She wasn't the only one there and that was a problem since Maya was afraid Cafas would not recognize her.

Maya hadn't told him yet that with Jude's help she'd achieved 100% corporeality.

Sure, they'd talked on the phone almost every day. Text messages too, which were so much easier for Maya now that she could read them and didn't have to reply on text to speech. On some level, she'd hoped he would pick up on the fact that she was sending fewer typos and quicker to text back. Maybe he could have guessed that she was back to being pure flesh and bone, but they hadn't talked about it. She hadn't stopped to call him when they'd decided to try whatever Jude did to help. He was so hard to get a hold of, and she hadn't been sure that it'd work. She didn't want to get his hopes up.

Then it actually worked, but it seemed like he'd be back in a week so she'd gotten a cake ready for their friendiversary. Surprise! Except that there'd been reshoots and delays and late nights and a rip in spacetime and missed calls and missions.

She missed him. She was sure she was still important to him considering the effort he put in to contacting her. It was just to the point where Maya was afraid that what was meant to be a happy, fun surprise was now going to embarrass him.

She should have said something.

Instead, Maya checked the clock on her phone as she stood apart from a small crowd of eager cameramen at the passenger terminal at JFK. For the most part, the loss of her most defining feature, the white hair, had allowed her some degree of anonymity. For now the cameramen paid her no mind. Her fear was that Cafas wouldn't either. She really would have preferred to done this in private.

As it was, she'd done her best to give Cafas all the clues he'd need to recognize her. A skirt, ballet flats, and a poster board sign that said his name were the weapons in her arsenal. She couldn't do much better than that unless she wanted to ghost right here in the terminal.

Five minutes before they were due to begin descent, Cafas would much rather have been asleep. Several joints cracked and creaked as he stretched in his seat. The flight attendant returned with his requested grooming kit and a wonderfully hot towel. He set to making himself camera ready as they descended, made final approach, and touched down. He stopped short of the recommended make up, slammed an orange juice that wasn't the coffee he wanted, and packed up as they taxied into the gate. One final yawn and he was up and moving, the smile his publicist loved so much firmly in place.

Please let customs be short...

A little under an hour later he was through. A couple fan selfies were probably already hitting twitter. Possibly instagram, could even be tumblr. Honestly he hadn't quite heard in the excited babble. He'd just smiled, laughed, and given the requested hugs, flexes, and the one bridal carry. With one final deep breath, and a quick once over in a window reflection, Cafas strode into the paparazzi crossfire. The flash was borderline dazzling, the clamour was playing havoc with his ears, and the sudden movement really made picking individuals difficult. The actor simply smiled, waved, and otherwise ignored them. There was a shock of white hair to be found.

... Or was there? His quick scan turned into an actual visual search, though the smile never slipped. He made another full sweep of the waiting before it was starting to take awkwardly long. The flash really wasn't helping, and he could feel his temper rising. He had to get somewhere to compose himself. He stepped into the crowd, luggage in tow, trying to blink away the black spots on his vision. "Excuse me ma'am." He applied gentle pressure on the woman's shoulder to stop her potentially moving into the gap he wanted, but faltered in his stride before he could slip by her. Something familiar. Something he couldn't quite place... No, there it was, the smell of ozone. His eyes flicked down his arm, to his hand, lingered on some unreasonably long legs, skipped the sign and found the face, though there may have been a brief pit stop between.

His composure cracked, his eyebrows knit with confusion, and as much as he'd have liked to make some pithy remark such as "Is that a new shirt?" none of his wit could make it through the mental block that was this new development. He'd been staring for way too long, confusion had rendered him dumb as his mouth tried to work. All he managed was "Brown?" and eye contact with beautiful eyes that he hadn't seen in far too long. Beautiful eyes that hid secrets.

She was checking her phone again when the first stir of excitement disturbed the still and waiting crowd. Cafas was late enough that they'd collected a few more cameras, latecomers to the party. They'd still get their shot. She strained up to her tippie-toes to catch a glimpse of pink.

