As they left the ride, and Nathan compared the gargoyle at the end of the ride to a girl he’d met recently, Quin wrinkled her nose.

”Why were you visiting there?

Sure the Mansion provided a bit of a safe-haven for kids who were exposed to the harsher realities of being a mutant, but there was no reason for an adult to be there. Unless...

”You weren’t actually serious about the whole superhero gig...were you?”

He’d said she could pick the next ride, and as they talked she guided them towards the one with spaceship-type things that spun in fast circles...something like 60 miles per hour.

Nate was totally riding on the outside. Centrifugal force and all that.

Nate's blood ran cold at the sound of Quin's tone. In hindsight, he probably made a mistake bringing up the Mansion considering Quin's feelings toward some of the tenants. He was not visiting the mansion to become an X-Man, but at the same time, he was wary of ruling out that path in the future. It felt good using his powers to protect the city, as though he were paying a penance for his crimes.

Thankfully, Nate did have a more stable reason up his sleeve. "What? No! I have met a few people who suggested I visit the Mansion to see what it is about. I've been tossing around the idea of seeing if they could use an art teacher or something." Good... now bring it around so this conversation is actually helpful to you. "Being a full-time artist has been great, but it is such a wandering lifestyle. I thought teaching would be a more permanent choice, now that I've found a place worth staying and a reason not to leave."

Of course that sentence was designed as boyfriend tai chi: take the attack, misdirect it, make it useful. The sentiment behind it was real: Quin made him want to stay in New York, and he wanted a stable, stationary, (legal) means of employment to solidify his choice.

She was leading the way to a fast, spinny, circle ride. Now was the moment he found out if she accepted that answer. He would find out based on whether she shoved him in the way of a spiraling space shuttle.

Well damn. How could she be mad about that reasoning?

As much as she disliked the X-Men, Quin had even admitted to herself a few minutes ago that they did a nice job with the kids who ended up in school there. Nate was interested in being a teacher, so he didn’t have to wander and be an artist.

Quin had to smile and shake her head as they walked.

”That’s probably the only acceptable answer, you sneaky wordsmith.” she said.

”I saw what you did there. You’re just lucky I like it.”

More smiles. ”I think you’d be a good teacher.” she said quietly. ”Just don’t let that cocky leader they have fill your head with delusions of grandeur if it works out.” The last thing Quin needed was showing up somewhere that the sh*t had hit the fan and seeing Nate in the middle of things with the rest of the vigilante jerks.

>> ”That’s probably the only acceptable answer, you sneaky wordsmith. I saw what you did there. You’re just lucky I like it.”

There was a mental fist-pump, because he just sank that putt like the Tiger Woods of old. His tongue had several talents, and saying the right thing at the right time was at the top of its resume. It was a good thing for a man who found himself so often in troubling dilemmas. "Oh, I know. I'm not crazy enough to try and trick you," he stated with a wink. And it was true. He had no desire to deceive Quin; he would not fall down the slippery slope that lead to turning their relationship into a con.

She supported his choice, praising him, followed immediately by condemning the X-Men's leader and the possibility of him joining the ranks. "Don't you worry. I have enough delusions of grandeur already."

They stepped up to the platform for the next ride, with its spinning, rocketing spacecrafts. When they were allowed to pick their spot, he led her around the cars. He considered jumping into the ship with the number thirteen on it, but Quin had seemed superstitious on occasion, (though he tried not to refer to her horoscopes as such to her face.) He settled on number ten and opened the gate into the little spaceship. "After you, sugar."

The prospect of her boyfriend working at the Mansion was less than desirable, Quin decided, but there were worse things he could be doing. Like moving to another city to sell art in a better market. Where there was a better art market than New York, Quin didn’t know, but it was still a good comparison to draw. Working at the Mansion was much better.

They made it to the ride, and Nate led the way to one of the cars, opening the door and offering Quin the first seat. She shook her head. ”Nope. You’re on the outside.” she said.

