Marcus threw an ecstatic look over his shoulder and met eyes with Blue as she looked on at the rolling grasslands of Eden. Termina was behind them, and this was like their silent celebration until they were safe enough to celebrate for real. That is, until a rising sting made its crescendo across the back of his head. Lex had slapped him,<span style="font-style: italic">hard</span>, and Marcus had to look forward immediately to steady the bike. “And what was that for?” he asked, balancing the handlebars with one hand while the other came up to tend to the injured back of his head.<br/><br/>“The fuck do you think?” Lex asked, but it came out as more of a whine. There was a point in his life where he loved rollercoasters, but boy had that time sure passed. He dropped his head to rest against Marcus’ back. He wasn’t sure if it helped or made things worse. Marcus didn’t hear much more than incoherent grumbling about driving like a fucking maniac. If he were being witty, Marcus might have replied with something about Lex’s driving not being any better, but he thought better of it. “How much longer?”<br/><br/>Marcus cast a glance upward, squinting at the sun, then back at the road. “Not long if you hold on,” he told them. Lex barely had time to get out an ‘oh no’ before they took off again. When they were far enough away, Marcus let out a triumphant call, but it was barely audible over the sound of the speeder’s engine. When they got to their destination, they were having<span style="font-style: italic">words</span>just as soon as Lex was finished kissing the solid ground.