Right.

Go time.

She raised her arm and waved as the lense caps came off and the telltale patter of photos and flashes sounded like rain. It was to be expected that he looked right over her. How dumb must she look? Like a fan. Thank God she'd resisted the urge to draw hearts around his name. The paparazzi clouded around her striving for their best angle. Maya may have been the one person dumbstruck and standing still.

It was him. And he was here. She rolled her lips together and ducked her smile behind her dumb mistake of a poster. Maya thought that maybe in their time away, he'd have been changed somehow. Like now that she could see him that he might feel different. But he moved just the same. His camera smiles wasn't the same as the one that made her all fluttery and nervous, but she still melted when he walked her way. Ah. So she hadn't fooled him at all. The cameras moved around, knowing the terms of their toleration. No touching. He was the planet they orbited, but Maya had no such rules. She stood planted right where she was until he met her there.

> "Excuse me ma'am."

She was just as confused for a moment. Ma'am?

"To be fair, I was standing here first." That spark of recognition swept over his features fast. She got the once-over and would have given him a twirl, but he still had her arm. Maya settled for dropping the Cafas poster and folding her arms over his shoulders in the biggest of hugs. Now she could give him a proper squeeze. Frankly, he was going to have to find a crowbar to remove her at this point.

> "Brown?"

"Surprise!" She pulled back enough only for him to see her face. Her eyes were blue now which had been an adjustment considering that she'd expected them to go back to brown, and she glanced nervously between his eyes to see the reaction there. Her intent was to not let go for a very long time, now that she had him back. "You like it? I had some help..."

There was a Maya practically welded to his body. Except not. Well, maybe, he wasn't actually sure he could tell if he were. She was certainly holding onto him hard enough. Cafas' free arm automatically shifted to support her. "Blue..." The stupor was properly on him. His brain was yelling commands at itself, but ignoring them. This was Maya, he was sure of that. She smelled the same (Was that weird? It was probably weird), She sounded the same, the features were the same. But blue eyes, brown hair, and certainly not as translucent as he was used to.

Help?

It was her. It was his Maya. Even if he didn't quite understand what was happening. "I thought... Wait.. What? Dye? No it doesn't take, but..." The X-man felt something bubble up inside him that he hadn't felt in a good long while. Something warm and... Hopeful. Legitimate hope, not the vain hollow hope he'd been clinging to. but the proper, uplifting kind of hope. Maybe he should have squashed it down, it had been how long that they'd been trying? And he'd supported a few businesses he'd rather have shut down in the process.

But this was much more likely. Right? The physical evidence was there right in front of him. So, jaded as he should have been, Cafas Johnson allowed himself this hope; His gaze trying to bore the truth from Maya's eyes.

"I know it might take some getting used to." He was entirely flummoxed. It would have been laughably adorable if she hadn't had a cold shard of guilt nestled in her chest. "It certainly was a long time in coming. I can fill you in on the details on the way home?"

Maya had mercy on him and planted a kiss on his cheek using the opportunity to assuage the fear and hope that battled across his face. "It's real." She breathed the words against his ear and punctuated each sentence with a kiss. "Promise."

Whatever momentary silence that was from the photographers broke once they realized there was more of a story here than just your average movie star returning home after a shoot. The eye of the hurricane had passed and now they shouted questions. How did filming go? Was Cafas cheating on Maya? Was he still an X-man? What did he think about the tear in the universe?

She rolled her lips together again as she pulled back to see how much trouble she was in.

"The studio sent a car and driver." She wheedled in order to hopefully get them moving homeward. Besides, there was champagne and all kinds of other fancy stuff for a job well done.