Like she’d been thinking. Centrifugal force. ”And I hope you’re ready to get smooshed.”

He chuckled; whether she was punishing him for possibly working closely with the X-Men or just was just using girlfriend authority to give him the lesser seat, she was content with smooshing him between a wall and a slim, almost 6' gorgeous brown-eyed girl. It was a fate he could live with. (To be frank, he originally thought she was telling him to ride outside the shuttle. He preferred this because his ability to hang on to hurtling, twisting metal was poor.)

Sighing, he moaned, "Fine. Such a mean girlfriend I have." He added a wink to punctuate his sentence as he entered the ride first, leaving a hand available to lead her in.

They waited for a few moments for the remaining passengers to find seats and buckle up, and soon enough, the ride sprung to life, jerking into sudden motion. He knew there was a name for this type of ride, but it escaped him. Maybe the scrambler? If so, it was aptly named; the entire ride was spinning and they were spinning in smaller circles around their main orbit. It was disorienting, but could not be more fun. Nate sat there laughing and whooping in excitement as the force of the ride expectedly pressed him against the wall. Now he just had to wait for another inevitable force to do what she promised.

”Serves you right for being so sweet.” Quin quipped as she followed Nate into the car and set about getting all the bits and pieces buckled in before the ride started.

Finally, the cars were loaded and the machine groaned to life. Quin had to admit, part of the thrill of riding these rides was that sometimes they felt and sounded like they were going to fall apart. This one held together though, and soon enough they’d picked up enough speed that the invisible forces of physics were pulling her to the outside of the car...and Nate.

Quin squealed a little in delight as the ride continued to pick up momentum and she inevitably lost the ability to resist the pull and found herself smashed up against her boyfriend.

”Sorry about your ribs!” she laughed.

She was not a big girl, but it was amazing what wonders gravity could accomplish as Quin collided with him. It did not hurt, but it was more like she had pushed him, just with her whole body. He wrapped an arm around her as they bounced from side to side, taken by every shifting motion of the ride.

The ride got his blood pumping, and he even pouted when it slowed down, like a boy being told it was time to leave. Once the ride came to a complete stop and they were stepping away, he could feel his excited stomach planning their next destination. Grandly, as though he were Thor commanding an audience, he stated, "I need nutrition to deal with that blow you gave to me!" There was a short pause as he realized the ways he could have worded that better, but shrugged it off and continued, gesturing onward, "To the carnival food!"

The ride slowed down and Quin poked Nate in the side when he commented he needed nutrition just to deal with after-effects of the spinning ride.

He announced that it was time to hit the carnival food, and Quin nodded. ”I want a hot dog and a funnel cake.” she announced with confidence. That was pretty much the standard at Coney Island, but she wasn’t going to naysay anything that Nate might want.

”And maybe some cotton candy later.”

Nate nodded at Quin's quick decisions."Those sound like a great idea. Let's go!" He took Quin by the hand and led her to the food stands.

His nose led them promptly to a counter with hot dogs waiting. "Can I have a dog with mustard, coney island sauce, and onions? And a funnel cake, please." He waited for Quin to place her order as he took money out of his wallet to pay. When their food was ready, he placed the cash on the counter. "Thank you kindly!" He took his food and his first bite of the hot dog. Was there anything else so good that one could know how it was made and still crave it?

As they munched on their treats and chatted, he thought about the small box in his pocket. He had patted for it after the last ride, making sure it had not flown out and ruined the day. The longer it stayed hidden in his pocket, the more burning was the urge to give it to her. Maybe it was getting close to the time. "Wanna go enjoy a nice ride on the ferris wheel?"

So. They got food.

Quin smiled as Nate ordered pretty much the same thing she was ordering, and took the food as it was handed over. She wasn’t surprised or anything, what else were you supposed to get at a carnival?

That taken care of, Quin looked for a spot to sit down and eat. Settling on a bench that gave a relatively good view of their surroundings, the redhead sat and went about attacking her hot dog. The funnel cake would make excellent dessert.

