He'd checked the forecast so many times. The weather was set to be one of the best nights of the month. Unseasonably warm too, the overnight dip only looking like hitting the low fifties. As far as New Yorkers were concerned that barely qualified as sweater weather. He checked he had his wallet a million times, that his outfit was suitable for such a public appearance a million more.

A thin stormy grey V-neck sweater over a light grey button down shirt, both quite figure hugging; Stonewashed jeans, somewhat lighter grey than the sweater. He opted for his usual black boots, because he planned on taking the bike.

He'd gone so far as to text a photo to his publicist, who replied with a solid "Good." followed by a largely ignored "We need to discuss your girlfriend at some point."

That's going to suck...

He wasn't actually nervous, but he found distraction stopped him being tempted to drink.

Bvvt bvvt

The address was a bit random, but Cafas wasn't one to question it. He'd just thrown his leathers over his clothes, jammed his helmet on and hit the road as soon as the text came in. His bike was pretty nastily scratched from where it had been dropped onto Isaac, the rest of the damage had been easily repaired, but he needed to send it to the manufacturer to get the paint re-done.

That's going to cost more than I'd like...

He pulled up to the corner, throaty roar of the bike fading down to a dangerous growl as Cafas cam to an idle. White hair and a turquoise scarf made Maya easy to recognize, even through a closed visor. He lifted the visor as he slowed. Once his foot was down Cafas reached behind him and grabbed a brand new helmet off a brand new pillion back rest. The helmet was extended towards the elemental.

She's going to pull a face about the helmet...

"Hey beautiful, wanna come for a ride?" The wink was a little awkward to pull off past the padding inside the helmet, but he tried it anyway."It should fit." he said, nodding to the proffered helmet. He wouldn't be much of a blacksmith if he couldn't estimate head size. "No arguments, I've seen what a person looks like coming off this thing at ten without one, let alone thirty." Technically the speed limit was twenty five, but thirty was a little more accurate. Between lanes at times didn't make it any safer, either. The trip would be at least half an hours without traffic.

"How's Coney Island sound to you?"

She was buzzed, there was no denying that after multiple drinks and not enough food. Maya felt guilty trying to walk it and her nerves off. Her meeting with Kaz had gone better and worse than she'd expected. Kaz didn't come to collect. So that was good. The book store was her assuming the government would give it back.

But her situation wasn't getting any easier. Rowan was still getting fanmail from her AMA. She was still getting fanmail too. Well, hatemail was kind of more like it.

Eventually, Maya had just given up and found some seating where she could text Cafas that she was as ready as she was ever going to be. She made sure her scarf was nice and cozy all the way up to her nose before she tipped her head back and watched the clouds skim over the building tops. The clouds were reflecting the last colors of the day.

> "Hey beautiful, wanna come for a ride?"

It took her a second to come back down to earth and orient her brain back to processing words. The wink was perfect. He was perfect. Just the thing to pull her out of yet another downward spiral.

"I dunno. My momma told me guys on motorbikes are bad news." Even if her mouth was covered, her eyes were smiling.

She accepted the helmet without comment. It wasn't her favorite, but he insisted because he cared. It was hard to be mad at someone who cared about you.

> "How's Coney Island sound to you?"

"Ridiculous in the best possible way. I could use a little more silliness and a great distraction about now. Also food. Don't be mad, but I didn't have enough with drinks and my head's in a spin." The helmet fit about as good as she expected since she had no idea how helmets were supposed to fit in the first place. Maya swung herself onto Cafas' motorcycle and felt doubly sure the helmet was a good idea since she noticed new scrapes. "The Full Circle's chief investor doesn't seem to be under investigation by proxy or anything and all in all it went good. So we can count it a win, I think." Hmmm. She smelled leather. Maya really wished she didn't have to have the helmet, but didn't dare complain. It was important to him. More important than pressing her face against his back.

Visor down, Maya indicated her readiness to leave the city proper behind.

"I dunno. My momma told me guys on motorbikes are bad news."

That earned her a grin. A grin that could have utterly destroyed any bad-boy look he had going on. His day had just gotten so much better. Maya was in his day and that was all that seemed to matter.