It took a moment for everything to sink in. The words just echoed around his head, trying to find a place to settle. He vaguely registered the comment about the car. The clamour of questions didn't even make it that far. Happy tears welled up and overflowed. The metal manipulator quickly hid them in the crook of his ever so corporeal girlfriend's neck. His suitcase stood forgotten as he pulled Maya straight off her feet and twirled her around the tiny bubble the paparazzi had left them. If not for careful he had needed to become with Maya in their time together, he may well have hurt her with his enthusiasm.

Cafas pulled back beaming, controlling his silly tears as best he could. An actual, real, possible, wonderful future lay before them, both of them, together. No more waiting on a lingering farewell, no more having to wonder how he and Ro would cope without her, no more... No more tea with breakfast! "I can drink coffee again!" Cafas bounced, and held back the happy tears once more. His whole world seemed that much brighter, and he wanted to share it with the blue eyed brunette in his arms.

"Maya Swift. Will you marry me?"

Uh oh...

Sure as the sunrise, and emotional Cafas will lose control of his mouth. He'll say that thing he really should have saved, and planned, or just never said. Ask Calley. One would think he'd learn to preempt it, to stop it happening. No such luck. All he'd learned was how to recognise such occasions after the fact. The realisation raced across his face, shock, fear, nervous anticipation, finally coming to resolute sincerity. Okay, maybe there was some nervous there too.

It's not like he could take it back though.

His whole world stood poised on a precipice, frozen between heartbeats, in a moment of infinite potential.

Please. If she could only get him moving, Maya was sure they could continue this conversation in private. She knew better than to look at the cameras. She knew better than to let her guilt change this happy moment into something the media could turn into a story about how terribly their relationship was going. Because it was going great, right? They were back together and they could find a rhythm again and it was going to be okay.

Cafas buried his face into her neck and she put her fingers through his hair without his hair going through her fingers. Despite the dye, she found his hair soft and very touchable. She felt his tears, happy tears, and she was both moved by his reaction and relieved that she had managed to take the weight of her situation off his shoulders. He could pretend all he wanted, they'd all been afraid for how her story would end. Now it didn't have to. Now they could laugh and twirl in the airport lobby whenever they wanted to. Despite the extra weight from being solid, Cafas kept her crushed tight enough that barely even her toes touched the ground. That was more than okay by Maya. She wanted to reassure Cafas that she was really here.

"What does coffee have to do with it?" He was jumping mental topics too fast for Maya to keep up at this point, but it didn't matter if it was tea or coffee so long as it was tea or coffee together. Already, Maya was planning ahead for exactly what the rest of their evening might entail.

One thing she had not accounted for was a marriage proposal.

She laughed once, a nervous reaction. It was like the ring of people around them had all taken a collective breath and Maya went from practically climbing up her boyfriend to being trapped. She couldn't say no in front of all these people. But she couldn't say yes.

Tension radiated through the elemental as she desperately tried to cobble together a barrier of air to keep their conversation private. There were too many people that were too close. The barrier of silence was too fragile.

"I—" Could she? Could she tie herself to someone else when the last time went so wrong? Could she trust him, fresh off the plane, fresh full of good news? "—hadn't thought about it."

Maya knew she was shaking, a fine tremble that felt like she might just shake all the way apart, broken back down to her base elements.

What if his priorities changed? What if, even solid, she wasn't enough? There were so many factors that they hadn't discussed and it really wasn't the best time or place for it. There was no diplomatic answer. There was no answer at all that Maya could fit together that would quiet the voice of fear that was whispering so sweetly.

"Can we go home?" Hot, embarrassed tears spilled over her lower lash line despite the smile she still managed. Going home was the best option to tell him that she still wanted to be with him, she wanted to go together... Planning for the future was a whole new frame of thinking.

At first Cafas thought he'd gotten away with it. Maybe not the best case, but certainly, he'd made the mistake of thinking, it could have been worse. The paparazzi didn't even seem totally sure what to do with it. Really it was just the beginning of a proper adult conversation about their future together. The wasn't going to sell photos. Really, they'd all been denied a headline.

If only that had been the end of it.