While they ate, Nate suggested their next ride, and Quin found her eyes drawn to the Ferris Wheel. It was huge, and old-looking and she shuddered a bit. Truth be told, Ferris wheels made her nervous, but it would be nice to take a break from thrill and adventure.

”Sounds like a plan.”

She agreed with his suggestion, so he took the last sweet bite of funnel cake and took her hand. Off to their destination, he thought with his free hand resting on his pocket nervously.

The closer they got, the more he realized how large the wheel actually was. Nate let Quin get into the seat first, then followed suit. He was not sure if she was saying anything; his mind was running over the giving of the gift, hoping she would like it. Now sitting, he held her close, as a man is wont to do on a ride designed to be romantic.

There was a wait and the machine came to life, the sound of machinery accompanied by the festive music of the ride. Once the ride was done picking up passengers and truly went into full rotation, he hid the anxiousness in his voice and spoke. "So would it be horribly cliché of me to give you your gift now?"

Yup. Huge. Old. Scary-looking. Quin wasn’t thrilled with the prospect of riding the Ferris wheel, but it was another good opportunity to snuggle with her boyfriend in public. Besides, if the thing was a death trap, nobody would ride it.

Comforting herself with that and similar thoughts, Quin climbed into their seat and settled into Nate. Next came the obligatory wait while the wheel started to spin, music playing and lights flashing.

Then Nate asked if it’d be cliché for him to give her her birthday present.

”I think it’d be very romantic.” the redhead said with a bright smile. Nate was good at what he did.

Given the okay, he smiled, reaching into his pocket. The small velvet box came out smoothly, and he held it between them and opened the clasp to reveal his gift.

It was a silver charm bracelet, with several charms already dangling on the chain. He had a reason for each charm, so he pointed at the first one, a small arrow sign, to explain. "This one is for all those times you make those little astrology comments, so I started with the sign of my favorite head-strong, determined Sagittarius." See? I pay attention, he thought with a grin.

He moved on to a small golden spider, thinking about the irony that they had both been terrified of spiders until recently. "That charm is Parker's contribution to the gift."

The next charm on the chain was a small shield. "I hope you don't worry I'm jinxing you, but I got this one because I have no doubt in my mind that you'll earn yourself that detective shield." The first time in his memory that he actively cheered on a member of the law.

To the right of the shield was a pair of what looked like sneakers. "They called these 'Runner's Shoes.' They made me think of that first day we met." He chuckled at the memory of how he literally walked into her that first day. She was hands-down the greatest benefit he ever gained from jogging.

The final charm on the chain was a solid heart. "This last one... I spent maybe two hours trying to find a way to express this without being cliché but I failed. It's what you've made my heart since you've been in my life. I was empty before you came along; I did not care about getting close to anyone. You were the first one to change that and fill my heart."

The wheel stopped them at the apex of the ride, perfectly timed with no intention by Nate; sometimes fate was just on a man's side. "You made me realize for the first time in a long time that I could be something better. You reminded me that I knew how to love someone. And that's what I know; that I love you, Quin."

And from there, things just got more romantic.

Quin watched as Nate first produced the bracelet, then started describing the different charms. A necklace or earrings would have been too impersonal...but a charm bracelet was another thing all together.

The redhead smiled more and more broadly with each description, they were all relevant! He’d noticed the horoscopes, and found her sign....and something from Parker...and the running shoes to commemorate the way they’d met.

It had been a long time since anyone had cared enough to know her this well and it made Quin warm from her head to her toes.

The ride stopped at its peak, and Nate explained the last charm. Then, he said he loved her.

Quin smiled. If someone had asked her that morning if she was in love...she wouldn’t have known how to answer. She probably wouldn’t have even known. But, as she sat on the Ferris wheel with Nate, their seat gently swaying at the top of the ride. She knew.

”I love you too.” she replied, cheeks darkening with words that she had always used very sparingly. Then she reached out and grabbed Nate’s shirt, gently pulling him in for a kiss.