was smiling. That was comforting.

So was knowing what she was talking about, that helped too. For what he was saying (and for not calling her crazy or weird or a million other things) Twyla could have kissed Gawain. That, she decided, was probably not the best reaction for the moment...so she settled on giving the boy a normal hug instead. "Thanks." She gave the boy a squeeze that was meant to convey the fact that he'd just totally handled the situation better than she had and that she was grateful.

Then the girl pulled away to look at her floor. He was not leaving her alone with her nightmares (and there would be nightmares), that much was for certain. A dubious glance was given to the very messy floor and then back to the boy. "You do not want to sleep down there." It wasn't that there was anything too gross on her floor...there was just so much paper and random things that even after some clearing was done it didn't sound like a fun prospect. And since holding meaning just holding was assured sharing a bed for one night didn't seem like a bad prospect--just so long as they kept control of themselves (meaning Twyla remembered that she didn't want to ruin anything that would or could happen between the Morris kid and herself by making a hasty and stupid decision).

"You can sleep wherever you want, but you need a shirt." Twyla smiled at the boy and willed her eyes to remain focused on his face. It didn't matter which gender Gawain would be in less than an hour--he still needed to be fully clothed no matter what they were going to do sleeping arrangement-wise.

>>"Thanks."

"Ya're welcome." Gawain grinned, hugging her back. She finally relaxed, which was good, after all they'd been through today that was what she needed most. He ran his hand up and down her back to help her with that.

>>"You do not want to sleep down there. You can sleep wherever you want, but you need a shirt."

The grinning continued. "Trust me I've slept in worse places."
He needed a shirt, she said. Actually, Maya probably needed a shirt, otherwise the whole sleeping arrangement could get more than a bit awkward, after midnight. He stepped back with a sigh.

"Allright, Bubblegum, here's the deal: I'm gonna go change, an' take a shower, an' I'm gonna be back soon to tuck you in." he chuckled "Sounds good enough?"

Picking the ruined shirt up from the floor, he walked over to the mirror.
Half an hour to Maya. Better hurry up.

There were worse places than Twyla Ashby's floor but after the night they'd had making him sleep down there seemed a poor thanks for a rescue and for dealing with her crap all night.

"Alright, sounds good." Twyla laughed for a second when Gawain said he'd be back to tuck her in. It was a little hard to let him walk away (she realized she was going to be alone for a little while) but she watched him walk into the mirror.

"No time for a shower." The blond muttered to herself as she looked around her chaotic room. She wasn't embarrassed about it, not really. Henri had seen her room in states worse than this and Twyla hadn't batted an eyelash. This was her, who she was--she organized her mind as best she could but everything else was left to fend for itself...she knew where everything was, truly.

As soon as she was alone Twyla flew to her bed and threw off the sheets. Usually she didn't bother to make her bed because she always messed it up anyway when she slept (or read in bed or had a nightmare...) but she wasn't totally sure how easy it would be to nest in her assorted covers plus another person. It's not weird. The girl told herself as she took the extra minutes to make sure that her sheets were tucked under and that her camouflage comforter was resting nicely atop it all. Freak.

Twyla rushed into the bathroom after her bed was made for the first time in a long time. "No time for a shower." She muttered again as she hurriedly pulled off her sweater and then her tank top (which ended up on the floor). A second later water was running in the sink as she was rubbing a wet towel around her torso in the hopes of cleaning up as much as possible. There was nothing she could do with her hair so the blond and pink locks went up in a messy bun on top of her head.

Pajamas...? Usually no one saw her in her pjs so Twyla took extra time in picking out the blue soffe shorts. "Now...top?" The issue was this: Twyla didn't go bra-less in front of anyone--expect her family. Besides wearing a bra to bed (no freaking way that was happening) the girl was in a dilemma. "Crap." Twyla muttered as she looked down at her still bare midriff. "Maybe a tank top?" She worried her lip and crossed her arms over her chest as she sifted through the clothes on the chair.

"Yay hooray..." A solution was found in the form of a tank with a built-in under one of her usual over sized bed tee shirts (it was the least wrinkled and the least baggy of the ones she could find). A comfortable excitement was building as she waited for the return of Gawain/Maya akin to being giddy. It was a tired giddy...but the girl had one thing to ask before she even attempted sleep. Well, several, but she hoped one would lead to the others.

