The early morning sun began baking his neck, but Eisen didn't notice. He found himself pacing this morning, counting things with his fingers, tracing his thoughts with the soles of his feet. Up and around the the 56 Leonard, a Jenga-like building that looked about to fall-apart as Eisenhower Brandt-Garcia did just about now. His dad's were about to have their 35th wedding anniversary in two days and he still hadn't figured out what to get them.

"The Grand Canyon's too hot... And they only took polite bites out of that cake I baked them last time. Shit. Shit. Shit." He paced around the building, shoes-spatially locked with every step. His breakfast of four syrup-doused waffles, five sausages, and a half-liter of orange juice churned in his stomach, but it did very little to distract him from the life-or-death scenario of showing up at his Daddy and Papi's house with nothing but a free-hug coupon scribbled on a paper napkin. That only worked once, in seventh grade. Papi liked it so much, he asked if he could renew-it daily. Maybe Eisen could recreate that daily free hug voucher?

As much as it would bother people to see a man climbing on nothing outside their window, a few of them waved at Eisen as he paced by, slowly and surely upwards and around their home on an invisible staircase of his own making. He may have created for himself a reputation as a ginger-haired entity that orbited this establishment every-so often. On the thirty-seventh floor, some kids used to make it a habit to leave a plate of wrapped snacks in their birdfeeder just for him. There was an October and November when his pacing had almost become daily.

Today, those wrapped snacks could wait. He'd been so busy with his night-vigilante life recently and the couple trips to the Emergency Room that he forgot he'd even planned his 56 Leonard pace-around almost a week ago! As he climbed, he would take moments to pause and chill on the 56 Leonard's outcroppings, readjusting his sneakers for no good reason than to distract himself from his awful ideas.

"Why must they be so content with their lives? Ugh." Eisen threw his hands up in the air at one point and allowed himself to fall backwards. From the 47th floor down to whenever the feeling of falling would jog a good idea into his flustered brain.

You know when you’re flying around the greatest city in the world after being gone a while fighting natural disasters, anti-mutant sentiments, and dangerous members of state to get a sense of the city’s growth and change while you were absent? No? Well, let me tell you it’s a dizzying thing. It’s not from rapidly propelling yourself through the sky while spinning and somersaulting joyously. It’s more the tracking what changed, what building is new, seeing diversity be further embraced, watching Brooklyn explode with business like it’s a part of Manhattan. It’s exciting and invigorating too.

Oh and sometimes you catch sight of people plummeting to their death.

“Shit,” Tempest swore. The sad truth was mistakes happened, or accidents. People fell from construction sites or while climbing walls. Some leaned too far over balconies. Others needed help, needing someone to talk with them and Devon hoped he could help there too. Sometimes also partners got pissed and oops they pushed over a cheating lover.

Life happens and well the threat of death is always there.

Clad in white linen pants and a simple, barely there tunic of the same material - like he was going to yoga or something - came Tempest with a gust of wind. A swirling vortex of air started somewhere below the as yet unknown faller as Tempest rocketed down along the Leonard building. He had to be careful not to buffet around the person he was catching and so Tempest’s decent was not the focus.

“Stay calm!” Tempest shouted, but little could be heard over the sudden roaring of wind beneath Eisen. He bid it start to flatten out - like a storm cloud pushing and pulling at different fronts - as the redhead bounced a bit roughly. But even a second’s delay allowed Tempest to drop like a spinning white rock with black hair, and then catch himself with a new gust from below.

“I got you,” Tempest called as he opened his hands, pushed the winds to blow a bit harder at his feet and legs and caught this scruffy guy in his open arms. While his clothing may have been white, willowy linen his eyes were solid pools of black, inky darkness. “Breathe slowly, focus,” he suggested immediately.

Eisen closed his eyes in sheer ecstasy, as the weightless feeling of hurtling down with gravity's embrace was a thrill that never failed to invigorate him. From the thorough tousling of his ginger hair, to the billowing of wind through his funky pink, camo joggers and lime-green Monster hoodie and bleach-white Reeboks. To the temporary goop-like sensation of his insides as the breakfast of his suspended in his stomach cavity fell with him.

Little by little, as he hurtled past the thirty and the twenty-something floors, he'd ease the breaks of his descent, pumping his mutation onto his clothes in frequent, short spurts, such that his descent slowed its pace. Just then, an idea popped into his mind. A romantic showing at a drive through-cinema where he'd dress up as the waiter! That would be so cool and hip and cute! 

The words "Eureka!" or some other form of the expression almost dispersed from his lips right before a strong and intense gust of wind hurtled at him from below. He instinctively tensed and caught himself with his spatial lock, his body and legs curved in such a way that the two strong pair of arms that then scooped him up from below found the perfect places to hold the idea-stricken boy.

Eisen's whole body felt an electric like surprise as the warm body of another man's torso pressed against his shoulder as well as the arms supported his back and the folds of his legs. Instead of falling he was lifted back up into the sky, wholly and fully taken aback just like he had been with his earlier idea.

