Immediately after he was done, he felt a faint drain on himself… He was right—the drain when he drew on others was greater than when he drew on himself.
"Almost done," Leon said as he quickly drew the same tattoos on himself.
"So what now?" Grace asked, but Leon simply smiled and let go of her hand.
Immediately after he did so, Grace saw herself slowly floating up into the air as though she was being controlled by someone else.
"What are you doing?!! Get me down!" Grace shouted for help, but Leon simply smiled and somehow immediately levitated off the floor to join her.
"How are you flying… Wait, is that your power?" Grace asked, now much calmer with Leon holding her.
"Yep! I found out yesterday—I can grab powers via tattoos," Leon said excitedly.
"What?!" Grace asked, confused and astonished at the same time.
"You heard me. I'm a literal power broker," Leon said as he held her hand, and they began to fly home.
According to his tests, they had a total of about five minutes before the powers of the pen tattoo would fade, so he had to use it wisely.
"Then wait, what powers did you just give me?" she asked as she stopped.
"Flight and incognito mode."
"What does that mean?"
Picking up her arm, Leon pointed to the half-crossed-out eye. This was the second thing he had discovered during his experiments the previous day… His tattoos worked with his intent.
This meant the same tattoos could grant a completely different set of powers if he thought of them differently.
"Normally, a crossed-out eye means that no one else can see that thing apart from you, but it's only half-crossed out, so only you and I can see each other… Though they can probably still hear us, I think," Leon explained.
"So wait… I can be a ghost?" Grace suddenly said as Leon paused.
"Technically… How come I never thought of that?" Leon said, questioning his sanity.
He had the perfect stealth skill—where he could still be heard but not seen. If he coupled it with a proper intangibility tattoo, he could go around tormenting people.
It wouldn't add anything to his life, but it would be interesting to do, and besides, he had nothing better to do.
"Because you aren't me," Grace replied as she laughed.
"Ah… You're just lucky. I've been busy, that's all."
"So how do I fly with this thing?" she asked.
"It's like your Telepathy—will it to take you where you want, and lean toward that direction… Intent is a surprisingly important factor in things like these," Leon said.
"Okay, like this," Grace said as she suddenly dashed forward at full speed.
Seeing this, Leon immediately chased after her to help her gain control. However, thankfully, her experience with her Telepathy allowed her to adjust very soon.
Soon, the skies were filled with the laughter of two teenagers as they flew around, exploring the neighborhood.
After a few more minutes of play, they eventually landed in front of the mansion—far enough to not be seen by the security guard but still close enough that all it would take was a few seconds of walking to reach the gates.
"Next time, draw an astronaut… Let's go into space," Grace said.
"That's a good idea, but it's risky. If the five minutes run out, we're done for, and nobody will be able to come for us," Leon replied as they walked toward the mansion.
"Huh… That makes sense. Then what if you draw a new one every two minutes? Then we can explore space and be back peacefully."
"Ohh!! That's an even greater idea! Who knew my girlfriend was Einstein in the making…"
"What can I say? Einstein's got nothing on me."
"Eh… That's even more suspicious. Who are you? What did you do with my girlfriend?" Leon said as he immediately began to ruffle her hair.
Without hesitation, Leon felt a punch on his chest… It was weak, but then again, there was no such thing as a weak punch—unless it was coming from a baby.
"Ou!!" Leon shouted, exaggerating the pain more than necessary, but Grace never let up as she began chasing him around the front yard.
Leon laughed as he was being chased, knowing exactly what he did. After all, it was the duty of every self-respecting boyfriend or husband to infuriate their counterpart.
If he didn't do it, then who should have the right to?