((I'll proofread it better later, I have class now but I wanted to post ))

Gawain went back to his room, took a shower, and changed. Into Maya.

It was not the original plan, but since he only had half an hour left till the shift, he figured it would be better for both of them to wait till she was Maya before she returned to Twyla's room. They had had enough stuff to deal with for one day and night, no need to make Twyla deal with the shifting part too.
Besides, it is very tricky to take a shower with bandages on.

Maya returned a few minutes after midnight, wearing pj pants and a tank top. She leaned back against the mirror from the inside, making sure not to look in case Twyla was still... not decent. Raising one hand, she knocked on the glass.

"Hey. Ready for the bedtime story?"

Pajama problems solved, the girl happily pulled the black tee over her head when--Tap. Tap. The noise made Twyla jump and whip her head around wildly until she found the source of the sound. It was Maya, in all her casual glory, leaning in the frame of her mirror. The blond was pretty sure she could never pull off such a chill posture but she raised an eyebrow in a cool attempt anyway. "Bedtime story? I haven't heard one of those in ages." A smile followed this and the girl backed up to sit on the edge of her bed. "Sure I'm ready."

But! There was always a but!

Just one teeny, little, detail that she had been wondering about in the back of her mind since she thought of it earlier in the bathroom. "I just have a quick question--totally random, but bear with me please. The day we met the first time--were you walking through the windows of that building?" Twyla's eyebrows were crinkled in confusion, as if she wasn't sure what she was asking. If she responded in the affirmative it would explain a lot of things; like the weird reflection things, how she almost fell over Maya when she turned around...

And if not Twyla could sound like a freak for the millionth time. Maya probably didn't remember the first moments of their meeting and she probably had no idea what Twyla was asking. It was a random tidbit after all.

The question was an innocent and honest one. Twyla really wanted to know and she was maybe hoping she could tie the conversation in with a few interesting things mentioned in the house earlier that night...the night before, since it was technically morning...

Mostly she just wanted to know about the mirror building thing, truly.

>>"Bedtime story? I haven't heard one of those in ages. Sure I'm ready."

Maya grinned as she climbed out of the mirror and walked over to the bed. There were a few stories she could tell...

>>"I just have a quick question--totally random, but bear with me please. The day we met the first time--were you walking through the windows of that building?"

The grin softened as Maya sat down on the edge of the bed too, looking at her girlfriend. Dear, adorable, smart Twyla. She really figures everything out. Maya felt her cheeks turn pink, and deepen to red.
Well, that's one story she could tell...

"Yes. I made you bump into me."

Maya grinned and as she stepped out of the mirror Twyla watched transfixed. It was fascinating how some people's powers worked. The initial grin faded a bit when the blond asked her question. Oops. For a second Twyla felt guilty and then she realized she had nothing to really be sorry for--it was just a question.

A question that made Maya blush all the way into the red spectrum. Cue more strange guilt. It was kinda ridiculous that she was felling bad about asking a simple, if random, question. At least she got an answer, or part of one--always a plus.

Twyla's brows crinkled again, she needed more information. "What do you mean you 'made me' bump into you?" A second was given so Twyla could elaborate on her second question. "I thought I was going crazy or something--were you messing with me?" There was no anger, just general curiosity. The blond was smiling in an attempt to show she wasn't upset.

And she wasn't upset. At all. It didn't even register. Things made more sense now and it's not like she could be mad that Maya had wanted to--"Why did you bump into me?"

>>"What do you mean you 'made me' bump into you? I thought I was going crazy or something--were you messing with me?"

Maya looked away, blushing deeper red.
Oh, so this is how it feels like.
I wonder how Twyla deals with this all the time...

"No, I wasn't, I just..." sigh "... I guess I kinda... was. I didn't wanna scare you or anythin'..."

Oh great, I sound like a stalker now.

>>"Why did you bump into me?"

Why did I?...
Maya glanced at Twyla. She was smiling. Good sign. The girl was suddenly aware that the blonde sitting next to her was almost a year older than her. She wondered why that thought had never occurred to Gawain before. It was another weird thing about gender shifting. It had to be.