Confusion and concern stopped his agreeable nodding and imposed themselves upon his features. Something was most certainly very wrong. It wasn't Calley throwing a tantrum and fleeing, but it was as close as Maya ever tended to get. He was already trying to pick a path as Maya found her voice again. "Sure sweetheart, come on." That got the paparazzi going again. Now that was a good scoop. In a move his publicist would later certainly call "a ridiculous overreaction" the X-man sent a pulse through the crowd as far as he could reach. Cameras suddenly shut down, a massive, simultaneous malfunction as every tiny piece of metal within them turned to liquid. At least that would spare Maya a front page photo.

The confusion, he knew, wouldn't last long, so he capitalised. Cafas ushered Maya through the crowd and out the door before the first cries of outrage rang out. Straight to the car. He recognised the driver. Also the placard. He waved the man off as he tried to assist with luggage, simply lobbing his suitcase underarm into the open door. "We gotta get out of here nowish. Take us home." He waited for Maya to get it and jumped into the car himself, shutting the door a little too hard. The engine purred to life and the car merged into the traffic with practised precision.

With the situation passed, Cafas could finally be flustered. Words spilled from his mouth at breakneck speed, each as poorly thought out as the ones that had landed him in the situation. "Hey hey hey hey hey, I'm sorry I... I really didn't think that through. I didn't mean to embarrass you or... I dunno. Maya, hon, please don't cry. I shoulda broached that better. This is meant to be happy! It is happy. Well, clearly not the whole proposal thing, apparently." He didn't know what to do with his hands. Was hugging her okay? Would that make it worse? Surely not.

Seatbelt first, buy time to decide. Oh damn that didn't help the decision.

Yes hug, just go with it. No, that's how this happened. Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhh!

He was so reasonable. That made her feel ten million times worse.

"I messed that up. I messed it up in a big way." The clacking patter of cameras stopped, almost like someone had set up an umbrella to keep the rain of camera flashes from falling on them.

Maya spared a glance back toward the group of paparazzi as they collectively stopped in their tracks. Her quick glance showed her confusion and anger that fast faded into realization. Oh. Metal cameras. Metal parts. Metal manipulator. Cafas might have some reparations to pay after today. Maya mopped her face with the palm of one free hand, her other arm was tied up in not letting Cafas go despite their height differences and the difference in their stride, this was practically a 3-legged escape.

Why hadn't she said yes? She could have just said yes and gotten them to leave and they could have had a discussion afterward anyway.

Cafas disentangled himself to throw his things in the trunk. Maya slid into the back of the car and scooted to the middle because no matter which seat Cafas chose, she wanted to sit next to him. She even buckled herself in because she wasn't going anywhere.

She had really screwed up, really in public, and maybe forever. Did she break his trust? Why had he asked then? Or, now? Why not weeks ago? Why not never? She did her best to stem the tears which she didn't fully understand anyway. She was embarrassed, yeah, but now they were safe and practically alone.

> "Hey hey hey hey hey, I'm sorry I... I really didn't think that through... Well, clearly not the whole proposal thing, apparently."

"No. I mean yes. I should have said yes." It was hard to get the words out when they all meant so much and all the words around them were all backed up. "When I stop and think about it, I didn't imagine us getting married, but, I also didn't imagine us not being an 'us.'" She continued to not make sense as best she could. "I don't want to not be us."

Yeah, hugs was the direction he was going. Cafas tucked an arm around Maya, wiggling as close as the seat belts would allow without digging into hips. "I don't want to not be us either. Us is the best." Cafas paused to wince at his own grammar before continuing, "We can be us without being married though." He wasn't sure that was as reassuring as he'd wanted it to be. He was more or less just flailing with words. "I just. You know. I don't know, I just... I love you. I wasn't really thinking. I got caught up in the possibility of an actual forever..." They'd never had a forever. He'd never had a forever. Everything was always so uncertain. The concept of an actual forever hadn't really been a fantasy he'd indulged.

