Valon shrank several feet when he took Mai to another one of his childhood memories, due to going back in time to when he was either five or six years old. Mai grinned at him as she beheld his denim overalls and striped green shirt, a favorite outfit of his back in the day. "You are so cute," she cooed while he sat on his mum's favorite rug and played with his modest collection of matchbox cars.

Valon pushed his lower lip out, crossed his arms resentfully, and donned the meanest, toughest scowl a young child could manage. "Nuh-uh!" Valon protested. "'M not cute!"

Mai chuckled incredulously and sat down across from him, picking up and examining some of Valon's cars. "Do you have a favorite?" she asked in a voice an octave higher than normal.

Valon held up a red sports car.

Mai smiled warmly and ruffled his hair, much to Valon's chagrin. "I had a feeling you'd say that."

Valon's mum entered the room in a cloud of perfume and multicolored sequins. He looked up at her and asked her where she was going.

"Your auntie is taking me out tonight," she replied, clipping her earrings on, all while managing not to look him in the eye even once. She had a habit of doing that. "Evelyn'll be watching you tonight, and your dad—well, Daddy will probably be home hours after you or I get to bed."

Since Valon's mother was oblivious to Mai's presence, Mai was free to grab Valon's hand for reassurance, and she did so with an affectionate smile. Valon, feeling like his usual, older, taller self, returned Mai's smile while taking a blue car and running it up her thigh.

Valon started when his cars suddenly rolled back under the couch. "No," he whispered frantically, trying and failing to grab his childhood toys as they slipped away from his grasp. "No!"

The erasing was happening faster than it previously had, as it ended as quickly as it had started; Mai and Valon were unable to stand up completely straight before the erasing process had gotten back on track.

Mai had decided that it would be best to meet on neutral territory for when she and Joey met, so she chose a coffee shop that neither of them had been to, that way neither would feel like they had the advantage, and neither would feel out of place.

Or something like that.

Mai sighed and stared at her coffee and chocolate turnover, a rarity that she was indulging in. She knew that it would be impolite to start eating before Joey turned up, and so she told herself that she would wait, but that didn't mean she wouldn't have a hard time with it, especially when she really didn't want to be there.

But it's the decent thing to do. Mai reminded herself. She and Joey owed it to one another to sit down and have a serious talk, so Mai cradled her cheek in her hand and stared blankly at the wall.

"This isn't working, Valon," Mai murmured as they walked along the beach near Valon's house. "This is it, isn't it?

Valon looked down at his hand, entwined with Mai's, and he tried to swallow the lump in his throat. He shook his head insistently, whispering, "No. No. This can't be it, Mai." He didn't want to forget all this. He didn't want to lose what little he had left of Mai.

Mai remained silent, offering no suggestions.

"I-I can take you somewhere else," Valon said desperately. "We can keep trying until they can't get to us anymore."

"You'll be out of memories by morning, Val," Mai replied gently. "I mean, we can try again, but I don't see what that will do. They're getting better at finding us."

Valon sighed in defeat and nodded. "Yeah, I know. They've probably caught on by now," he agreed.

"And they'll be waiting," Mai added. She came to a stop, grabbed onto Valon's other hand, and looked him somberly in the eye. "So we have two options, here: We either keep running to buy us some time and you end up with even more of your memories gone, or we just..." Mai hesitated and swallowed, unable to look at him anymore. "Or we just... We just..."

"Or we just enjoy what we have left," Valon finished for her.

Mai threw her arms around him and buried her face in his shoulder, which made the lump in Valon's throat grow as he clung to her in return.

Her coffee was lukewarm by the time Joey finally sauntered into the establishment, and Mai regretted not taking a sip or two. Joey made a quick scan of the coffee shop with uncharacteristically dull eyes until he found the booth Mai was sitting in, and then proceeded to trudge over to her.