Maya took the helmet without so much as a distasteful look. Cafas appreciated her accepting the rule. It was bad enough he had to lose her at all, he was certainly not in a hurry to expedite the process.

"Ridiculous in the best possible way..."

"Why would I be mad? You're allowed to drink. Sounds like things were all good. Makes me wonder why you need that distraction, but we can talk about that later. You know, if you want." He wasn't going to push her. If she didn't want to tell him why she needed distracting, he'd just worry in silence. Cafas released the brake, kicked the bike into gear and took off with a thundering roar.

Speeding, it should be noted, is illegal. It is dangerous to the occupants of the vehicle, to others on the road, and to pedestrians. It is the second highest cause of motor vehicle accidents.

Cafas was studiously ignoring that fact, despite his own misgivings with motor vehicles. Perhaps it was because the speed limit had only been changed down eighteen months previous, but he still rode at thirty, sometimes more if he got an open section of road. Not that that happened much in New York City.

Despite the fact it would take a little longer, Cafas thought it would be worth taking the Brooklyn bridge. Five minutes longer seemed a fair price to pay for the view, rather than the tunnel. In the end the supposedly fifty minute trip took forty. The initial impression was breathtaking. A giant theme park lit with a rainbow of colours, right next to the water. You could almost taste the carnial atmosphere.

Man that's impressive.

The bike rolled to a stop in a a parking space he'd only had to hunt three minutes for. It was hardly surprising, given it was the off season for beach-side days. Cafas had just been very glad Luna Park was apparently still open late, and the season meant the lines should be relatively short!

The engine shut off with a twist of the key, casually dropped into his jacket pocket. Kick stand down, Cafas hopped off and offered his hand to assist Maya.

With girlfriend safely on her own two feet Cafas slid his helmet off his head. He doubted the lockers would have enough space for the helmets, so he'd be relying on nobody busting through the helmet locks on the back of the bike. Cafas spoke as he crouched down and clipped the older lock onto his helmet. "How'd you find the back rest?" It sounded like small talk, because it was. He was busy trying to remember the combination for the new lock. It snapped open and he held out a hand for Maya's helmet, securing it as well.

Oh man this is going to be good!

Cafas stood and stretched, then aimed an excited smile right at Maya, eyes yellow and green. "So! What do you want to do first? I should probably get a locker for the jacket, the armouring makes it pretty stiff. Though if it does anything for you, I'll keep it on. Maybe we should do a roller-coaster! Or something a bit lighter while you sober up? I'm feeling maybe we eat after the rides, you?" Cafas couldn't recall the last time he'd been so excited about an outing somewhere. How had he never been before?

> "How'd you find the back rest?"

"I will definitely not fall off the back." Was that what it was for? Well, she imagined it was harder now anyway. Maya pulled the helmet off and passed it over while she got her hair back under control. Silly helmet. She also took the liberty of helping Cafas with his hair as well, since he was leaning down within reach and otherwise occupied with making sure no one stole his stuff. He couldn't exactly protest with his hands full.

"But I have to wonder if you installed it so maybe I'd let you breathe a bit more." She grinned knowing full well that she couldn't possibly squeeze him tight enough to keep him from breathing normally. Heck, in first aid training, she'd had a hard enough time depressing the dummy's false meant-to-be-pushed-in chest.

He was really excited. Maya could see it in his wolfy grin and the way he moved and being emotionally invested in Cafas meant she was getting excited too if only by proxy.

"Keep the jacket." She laughed and poked him in the gut as he stretched. Oww. Okay. There was no gut there and she'd just jabbed her finger into his abs, something she should have known that he took very seriously. Maya shook out her hand. "I don't want you to get cold when we go really fast on that one." The elemental pointed dramatically at the biggest, baddest, fastest, most lit up roller coaster in the park.

It was getting dark already. Surely they didn't have a lot of time to muck around before closing time.

"The THUNDERBOLT!" She made the name Thunderbolt sound like it deserved all caps and italics as she continued her grand sweeping pointing gesture. Maya strained onto her tipppy toes to get a better look at the track and noticed that past that roller coaster was a different one that looked a bit longer and less vertical. "Oh! Wait. What about the Cyclone? Which one looks faster?"

