Adventure......

Opal eyes widened, not really sure what he meant by that. "Hasn't today already been an adventure?" Maybe she should clarify her definition of an adventure entailed a well thought out plan and schedule.

"Ehh, today has been fun, but pretty mild on the adventure scale." Suddenly his face lit up, "ooh, I know what we should do!"

Aiden chugged the last of his coffee and threw some money down on the table. "Let's go!"

Synthai hopped back on the scooter with an enthusiastic Aiden despite her sudden nerves. If her wild, spontaneous morning was considered mild in his book, what could he possibly mean by an adventure?

Synthai swallowed nervously when they parked and he led her into the train station. "Wait!" she cried, tugging on his sleeve. "Where are we going?"

The excited grin hadn't left his face since he came up with the idea. "I don't know yet!" Her heart rate picked up. "I figured we'll just get on the next train out of town!"

"What!?" Synthai blurted, attracting some confused looks from passersby.

Aiden just laughed, seemingly amused by her obvious confusion. "What's wrong now?"

"What if we don't make it back here tonight?"

"Then we'll just stay the night there."

"But our hotel rooms!"

"The company pays for them, so it doesn't really matter!"

"But we work tomorrow!"

"It's a red-eye back to Tokyo, I'm sure we'll have plenty of time to get back to the hotel in the morning, rest and freshen up before work." Dammit, he had a pretty reasonable response to all her major concerns, but still!

"C'mon it'll be fun!" he encouraged, giving her one of his easy smiles.

Maybe he was right about her not wanting to hang out with 'guys like him' if this was his definition of fun. This was her definition of irresponsible... dangerous... anxiety-producing...

Her internal rambling went silent when Aiden palmed her cheek, gazing down at her, blue eyes brimming with sincerity. Something about his nearness inexplicably calmed her and she unconsciously leaned into his hand.

They held hands a few times that morning and Synthai assumes they slept in the same bed last night, but this simple touch felt so much more intimate. Even as the strangers in the train station bustled around them, they took a moment to just look at each other.

"I'm sorry, I just got excited. We don't have to go anywhere that'll make you uncomfortable," he said softly. She could tell he was being genuine, but there was still a hint of disappointment in his voice.

Was she being a complete fool? For so long she had wanted Aiden's attention and here she was getting it. She told him she liked adventures and he immediately responded by offering to take her on one.

How long was she going to let herself be limited by her incredibly small comfort zone? Isn't that why she told him she became a flight attendant in the first place? To have adventures and stop being so comfortable living in her hometown her whole life?

"Okay, let's go," she whispered.

His smile grew wider, but he still asked, "are you sure?"

With a sigh, she nodded. He surprised her when he leaned down and kissed her on the forehead. A blush spread across her cheeks.

"You'll have fun, I promise!" he assured, before guiding her over to a ticket kiosk. Aiden clicked on the screen several times, and two tickets printed out the bottom.

He swiped the tickets before she had the chance. "We better hurry! The train's leaving in ten minutes," he said, snatching up her hand before they started jogging to the platform.

"So where are we going?" Synthai asked, slightly out of breath. She hoped it wasn't anywhere too far.

"It's a surprise!" he laughed.

Synthai attempted to read the signs around the train station for clues of their destination, but they were mostly in French and they passed by them so quickly. After running up a flight of stairs, Aiden pulled her on to the train and they sat in the first pair of seats they saw.

Aiden was still grinning even as they tried to catch their breaths. "We made it!" he sighed, he rested his head back on his interlaced hands.

Synthai took in her surroundings, hoping for clues on where they might be headed. The train's interior looked fairly modern, meaning it was likely one of the newer high-speed trains. Any thoughts of bailing now were dismissed as they train doors slid closed