” Yeah — if you don’t consider the wheezing. “ he responds dryly, quirking a brow at the shorter woman. his lips, however, are pulled into a grin — one of wary amusement.
he does as she says, letting the disc slip out of his hands and into the reject bin before approaching her, hands behind his back.
” —- That was pretty fast, though.”
” .. compared to what it was before.”
"faster. not fast enough. it's all relative, dashi."
she runs two fingers down the front of the bike, moves them to press against the place where the wheels were, until recently, suspended. he comes up behind her, and she spares him only a brief glance and an upward quirk of one side of her mouth that could almost qualify as a smile before returning her attention to her work.
she keeps changing the design -- changing the wheels. making it lighter, making it more aerodynamic, cutting down on drag. but it isn't good enough. she can do much better, she's sure of it.
"am i coming at this the wrong way? if i -- decreased the strength of the electromagnets..."
she's half asking him and half just musing aloud, but it's a good thought. it'd loosen the bond between the bike and the wheels -- go too far there and they may not even be able to stand up to the speed she wants. they'd fall off first. but on the other hand, it's possible it could allow them to move more freely. even less resistance. even faster bike.