Sober up? Ain't nobody got time for that!

"Keep the jacket."

Noted.

Cafas had been enjoying his stretch. The he had kept enjoying it, for he was wearing a thick leather jacket and Maya was poking pretty much nothing but muscle. He felt bad for her the way she shook out her hand, it looked like she may have actually hurt herself.

"I don't want you to get cold when we go really fast on that one."

The dramatic point could have taken out an eye, and Cafas loved it. Maybe the amusement park hadn't been a dumb idea after all. Maya seemed at least a little excited. Cafas swung in behind his girlfriend and wrapped his arms around her waist.

"The THUNDERBOLT!"

Yeah, she was at least a little excited. A little tipsy too, though nowhere near like the speed dating debacle. Cafas helped her maintain her tippy toe balance as she craned to see the coaster past the THUNDERBOLT!

"Oh! Wait. What about the Cyclone? Which one looks faster?"

"I'd say the Thunderbolt." No all-caps excitement for Cafas, he was far too close to Maya's ear for that. "It's also closer. Let's start with that and then do the Cyclone." Cafas trailed his right hand along Maya's left arm as he stepped past her, wrapping her hand in his when they touched. "Come on! We gotta buy credits and line up! No time to waste!" Cafas set off at a light jog.

As it turned out, they had to go all the way to the boardwalk to get to the Thunderbolt entrance. Cafas slowed down barely a third of the way. Running was for X-men, not for couples on dates. He dropped back level with Maya and tried to weigh up whether it was better to discuss how she was before or after the park. He'd honestly rather she got to keep her good mood at the end.

"So, official divorce day. How you holding up?" He eased her in like a comet eases into the ground. He was genuinely concerned though.

He steadied her and breathed his next words into her hair.

She could have just melted then and there, but she wasn't feeling that dramatic and also there were kids around. She didn't want to scare anyone. Maya had to settle for wiggling and holding Cafas' hand when their hands magnetically snapped together.

Running was not her strong suit. Jogging was pretty much second place in what she was not good at.

"Ah. Wait." It wasn't like she was wearing her uniform heels or anything, she was just physically unfit. Cafas would not be breaking any fingers on her abs anytime soon. They were too well padded.

Thankfully he slowed right about the same time a headache started forming between her eyebrows. Water. Water was on her to-do list now.

>"So, official divorce day. How you holding up?"

"Things didn't especially change much, did they? I mean, maybe it'll show the Feds I'm serious about not approving of or wanting to help Sebastian." She could get a restraining order too. Seemed a little too far on the petty side for her taste, though. Especially when she hoped Rowan might still get to know him someday.

She raised her thin shoulders in a shrug and tried not to bump into strangers. It was the same as usual today. People made way for Cafas. Maya may as well have been a tumbleweed stuck to his spur.

"I'm officially a single lady." She showed off her ring hand, where she hadn't worn a ring in years anyway and flicked her hand out with a little Beyoncé flair. "If he liked it then she shoulda kept a ring on it. Ah. It just doesn't have the same pizzazz." Was this weird to talk about with her boyfriend? This was weird to talk about with her boyfriend. She gave his hand a squeeze.

"You look nice today, though. Are you celebrating something?" She was happy to fish for his opinion. Happy to tag along. Happy to walk on the boardwalk hand in hand. Happy to wait in line. Cafas made even the mundane things happy things.

"Things didn't especially change much, did they? I mean, maybe it'll show the Feds I'm serious about not approving of or wanting to help Sebastian."

Maybe. Cafas really hoped so, but he doubted they'd ever stop watching her. Maybe they would let her have her assets back. Maybe they would stop actively interfering with her life. They'd never stop watching though. Especially with so few promising links to Sebastian.

Rowan too...

"I'm officially a single lady. If he liked it then she shoulda kept a ring on it. Ah. It just doesn't have the same pizzazz."

The slight increase in pressure around his hand felt warm in his heart. It gave him just enough strength to respond. "I'm honestly kind of conflicted. You didn't at all deserve the pain his... Turn? brought into your life. I just... find it hard to entirely regret that it happened, now. That's kind of wrong isn't it?" He felt bad about it, that was for sure. It was selfish in a way he really had rather hoped he wasn't. Alas, it seemed he was human after all.