"Forever with you. Us."

Earnest emotional discussion was not how he'd foreseen his arrival home. Celebratory dancing, dinner, other things. He was all off guard. The X-man took a breath and wrangled his thoughts into something comprehensible. A gentle smile broke across his face looking at Maya, teary but solid, all brown hair and corporeal form. She looked like a woman that needed a kiss, and who would he be if he didn't oblige? That was how they'd started this whole thing after all.

He kept it relatively short, though despite the circumstances it sent a thrill through his body. He pulled back with some effort, taking Maya's hand in his free one. "I'm sorry I asked in those circumstances. But I'm not sorry I asked. I love you, and I think it's a discussion we should have. Not having thought about it is a perfectly valid answer, and I'm not at all upset by it. We're adults after all. Wildly screamed yeses and cheering crowds are for fictional people and fools. You are neither."

Even Cafas Johnson could be an adult.

Having kids will do that.

> "Us is the best."

A twist of tightness unravelled in her chest. Us was pretty good, she had to admit.

"The last time I got married it didn't work out so well." She reminded him, as if he needed the reminding. His arm pulled her close and she leaned her head along his shoulder. "I thought my forever was forfeit. Making plans feels too much like tempting fate." Which sounded silly and superstitious when she said it out loud.

> "I just. You know. I don't know, I just... I love you."

"I know." A smile tugged at her despite all of everything. Cafas smelled like airplane air and beauty products. "I'd already planned to spend the rest of my life with you. I can't imagine a future without us." Was she talking herself into this? Maya worried at her lower lip with her teeth until Cafas convinced her that there was a better use for her lips.

Short, sweet. Too short.

Maya left her eyes closed even after he'd pulled away reveling in the way her lips felt before, during, and even now after the fact. He had shaved today, but there'd been the faintest bit of stubble.

Much, much, much too short.

> "I'm sorry I asked in those circumstances. But I'm not sorry I asked. I love you... We're adults after all..."

"I got married on a whim last time. You're not... an impulse. You're my choice." Was that lame? She opened her eyes to make sure he was still with her. She swallowed hard and it felt like the sound was too loud in the small space. She had already given him everything. Why did he want this one last thing?

"If it's important to you... if you promise that you won't change without us changing together... I would give you my forever."

If it was important to him. That was tricky. He actually wasn't entirely sure it was. It certainly had benefits. Several he could think of off the top of his head, and he was pretty sure there were others. Cafas' brows tugged inwards into the tiniest of frowns as he retreated into his own mind to try and figure out his own priorities in life. Marriage just hadn't ever come up before. He'd never really been in a relationship long enough before, except Calley, and that wasn't legal at the time.

"I don't know if it's really important. I mean, it's really just a legal thing, right? I mean, it's just what you do though right? But you proved right there, you can commit to someone forever without it." His eyes flit around as he thought, barely registering what they were seeing. "I mean, it might be good for the rights it conveys, we hardly have the safest lifestyles. Plus there's Ro, though I don't know if step parents have much in the way of rights and stuff there, I'm really just making an assumption." The X-man extracted himself from his own brain and found Maya's eyes, startlingly blue.

That'll take some getting used to.

"Still," He began, smiling a smile just for her, "I think I can promise to not change without you, and offer my forever to you as well." The flush of excitement and happiness that he'd left at the airport caught him once more. Because, honestly, forever was all he needed. Marriage was really more of a formality. Easy as that, he knew where his priorities lay.

"So, you still feeling like home? I know you, you had plans."

"You make some good points, but I thought it might matter more about adoption rather than our matrimonial state." Was now the time to hash through those details? Should they get a lawyer involved? Did they do prenuptials for non-married people? Maya wanted Cafas to be covered and putting some layers of protection between them left just that much of both of them safe at the end of the day. "I want forever to be real. But I'm not sure I believe in it anymore."

Cafas was watching her when she brought her eyes back around to his.

