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Aria
Seren was lost in the moment of being there with him, snuggled and comfortable. When he spoke, she kind of blinked, surprised at the sudden words, but kissed him back, and sighed, then nodded. "Yeaaah, they probably want this table for others. It's a busy place for a weekday." She waited for him to get up, then followed him out of the booth and onto the street, reaching to take his hand in hers as they went.

There, she pulled out her phone, hunted out the directions, and led them to the nearest Underground station. Once they had tickets, she headed for the platform. It was a little while before the train came, but once they were on, she got them in, and tucked into a spot near the doors. It was busy, so there was only one seat, and she left it, figuring someone pregnant or disabled could use it.

Pao
Rhys followed her and, once in the car, just tucked in and kept his arms securely around her. The free seat was tempting, but like her he figured someone who might need it more could use it.

He leaned down and rested his chin on her shoulder for the ride, just quiet and happy that they were spending another whole day together. "Gotta say, I kinda miss the subways back in NYC, though."

Aria
"Mmm I have never actually been on a subway type system before we came here." She said, with a slight shrug of the shoulder he wasn't resting on. "It's an interesting experience, though, for sure." Her arms were around him, but she was making sure to keep track of the stations. When the Piccadilly station was announced as next, she carefully disentangled from him, but kept her hand in his, guiding him out of the train and up to the street again.

She checked her directions once more, then guided them on a five minute walk to a big, beautiful old building, and up to the entrance, getting in the line. "And here we are." She glanced to the side, and noticed an Ice Skating Rink, which was interesting on the grounds of a museum, but didn't do more then notice it... She could no more ice skate then she could fly.

Pao
"Glad you're not hating it," he chuckled. "I heard a lot of tourists complain on the subway before."

But soon enough they were off of the subway and after a short walk they were in line for the museum. It was huge and old and had a classic sort of architectural beauty even he was able to admire, and he gave an impressed nod. He noticed the Ice Skating Rink too, and thought it was in a very strange spot...but he gave her a nudge.

"Wanna go there once we're done touring inside?"

Aria
She blinks at him, when he nudged her, and looked at the rink. Finally she said, slowly, "Have you... ever skated before?" She reached up to brush a leaf that had flown onto her face away, her expression neutral, trying to hide how nervous she was at the idea. It looked like a lot of fun, but she had no idea how to skate, and was worried she'd fall on her a** and make an idiot of herself... or get hurt.

"Cause... I never have. There were no skating rinks in my middle of nowhere hometown, so I've never had even a quarter of a chance, between that and... everything else that went on, babe." She looked up into his eyes, then added "But if you want to, I'll try it."

Pao
"Yep," he said, nodding with a cheerful smile on his face. He helped brush the leaf away and briefly brushed his fingers along her cheek. "Ice pretty much everywhere in the winter so I learned to at the rec center. Could teach you if you're up for it. You're a quick learner, you'll pick it up easy."

Aria
She leaned into his touch a little, and nodded a bit. "All right... We can give it a try. It definitely looks fun." She tucked herself against him, ducking under his arm, and leaned her head on his shoulder while they waited on the line to move forwards. It took a bit, but finally they got inside, and she snagged a museum map, so they would know where to go, and pulled them off to a corner to look it over.

Pao
He pulled her in close while they waited, and once inside he looked at the map from behind her and studied it in silence. Mostly he was just looking for the dinosaur exhibit, but there were others that got his attention, too.

"I think I'd wanna go through the whole blue zone if we can," he murmured.

Aria
She leaned against him as they perused it, and when he said that, she smiled up at him. "All right, sounds good, babe." She leaned up, kissed his nose, and then looked how to get there from here, then folded the map back up and put it in her purse, in case they needed it again.

And because it was a free souvenir, while they were at it.

She took his hand, again, having discovered she liked doing that a lot. Walking snuggled together was awesome, but in crowded situations, holding hands gave a little more maneuverability, and this was a very popular museum. She headed down the hall, and towards the Blue Zone, a smile on her face.

Pao
He smiled but wrinkled his nose at the kiss, then gave her hand a squeeze as they went along and made their way to the Blue Zone first. Something about learning about other forms of life was kind of fascinating to him, particularly the human biology portion because he never got too into studying it even though his interest in going into sports medicine started in high school, so that zone stuck out the most.

It wasn't far, but once in the middle of it and given the options he nudged her. "Dinosaurs first, or saving that for right before the rink?"

