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It was weird, being back.

Everything was the same at the core of it but then, small things were different too. That old gas station on the corner of Turner and Pruitt had been torn down and replaced with what looked like a multi-vitamin store, although it was so generic she hadn't quite been able to decide. There were new paint jobs everywhere, houses she had never seen and even fields that had blossomed into strip malls. Destiny City seemed to be growing despite all of the rumors. Well, they were more than rumors. One didn't live in the streets and remain completely unaware of what happened in them after hours. London had always just been very, very good at staying out of the way of their warpath.

The small woman had been wandering the streets of destiny city for hours, so long that she had lost count. Her hand released the strap of her bag long enough to bring up her wrist and look down at the wrap watch enclosing her wrist. 3:15. That explained why it was so damnably hot. She dropped her arm and ran her fingers up through her hair, tussling the long, ombre bangs and pushing them back out of her face.

As odd as it was to be back, it felt good too. It was just her, her favorite pair of chucks, and her trusty cloth satchel. There was no sister to tie her down now that Dublin had gone on to college which meant there was no reason she had to make decisions based on anyone but herself now. So, she wanted to be here - the town she had called home long enough to see Dublin through school and the first home she could claim was her choice to stay in or leave.

There was a pleasant smile on her face as she stepped over the threshold of the crosswalk she had been waiting on and her golden eyes looked up, swinging from the white 'WALK' sign to the path ahead of her - right to a head of black and pink hair she knew without a second's thought. There was no second glance to be had, her eyes simply locked and her smile widened to a grin so wide it was nearly manic.

What were the odds of this?

The smile on her face faded pointedly and she ducked her head instead, hoping he hadn't had the time to spot her open face in those split seconds. In her far hand she pulled out her phone and gave herself something to stare at while she began to wander slowly more in his direction, ensuring that her arm bumped into his.

"Oh, sorry," she mumbled, as disinterested as any twenty-something looking at instagram. Yet her other hand was already moving, slipping swiftly into his back pocket where deft fingers met the leather of his wallet. It was the same every time - blend in, distract, retrieve.

A small, unsure smile cracked her face when he mumbled a dismissive forgiveness and she was sure, for just a moment, that it was going to end with her calling him from a bar in a few hours to taunt him. Then she felt him shifting, felt the hand around her wrist, and she was pulled to a dead stop without much effort on his part - though she stopped struggling the moment she caught the hints of a smirk on his lips. Her own smile cracked and an amused peal of laughter tumbled past her dark-stained lips.

Of course he'd gotten more observant, not less. With the trick spoiled, she shoved her cellphone back into her front pocket.

"I am," she defended herself proudly, slowly bringing her gold eyes up to meet his own, "you're just getting better at my game, Acey."

The smaller woman pulled at the wrist he had encircled slightly, not enough to break the grip but certainly enough to test it. She raised an eyebrow as he held on, echoing his faint smirk with her own, now. Instead of being annoyed at being caught, she seemed incredibly amused with him, glad that she had found him without having to do too much searching - and glad that he seemed pleased to see her, too. Maybe it was a bit sooner than she'd expected, but she would have looked for him eventually. The people that made impressions in her life, no matter how fleeting, were important to her and he had not really been such a fleeting thing as some.

"Aww, do you miss the red?" Her free hand flipped her honey-brown ombre out so that it caught the afternoon sun, shimmering as it settled back around her shoulders in a long and somewhat tussled sheet. The golden eyes cast him a sidelong look, assessing the not-quite smirk of his lips. She seemed as much a wildcat as ever, even without the color of blood framing her face.

"I was hoping it would hide me from those bright eyes of yours."

"I didn't expect you to." Because he was right - all she wanted was to make an entrance. The almond shaped eyes glanced sidelong to watch his fingers twist the locks of her hair between them, and despite the obvious tease, she found herself smiling lightly under his attention.

There was a difference in him now that she was able to lay eyes upon him up close - his face seemed more stern and he was broader than she remembered. He had always been strong, she knew that from the moment he saved her from being crushed so easily, but he looked capable now that he had traded youthful slimness for lean muscle. Right away it was apparent that he wasn't quite the man she remembered and she immediately wondered if he was too lost to whatever mundane job he had been doing. Sometimes that happened, her friends and lovers and everyone inbetween all eventually settled down so deeply that their life became routine. There was no place for her in routines.

"Travelling," she answered honestly, reaching out to pull lightly at his arm as she stepped back and away from the road. With her feet grounded on the sidewalk and the roar of engines not quite so loud, she let her hand drop and her eyes wander away from the clean cut man. She had showered at a rest stop on the way into town and her clothes weren't the dirtiest she had ever worn, but she had the worn look of someone who hadn't rested well in a few days. "Performing in different places, meeting different people. I just thought maybe it was time to come home."

The brunette laced her fingers together in front of her and turned them palm outward, stretching out some of the built up soreness through the muscles in her arms.

"What about you, hm?" One of her hands dropped and settled on her hip just above the waistline of her skinny jeans. The other reached out and tugged at the hem of his shirt as her head tilted sideways, watching him inquisitively, finding that she really was curious what he had been doing for so long. "Are you busy, or do you have a little time to chat?"

She didn't know where they would go because she wasn't sure what he enjoyed anymore - bars, coffee, maybe just lunch? Sidney didn't know she was coming so, really, she had nowhere to be yet.

"We don't have to stand here on the corner."

"Both. I traveled to the west coast with them and then back on my own, slowly."