"I..." Maya bit her lip, then took a deep breath, come on, there can't be two shy girls in one relationship "... you just looked so... happy. And nice. And I wanted to know you. I was not really thinking... I messed with you to make you turn around. I didn't want to freak you out with the whole mutant thing. Right away."

It sounded funny now. Maya chuckled.

"Plus, you had pink hair. I think that explains a lot."

It was weird to watch someone else blush and not blush yourself. Even weirder when it was Maya that was blushing. Twyla waited until all her questions were answered before she even attempted to formulate a reply. The only thing she did was smile as comforting as possible and force herself not to bite her lip when the other girl did.

An attempt at verbal comforting was thrown into the conversation. "It's not weird or anything--I didn't want to tell you that I was a mutant either." Maya seemed to feel more comfortable because she was back to her chuckling self. Twyla didn't really laugh, her mind was just fitting the pieces together quietly. It wasn't all that weird, that's how people met--they struck up conversation with interesting looking people. Maya just happened to use to her powers to strike up that conversation.

She did laugh when the other girl said that the pink hair helped. A hand went up to touch a hanging down tendril subconsciously and the girl nodded. "I suppose that does make one more interesting." I wonder if we would have met if I had brown hair still... That train of thought was way to weird to fathom--too many things would have been different. "Well, I'm glad that you wanted to meet me." She paused and her hand found its way to the other girl's. "Seriously." The hand inside of hers was squeezed.

Curiosity on that subject satisfied, Twyla almost wanted to move on to her next question...but at the same time there was no way she was going to bring it up. What if she wasn't ready for the answer? A few things said in the house had stuck with the girl and she had wanted to broach the subject after using her first question as a springboard...but that wasn't happening unless Twyla suddenly got brave.

Really, she didn't need to know.

Maya didn't really see where the conversation was headed, or where the sudden interest came from, but she was glad Twyla wasn't mad about it. She thought about their first meeting often - how she ran into her, or rather, her reflection, by accident, and everything that happened after that. She just kept forgetting the part that for Twyla, it was not totally by accident.
Well, she knew now.

>>"Well, I'm glad that you wanted to meet me. Seriously."

"I am too." Maya smiled, lifting their hands to nuzzle her cheek against the back of Twyla's hand; it felt comforting, and surprisingly cool against the fading blush "And I'm glad I found you here."

She looked at Twyla again, and the whole evening started to catch up to her; did the cute, pink-haired girl with the sweet smile really ask her to be her...
... technically, she asked Gawain.

Maya pressed a kiss on top of Twyla's hand, and the shy expression on her face was replaced by a soft smile.

"So, still wanna be my girlfriend?..."

Twyla said a copying "Me too." to the bit about Maya, o Gawain rather, finding her again at the Mansion. "That part was even luckier, even if I was kinda freaked out by the whole thing--you were weirding me out and I thought you were some kind of race of aliens, no lie." Her cheeks tinged a bit pink but mostly Twyla was focused on the fact that her hand was touching Maya's cheek. It's not like she was lying about the alien thing, it had really occurred to her. The blond attributed this mostly to the fact that it was so late and she'd been reading enough that it stimulated her imagination into some of its crazier thoughts.

There was some looking for a moment and the girl was a bit confused and then her hand was kissed and Maya had a more normal expression on her face. The question confused Twyla a bit more and she blurted: "Of course I still want to be your girlfriend. Did you miss the part about 'need' earlier? I can't...I can't not know what we could be. Life is to crazy to be scared of this kind of thing." Pulling her hand away Twyla leaned forward into the space between them. "You're not scary."

The kiss she planted on the other girl's lips was similar to the desperate one from near the door but she pulled back before either of them could get too into it. Her face was a bit flushed when she looked back at Maya and she bit her lip before scooting farther back onto the bed. "So what was this about a bedtime story?"

Her other question could wait--would wait. Maybe she'd never ask it at all. Now wasn't the right time, it was much too soon and everything was much too jumbled in her head for anymore processing that night,er,morning.

>>"That part was even luckier, even if I was kinda freaked out by the whole thing--you were weirding me out and I thought you were some kind of race of aliens, no lie."