I mean, sort of...

"You look nice today, though. Are you celebrating something?"

"A guy can't dress up for his girlfriend and his publicist?" His smirk said he knew the answer wasn't good enough. He'd dressed up before, but this one he'd spent a long time umming and ahing over. Normally if he looked in the mirror and said "Not bad." that was good enough.

"I am celebrating having a beautiful girlfriend. I'm celebrating good old fashioned American fun. I'm celebrating one more day of sobriety. I'm celebrating easily the best month I've had in years. I'm celebrating that I might actually be living up to the trust someone incredibly important chose to have in me. Thanks, by the way. You uh... It helped."

Not sure if bummer...

Cafas was getting awfully sick of people barely dodging Maya, or worse, making no attempt. His hand detangled from Maya's and slipped around her shoulder. It made walking a little more awkward, holding her close, but it seemed to have at least some effect on the crowd dynamics.

Entering the park proper had a surreal quality to it. From the creepy grinning clown face on the archway, to the sheer number of smiling people concentrated into one section of New York City. Snacks and drinks were everywhere, Cafas could spot a bunch of carnival games, a go-kart track, not to mention the frankly ludicrously scaled roller-coaster. The line for the THUNDERBOLT appeared short. Cafas found Maya's slightly inebriated eyes and kissed her nose, which was technically his, if she would recall.

Though I suppose she owns mine now. It's look silly on her face though.

"I'm going to go buy us some ride credits, you want to come with or wait in line for the THUNDERBOLT" Cafas mimicked Maya's earlier grand gesture with a goofy smile. It attracted some looks, and at least one camera flash, but it really wasn't for anyone's benefit but Maya's.

>"...I just... find it hard to entirely regret that it happened, now. That's kind of wrong isn't it?"

"Nope. Because this is right." Maya swung their hands between them. It was wrong of her to jump the line and get married to a practical stranger. This, dating and snuggling and introducing a boyfriend to your family, that was doing things right.

"Also, it can't be changed so there's no point in feeling sorry about it. I don't know why so... I mean, sometimes I can't help how you feel about it. But just knowing that it's not doing any good makes it easier for me to... forgive? Forgive is not the right word. Uhm. Let go of? Excuse? I'm saying this all wrong."

She had learned a long time ago when her best friend, mom, and confidant had died. There was no way to go back and change some things. She just had to learn to live without her. "Move on." Her cheer was starting to be tempered by the conversation.

It was good that they moved on to something a little less heavy.

> "A guy can't dress up for his girlfriend and his publicist?"

"Is your publicist here?" She looked around giving extra scrutiny toward the potted plants and other nonsensical hiding places.

> "I am celebrating..."

She grinned up at him with her full smile wattage.

>"...Thanks, by the way. You uh... It helped."

That confirmed her every hope for how she treated people. That, right there, was something she hoped to hear from Isabel before she died.

"I wish I could make it easier. Is it silly to say that I'm really proud of you? I didn't expect so much... effort." Nobody ever had actually actively acted on her trust before. Usually it was a much later kind of realization. Maybe she should write more notes...

Or eat more corn dogs and funnel cakes. Cafas enveloped her in his wake and it was so hard not to drift toward one of those vendors. She turned her face up toward him to ask if he was hungry and her thoughts were cut off by a little nose kiss.

She had to cover to mouth with her hand to contain the gigglesnort. The camera flash made her start to turn and look, but... was that a bad thing? She'd had her picture taken before from tourists or at the bookstore, but they'd usually asked. Were they pretending that didn't just happen?

"Uhm. I can wait in line." She did glance over to a wheelycart funnel cake vendor as he passed. She knew for a fast that she had not enough cash on her person to grab one for herself. She would just wait until Cafas was ready to eat. "But if you don't come back before I get to the front of the line, you're in trouble." She poked him, gently this time and then smoothed the lapel of his jacket.

"We've got a lot more things to celebrate, mkay?" She had to go on tippytoe to kiss him on the cheek, which he may recall was hers. For there she folded her hands in front of her so that she would not fidget and found her way to the line.

