December 1st: Gawain's Birthday

You only turned eighteen once. Twyla Ashby’s sometimes boyfriend sometimes girlfriend was turning eighteen and she wanted to make it something special and kind of cheesy…there was so much cheese.

That morning she woke Gawain up with a breakfast of doughnuts and fruit and a plan to skip classes for the day. Skipping class was partly a present for the blond as well—she had been running herself down all school year trying to get her grades and transcripts up and shiny for colleges. When asked where they were going that day, all Twyla had responded with was a mischievous smile and “That’s not how this works, birthday boy.” Once the pair was cleaned up and ready to ditch class out in the city, the girl grabbed the boy’s hand and a large paper bag that was tapped closed and they snuck out the gates camouflaged.

Twyla had realized that the Morris kid probably didn’t have an I.D.—like she didn’t, but that made her plans for the day even more fun. Seriously immature, but fun. Back home the tradition had been to either: buy a lottery ticket and cigarettes at a gas station or to mob an adult store with a group of older friends. The second option usually resulted in a lot of obnoxious laughing and discomfort for some of the more innocent members of the teenage mob. Twyla would have had to go through one or both of these rituals on her eighteenth birthday—had she been home. Oh well, it just meant she’d have to make sure and celebrate all of her younger friend’s birthdays this way.

It only took a short bus trip for Gawain and Twyla to arrive at their destination, an adult bookstore with a tribute to Fabio in the window display.

Silly? Yes, yes it was. Did Twyla care? Not really.

The blond was feeling a little tame; otherwise she’d have gone to a more risqué or hardcore place that carded people. It just seemed like things could get more awkward than fun going just the two of them. Maybe she was secretly a prude.

But first! “Happy birthday, babe.” Twyla leaned in to give Gawain a kiss on the cheek as she handed him the brown bag she’d been carrying. The blond was always one for giving practical gifts—so hopefully the dark gray backpack she’d found would be appreciated. It had been decided (between herself and her sister via a phone conversation) that a gray bag like the one she had picked out would be neutral enough to carry whatever items (like a change of clothes) her significant other needed in many different situations. Gift giving was not Twyla’s strong suit, and she shyly stared down at her hands through her lashes, her slight blush betraying her discomfort.

And after the gift giving there would be more sneaking…and then a real party back at the Mansion.

((OOC: Let me know if this works, I figure we can do 1 or 2 posts each for every moment. Feel free to take them inside or whatnot. ))

>>“Happy birthday, babe.”

Best. Birthday. Ever.

Compared to the past five birthdays he'd had, Gawain definitely liked this one the best. Last year he was kind of occupied with moving into the mansion; before that, he always spent the day alone. But now... Twyla, doughnuts, breakfast, Twyla, skipping class (that was probably more unusual for her than for him), sneaking out, Twyla... and he even got a gift.

"Whoa" he grinned, opening the bag "Thank you, Bubblegum. This is awesome."

Not to mention the first gift he got in a very long time.

Gawain flung the backpack over his shoulder before he lifted Twyla into a hug. One year older, a few inches taller. And not alone.

A hug. Those were nice, she had a particular fondness for hugs from her girl/boyfriend. Twyla squeezed him back and smiled into his chest—he was getting to the perfect height for hugs. “I’m glad you like it.” After a moment she added: “Love you.” in a muffled tone. She let the hug last its natural length and then she pulled back, the mischievous grin was back. “And now for part two of your present. This is how you graduate into adulthood—at least where I’ from.” A hand was grabbed again and the boy was led to an alley so Twyla’s powers could manifest without getting weird looks or tipping off the owner of the shop. With a giggle from the blonde, Gawain was pulled into the adult bookstore.

Almost an hour was spent sneaking away from each other and avoiding the confused employee and competing on who could find the cheesiest covers. That night was spent celebrating with friends back at the Mansion and Twyla sincerely hoped that she’d given Gawain a half as nice a birthday as he deserved…

Spending time with Twyla was the best way to spend birthdays and holidays...
... that was exactly why it particularly sucked that Mirror had to spend them away from her. She went home to visit her family, wich was a good thing, totally good; she needed them, especially her weird but cool brother. As for Mirror: s/he, as an official X-man, had to go and meet up with Sam in Germany for a mission.
Didn't the ice man have anything better to do for Christmas, for Chrissake?!

Maya smirked a bit as she remembered her 18th birthday. It was fun, and kind of adorable too. Pink and fluffy like a girl's romantic movie; probably made everyone else around them roll their eyes, sigh, and mutter something along the lines of 'get a room'.
Room. Hmm...