Aria
"Let's save them for last, yeah? What did you want to see most, since this zone had stuff that interested you?" Her eyes were filled with curiosity, since he'd never talked to her about what he wanted to study. She had no idea about what science stuff might interest him. "You lead the way this time, babe."

She glanced around, and gave a slight smile to all the kids running around in excitement, looking at all the displays and playing with the interactive exhibits. She was slightly jealous of them, and their access to stuff like this, but she punted that thought aside with the intent to focus on having a good time.

Pao
"Human biology," he answered rather quickly when she asked, and happy to take the lead. He held her hand as they walked into the exhibit, not noticing much else outside of what was actually part of the exhibit, most of his focus on the various displays around them. "When I got into fitness in high school I set my sights on studying medicine, either branching into sports medicine or going to PT school," he said, glancing over now and again. "Obviously not what happened, but it was a dream I guess."

It was weird, looking back on his life and how everything sort of led him to be where he was now. If it had worked any other way he wondered if he would have found the kind of complete happiness he had with Seren. "These days I kinda just dream of a life with you, just doin' what we do. You can probably tell I'm not that complicated once you get past all my s**t."

Aria
Her brows raised when he explained that he'd wanted to study medicine. Nothing he'd mentioned to her up until now would have led her to guess that, but she smiled, thinking that it was cool. "Mmm so you were thinking of being a doctor? Doctor Rhys Donovan. Kinda has a ring to it." She gave his hand a squeeze, then said "Yeah... That's a feeling I know all too well." She had wanted her doctorate, after all, too.

She looked at the exhibit in front of them, lost in thought for a moment about how different things would have been. Would they even have ever had the chance to meet? The odds seemed low, and that was a thought that made her heart twist a little, because she couldn't really imagine being this in love with someone else. His words, though, brought her out of that thought, and she gave him her brightest smile. "Yeah. That sounds like a good life dream, if you ask me." She leaned up and kissed him on the cheek. "You've got your depths, babe. Don't sell yourself short."

Pao
He laughed lightly as they walked up to a part of the exhibit that explained the nervous system, with a real brain and spinal cord on display. He'd long gotten over the fact that he would never become Rhys Donovan, MD, but it tugged at him still, whenever he was around it. "Kinda does, but I'm over it. Gotta be or I probably would still be stuck out there, tryin'a get my bearings and... y'know." He didn't want to think about what would have actually happened to him if, instead of leave with the Deus recruiter, he'd just left to go try his luck on his own. The chances of life getting as comfortable as it was now were really, really slim.

When she kissed him he tore his eyes from the exhibit and smiled back, glad they were probably on the same page in that regard, not so much on his "depth" as a person. "Maybe, but you've gotten past most of it so it's not so deep for you anymore?" Though there was maybe still details about him, like this bit of information about his wanting to be a doctor, that she had yet to discover.

Aria
"Yeah. Yeaaah I know that feeling. Doctor Seren Yong of some Astronomy department will never be a thing either. It is what it is. Instead, I have work, and... You." She paused, and then smiled again, loving and happy. "And I think in the end, I got a better deal than I ever would have as Dr. Yong. I doubt she'd have found someone to love, the way I found you." She rested her head on his shoulder, for a moment, just drawing some peace and happiness from the moment.

She shrugged a little and said "Yeah, but you have a habit of surprising me, babe... You're deeper then you think. There's more goin' on up there then you like to let on." She was quite convinced of it. He had wanted to be a doctor, and do sports related medicine stuff. When he couldn't, he found things he could do that were related, like the massages. She was quite convinced he sold himself short most of the time, to the world and to himself.

Pao
Rhys had his focus on her at the moment, smile bright and loving and perfectly happy given she was there and in his life. "Same, babe," he replied, leaning just a bit to kiss her hair.

"Me, surprise you?" he asked, sort of confused and maybe a little amused as well, as he led her along through the rest of the gallery, focus evenly split between it and their conversation. "I mean I believe you 'cause I trust you, but I guess I just don't see it?" The things he found himself doing that related to his then-dream, at the time he picked them up, really just made the most sense to him. It didn't take a whole lot figuring, in his mind, so he never associated it to any kind of personal depth.

Aria
She sighed, a soft and happy sound, and squeezed his hand again, taking comfort from his actions, glad to know he felt that her presence in his life made a big difference.