He locked eyes with black pools of intense focus, framed with gorgeous features and topped with the gust-of-air intertwined tenor of a sexy voice.

> “Breathe slowly, focus,” the man who held Eisen close to him began to iterate, which Eisen's freeze-instinct, to allow himself to be caught, made it easier for the fellow mutant to bring Eisen upwards into the air. Yet, as soon as the two came to the height of their trajectory upward, Eisen couldn't help but clench and tighten as his heart stopped and words slipped out of his mouth.

"Damn. You're hot." Eisen pressed his hand against the man's chest, and his mutation slipped, rippling his spatial lock through the entirety of both their clothes. Causing the two of them to stand suspended in the air like that-- one man holding another, and the other staring into the intensity of the other's eyes -- as the world truly seemed to pause for just a moment.

“Wait, what-” Tempest said suddenly, a shock of red - darker than this guy’s hair - flushing through his face.

It had seemed a little odd that the guy had been slowing a little, but Tempest thought maybe he’d miscalculated even if his weather eye allowed him to see all the forces at work. Now he couldn’t quite see gravity - as that wasn’t a real force of energy - but there was something odd about this person who’d fallen into his arms. Still, they’d been elevating as the winds swirled around Tempest’s legs.

And then as they reached a crescendo of the building the guy touched his chest and complimented him. Also suddenly his clothes became tense, stuck, like actually stuck, and his body lurched momentarily as the winds threatened to pull him out of his pants. Thankfully a simple drawstring, a bit of surprise, and a quick adjustment saw Tempest and the person bob in midair for a moment as they stilled. Losing his pants would not have been a good look.

“Uhm,” Devon stammered. He wasn’t often lost for words. Dark eyes sank into the blue of this mutant with a mid-atlantic accent. “Tha- Are you making us not fall? I’m sorry. Were you falling on purpose?” He glanced around, still blushing uncontrollably.

The gusts at Tempest’s feet quieted considerably but they still swirled around the duo, playing with their hair and awaiting any need to carry them aloft. Tempest couldn’t help but keep ahold of them. This was too bizarre.

He did say hot right?

Eisen failed to blink for a solid minute as the man who held him's face lit up. Pink rushed through the chiseled features of the weather-stirring mutant like a California wildfire. Eisen just stared. The man's lips as he stuttered, the confusion that ran through his eyes -- Eisen didn't know a person could be so mesmerizing. The thought that popped into his mind as he was falling, about the drive-through cinema, flew away like a leaf caught in a heavy gust of wind.

Eisen realized he'd literally been holding onto the moment. Onto the man, their clothes, their altitude, their stasis. Stuck.

"Wow. You're so beautiful. Is this really happening?" Eisen blabbered on, one to always speak his mind even when it wasn't appropriate. Of the words he could pick as well, he was surprised that his heart was beating so hard in his chest. No one. And he meant it. No one had ever swooped him up like this before. Adrenaline rushed through his every being. And for one to be so objectively perfect, too. Eisen was just in awe.

"You're the one making us not fall, silly! I just wanted to get a better look at you since you literally came out of no where." Eisen then let go of his spatial lock on their clothes, blushing himself a little, as he felt this dude's strong arms resume their grip on him. He wanted to stay there, nestled in his grasp, as the wind whipped against their features. Eisen wasn't even thinking about whether he was gonna let him go, or what he ought to do next. The sky was Eisen's comfort zone, and his comfort zone just got even comfier.

He rested his hand on the man's chest and nestled his head against his shoulder. Just the fact that someone else was capable of holding him in his comfort zone for him was enough. He didn't want this moment to end.

Devon got to the point that he recognized he was being stared at. Turning a slightly further shade of crimson, he glanced away as if watching for dangerous flocks of birds or a really low plane. There was no danger to be seen, yet still he felt that anxiety. This was not a feeling he was familiar with, let alone the continued compliments.

“Uh yes, this is real,” Devon stammered, looking back to Eisen. “Are you not aware of your abilities or-” But the young man turned to a joke and then there was a momentary feeling of losing the floor as they dropped a few inches. Winds rushed up in a loud roar as Tempest urged their support. His white linen clothing, their hair stirred with renewed force as whatever this guy could do stopped.

“Hey, so you are aware,” Tempest said, brow furrowing slightly. He held onto the redhead tightly, who started to nestle up close. Dark black eyes glanced down at him. “You uhm- having a hard day or just wanting to fall and catch yourself?” he asked, uncertain how far to push into the emotional state of this person who was clearly seeking some comfort.

There was a low series of whispers as errant winds gathered and started to propel the floating couple toward a different building and eventually its roof.

Eisen decided to wait until the two of them landed on the nearby building to answer his question. The swirl of the winds as he was carried and his silence, him leaning into the embrace, ought to be enough of an answer for his emotional state.

As soon as the man hovered over the building, before landing, Eisen hopped out of his arms like a kid off a swingset. He stepped nimbly through the pressurized winds and landed safely on the roof.


