Janelle had to laugh at Max's response, "I was actually speaking literally and not metaphorically." a lot of times people did the opposie, it was funny that in this case it was the literal case.

As Max considered his answer to his question, Janelle took a few minutes to people watch. It was one of the greatest things about Times Square, it was a little slice of the whole world. There were tourists, but there were also native New Yorkers going about their daily business, irritated by the tourists. It was interesting to see the people who were experiencing the Square for the first time though. It brought back shadows of their previous conversation. How could anyone feel alone in a place like this.

Max revealed that his secret was that he had never learned to ride a bike because his Father had been to busy working to teach him.

Janelle could help but, 'huh' at that.

"Would you believe that I'm in almost the exact same boat? I wanted to learn, but my parents thought it was way to plebeian to ride a bike. They got me horseback riding lessons instead...which were great, but I always kind of wanted to know how to ride a bike."

It was another secret of Janelle's that her parents were horrible snobs...well meaning snobs...but kind of horrible all the same.

Max let out a small chuckle as Janelle expressed her similar issue. "Too plebian" Wow. He felt a sudden comradery forming. He glanced at the crowd around them and smiled. It was funny how many people could be in one space, with similar experiences who never met. He had been lucky enough to meet a girl who might actually understand where he was coming from.

"When I moved to New York I was supposed to be going to Law school. Following the old man's footsteps. Handling the family responsibility. Instead I started to follow a career in performance and my family cut me off." He said simply.

"I think my parents and yours might get along. I spent most of my life in private schools. Or in etiquette classes. Virginia is a little old school on some things. I went to more debutant balls as an escort than I can count." He confessed.

He looked over at the beautiful red head beside him and felt a pang rise up in his chest. She was stunning, gentle, and kind. It wasn't something he was exactly used to.

"I never got horseback riding though. That sounds pretty entertaining." He smirked.

Law school. Janelle tilted her head slightly and tried to picture Max in front of a court room, doing all of the things that she had seen lawyers do on TV. It was kind of weird. She still didn't know Max all that well, but there was something non-sequitur about the idea.

Janelle knew all about expectations though. She nodded at the idea of private schools, "School wasn't so bad though. There are lots of private schools where I grew up and it was basically the same as regular school." At least it was the same as what she thought regular school was like. Lockers and gym class, and all of the other things that made up school.

"I was honestly shocked when I managed to convince my parents to let me finish at Xavier's. They'd taken the whole mutant thing totally in stride though, and they'd heard that the connections to be made here were the best possible." She smiled slightly, "They're really not bad people...just disconnected. They've almost forgiven me for going into science instead of something more appropriate. I think they still think it's a phase."

Janelle giggled a bit, "My Mom has absolute fits that I insist on working park time too."

Etiquette classes are debutante balls? The little redhead couldn't stop herself from grinning at the thought, "With suits and big poofy, fancy dresses?" she said, "It had to be at least a little fun. With your dancing, it had to be a trip." Again, it was a little hard to picture Max as part of such a formal world. Everything about him was so laid back.

Max mentioned horseback riding and Janelle smiled, "It really was. It's probably one of the things I miss most about home. Horses are funny animals. They've go a lot of personality for a large herbivore." That said, she finished off her pizza and dusted her hands against one another before taking another sip of coke.

"Strange where you end up, isn't it? A few years ago, you couldn't have convinced me I'd be here right now."

She gave him a look that told Max she found the idea of him being a lawyer as downright rediculous as he did and then she spoke.

"School wasn't so bad though. There are lots of private schools where I grew up and it was basically the same as regular school."

Max gave a little nod of agreement as he took another bite.

"It wasn't all bad. I mean I got a great education. It was just one of those places where everyone was important or a loser because of who their mom or dad was. I like to judge people for who they are." He said.

She continued with a description of her parents and a smirk crossed Max's face. They sounded nice, supportive. It was a bit of a foreign concept.

"Well of course. They just want what's best for you. My parents do too in their own way. Your folks sound like they get it though, they want you to be happy. That's nice. My parents had my life planned for me before I even got there " He said simply.

"With suits and big poofy, fancy dresses?"

He let out a small chuckle.