Maya shook her head with a smirk as she dialed the number on her phone; she was headed to meet Sam, and this might have been the last time she could call for a while. Missions sucked that way.

"Bubblegum? I'm sorry, I don't really have much time to talk... I'm on a field trip. Just wanted to say happy birthday to you. And merry xmas." she smiled a bit "I miss you a lot, Twy."

There was really not much to be said. She couldn't discuss details over the phone; one could never be too careful, Twyla as an X trainee probably knew that too. But it was double holidays again, and she had to let her know she did not forget. Not for one minute.

Her phone buzzed in her pocket. The family was sitting (all over the kitchen) for her birthday meal. Twyla pulled it out and answered as she stood up to try and get to the hallway for privacy. “Hello?” And then the other end made noise and she instantly recognized the voice. Her face must have betrayed something, because as soon as Maya started talking, her family (especially her brothers) started hooting and making kissing noises. Pink blush splashed across her face as she pushed through the mass of Ashby’s to get to the tiny hallway that led from the kitchen to the back door. It was chilly out there, but the sudden heat of her face kept her warm.

“It’s so good to hear from you!” She said too fast. Field trip? Mission… “Thank you, merry Christmas!” A pause as she thought about how weird it was to be apart for so long. And then a memory of her birthday presents last year. A smile found its way into her voice. “I miss you a lot too, seriously Maya. It’s weird not being where you are.” She could hear her family laughing and speculating about the phone call. “Come back from that field trip or I’ll kick your ass!” Too fast again.

>>“It’s so good to hear from you! Thank you, merry Christmas! I miss you a lot too, seriously Maya. It’s weird not being where you are. Come back from that field trip or I’ll kick your ass!”

Maya smirked; she could hear the yelling and whistling clearly in the background. She chuckled at that. The Ashby family curiously sounded like the Lupins in situations like this.

"Do they know I'm a girl today?" she asked with a grin "... I'll be back by the time you get home, I promise. Runnin' away with Sam ain't my idea of romance..." she chuckled again, and shuddered at the thought at the same time "Aye aye ma'am I'll be back in one piece. More or less. Don't worry about me. Enjoy the holidays, okay? And say hello to Nate from me. Love. You, not him. Gotta go."

Maya sighed as she walked towards the train station. This was going to be one friggin' long Christmas mission...

New Years Eve:

The phone call on her birthday was the only contact that Twyla had had with the Morris kid over the holidays. Maya/Gawain were on the latest field trip and she had been busy at home anyway. Christmas with the extended family had been awkward, till her Grandma Blanch had made it clear that Twyla was still a normal member of the family. After Christmas,her siblings had slowly trickled out of the house till she, Nate, and Jonathan were the only ones left. It was really quite and kind of nice and kind of lonely. And then there was New Year’s…

Nate had insisted on taking her to the stupid party with all his stupid friends. “Where there is a house, there is a party and where there is a party , there is booze and boobs. I don’t see your problem with this--I thought you liked boobs.” Nate had passed on some of his wisdom and joking onto her in the truck as they scoped out house numbers in town, looking for the rental of one of his classmates that hadn’t made it out of town. To Twyla’s infinite disappointment, they found it.

Three hours later, the blond had seen her fill of booze and boobs and kissing (jealous) and bad dancing (jealous)and the inebriated pick up artists that seemed to flock to her corner. “Wanna dance, blondie?” He was a head taller than her and a few years older. Before Twyla had a chance to respond, Nate was at her side—a pretty brunette at his. “Hey man, I’d be careful if I were you. My sis has a boyfriend back in New York, a total gangster and totally the jealous type.” The lie worked and her brother smirked down at her. “Ain’t you supposed to call that boy? It’s almost midnight here, ShyTwy. Morris beat you to midnight.” Nate and the girl wandered off to a different corner, probably to kiss when the ball dropped. Jealousy crossed her features for a moment before the girl moved, making her way to the blessedly empty bathroom.

As she dialed the familiar number, Twyla checked herself out in the dingy mirror above the pedestal sink. She hadn’t bothered to get too dolled up, unlike last year. Her make-up was barely there and her flouncy silver blouse barely constituted as party wear. “10, 9…” People outside the bathroom were yelling as the phone connected. “You beat me to midnight, you jerk.” Her tone was teasing and happy, making her reflection look more festive. “5, 4…”

“Happy Late and Early New Year’s! I wish you were here.” That would have made the party so much more entertaining. “3, 2…”

((Meanwhile, on the other end of the line, this was happening))

The phone rang. Gawain picked up, kicking the door shut behind him and running his fingers through his messy hair. He'd just downed another shot, but he was far from drunk. Too far.
Too damn far to cope with a deadbeat dad who just turned into a deadbeat mum...