It was a heck of a lot easier to believe in forever when he was right here saying all the right things. Looking like that. Smiling with his everything. When had she gotten so jaded?

"I'm sorry. I feel like I'm ruining this. I do have plans for you--" and admitting that made her skin flush all the way down her upper arms. "--if you're not too tired, I mean. I'd put them aside in a heartbeat if you wanted to do something else. I just thought you might be hungry, for starters." A safe bet, considering what she'd learned in their time living together.

Food. He hadn't thought about food, surprised as he was to realise it, in hours. He'd barely thought of anything but his much delayed reunion with Maya all day. He'd barely been able to eat before the flight, excited butterflies had been fluttering in his stomach, and he'd slept most of the way from Heathrow to pass the time faster. He had an in flight meal, but that was more of a snack by his standards.

"While I have to say, I'm very interested in these plans of yours," He cast a glance down to where he could feel the heat from her flush radiating through his shirt and arched an eyebrow, "I think food would be a good idea first." His stomach murmured its agreement, eliciting an awkward chuckle from Cafas. "Yeah, okay, food." Because that was going to get distracting later. "And, for what it's worth, you're not ruining this. You're you, and you're here. Nothing's ruining that." Which seemed like a perfect line to continue some unfinished business on.

Good a time as any.

This kiss was not short. Quite the opposite. It was a kiss trying to make up for everything they'd missed while he was away, though slightly awkward to angle belted in the back of a car. In other circumstances, he'd probably a have pushed his luck with it a bit. As it was content to enjoy the new warmth, and enough solidity to squeeze her into him.

Cafs would have stayed in that moment forever if it were possible, but time moved forward, and so did cars. If he didn't speak up soon they'd be home, where he doubted either of them would be willing to leave. All Maya's planning would be for nought.

Maybe not all of it.

Reluctantly, Cafas leaned forward, breaking the embrace only when it was clear he couldn't reach the dividing panel while wrapped up in Maya. Initially, his hand slipped on the tinted glass privacy screen, but he found purchase on the second attempt, rolling it open. "Hey dude, uh, change of plans, could you take us to..." Oh right, these weren't his plans. Cafas cast a curious glance at Maya, waiting for her to finish the instruction.

Interested? Who was interested? Maya showed him wide eyes despite her flush. Certainly no one here was interested.

Okay. So maybe her interest showed a bit when he came back for kiss round 2. There was only so much interest that could be shown considering the seatbelts. As much as it was tempting to slip out of hers, Maya knew Cafas enough to know better. Incorporeal form or not, he believed in seatbelt safety. At the moment, that was really in the way of Maya's ability to express her interest. She did manage to lose a shoe, though. Somehow. And was folded back into the crock of Cafas' arm when he leaned forward, rather than getting squashed by his reaching. It sort of meant they both crunched over, but that was fine. Better than fine because he hadn't let go.

> "...Could you take us to...

Her eyebrows went up in a silent plea. Last chance to call an audible for home. Going once... going twice... stomach gurgle. Maya smoothed her hair back from her face.

"Rothy's, please." She spoke up so that she could be heard over the quiet rumble of the road. "West side of the park. 74th and Amsterdam." While there was far more than one park, most of the time they all talked like there was only one. Besides, the cross streets should get them there and it was incredibly close to the apartment. Walking distance, should they want to walk.

Maya fussed at his shirt and plucked a few times at her skirt to settle and retuck what they'd unsettled in their moment of mutual interest.

"If you do that again, I can't be held accountable for whether we make it to our dinner reservation." She gave him wide eyes again. She was definitely still Maya despite everything.

The full name of the restaurant was Rothy's Real Food. It was a very upscale meat and potatoes, minus the potatoes, kind of place. Luckily they also had greens. Upon their arrival, the couple was ushered back to a semi-private booth and presented with wine. Maya made sure to sit next to Cafas, elbows be damned, and ordered a feast of side dishes.

"Welcome home!" She raised her glass.