She could also use this time alone to zone out and focus on herself inwardly. She was pretty sure she would need to bump up her over all corporeality rate if she wasn't going to loose bits of herself on the ride. And those bits had to be contained in her skin, not the lazy trick she'd used at the park that got them in trouble with fusion.

"I wish I could make it easier. Is it silly to say that I'm really proud of you? I didn't expect so much... effort."

Cafas was full of warm fuzzy fluff, because Maya was proud of him. Fluff made of smiles. He wasn't used to people being proud of him. At least not telling him they were. "You made it possible." It would have to get easier on its own, but from what he'd seen of addiction in other people, it never really went away.

The gigglesnort was just what he'd been hoping for. It was cute, even if Maya seemed a little embarrassed by it. Cafas saw no reason to be embarrassed about something so genuine. He really liked that with Maya, that he'd never had to look past the surface. she was just honest, and nice, and kind. He never got the feeling that she was acting.

"Uhm. I can wait in line. But if you don't come back before I get to the front of the line, you're in trouble. We've got a lot more things to celebrate, mkay?"

The poke was far softer than her previous had been. It seemed Maya had learned her lesson, which was good. Cafas didn't want her breaking a finger. He internally laughed at his own fake narcissism while Maya smoothed his jacket. He stopped laughing when she kissed his cheek and his brain went to mush. "Well, I wouldn't want to be in trouble. I'll be sure to hurry back so you can tell me what else we're celebrating." He needed to know the full magnitude of their celebration!

Anything that makes Maya happy, I should know so I can replicate, right?

Being apart from Maya was not his favourite situation. Cafas made it to the ticket booth queue at a gentle run. It was a short enough line, given most people had already been at the park a couple of hours or more. The woman in front of him gave him a familiar shy glance. He watched her steel herself without looking at him. He put on his fan meeting smile as she began to turn.

"Um, sorry, uh... Are you Cafas Johnson."

"Did the hair give me away?" Cafas laughed. He liked his fans for the most part. They were generally so supportive. Some of them were a little creepy, and he'd had to draw the line at signing certain body parts, but on the whole they were nice enough.

Might not have enough queue left to actually sign anything.

"Oh wow. Um. I just wanted to say I loved you in Dusk! I watched all the movies at least three times."

One of the most reasonable numbers I've ever heard.

"Thanks! It really makes it worth doing knowing people enjoy the movies so much." Which was actually true. It was pretty much the only thing that made some of the work tolerable.

The woman scanned around, as if looking for someone. Cafas was a little worried this was going to be one of those 'My husband isn't here, do you want to go find somewhere private...' moments. Seriously, no, no he did not. The kid manning the open ticket booth was calling for her to approach.

Oh man, here we go.

"Are you here with that woman? Maybe it's not my place, but you can do better than her."

You what mate?

Cafas' smile faltered some. That... he was less used to. He quickly got the PR smile back on though. "Please believe me when I say, there is no one better." He gently pointed her towards the empty window so she could go buy her ticket credits and also get the heck away from him. Do better. That was as false as it was rude.

Cafas approached the next available service rep, a girl in her late teens with a wide eyed expression. He smiled, asked how many credits would be too many for two people, and bought slightly more than that. When she got up the nerve to ask him just before he left, he signed what appeared to be a random slip of paper and took a photo with her. No rude comments, just excitement. If only the other woman could see how the best fans behaved.

Like my personal life is any of their business anyway...

He jogged his way back to Maya with a 'Luna Park card' bursting with credits. He slipped in beside her with a whole one person to spare. "Well now I don't get to see what the punishment was going to be." There was an air of suggestive disappointment the whole time he spoke.

He peeled away and Maya waited patiently in line, only marginally paying attention as the line edged forward.

She felt only a little wobbly on her feet without Cafas to steady her. She was fine. Totally fine.

Her body was sort of all equally incorporeal. That 30 pound thing. Maya was almost certain that a roller coaster ride went faster than 30mph and even then, she wasn't sure what that would do to her, so she focused inward. She pulled the incorporeality and focused it in her abdomen. The trick this time, was that she couldn't let it go all the way out. She had to keep it inside the skin, inside bones if she could stand to differentiate that much. That would protect everyone.