"Yeah?..."

>>“You beat me to midnight, you jerk. Happy Late and Early New Year’s! I wish you were here.”

Oh. That. New Year's Eve. He almost forgot. Well, the passing of midnight was kind of darn obvious, but not the new date...

"Hey Twy" he smirked "Wait till ya see the new year, ya'll love it."

From the other room, a loud female voice called in. As far fro attractive as she could get. First try and all.

"Gawain honey?..."

"Shut UP, Rupetta!" he yelled back, then caught himself - the phone was still in his hand. Oh sh*t. That did not come out right.

"Uh. That was my... step-grandmother. Long story, wait till ya hear it. I wouldn't believe it if I wasn't here..." he sighed and shook his head "I... gotta go deal wit stuff. Happy New Year, Twy. Miss you too. Come home soon, okay?"

“1! Happy New Year!” Make a wish. Twyla could barely hear what Gawain was saying underneath the screams and the noise makers and the hollering going on in the rest of the house. She did manage to catch what he yelled into the receiver, not that hearing the words helped with her comprehension of the situation at all. The partiers quieted down just enough for the rest of the conversation to be heard. He’d explain what was going on later, no worries…maybe? Gawain sounded strained but not like he was in heaps of deadly trouble (a nice change, Twyla decided).

"I... gotta go deal wit stuff. Happy New Year, Twy. Miss you too. Come home soon, okay?"

“Um, okay.” When she finally spoke again she sounded startled. “Good luck with…that?” A pause as she counted the days till she was set to depart back to New York. “I’ll beo n my way in nine more days. Wait for me, okay?” His receiver and her receiver went dead. With a sigh the blond turned her back on her reflection and she headed back out to her party.

Her wish was simple: I want to be in New York City next New Year’s. Who she’d be with was inferred—hopefully whoever granted New Year’s wishes understood that.

>>“I’ll be on my way in nine more days. Wait for me, okay?”

And he waited. It would have been nice to say that nine days seemed like eternity, but they really did not - Gawain/Maya simply did not have the time for eternity. There were things to deal with, trouble to get into, gendershifters to babysit... ten days flew by, and he barely even slept at all.

So, on the day when Twyla was supposed to return, and Maya should have been at the airport, Maya was in the Mansion living room, fast asleep on the couch. She was dressed and ready to leave... she just never made it to the front door, and 'I'll wait five more minutes for the bus' turned into soft snoring and a position that looked painful for anyone who woke up in it.

Mutant or not mutant, everybody needs sleep sometimes...

Twyla didn’t mind the plane trips, she decided. The trip back to New York was only her second time on a plane but it was a decent place to read and the views were cool. Getting off the plane was easy, the blond didn’t have any luggage except her carryon bag and a canvas purse so there was nothing to check at those silly looking luggage conveyor belts. A lot of the people on her flight were also holiday commuters, coming home to NYC—which meant lots of signs and hugs and screams as people were reunited. Twyla was only really expecting one person. At first she didn’t worry when she couldn’t find Maya, then she climbed onto one of the plastic seats of the terminal, searching for the familiar head of dark hair that would signal her to her girlfriend.

When the elevation didn’t help her search, she checked her phone—the plan had been made to call Twyla with a meeting location once Maya got to the airport. Nothing. “Huh.” Twyla shouldered her knapsack that she was using as a carryon and headed for the nearest exit. She decided to try calling, she just needed a quiet space. The phone rang and rang and finally went to voicemail. “Okay?” Twyla looked down at the tiny tracphone in her hand, confusion quirking her lips. “No big thing.”

A subway and a bus took the girl back home to the Mansion. She smiled when she walked up to the gates and was admitted. It felt good to be back—being in Wisconsin was nice, but it was awkward. She didn’t belong there anymore. She belonged at the Mansion. When she walked into the foyer, a group of younger students looked at her quizzically. “Yes?” She asked a boy with the green skin. He replied quickly with: “I think your girlfriend is on the couch. We wanted to watch TV but…” He trailed off and Twyla blushed. “Oh, sorry? I’ll go talk to her?” With that, the girl walked away from the other students and made a beeline for the living room. Sure enough, she found Maya sprawled out there. Dropping her bags, she made her way over to the sleeping form. Kneeling down by Maya’s head, she kissed her forehead. “Hey sleeping beauty.” She spoke softly, half hoping to wake her girlfriend and half wanting her to catch up on sleep.

