Neville didn’t say anything and just wrapped his arms around Grayson’s shoulders. He clung to Grayson like an undignified koala.

The magnetic system in Grayson’s gloves seemed to be working fine.

As they descended, they could slowly feel the gravity coming back. Neville’s feet touched the wall first. Grayson stayed close, one arm hovering near Neville’s back until they were both safely on solid ground.

The living attendant hurried over, face pale. "Sir, I’m so sorry—the gloves should have been fully charged. I don’t understand what happened—"

"Check the equipment," Grayson said flatly.

His voice carried no overt threat, but the temperature around them seemed to drop by several degrees.

The living attendant nodded frantically and fled with Neville’s faulty gloves.

Neville let out a long breath, running a hand through his hair.

That had been close.

"Are you alright?" Grayson’s hand remained on his lower back, giving it a warm, steady pressure.

"Fine. Just..." Neville shook his head. "That was unexpected."

"The equipment here should be regularly maintained." Grayson’s eyes followed the retreating living attendant with barely concealed irritation. "This shouldn’t have happened."

Neville couldn’t help but agree, though for different reasons.

A random malfunction? Right after that error in the entrance? His luck wasn’t usually this bad. Neville thought while pursing his lips.

˚₊· ͟͟͞͞➳❥

They went far away from the Kinetic Wall as they walked around the adult playground.

Neville checked his light brain as they walked away, pulling up the time display.

The aquarium wouldn’t open for its first wave of visitors for another hour or two. And if they showed up right at opening, they would be fighting through dense crowds.

I don’t want to be stuck in the long hours of standing and lining up. It’s better to wait and find something else to do.

His gaze drifted across the Adult Playground, taking in the various attractions.

Then his eyes caught something.

A skateboard ring.

No, not just skateboards—there were hoverboards, too.

Hoverskates gleamed under the neon lights, looking like the lovechild of roller skates and anti-gravity technology. Even hoverscooters, lined up in neat rows near a curved track that swooped and dipped.

Neville’s eyes sparkled.

Hoverboards had existed on Earth. He had seen them around, mostly in the hands of teenagers whose parents had too much disposable income.

He had never owned one himself since he couldn’t justify the expense when that much money could go toward rent or his BL collections. But it was true that he had always been curious about them.

And this version... obviously looked so much better.

The boards here weren’t clunky prototypes struggling against gravity. They floated smoothly, effortlessly gliding as they carried their riders in graceful arcs around the track.

"You want to try?"

Neville startled, turning to find Grayson watching him with amusement.

"Was I being that obvious?" he embarrassingly asked.

"It’s practically literally written all over your face." Grayson teased.

Neville pouted slightly; he was just... interested.

"I’ve never used one before," Neville said.

"I mean, we had something similar on—" he caught himself, "—where I grew up. But I never had the chance to try it."

"I hadn’t touched one since childhood; it might be a little rough." Grayson murmured before nodding and said, "Then let’s get you set up."

They approached the rental counter, where a cheerful robot attendant helped them select their equipment.

Neville eyed the options carefully before settling on a standard hoverboard. Grayson did the same, though he also grabbed a pair of hoverskates and a hoverscooter, adding them to their rental with a casual swipe of his light brain.

When Neville raised an eyebrow, Grayson shrugged and said, "Just in case you want to try multiple things."

They moved to the beginner’s section of the track, a relatively flat area with gentle curves and padded barriers.

Neville set his hoverboard on the ground—or rather, just above the ground, where it floated at a convenient ankle height—and stared at it.

Okay. Step one: get on the board.

He placed one foot on the surface, feeling it dip slightly under his weight before stabilizing.

So far, so good.

He shifted his weight, preparing to step fully onto the board, but—

The board shot forward.

"YI—!" Neville yelped, arms windmilling as he struggled to find his balance.

The board wobbled dangerously, responding to every tiny change in his center of gravity. He managed to stay upright for approximately three seconds before his feet went in two different directions, and he toppled sideways off the board entirely.

The padded floor caught him with a soft thump.

Behind him, Neville heard a sound that might have been a smothered laugh.

He twisted around to glare at Grayson, who had the audacity to be standing perfectly balanced on his own hoverboard, looking like he had been born riding the thing.

"Didn’t you say you haven’t touched one since childhood?" Neville demanded.

Grayson’s lips curled teasingly. "My muscle memory is powerful."

"I hate you," Neville said as he rolled his eyes at him.

"Don’t hate me yet."

Neville picked himself up off the floor with as much dignity as he could muster and retrieved his hoverboard. The thing had drifted to a stop a few meters away, bobbing innocently as if it hadn’t just tried to murder him.

"Here." Grayson glided over, stepping off his own board. "Let me show you."

What followed was a brief tutorial that Neville absorbed with determined focus.

Weight distribution. Leaning to accelerate and decelerate. Using subtle foot pressure to steer.

It was logical, straightforward, but absolutely did not translate to actual practice.

Grayson demonstrated each concept patiently. Then he stepped back to let Neville try again.

"I’m going to do a few laps," Grayson said, gesturing toward the wider track. "Get used to the feel of it again. Call me if you need help."

Neville nodded, already focused on not falling flat on his face a second time. He stepped onto the hoverboard more carefully and began the slow, wobbling process of figuring out how to make his body cooperate.

It took approximately ten minutes of concentrated effort before he could maintain a stable hover without flailing.

Another five before he managed to move forward without the board trying to escape from under him.

The progress was slow, but it’s still progress nonetheless.

He was so focused on keeping his balance that he didn’t notice someone approaching until a hand landed on his shoulder.

"Your posture is too stiff. You need to relax your knees."