Maya chuckled at that, and shook her head. There she was, in the middle of a school full of mutants with all kinds of weird powers, and her first thought was 'alien'. Right.

>>"Of course I still want to be your girlfriend. Did you miss the part about 'need' earlier? I can't...I can't not know what we could be. Life is to crazy to be scared of this kind of thing. You're not scary."

Oh no. She didn't miss the part about 'need'.
Maya's heart jumped at what she heard. It sounded too good to be real. The kiss that followed was the same kind they shared earlier, and she responded the same way; but before her hands moved, Twyla backed away, leaving her flushed and panting. Maya smiled. She'd never been happier in her life.

"Ya really wan't a story, don't you." she chuckled, lying down onto the bed with her unhurt arm behind her head "Well, I know one. But it's silly."

It has been a while since the bedtime stories.

"Yes. Yes I do." Maya laid back on the bed and the blond followed suit after she scooted even more. She ended up next to the other girl but she twisted so she was on her side and could look at the other girl's face. "Silly is my specialty." She smiled and then looked at Maya for a long moment.

"Hold that thought." There was some giggling and the bed rocked as she flew off of it and to the light switch. "Turn on the lamp, pretty please." She turned off the main light and flew back to the bed, which creaked when she landed on it.

With a giggle she explained: "The lighting wasn't right. Carry on." She was on her side and looking intently at Maya once more.

Maya chuckled as Twyla jumped in and out of bed; when the blonde-pink girl finally settled down next to her, she grinned at her in the light of the bedside lamp, and began the story.

"'tis a story Mom used to tell me... when I was a kid. She said there's a lot to learn from it, but I think she mainly told it because 'tis short, and kinda funny. So..." Maya took a breath, wrinkling her nose, trying to decide where to start.

"... it's about King Arthur. He was a great king an' all, but 'cause he took the land from many smaller kingdoms before him, there were knights all over England who didn' like him all that much. So, one day, one of them captured Arthur, an' threatened to kill him, unles he proves he's as wise a king as they say. The black knight gave him a quest: he had to find out what thing in the world women long for the most. He had one year to do it."

Maya grinned.

"'course nobody could find out what women want the most, all the women wanted somethin' else. Sir Lancelot, a lot of them wanted him, but not everyone. So, Arthur sends out the knights to look for the right answer. One of them is Sir Gawain, his nephew."

Surprise, surprise.

"... Gawain liked Arthur very much, an' didn't wanna see him get hurt, so off he goes, lookin' to find out what women want the most. He spends the whole year questin', and finds nothin' at all. As he is goin' back home towards Camelot, he meets this... ugly old hag, with dirt all over, and a long nose, and one tooth, and she smells real bad an' all. But, y'know, Gawain's a real knight, so he greets her as a lady, an' asks her the question. And the hag, she tells him it's easy, but he gotta promise to marry her if her answer's right. An' Gawain, 'cuz he really likes Arthur, promises, an' takes her home to Camelot."

Maya paused, wrinking her nose again; she was trying to get all the details right.

"So, the black knight comes back for Arthur, and asks if he has the answer. An' Gawain tells him what the hag said: What all women desire the most is to be able to decide their own fate." she chuckled "Sir Lance can't beat that. So. The answer's right, black knight's kicked otta court, and 'tis time for Gawain to marry the hag. An' all the ladies weep for him."

Grin.

"An' they dress up the hag real nice, to cover up how ugly she is. An' when they're left alone, after the wedding, Gawain's gotta kiss the bride..."

Pause.

"... and she turns into a beautiful princess, for that's what she really was, she was just cursed by an enchantress who envied her beauty. And now she tells Gawain he has a decision to make: she can either be ugly at night and beautiful by day, or the other way around. 'tis a tough choice, you see: either the whole court thinks Gawain lives with a hag, but he can sleep with the princess, or they will see the princess, but at night he's stuck with the hag."

Grin.

"So, Gawain thinks 'bout it for a while... and the he says, 'My lady, this choice is not mine to make. Ladies should be able to decide their own fate. And guess what" Maya chuckled "The answer is right, the spell is broken, an' she remains a beautiful princess, forever, day and night. Happily ever after."