>>“Hey sleeping beauty.”

Maya moaned softly, then her eyes fluttered; the voice was distant but familiar, and with a deep sigh, the mirrorwalker opened her eyes.

"Twy?..."

Twyla. Plane. Airport. Home. Oh heck.

"Twy I'm so sorry I... ow ow ow..." Maya sat up, panicking; she was supposed to meet her girlfriend at the airport, and she was already here which meant she'd missed most of the afternoon... besides that, she could not feel her left side at all. That's what you get for falling asleep on the couch.

"Whoa, Bubblegum, I'm sorry, I guess I haven't been sleepin' much lately..." she muttered, rubbing her shoulder, and she smiled a small smile at Twyla "Welcome home."

Maya sat up quickly, her apology turning into the noise you make when your foot falls asleep and you try to stand on it. The blond winced for her girlfriend, she hated that feeling. Through the wince, Twyla was smiling—she was really glad to be home, and it wasn’t like she could really be miffed about the whole airport thing, could she? People fell asleep, she fell asleep, and Maya was a people. She was sure that all across the city this same instance had occurred countless times that day.

No big thing.

She said as much. “No big thing.” Her brows crinkled in worry. “Not sleeping? That’s not good.” And then: “I missed you so much, it’s so good to be home.” Heedless of the fact that Maya’s side was probably still getting its circulation back, arms were thrown around the dark haired girl so that Twyla could initiate a I-haven’t-seen-you-in-forever-and-I-missed-you-hug.

She winced for Maya again when she realized that it probably wasn’t the most painless hug the other girl had ever received. Ooops.

Valentine's Day. The day of love, affection, romance, and desire.
...
Valentine's Night, to be more specific. Just after midnight. The same goes for the rest.

It was dark.
"Careful, Bubblegum. It's your first time. Just, hold on to me, okay? There's my girl." Gawain chuckled, lips close to her ear "Easy... it doesn't hurt now, does it?... Shhh, someone's gonna hear us..."

He chuckled again, none the less, and put his finger to her lips as they stumbled out of the mirror. Mirrorwalking was as natural to him as breathing; but walking with another person, he was still not quite used to that. He caught his girlfriend as they landed in the dimly lit hallway, and beamed at her through the shadows.

"Here we are. So, what do ya think? I tinkered a bit with security, we should be safe if we don' wander off too far."

Actually, he tinkered a lot, but she did not need to know that. He'd been planning this trip ever since he found out he could take other people into the mirrors. Because, what can be more romantic a gift for a girlfriend than taking her out at night, into a building she likes, a building that's strictly closed to visitors?

Gawain grinned, still holding her hand; he was really pleased with himself. This was much better than a teddy bear.

It was their first Valentine’s as a couple. Twyla was nervous but excited she had no idea what to expect from their night together. It was virgin territory.

She clutched herself to Gawain as tight as she could get. A few giggles escaped her lips. “It’s fine.” Another giggle and then she bit her lips, burying her head in the boy’s chest and clenching her hands even harder so that the muscles there shook slightly.

And then it was over sooner than expected, the pair tripped out of the mirror. Well, Twyla definitely tripped, Gawain managed to keep the two of them upright so it was up in the air whether he had been unsteady landing. She could see his grin, even in the sparse light, it was like a spotlight radiating from his face. He was excited; he must have done good…

Brown eyes squinted in the darkness and then Twyla recognized their location. The library, he’d made it possible for them to break into the Stephen A. Schwarzman Building, also known as the New York Public Library. It was also referred to in the confines’ of the blonde’s mind as one of her favorite things about the city.

In one of her most girly moments f the new year, Twyla’s eyes welled with water and she sort of made a happy squealing noise. She didn’t say anything for a second, a bit shocked at her own reaction. “Oh, Gawain…” If someone in the wings cued something like flower petals swirling around them, Twyla’s response would have been in perfect sync. She pulled herself close to him again, this time in a hug instead of a nervous clutch. Looking up at him from the hug, Twyla smiled a broad and content smile and then pulled away quickly, grabbing his hand so he’d follow her.

“How far can we go? I want to check something.” She looked back at him, her face betraying that she was giddy like a small child in a candy store. Normally the bit about ‘tinkering’ would have put her on edge, but it was Valentine’s Night and she was in a library and he was Gawain and…she felt too happy to worry about the legality of any of it.