"Only the poofiest and fanciest. It was all table manners, proper greetings, and pompous clapping" He said demonstrating with a delicate formal clap as he set his empty plate and can down, " The dancing was nice though. Got me started to be honest. More ballroom than anything else but it worked."

They've go a lot of personality for a large herbivore.

Max looked at her and shrugged, "I'm always down to learn new things. Just don't expect me to wear one of those fancy jokey costumes." He teased.

She seemed to ponder life for a moment and Max rose.

"I think I'm pretty happy with where I am. Especially right now." He said offering his hand, "come on I have a surprise for you."

Janelle didn't argue with Max. When it came down to it, Janelle's parents really did want her to be happy. They were convinced that she'd grow out of the science phase and that she'd eventually pick a more appropriate career, but at least for the time being, they were content to leave things as they lie.

Max said he was up for horseback riding and Janelle had to laugh out loud at his jockey comment. "Riding clothes really are the most comfortable for riding though. Besides, I think you could pull it off."

All things considered, things were pretty darn great at the moment and Janelle nodded her and smiled her agreement that she was also happy to be where she was.

Max stood and offered a hand and Janelle took it and rose. He had a surprise? Curiosity peaked, the redhead tried to figure out what sort of surprise there could possible be.

"I like surprises." she said, letting him lead the way.

She took his hand and he felt a surge of something akin to electricity shoot through his limb. He was nervous, the physical contact somehow bringing back the insecurities he had felt earlier in the night as he had been waiting for her. He threw those nerves aside and started walking, leading her beside him at a pleasant pace.

For a moment he wasn't a mutant, he wasn't a secret warrior from Haven, he wasn't a freak. He walked beside Janelle and they could have been any couple out for a date. As he made his way through the crowd he saw a number of couples walking and holding hands as well. They were just two people out and about.

"So Haven has investments in a lot of things. Mostly stuff that has applications to bettering society." He said.

The place he was heading was only a few blocks away. He didn't want to think about the price of real estate this close to the heart of the city.

"I was working on some budget paperwork the other day and came across something interesting. I thought it be right up your ally." He said vaguely.

It only took a short trip to bring them to the building Max wanted. It was a tall building, older and made of brick. You could see that there had been work done to update the place. A sign above the large twin doors read "Demeter Research Labs." He punched a code into keypad beside the doors and pulled one open.

"After you my lady." He said brightly.

Max didn't release her hand as they started to walk and Janelle grinned as they made their way through the crowded masses in and around Time's Square. Her hand felt good in his and the move slightly past casual contact was perfectly fine.

Janelle had to be honest with herself, none of the dates she'd been on since moving to the city had been anywhere near this good. It was a bit terrifying to be honest...what if she messed things up? Or said something wrong? Max had taken the eccentricities of her parents in stride, and had even been able to empathize, how lucky had that been? Now he was leading her towards some kind of surprise.

Pulled from her slight mental reverie by Max's voice, Janelle nodded her head at the context he was giving to their short walk. He had been doing things at work and had stumbled onto something he thought she would like. Janelle nodded and smiled. They approached the door and Max entered a code. The building was one of those old brick buildings that didn't take much of a stretch of the imagination to picture in the black and white photos of old New York. The updates were obvious, but the character remained.

"Demeter..." she murmured, "Goddess of harvest and agriculture.". A thrill of excitement ran through Janelle, were there going to be flowers?!

Max invited her to enter the building first, and Janelle obliged, making her way through the door and waiting just inside.

Goddess of harvest and agriculture."

Max smiled as he saw the excitement on her face. He had hoped she would find the place entertaining. He stayed a step behind her leading her towards an elevator.

"Exactly. I called and talked to the doctor in charge. Nice guy. Haven funds some of their research. Stiff with social applications. They're working on making vegetables that grow larger, corn that resows itself, eco friendly pesticides that not only repel bugs but bolsters plant growth without side effects." He explained as he entered the lift and punched a button.

"What I want to show you is a little less save the Earth though." He joked.

The lift opened and they were in a room with a number of monitors and a control panel. There was a door beside it he opened the door and entered.