"—listening to me?"

Maya brought her attention up from the vague nowhere that she'd been actually looking at and focused on the person speaking to her.

"I'm sorry?" A group of three women were there in a semi-circle. There was quite a gap between Maya and the next person in line. She hadn't been paying enough attention to the here and now. The line had moved on and she'd simply stood there zoning out.

"Are you stupid?" That got a round of giggles. The speaker was tall with some kind of warm drink in hand and a purse that Maya was sure cost a lot, but that she didn't recognize on sight. The other two seemed to flank her, more like decorations and ego boosters than actual individual entities.

"I'm so sorry. I was thinking on other things. I'll move along." Maya smiled and took a step forward, but the lady didn't move. She stood her ground so that Maya would have to go around or push her way through. Maya's forward step only put them in close proximity since Maya'd been expecting her to act like a civilized person and move.

"If you think for one minute you've got Cafas Johnson under your spell, you've got another thing coming to you." Her voice was low and sultry and full of daggers. It sent Maya's concentration into a tailspin. "I don't know why he's playing with you, but it's for your own good if you get out before you get hurt." She punctuated the t's on the words out and hurt. The threat was implicit.

Maya looked up the few inches between them.

"Catch my drift?" Or maybe the threat was explicit.

The elemental was an X-man. More than that, she wasn't especially frightened of Cafas playing with her like Sebastian had played with her. He was real and honest and silly and hundred other things that Sebastian just hadn't been. Maya's her time left to live was only getting shorter, she was tipsy, and she'd been over her reasons a hundred million times.

"Well," She started slowly, making sure she was only saying the words she meant to say and not the ungracious things that kept popping to mind. "I think you'd have to ask him about his reasoning." Her smile was disarming, maybe even charming when she felt anything but.

"I'm fairly confident that he has his reasons and the best way to dissuade him would not be by putting down his current choice. It's almost insulting his intelligence when you're insulting mine." Maya bowed from the waist and let herself poof into incorporeality and walk through the barricade of shoulders that had been keeping her from staying in line.

Her body curled and puffed around them giving Maya a great spatial look at a gaping mouth.

Her heart thundered from the adrenaline rush of it all. The threat. Her reply. The confrontation. She wasn't expecting it when she'd been working on her power. Maya formed up carefully as the line trickled down from the next group of cars filling on the ride.

"Charity case!" Was the group's parting shot. Maybe she was. No, definitely she was. She was explicitly living on Mansion charity. They couldn't have known that, though.

And of course, she'd lost all her progress. All that careful icorporeality shifting was wasted and Cafas still wasn't back. Maya didn't dare turn around to check. Turning around might let her see those women waiting to see how she was reacting and right now she was trying really hard not to react at all.

> "Well now I don't get to see what the punishment was going to be."

She inhaled, surprised, when Cafas joined her again. She'd barely managed not to jump into incorporeality.

"P- Who said anything about punishment?" She sputtered over the punishment thing while she got herself back into the Cafas state of mind: silly, kind, and just the right sprinkling of entertainment. "Besides! I-uh, I thought you needed to warm your way up to BDSM." Unfortunately, a reality of the book industry was the popularity of romance and all it's... sub-genres. She teased him as they stepped up for their turn to redeem the magical points of their card and hop onto the roller coaster. They'd just barely made the last car on this go. He really had cut it close.

Maya hopped into the absolute back of the train with Cafas and fiddled with the pull down restraining bar that was in no way going to keep her in the car should things go wrong. Was there a minimum weight limit? Even bumping up her corporeality might not be enough! Inside she was scrambling to push the incorporeality out of, at least, her head and upper body where the restraint fit her. That would be worst, right?

From the outside, it probably looked like a case of nerves.

"P- Who said anything about punishment?"

Cafas' smile was tinged with the smallest bit of evil. Flustered Maya had been the end goal, startled Maya had been a real bonus. He opened his mouth to tease her a little, but Maya beat him to speaking.

"Besides! I-uh, I thought you needed to warm your way up to BDSM."