She laughed a little at his confusion. "Yeah. And maybe it's because I'm coming at it from the outside, with only some of the details, but yes. You do manage to surprise me, babe. Like the revelation that you wanted to be a doctor? That surprised me. I mean, once you say it, it totally makes sense, but it wasn't something I'd ever have thought of in regard to you, on my own. Things like that... Small things that didn't come up, but have a lot of important details."

Pao
They were nearing the end of the exhibit already, which saddened him but also got him a little excited about seeing what else there was to see, but he'd been listening and glanced over as he made an "o" shape with his mouth.

"Guess that makes sense? Kinda like how strong I see you in everything that you do?" That tenacity she had to get through and succeed in her endeavors was something he found extremely attractive, and at least in the case of fitness he knew he had the same type of fire and drive so maybe that was why it was so easy to see in her. "That's not really a 'small' thing, but..." he trailed off there, not sure what that could possibly lead up to, but hoping he had the right idea.

Aria
"It's the same kind of thing, though. Part of why we work so well together, I think. We both see the things in each other that the other misses, and it's partly because it's harder to see that stuff when you're stuck inside your own head."

She considered it for a moment, then said "It's kinda like how we have no idea what we really should like until we hear a recording of our voices, I guess? Inside we look and sound different from what the rest of the world sees and hears."

Pao
They were all the way through the exhibit now when she finished and he was again nodding along. "Oh, I get it," he said, glancing over with a little smile.

Once he brought them to a stop he gave her a kiss, very tame and because he was being at least a little mindful of the kids running around. "Your turn to lead. Where we goin' next?"

Aria
She smiled back at him, her eyes sparkling happily, and she gave him a gentle, happy shoulder bump. "I thought you might." She just took it, in her mind, as more proof that he was smarter then he gave himself credit for. He just didn't see it the way she did.

She blinked, surprised when they stopped, and then chuckled softly after the kiss, eyes soft as she gazed up at him. She was way too conscious of the kids to be comfortable with more. His question made her smile, brightly, and said "Let's go see the Mammals section, where the Blue Whale model is. Biggest animal to ever exist, even counting the dinosaurs, and it lives in our world today. Amazing."

Pao
"To the big-a** whale, then," he grinned and glanced around for directions. Signs were pretty much everywhere so he followed them all the way to the Blue Whale exhibit. He was pretty curious about it, too, so he thought it was a pretty good choice.

"Isn't there a bigger whale though?" he asked, eyes on the giant model and taking it all in slowly. "The whale...shark..." he squinted and looked over at her. "Or is that a shark?"

Aria
She laughed and gently swatted him, nodding at the kids. "Language, babe. Kids and all." She was very 'kid-appropriate' focused, with how much time she'd spent helping care for Dai. "Don't want angry parents hunting us down because their kid needed to know what somethin' meant." She then leaned to kiss his cheek, however.

"Mmm no, Blues are the biggest. Whale sharks are the biggest extant shark, though. I hear you can dive with them, no cage, safely." She gave a slight shrug, making it clear she didn't know that much about it. "But yeah, Blue whales are the biggest thing to have lived, and still live. It's insane."

Pao
He made "o" with his mouth and turned his eyes back to the model. Since she was in kid-appropriate mode (which he made a mental note to ask about later) he went ahead and slipped her hand along with his into his pockets as they walked along to see the rest of what was on display.

"I'm kinda just glad they’re not aggressive or anything. Sharks give us enough problems, giant whale that eats humans probably would keep me from ever going deep sea diving." He paused and looked over at her again. "If, y'know, we ever do that on another vacation."

Aria
She nodded a little at his reaction, and smiled too, thinking that expression was cute on him. She walked along with him, happily looking at the whale skeletons and other things on display that really gave a feel for how BIG whales could be, and how amazing they were too. She vaguely found herself wondering about the size of whatever that thing was they had seen while in the Underwater Outpost, and how it compared to a Blue Whale. She suspected the answer was she didn't really want to know.

She tilted her head, and gave a bit of a chuckle. "Yeah, whales tend to be non-aggressive to humans, along with whale sharks. And... yeah, but sharks are cool too." She shrugged some, and then gave him a slow smile. "If you want to give it a try? We both know how to dive, in waters that are more complicated than anywhere we're likely to go on vac, so..."

Pao
"Sharks are cool," he agreed, reaching with his free hand to mess with one of the interactive displays. The kid that was on it looked up and scowled at him, so he glared down at him but still backed off. No sense putting himself in a situation of having to deal with an angry parent.

"If you are, yeah," he replied to the deep sea diving question. "Seems like it'd be fun." He gave her hand a squeeze as they walked along, and he was purposely dodging the kids.