The room was huge, taking up the entire floor of the building. In the center of the room was a huge pool of water. The surface was practically covered in Lotus flowers. They floated lazily on the surface of the water under huge sun lamps that lit the room. Max turned to the wall beside him and hit the light switch.

The room was thrown into almost complete darkness. However in the pool of water light bounced out filling the room in cool blue light. Each of the Lotus flowers emitted the light. The white flowers let off a blue glow, the veey oetals of the flowers illuminating the space around them. thousands of flowers lighting the room from the water.

"They spliced lotus seeds with firefly genetics. The flowers absorb light at an accelerated rate though the day, growing several times faster than normal flowers. At night however they give off this glow. Beautiful isn't it?" He said.

He reached out and offered his hand again, "What do you think?"

The further they went into the building, the more curious Janelle got. There was an elevator, and as Max explained what the facility was for, the redhead listened intently and nodded her head.

Genetic engineering of plants was one of those things that could be a very hot-button issue for people. Janelle, surprisingly enough, didn't mind the idea as long as the plants in question were safe and happy. Most of the things that Max was describing were things that would improve the health of the plants, or even give them a way to defend themselves against the types of pests that hurt of damaged their chances of growing. It was a fascinating subject.

That's not why they were there though.

The room they entered as the elevator opened seemed to be some sort of observation room. There were monitors and all of the things that people generally needed to do science stuff. Max opened a door that was in the room and walked through, Janelle followed.

The room was huge, and had that smell that could only be attributed to a large source of water. It was weird to find something like that in the middle of a building in New York City, but this research facility was obviously well funded. Technology could overcome many obstacles that would be insurmountable in the natural world.

Janelle was just moving to examine the pond more closely when the lights in the room suddenly went out. It was startling for a second, but then the redhead saw the glow. For a moment, Janelle was completely lost in the softness of the light that was coming from each of the flowers.

Again, Max explained what was happening, and Janelle nodded her head. This didn't seem as practical as some of the other applications he'd mentioned, but they sure were gorgeous.

"Absolutely gorgeous." she breathed, happily taking the offered hand and pulling Max closer to the pool.

There was a moment when she knew it would happen, it always did when she was close enough to a plant, but Janelle crossed that magic threshold and suddenly could feel at least some of the plants in the pond.

She smiled.

"They're happy..." she said, "Well, at least to the degree that they can be..." she trailed, a bit absorbed by the warm individual presence of each plant. How could anything be wrong with something, when it felt so natural?

Turning slightly so she could see Max better in the dim light, Janelle grinned, "They're amazing." she said, "Thanks so much for bringing me to see this."

Yeah. Probably the best first date ever.

"Absolutely gorgeous"

She pulled him closer to the pool of water and the horde of glowing lotus flowers. He watched her face intently as she looked at the flowers. He could see the joy on her face and he knew he had chosen well in bringing her here.

She commented on the flowers being happy and Max raised an eyebrow. He hadn't realized she had the ability to sense the feelings of plants. Suddenly he realized that bringing her here on a date had been a pretty big risk. What if the plants hadn't been happy? What if they were horrified Frankenstein's monster flowers?

She looked over at him and he looked at her in the dim light. She was stunning, the pale blue light reflecting off her red hair. Max took a step closer to her and he reached and arm around her back. As she thanked him.

"I'm glad you came." He said.

He felt a tension in the air and smiled shyly at her.

"I want to kiss you." He said simply, question in his voice.

Who could have guessed that a bio-engineering lab in the middle of New York City could also double as the most romantic place possible? Janelle couldn't have at the beginning of the night, but she supposed that was the thing about surprises. If they were easily predictable, they simply wouldn't be very good surprises.

Max's arm slipped around her back and Janelle turned into him more, mildly and pleasantly surprised at how the distance between them seemed to have evaporated. She hadn't noticed how much taller he was until now, that was interesting. Then Max spoke, and trvial things such as height and breathing simply disappeared in favor of a pounding heart and a deep blush that crept across the redhead's cheeks. At least it wasn't too bright.

"I'd like that..." Janelle said breathily, looking up to make things easier "Very much."