Cafas' mouth was left to kind of hang open a his face coloured. BDSM? Who had said anything about BDSM? He fumbled the card a little handing it to the attendant who seemed to be holding back laughter. "I.. Uh, what? No! I mean Yes! I didn't think... " Cafas engaged the brain to mouth filter and shut his trap. He was red to the ears, pink and green in the eyes.

Oh man I'd been kind of kidding. I didn't think she was actually into it.

He focused on getting into the roller-coaster seat for a moment while his brain processed that he had implied it himself, and that Maya had likely been joking. Right? He glanced at her. She seemed nervous, that was either good or bad for his reasoning. How did roller coaster seats work? Cafas looked for instructions but found none.

Wing it, it seems easy enough.

He slid his arms through straps that were relatively tight against his shoulders and pulled down the shiny metal bar to hold him in. It could really use some padding. Or paint. Cafas made up his mind to just not touch it. He didn't need to accidentally melt it, or jettison a part of it at near the speed of sound. That would not be a good first experience with a roller coaster. Oh man he was going on a roller coaster. Nerves from that added to the flustered state. He didn't know what to expect. He'd been fine while Maya had seemed so calm about it.

Now she's nervous. Is it dodgy looking up close?

Maya did seem nervous. Cafas looked down for her hand and threaded his fingers through hers. "You okay? When you suggested the fastest one I figured you'd been on a roller coaster before, but you kind of seem... shaken." His concern had finally put his flusteredness to bed for the moment. It was a bit late if either of them were scared. The car started moving steadily forward, making a U-turn towards a huge incline. Coming to the base of the giant slope it stopped, then edged forward until the mechanism grabbed, pulling them smoothly onto the ramp and leaving them staring almost directly upward.

Oh man this is going high... Maya can Ghost us if it goes wrong though... right?

Cafas flustered was a delight. Had she the brain power to divert she would have challenged that blush further. It was fun to, for once, not be the one embarrassed.

Instead she did the responsible thing and closed her eyes while she grabbed onto the metal bar.

> “You okay?”

He was asking for her, but there was a hint of… panic was maybe too strong a word. Fear. By now, the warning she'd gotten from the women was completely forgotten.

“Have you… been…? You have ridden on a roller coaster before, right?” This was beginning to sound like a weird echo of another conversation they'd had not too long ago.

The coaster clicked its way to the to of the hill and Maya realized she was out of time. She rushed to explain and pull the last of her incorporeal nature to her center.

“I love it. I love the rush, the wind, the way you leave your stomach behind.” She squeezed his hand, un-surprised that hers was already in his. It was just right.

“I was just trying to make sure I was ah!-” the train tipped down and they, at the back of car, flicked over the hump of the track at full speed. “Solid!” She grinned and gave Cafas’ hand a mighty squeeze.

Was she solid enough? Bits of her body trailed in a misty comet trail behind the car, but most of her stayed in the car. Going down, she got a little air in her seat, but going through the loop was fine because of centrifugal force.

And it was great! Maya whooped and let her power amplify the celebratory sounds from their car. It was over all too soon.

“Again!”

“Have you… been…? You have ridden on a roller coaster before, right?”

Was he meant to have? Was that a thing everyone had done but him? The way she asked made him think it was. "Uhm, no. I am a roller coaster virgin." Why had that choice of words felt so apt? "I never got around to it." More that it had never crossed his mind. Australia didn't have many theme parks that he could think of, it just wasn't part of the culture. In the USA he'd always had things to do, and no-one to go with, which seemed like it was a major part of the experience all in all.

Probably could have organised something with friends...

“I love it. I love the rush, the wind, the way you leave your stomach behind.”

She really was selling it. Rush, wind, stomach. Wait stomach? Cafas did some pre-flight checks on his nausea levels. Readings came back clear. Which was good, because he didn't have much of a choice any more. He hoped roller coasters would live up to the hype.

Is that the top? We must be near the top.

“I was just trying to make sure I was ah!- Solid!”

Cafas quickly discovered Maya had been giving him the understated soft sell. Any effort he'd gone to with his hair was immediately undone by the wind. His body surged adrenaline through his system as they plummeted. More when they hit the loop. There was a spiral too. Honestly it felt like he spent as much time upside down as right way up, and the G-force was spectacular. Plus, it seemed totally sturdy and safe, so the nerves had been pointless..