Then he stretched. Raising his arms up in the air. Twisting side to side. Bending down to touch his toes. Not minding at all if the guy was staring. He waved his butt in the air for a moment, his Calvin Klein boxers peeking above the rim of his pink camo joggers. His hoodie pulling his shirt downwards to expose the smooth skin of his lower back. Before he popped back up, and breathed a sigh of relief. He had been walking for a while. The feeling of blood flowing through his relaxed muscles a welcome sensation.

Eisen then turned to face the man, with a subdued smile on his face. His eyes taking a moment to scan him in his full beauty, white thin clothes, his expression still an embarrassed and flustered mess.

"Before you caught me, I was trying to jog my brain to figure out what to get my parents for their anniversary. Which is in two days!" Eisen walked over to the edge of the building and stared at the 56 Leonard in the distance, before turning to face the man again.

As if a bird had shat right between his eyebrows, he exclaimed in sheer disappointment. "Shit! I figured it out as I fell, but ugh. You catching me made me forget."  Eisen's lip began to pout drastically, as he paced back and forth trying to remember the idea that hit him when he fell.

Then he turned to the dude and looked at him with a pleading expression. 

"Maybe if you brought me up and dropped me, I could remember!" He smiled, also thrilled at the prospect of being carried by the man again. 

The guy went quiet, leaning into him, until they were at the solid roof of the targeted building. Before Tempest could even land - and he did not - the kid was jumping away from him. He bade the gusts stay away from the roof, though one stream had to encircle him to keep him floating there. Errant breezes still stirred at his clothing and randomly over the area.

Devon’s brow furrowed as he watched the mutant stretch. Was he doing this on purpose? The relaxed smile was disarming and Devon couldn’t help but frown slightly now. The flush was still present but it was rapidly fading away to true concern.

And then confusion. It was a thought exercise to clear the mind for a gift? Devon’s chin inclined as Eisen drew close to the edge of the building, but he reminded himself this guy was a mutant and didn’t need his help.

>> "Maybe if you brought me up and dropped me, I could remember!"

Ah. There it was.

Tempest sighed as came floating down, alighting on the roof with grace and precision. The winds died, quieting quickly, and darkness drained away from Devon’s azure blue eyes. “I’m sorry,” he apologized, though confusion was very evident in his tone. “I didn’t mean to interrupt or make you forget. I thought you were falling without the means to save yourself,” he explained and smiled gently.

An eyebrow rose, “Do you have protection from terminal velocity?”

The question erupted in his mind. He couldn’t help but consider the depths of one’s abilities, the ways to leverage them, the ramifications. How many had he met and helped to understand their power, to explore it, to accept it. Dropping from too high would result in burns to the skin at least. What about oxygen? If the kid stopped too soon did he get whiplash or broken bones? But Devon left those questions for his own internal thought exercise.

The man’s apology made Eisen’s worries all melt away. He was so cute.

“No need to be sorry! Maybe the idea was trash, anyway. Iunno. Besides, I quite enjoyed you swooping in.” Eisen reached forward to place a hand on the man’s shoulder. He didn’t mean it in that sense, but as soon as he felt the sturdiness, he pulled his hand back. Wow.

At the mutant’s question, Eisen looked with puzzled expression. “Come again?” He considered asking him to rephrase his ask, but now it was Eisen’s turn to be speechless. He paused, the gears of his simple mind working. Velocity was speed right, and terminal… like an airport? Protection from… hmm.

The blue of his eyes stared blankly at Tempest’s now no longer inky black spheres.

“You mean does it hurt when I stop quick?” Eisen smiled at him. What an erudite way to phrase a question.

“Sometimes. I have to be really careful. That’s so thoughtful of you to ask!” He grew bashful whenever he thought he didn’t give a proper answer to test questions. That’s why he hated school.

Eisen walked backwards toward’s the roof’s edge in a way that looked like he wasn’t paying attention. The roof had no guard at the edge, just a gentle slope with a concealed gutter system.

He gave the hottie a wink to try and change the subject.

“The name’s Eisen, by the way. What’s yours?” He shrunk a little, also one to be self-conscious when he revealed his true identity. But Eisen wanted to trust this guy. His blue eyes shone like sapphire as he took a seeming perilous step over the edge.

Devon very slowly and every so slightly turned his head and blue eyes to the hand upon his shoulder. HIs brow was knit with confusion, a far more complicated and heavy cover than the white linens he was wearing. As the young guy pulled his hand back, Devon’s eyes went with it and back to him.

The puzzled expression that answered his question made him worry but glad. Perhaps his mutant power protected him. The blank staring made him wonder. Devon gave a slight shroud about the stop quick question.

Then the guy walked toward the roof’s edge and winked, while introducing his name. Eisen was a name he hadn’t heard before. “I’m Devon,” he introduced himself in return. "Nice to meet you, Eisen." He merely smiled as Eisen started to walk off the building. He wasn’t so concerned with the kid falling now.

“It’s not on people right?” he asked, recognizing his arms and hands had moved easily, as has his eyelids and chest. It’d be rather rough not to be able to breathe. “Or do you have really finite control?”