A thrill ran the length of her spine as he agreed to take enough time to really catch up and only intensified at the prospect of revisiting their old stomping grounds. It seemed like a lifetime ago with everything she had done and seen between then and now but she could still see the man she knew, echoed in the tone of his voice as he teased her and the bit of a smile on his lips. This city hadn't broken him so much that she didn't recognize him, for which she was grateful.

As his hand slid down to cover the one she had latched onto his shirt, she gave him one last, quick tug on the hem - it pulled her into him a little, so that she had to look up at an angle to see his eyes. The smile on her lips was a smirk, amused and playful, forever the impish girl she had always been.

"Is your bike nearby?" It was a bit too far for her to race him, even if she would have liked to try - plus, she always liked his bike anyway.

An impish smile spread her lips and turned them up at the corners as he leaned in but refused to bend to her playfulness. She liked to push buttons and always, specifically, really enjoyed pushing his.

"Fiiine," she breathed out with exaggerated, overplayed annoyance that did nothing to dampen her pleased smile. A poor show of acting, on purpose. There was something thrilling about being on the back of a bike and she had to wonder how much better he could handle it now with years of experience under his belt, how it might feel as they dipped into curves and burned a trail of rubber in their wake.

But, perhaps he'd indulge her another time.

She let him lead her through the street, past the people, until they finally ducked into an alley and he showed her this short cut she had begun to doubt. Immediately the playfully annoyed expression was dropped in favor of actual delight - even if he wasn't going to indulge the speed demon in her heart, he was still appealing to the adrenaline junkie that she truly was. While he began to make his ascent up the ladder, her fingers pulled the strap of her bag tight, so it didn't bounce on her back as she moved but fit to her snugly instead.

"My jumping skills have never been up for debate," she chimed after him as she set both hands on the rails and began to follow him up. Bright, golden eyes rose and settled on him above her - the smirk on her lips meant she was obviously pleased at her angle and the way his pants pulled taught with the motion of his climb. "You're just more agile than you look, that's all."

The disapproving shake of his head was only matched by that same, playful smile that she wore so often. London James was certainly not about to be ashamed of her wandering eyes.

"That was a slip," she replied casually as she stepped over the last rung and hauled herself up to stand on the rooftop beside him. To be honest, she had never really been sure what had happened during that dangerous climb. Everything had happened in seconds, in a whirl of colors and air in her lungs. It had been a memory she'd not forgotten and as her eyes rose to meet his, some of the playfulness in her gaze had been replaced with quiet wonder.

"You know, a once in a life time kind of mistake."

She managed to summon a smile as her hands rose to her pack and secured it more tightly across her shoulders. Thankfully, it wasn't huge, though she knew her ability to race would be impeded by it unless she managed to be crafty. The fall he'd saved her from should have been enough, alone, to tell her that she was no match for him.

But still.

Chase Black was challenging her to a rooftop dash. There was no way she was turning it down. She stepped forward toward the front of the building and the direction she knew they were ultimately headed. The first jump wasn't a large one, thankfully, but as her eyes drifted she could see the problem spots with ease. Most of them seem avoidable with a little rerouting.

"I think I can take you," she quipped finally, turning around to meet his bright eyes with her own.

"Oh, I will," she all but purred after his words.

It was tempting to watch Chase as he jumped and lunged with such unexpected ease. Of course, he'd always been good - especially for someone that didn't spend a lot of time on the run - but something about him seemed so much more refined than the last time she had watched him race ahead of her. He had spent more time doing this than before.

A sly grin tugged at her lips and she was in motion in seconds, leaping the first jump without pause and landing just behind him, to trail after the path he was blazing ahead of her. The pack was not terribly impeding but Chase's legs were also longer - an advantage he'd earned by simple nature. It didn't seem to stop her at all, at least until he made a jump that she found herself second guessing. By her own rules, she never made a jump she wasn't sure of. Not after she'd nearly died.The battered chucks skid to a halt at the edge of the roof and her eyes shifted, immediately, for a reroute.

"Damn," her breathing was already coming faster and her heart was beating in her ears from the adrenaline coursing through her veins. She loved a good race.

The seconds passed like minutes until she, at last, took a leap to the connected building to her right. It was a lower roof but, more importantly, it edged closer to the fire escape just across the alley. It closed enough of the gap that she made the jump and caught herself on a high rung. It was a short climb to the roof but she suspected it would still cost her precious time.

Good thing she wasn't a quitter.

When her soles were planted firmly on the roof once more, she fell back into pace in their obstacle course, looking for him ahead of her as she sped forward.

London saw the moment that Chase disappeared from the peripheral vision she had been using to track him. Every now and again she got a glimpse of his bright hair peeking above a roof ledge but she stayed above him, choosing to continue running the slates and flat roofs with feet accustomed to the paths.

There were no other hiccups like the too-wide gap and she felt, for a moment, that she might actually beat him despite it. She sailed across an old plank some teenagers probably used to bridge gaps between apartment buildings and jumped at last down a fire escape, sliding more than walking down the ladder rungs. Her feet planted with a thud and she broke into the final run across the empty grounds - until, at last, the old building loomed around a corner.

And her friend slid to place before it.

Her feet slowed their pace as she neared him, so that she could come to a stop with a pounding in her chest and pleased smile beneath her wind-swept hair.

"Damn it," the hiss was broken over her heavy breathing, but she was laughing, "I thought I'd beat you, for once."

Her lungs were still working overtime but the small woman looked up at the building despite it, setting her observation skills to work. It looked no worse than the last time they had entered, no matter that it didn't seem to be getting much by means of repair. It would be different being here during the day, instead of at night beneath a blanket of stars..

A smile pulled at her lips and she brought her eyes back to his, affectionate in her reminiscence.

"I guess you win.."