AN: Thanks for the interest and to the two people who reviewed! Here's another little thing for you to enjoy!

Caine sat in an old easy chair in Jupiter's basement, his long legs stretched in front of him and crossed at the ankles. Springs poked his wings uncomfortably in several places, so he stretched them wide and clasped his hands behind his head. She'd sneaked him into the house to "hang out." Really, she used the strangest colloquialisms sometimes, but he was getting used to it.

"You look relaxed," Jupiter commented with a frown, looking up from the textbook on the desk in front of her.

"The chair is rather uncomfortable, Your Majesty." He deliberately added the "Your Majesty," hoping that her usual happy smile would wipe away the frown.

"That old thing? It's been around forever. Nobody sits in it anymore." A smile did not accompany the reply.

"Your Majesty usually smiles when I say 'Your Majesty.'"

Jupiter wrinkled her nose and answered the implied question. "I can't figure out this problem."

He ambled over to the desk. "Why are you doing remedial math?"

"Calculus is not remedial math!" she replied hotly. "It's been a while since I studied it, and I'm having a hard time getting back into the groove."

He gestured to her pencil. "May I?"

When she handed it over, he erased one variable and replaced it with another. "Your error was there."

She gave him an assessing look. "I didn't know you knew math."

He shrugged. "There's still a lot Your Majesty doesn't know about me yet, and lot I don't know about you. Skyjackers have to have a basic knowledge of how the technology we use works, in addition to being able to use it and do maintenance and basic repairs. I wasn't half bad at astronavigation. You didn't say why you were studying calculus."

"The gravity surfing boots are so amazing. I want to know how they work. But differential equations are after calculus and I've forgotten half the calculus I knew, so…"

His sensitive ears picked up a sound. "Someone's coming!"

"Go stand in the alcove underneath the stairs. Nobody will notice you there. And even if they do, your ears and wings won't be noticeable."

He was in the shadowy corner in an instant, and then next she heard the sound of someone coming down the stairs.

"Jupiter, what are you doing?" her mother asked.

"I'm stuck." She showed her mom how far she'd gotten and corrected the steps that came after the one Caine had corrected.

"You haven't opened a textbook since you graduated high school. What is going on?"

"I… um… I felt like I needed a change?" Jupiter cringed at her lame explanation and wished again that she thought faster on her feet.

Her mother gave her a look. "You always did well in math, but you never loved it like you did astronomy. You have been different lately. Something is going on with you. You're a good girl, Jupiter. When are you going to tell me what is going on?"

Jupiter shrugged.

Her mother frowned. In a torrent of Russian, her mother explained what was happening in the problem and where she was going wrong.

"Thanks. Mom. That really helped." She stood and hugged her mother.

Caine watched as her mother moved to the self. "I came down for more cleaning supplies. We need to restock the car." She grabbed several bottles and climbed back up the stairs.

Jupiter smiled at Caine. "You can come out now."

"Now I've learned something about you, Your Majesty. Your mother knows a lot about math. Why is she cleaning toilets?"

"Nobody in the United States really needs to be taught mathematics in Russian. Will you help me the next time I'm stuck?"

"I can do the math, Your Majesty, but I can't explain it. I'm just not good at explanations, and I didn't learn it in English or Russian. Besides, I though we were supposed to be hanging out. I didn't realize that meant watching you do math."

She looked a little sheepish. "It doesn't. I'm sorry. You wanna watch a movie?"

"Let's go out. I want to see another of your favorite places in Chicago."

She smiled broadly. "Alright. I'll get my jacket. Meet you outside in five?" He didn't really need her help sneaking in or out of the house.