Aria
She nodded, and watched him interact with the kids, before chuckling. "You're not much for kids, are you?" She asked, softly, her head resting on his shoulder. She didn't mind, she had never much wanted any herself, and not having to deal with them too much was fine with her. It just amused her, really.

"Might be fun, yeah. See the ocean in places where the odds of getting eaten or something are much lower? Sure." She gave him a small smile, continuing to watch in amusement as he maneuvered around the kids.

Pao
He shrugged. "Guess not?" was his very awkward answer. "Never really thought about 'em much to be honest..." There hadn't been anyone in his old life that made him wonder about them, really, not to mention he didn't have much time to give it any thought on his own.

He returned the smile, amused and just randomly realizing that he was completely head over heels for her. But he had to reign in the urge to pull her in for a kiss because kids were all over the place. "So deep sea diving gets added to our list. Cool."

Aria
"That's fine, babe. Was just curious." She squeezed his hand gently, and smiled up at him. "If anyone had ever asked me if I wanted kids, for instance, the answer woulda been an emphatic no." She watched the kids running around, and shrugged a little. "I'm happier when they're someone else's responsibility." She sounded a little tired for a moment, at that.

"I like having a list." She said, happily, her eyes glancing at the next exhibit they passed, before heading out into the hall. "It makes the day to day aspects of work less dull and annoying, like when I get put on cleaning duty... While scrubbing, I just remember 'Working towards X with Rhys' and it makes it easier to cope with."

Pao
He nodded and left the kids conversation where she left it, in total agreement so he had nothing else to add. Instead he gave her hand a squeeze and followed her out into the hall.

"Yeah, just a good reminder that I've got you and our plans to look forward to so kinda keeps me sane on those boring shifts. Like...pod duty." Though pod duty was a soft spot for him now because that was where they first met.

"So where to?"

Aria
She caressed the back of his hand with her thumb, as she wandered to a spot to lean on the wall, and then pulls out the map again, chuckling a little about pod duty. "Hey, pod duty could be worse... It could be the tower, where you and I are totally useless." She said, softly. She also liked the fact that it was the first place she'd seen Rhys, which meant she felt safe in that place, in a slightly odd way.

She popped the map open, and studied it, and the information. "Ummm... let's go down through the rest of the mammals zone, then into the Dinosaurs... If you wanted to stop at a gift shop or something, there's one at the exit, though I'm fine with not..." She remembered he'd mentioned stopping at tourist shops the previous night, so it occurred to her that might be of interest to him. "Then... from there, head over to the Red Zone? For whatever reason, the Stegosaurus is in the Red Zone, the Earth Hall, and I'd like to see it..."

Pao
Rhys laughed at the fond memory of them on that sentry duty, the caresses bringing him some peace of mind about the peculiar duties they were assigned to. "Would be great if I was partnered with you more," he said as they pulled into a corner to stop and look at the map. He maneuvered himself behind her, hands on her waist as he looked from over her shoulder.

"Through the mammals, dinosaurs, stegosaurus," he repeated, "and yeah, let's do the gift shop by the exit. Makes the most sense to me."

Aria
She chuckled softly when he decided to put himself between her and the wall, perfectly fine with leaning against him instead. "Mmm that would be lovely, yes. Not having to worry about one of us having to go to a midnight watch and risk walking the other, or whatever, would be nice."

She grinned up at him for his agreement, then kissed his cheek, before putting the map away again and straightening, leading them to the Mammals Hall.

Pao
"Was kinda just thinking just being there with you would make the crazy boring s**t less boring," he chuckled, "but that, too."

Before she led them off back to Mammals Hall he gave her a kiss on the cheek in return, then followed her quietly, happily to where they were going next. "So is there some kinda museum for stars we can go to around here for you, babe?" he asked as they went, giving her hand a little squeeze.

Aria
She laughed and nodded. "Yeah, there's that too. There's a lot of positives for being together on duty. Or together at all." She gave him a warm smile, and leaned against him as they walked.

"Don't know, babe. But it's ok. Hawaii is where my goals for that are. Maybe next trip we do, though, we can look into a planetarium." She smiled a little and said "We could do some looking ahead tonight before bed, maybe, for future planning, so we don't have to do as much planning when we get there?" She shrugged, perfectly fine either way.

Pao
He smiled at that, though they already spent a lot of time together so even more time together felt like he'd be asking too much. Or that she might get sick of him, which he hoped wouldn't be the case.