But the best part was Maya. Gone was the worry and the frown, she was all unabashed joy and whooping. Whooping that seemed to attract more attention from the ground than he would have expected. He felt much better about his choice of date.

Overall, it was one hell of a minute.

“Again!”

"Again! That was more fun than skydiving!"

"You'll have to line up again for that."

Attendant was such a buzzkill. Of course they would, didn't mean he had to tell them that. Cafas extricated himself from the seat, which proved harder than getting in, and all but jumped onto the platform, energy levels spiking. They were led to the exit and Cafas skipped the whole way, because skipping was fun. His publicist had informed him he probably should try to maintain some level of dignity in public. Cafas disagreed. There was nothing undignified about a 6' 4" mountain of muscle skipping.

Now what?

Arm around Maya he swung back into the park. A group of three women waved to Maya. Cafas had thought it was to him, but the eye-line wasn't right for that. "Hey, you know them? Also, same one or something else?" Cafas now wanted to ride all the roller coasters. Roller coasters were great. Cafas' hair was... Wind-tossed was an understatement.

She fumbled her straps, but then no one seemed very practiced at their use. Maya at least had the excuse that her fingers had a tendency to loose their corporeality when she tugged too hard. She was still collecting her body back together. A stiff breeze helped. "Glad you liked it." She grinned like a fool.

He was such a kid. She trailed a step behind his skipping. She hadn't expected the heart racing panic of trying to keep herself together. Maybe a slower ride was in order next time.

Maya eyed the women as Cafas pointed them out. By their facial expressions alone, she knew that she would not want him to hear what they had to say. Instead, she reached up to help his hair again. It was somehow worse than after his helmet.

"I'm learning that people have very specific ideas on who they think you should be dating." It was weird that they had opinions. Also, if Maya had to guess there was no one woman who would ever fit the bill.

"Maybe something different." Maya tugged at Cafas' arm to turn him away from the group. She was pretty sure she'd done an okay job of fending them off. "Actually, I could really use a drink. Is there a water fountain? And maybe some restrooms?" She wasn't above drinking out of the sink if it would flush out the cotton mouth feeling. She hated to ask again for food so she wouldn't. Not until Cafas brought it up.

Maya took a brief look at the women and began fussing with Cafas' hair. It was nice. He was starting to get why cats and cat-boys enjoyed being scratched and petted. Plus there was the added bonus that his hair didn't still look like he'd walked behind a jet engine.

"I'm learning that people have very specific ideas on who they think you should be dating."

"Yeah, and the media aren't exactly helping. Hell, my publicist wants to talk to me about it, that's how out of hand it's getting. Are... are you okay? They've gotten pretty nasty." Cafas had no idea how to spare Maya from the media battering she was getting. She hadn't helped her case with the AMA much either. Rowan wasn't immune to the media's vitriol either.

The comparisons to his father were out of line.

"Maybe something different."

Cafas turned to follow Maya's tugging. The women glared at Maya as they turned away. He was honestly mystified as to why people cared so much who he dated. Why was it not good enough for them that he was happy? The answer was likely jealousy, judging by fan mail. Really disturbing fan mail.

Maybe I should have gotten Noel to look into them a bit.

"Actually, I could really use a drink. Is there a water fountain? And maybe some restrooms?"

Cafas looked around for a map. There was a handy stand of them not too far away. He pointed and steered towards them. A quick scan revealed no marked water fountains, though restrooms were marked. "Restrooms, the nearest one is over by the carousel, which may be more your speed if you're having trouble staying solid." His teasing tone was obvious, as was the gentle nudge. Cafas expected a punch for that, and any chance he thought he might have had that night quickly disappearing. "For a drink though, best bet looks like a snack vendor or somewhere else that sells food."

I could really eat...

Cafas was interested in "Nathan's Famous" hot dogs, though they'd be walking back past the bike and then some to get to the original shop. The map was telling him they had a stand over by the cyclone and a smaller shop on the boardwalk, but Cafas was an original shop sort of guy. He'd eat just about anywhere though, especially with date nights officially being his dietary cheat days. Heck, the more food the better.