Mai removed the plastic tab on the coffee lid used to prevent spills and took an unsatisfying sip of her drink while Joey slid into the seat across from her. Swallowing the lukewarm liquid, Mai set her cardboard cup down and then folded her hands on the tabletop, all while Joey avoided her gaze.

Mai inhaled and exhaled slowly to gather her strength, knowing that she would need it. Joey still wouldn't look at her.

Since she was the one who had called for this little meeting, Mai knew that she must speak first, but Joey was quicker.

"I know what you're going to say," he said calmly.

"Do you?" Mai asked, raising an eyebrow.

Joey nodded. "Yeah. Our little, uh, 'arrangement' isn't really working out, is it?"

Mai allowed a few beats of silence to pass while she monitored his facial expressions and his posture, trying to figure out where this would end up.

"No," Mai said plainly.

Joey's response was to nod again and set his jaw.

"Joey," Mai said, extra carefully, "you are so important to me. And I love you..."

"But not in a 'I wanna be boyfriend and girlfriend' way," Joey said, finishing for her.

Mai looked down at her hands. She swallowed. "I've been forcing things," she continued, voice lowering to a whisper. "And I thought I knew what I wanted, but clearly I didn't. I've made a mess out of everything. I've rushed things, especially since I..." Mai faltered when she realized that now she would have to tell him about Valon.

"Since you what, Mai?"

Mai sighed and drew from the reserves of her strength and patience. "I haven't been completely honest with you, Joey," she admitted, taking her coffee cup in her hands and shifting it along her palms. "I came back a long, long time ago. I just put off coming to see you."

"Why would you do that, Mai?"

Mai blinked and set her coffee down. "Because things didn't end well the last time we saw each other—"

"You realize that we could get past that, right?"

"—and also because... I was seeing someone."

Joey sat back in his seat and exhaled. He lay his hands flat on the table and looked right at her for the first time since he'd sat down. "That so?"

Mai nodded slowly. "Mm-hm."

"Do I know 'em?"

"Actually, yeah," Mai replied, wishing that she didn't have to continue this conversation, but knew that she had to.

"Then who was it?"

"Oh, you know," Mai said, trying and failing to sound casual. "It's just... Valon."

Joey's eyes widened. He gripped the side of the table and squeezed so hard that his knuckles blanched. He looked like he wanted to cause a scene. "Valon," he repeated. "That Valon? Dartz's henchman? Guy with the crazy hair? The guy who tried to steal my soul?"

"To be fair, I tried the exact same thing," Mai responded.

Joey held his hand up. "That's different," he insisted.

"And why is that?" Mai challenged, inwardly surprised that she was kind of defending the guy who now acted like he didn't know her.

"Because I care about you,"Joey replied. "You—you're important to me. Him? He's just some random asshole who was overstepping his boundaries."

Mai decided not to respond to that.

"But, okay. Okay. Valon, huh?"

"Yes," Mai replied firmly. "And since I care about you, I'm being honest with you."

"I see." Joey let out a tumultuous stream of air. "How long?"

Mai took a sip of her coffee. "A long time. We only broke up because I was a bad girlfriend who took him for granted."

Joey winced.

"And then I came to you a few days later," Mai added. "I've made mistakes, Joey. I've rushed things, and I've forced things upon myself. And I've come to realize that you and I are better off as friends."

Joey nodded. "Yeah," he mumbled. "Okay. I get it."

Mai sighed in relief. "I'm glad you do. I still want you in my life, Joey. You mean too much to me to not be, but...but it just can't be like it has been recently."

"I can respect that," Joey replied. "I'm just going to need some time to myself."

Mai nodded insistently. "I get that. Take all the time you need. I certainly did."

Joey grunted and got to his feet. "Yeah, well, see you later, Mai," he said, taking her hand and shaking it meaningfully, then slowly letting it go. "Take care of yourself."

And so he left, leaving Mai alone with her coffee, her neglected turnover, and her immense feelings of relief.