His eyes were on the things on display in the Mammal Zone as the spoke. "Hawaii, that'd be a great trip," he mused, his imaginings briefly going to the sight of Seren in a bikini...

"Future planning, huh?" he finally asked, glancing over at her again. "Works for me. Specific things to look forward to before the trip sounds like a good thing."

Aria
The idea of getting sick of him wouldn't even cross her mind. She was happiest in his company. Her life was best when he was in it.

She was looking at the displays too, and looked thoughtful. "I do want my back piece before Hawaii, though. My old custom back swimsuit might need replacing and I don't want to have to get another custom. Being able to choose something cute would be nice." She said that whole piece just loud enough for him to hear, because of the referenced issue. The idea of a bikini didn't even cross her mind, but if he suggested it, she'd consider... After the tattoo.

"Exactly what I was thinking, babe. Let's think about where we want to go next, since I want to wait for Hawaii."

Pao
"I think you'd look cute in anything, babe," he said, again reaching for one of the buttons on an interactive display. There were no kids this time so he was actually able to enjoy more. "But do I get to help pick one out or you gonna take a girlfriend for that?" Because seeing her in various bathing suits would be a great way to past time on leave. "After you get your piece, I mean."

Rhys grinned over at her as they walked on. "So if not Hawaii...some place more winter-ish? Next time's gonna be a day trip 'cause we only get 24 hours, so we gotta choose wisely."

Aria
She blushed at his words and said "I mean if you want to come, definitely you can. I wouldn't want to bore you. But you'd be the only one I'd bring until the tattoo is done anyways." He was still the only one who knew fully and she had no desire to change that, until it was time for Kai to do her back piece.

She paused, thinking about that for a moment. "Also, if you're free, I... Would like it if you came with me, when that starts." She looked up at him, some anxiety in her eyes. "Just... Just in case..." She worried that pain on her back might trigger an episode, especially sustained pain, even if it was for a good reason. Her hand holding his might have clenched a little tight, maybe almost painfully, as she thought at that issue.

After a moment, though, she took a slow breath, and refocused on his words. "I thought we got 48 hours each month... oh." She shook her head. "You get more now, I forgot, cause you're intermediate. I still only get 48, remember?"

Pao
"Getting to see you try on two-piece anything," he chuckled, "wouldn't bore me. Not even barely."

And then her request came and he glanced down, a solid calmness in his eyes to meet the anxiety in hers. "I'd make myself free for that, love, of course." And he gave her hand a gentle squeeze as she clenched his, waiting until she could recover.

When she did he pulled her in and kissed her forehead, hoping it helped calm her down. "Yeah, but they have a thing about taking the two days off at once. This was a special case 'cause of Melvin's thing, but normally..." He waved his hand to dismiss it. "I'll double check, maybe someone was just messing with me."

Aria
She blushed so red at his words, her eyes a little wide for a moment, because it hadn't even occurred to her. "Ah? I um. I could that if you like." She paused, then added "No string bikinis, though. Regular, fine, I'll try it, but..."

"Thank you, love..." She said, and leaned into him, pulling strength to deal with her issues from his presence and his love. He was always able to help her, and it made her feel so good to have him there.

The kiss made her give him a bright smile, and then she blinked. "I didn't realize. I thought they allowed you to take it in chunks like this. That's silly. There's no real point in leave if you can't go just escape for a few days at a time."

Pao
If it hadn't come up he likely would have just kept holding her hand, but because it had and in case she needed the extra comfort he let her hand go and wrapped his arm around her shoulders, pulling her close and giving her another kiss to the forehead. "Always, babe."

They moved through the exhibit like that for a while, and he sighed at the leave day thing. "I think they let us do that to get essentials and comfort things a couple times a month. We could probably request to have the two days grouped together once in a while, but not every month?"

"Also," he went on, looking down at her again. "Why not string bikinis?"

Aria
She closed her eyes for a moment, a silent prayer of gratitude to whatever powers that might exist for how damn lucky she was to have such wonderful and understanding boyfriend. She slipped her arm around him, and hugged him tight, giving him a look bright with love and gratitude.

"I see. It still would be nicer, but whatever works in the end." She sighed and shrugged. "Eh. We'll make it work. I wonder if we can get Costco memberships somehow. Might be a good way to stock up. Hell, we could get commodities to trade too."

She blinked a little and blushed some more. "I mean have you seen how much they reveal? Yeah, I don't care per se, but at least initially, it's gonna take some time for me to get used to showing that much back to the world. Also... Waves."