She responded to him in a low voice and in the dim light he could see her looking up at him. Her words were enough to send a surge of electricity through him and he pulled her closer and brought his lips down to meet hers. It was the only appropriate response he could think of.

He started out softly and built. Forcing himself to be gentle. His other hand moved to her back resting low just above what he felt to be her skirt line. For a moment he allowed himself to just enjoy the peaceful bliss of kissing someone. The tense connection of two people. Then he pulled away, still holding her.

"So is this going well?" He said a stupid smile plastered on his face, " I can't really tell.

A first kiss between a couple was always something special. The tension, the electricity, the sheer unknown of the entire act was made it something completely unique.

This kiss was no exception.

Max pulled her close, and Janelle leaned into him, her hands moving up to his chest as they kissed. It was, in a word that described most of the night so far. Perfect. Not too much, not too little, not too long, but maybe just a little too short if she were honest with herself.

He pulled away and Janelle opened her eyes, grinning back at his grin and grinning right back.

Something was different. Not just in the little bubble of space she and Max were currently sharing, but in the room itself

Max spoke, and the little redhead had to laugh, cheeks still pink. "I'd say so." she said, nodding her head just a little to the side to indicate the pool.

As sometimes tended to happen when she was in a state of heightened emotion, Janelle's powers had gone a bit willy nilly on their own. Several of the lilies in the pond had nearly doubled in size, and were now glowing a brilliant purple in contrast to the other blue hues.

Janelle shrugged, "It happens sometimes if I'm not careful."  she said, "I hope they don't mind."

Max wanted nothing more than to kiss her again. Somewhere deep down he knew that was his hormones talking, but to his conscious mind all he could feel was the primal need to feel her lips in his once again. She responded to him and titled her head towards the pond. He looked and grinned.

The transformation of the plants had happened while he was distracted. He had not seen Janelle's power in action before and as he looked at the now larger and purple Lotus flowers he felt a smile spread across his face. Her power was spectacular. She helped create, and breathed life into things. The Lotus flowers she had effected looked beyond healthy and the glow they put off complimented their companions. It was stunning.

-"I hope they don't mind."

"Amazing, you are amazing" He said and let out a little chuckle, "I doubt they will mind. The doctor will probably be tripping all over himself trying to figure out how to replicate what you did."

An idea snuck into Max's mind and he took a step towards the pond. He separated from Janelle but let his arm slide up her back and reached for her hand.

"My turn." He said.

He placed his foot on the surface of the water and began to focus. He could have instantly nullified gravity, but that wasn't the effect he was going for. Instead he threw his power over him and began to lower gravity, a controlled and measured use of his power. He pressed with his foot onto the surface and felt the tension. It took him maybe ten seconds to find the balance he was looking for. To bring gravity to almost nothing but still keep it present.

He stepped out in earnest and his foot rested on the surface of the water. He took a second step and was standing on top of the pool. He looked at Janelle and grinned.

"Care for a stroll?" He asked standing impossibly on the water.

Luckily for Janelle, she couldn't blush any more than she was already blushing. Nobody had ever called her amazing before, and at best she'd always considered herself painfully average. Max pointed out that he didn't think anyone would mind the changes in the flowers and that the scientists would probably be fascinated by trying to figure out what she'd done.

The redhead shrugged her shoulders slightly, smile still plastered across her features. She hadn't really done anything. It had just happened...that's how it worked with her powers a lot of the time, and the most spectacular demonstrations always came when she wasn't completely in control of herself. Maybe it was time she did something about that...

Max spoke and stepped away and Janelle sighed slightly in protest. It almost felt cold in the lab now that they weren't in contact, but the little redhead watched intently as Max approached the pont, hand clasped firmly in his.

It only took a few moments, Janelle could tell that Max was concentrating so she kept quiet as he stepped with first one foot, then the other out onto the pool! He was literally walking on water. He'd said the other day that his powers could affect gravity, but this was absolutely next level.

"Care for a stroll?"

Janelle's eyes widened slightly, he could do it to her too?

"Absolutely" she said eagerly and moved forward, letting Max take the lead. This was, after all, his show.

"You said what I did was amazing...but I didn't have any control over it...it just happened because I was so happy...this is amazing."