Pao
He smiled that loving smile right back at her as they went slowly through the exhibit, feeling as lucky and privileged to be the one that could be there for her when she needed someone. Because she deserved that, and way, way more.

"We'll make it work, for sure. Costco sounds like a great idea, too. Should ask the boss people if it's workable." He leaned over for a quick little kiss, smiling and as usual impressed at the ideas she came up with. "And yes, I have seen how much they reveal, so if takes time for you to get used to it in public then I'll settle for just seeing you in that kinda thing in private." He grinned again, loving but mischievous. "That and maybe some other things..."

Aria
Her eyes were focused on him for a minute, just remembering how beautiful and incredible he looked in this moment. He was amazing to her, and she still wondered how the ******** she'd gotten so lucky to get inside his heart.

"Awesome. If it's doable, we totally should." She grinned and kissed him back, her eyes glittering at him. He always managed to make her feel so good about herself, which was an incredible feeling to someone who spent years hating herself to some degree.

Her brows rose a little at the idea that he wanted to see her in that in private, and the idea of other things too. Finally, she said, in a lightly teasing way, "I'm surprised you'd want me to show off that much in public at all, for other men to ogle." She leaned in and murmured "For you, though, I'll definitely wear that... And other things, though I'm curious what you have in mind.” She straightened up and added "We're at the end of the gallery, so let's go see the Dinosaurs."

Pao
And she always managed to make him feel like he was worth more than he always believed after being written off into life's sidelines because he had it rough. Which was new and amazing and there was always that small part of him that was scared that he would wake up one day to find it'd all just been a dream...

The thought got shoved aside because he wanted to focus on her and every good thing that was suddenly in his life now because of her. "I'll ask around, then," he replied, smiling as he kissed her again.

And then he squinted at her raised brows, pausing as he tried to explain what was in his head. "I mean if you're not comfortable in public that's cool, so it's not that I want you to. I just don't mind if you do 'cause I'll be right there with you, and they can all see what they're missing out on." Which was a lot, way more than anything purely physical. He grinned when she leaned in, a low chuckle escaping him as he left her to wonder about what he was thinking, at least for now.

"Dinosaurs!" he then cheered, eyes on the exhibit across the hall. "Let's do it."

Aria
"You are the best, babe." She said, and kissed him back, her hand giving his a warm and loving squeezes. He'd improved her world so much, and he just kept doing it. She had no desire to go hunting for the information if she could avoid it, because it would probably involve some sort of Man in Charge, and she'd been avoiding those like the plague. She hadn't even met her own division lead as yet, and she was fine with that. Even if Terry suggested she talk to him to borrow anime and stuff.

It was a good thing, though, she didn't know that he was having worries about this being a dream, even if it was only a small part of him. She'd have interrupted their day to drag him off somewhere private to make him feel better, which would have been fun, but also cut into their time to get everything done.

She blinked as she processed this, and blushed red at the idea that other people were missing out because she was his girl. "Well maybe once I get used to not needing to hide things. But even then, only in areas with not too heavy waves. The last thing I want is a wave eating part of my outfit." She wondered vaguely if she'd every be, say, comfortable enough to visit the topless beaches of France. Not that it was required to be topless but part of her wanted to be that comfortable with herself, because she'd have really overcome her internal fear/shame response to showing off her back.

His cheering had her laughing happily and she walked into the dinosaurs exhibit, her eyes just as eager as his.

Pao
"No heavy waves," he repeated with a nod, still amused by her blushing. "I don't surf so that's cool with me." The brunette shot her a grin before going back to viewing the various displays again, very much drawn in by it all. It would have been more perfect if there weren't so many kids...but whatever.

"But still after your back piece, right?"

Aria
"Absolutely after the back piece. Nothing involving swimming, if I have a say, until after that. Unless it's like, in full scuba gear." That covered the back, and thus was an acceptable option. "Like, we can go diving at home for... stuff..." Indicating rune diving, of course. "Since that's scuba, but I'm not risking going swimming. That trip to deal with..." She paused, figuring out how to phrase it, then said "Melvin's little project was risky enough for me. My old suit showed some fraying after the challenges of that, and the post-visits."

She was staring up at the huge skeletons, her eyes glittering with fascination at the many dinosaurs in the exhibit. It was incredible to think beasts this huge once roamed the land. The whales, at least, have the water to help them but these creatures managed, despite immense size and weight, on the land. It was insane and hella cool.