"Someone had to balance out all that testoserone," Gina agreed, nodding sagely. As if she'd only been adopted to balance the male-to-female ratio in the Schuyler household, and that was the only reason they were "lucky". Gina chuckled, nibbling more at her ice cream. It was getting to the part where, soon, she'd need to start eating cone.

Nessa confirmed that she did have a brother-- a big brother-- whom she lived with.

"Dude, little sister's unite," Gina said, flexing her arm around Nessa's momentarily, "That's hella cool."

Gina couldn't imagine living with her brothers. While they all got along swimmingly, she imagined that at least her eldest brother would be an absolute helicopter when it came to where his sister was going and what she was doing... not that she could blame him. But it would be so... suffocating! Gina bit off a piece of ice cream cone, crunching thoughtfully.

>> ”He’s kinda… the only family I’m willing to own up to. My parents… My parents were not accepting and not okay with who I am."

Gina inclined her head towards her friend, pausing in chewing. Not okay how? Was she a mutant? Or was it because she was into chicks? Both were sometimes points of conflict, in families. Not everyone was blessed with a liberal-hippie mom whose open-mindedness practically outshone their daughter's, in some situations. Gina would never forget the talk she had with her Mom about "being careful about which substances she experimented with". Not "don't do drugs" just "be careful if you do". The gargoyle had to patiently explain that she wasn't interested.

>> "As a woman. As a… trans woman. Booker—my brother—helped me a lot through that, so when I think of my family, he’s it.”

Oh. So she was a trans lady, huh? When someone knew as many people as Gina did, they met all different sorts of people-- trans people included. Particularly when she was so indiscriminate about romance. Gina swallowed her bite of cone. Despite her "somewhat worldly experience", it was still a sensitive subject to introduce.

Gina squeezed her friend's arm again, acknowledging the shakiness in her voice and the stiffness in her shoulders. It had to be scary to come-out like that. Not everyone lived as in-your-face as the gargoyle did.

"To me, you're just Nessa," Gina assured Nessa, her voice soft, "And I like Nessa-- and all that that entails."

There it was. Simple as that. The gargoyle's cheeks were getting hot again, and her heart stuttered, so she bit off another piece of cone, crunching crossly. Uuuggghhh, why were feelings so complicated? It wasn't like she said she "like-liked" Nessa. Just that... she accepted her. Right? That she was cool with Nessa-- that the fact she was trans didn't affect how the gargoyle saw her. It wasn't like she'd professed her feelings or anything. Now her stomach was jittery too. F***. The gargoyle glanced away, her attention following a flock of seagulls that'd been loudly provoked into flight by a shrieking boy in a bathing suit.

"It's cool that you told me, though!" the gargoyle interrupted her own thoughts, "That takes guts."

That must have meant that Gina had ascended to some sort of higher friend status, if there was such a thing.

There was nothing as frightening as the moment after coming out to someone important. Time inevitably slowed down for Vanessa to imagine all the worst potential scenarios, looks of disgusts, or uncomfortable pleasantries. It was hard to breathe while waiting for the person she was trusting herself with to say something. The incident of coming out to her parents was forever going to taint each following disclosure, regardless of whether that was fair to her or her friend.

In many cases, Vanessa could, for better or worse, see what people thought about the news of her gender. With Gina, they were both wearing sunglasses, so she would have to trust that Gina was the genuine, honest person Vanessa knew her to be.

Gina did not disappoint. The squeeze of her arm was immediately reassuring, but not as much as what came after.

>> "To me, you're just Nessa, and I like Nessa-- and all that that entails."

Vanessa could have cried, but she was not going to make a scene on the boardwalk. Still, Gina was once again everything she was cracked up to be, and she liked Nessa. It should not have given her as much of a warm, fuzzy feeling as it did, but she could not help it. How was anyone not supposed to fall for Gina?

Being completely out in the open with Gina, (about everything but her powers, of course,) had a freeing effect on Vanessa. Up to that point, she was holding herself back ever so slightly, because she felt like she was hiding. Coming out successfully came with a surprising shot of confidence, so when she chose to express her gratitude, she led off with something she was not expecting.

Vanessa leaned into Gina and planted a kiss on her soft, grey cheek. ”And I like Gina. Everything about Gina,” she promised with a smile. She was not as concerned with what a kiss on the cheek between friends might imply for the moment, because it felt natural, and that was good enough.

Looking past Gina and toward the line-up of buildings they were walking next to, a building caught her attention and her eyes sparkled. ”Oooh, an arcade! Can we?” she asked optimistically, already tugging Gina along in the direction of blinking lights and techie jingles.

She nearly dropped her ice cream. Her hands-- her brain-- forgot how to function, and Gina legitimately fumbled the cone. She was dumbfounded. S-sure! Her and Agnes kissed each other on the cheek! They also knew each other for, what, six-? seven- years now, give or take a few months? That was very different? Gina wasn't keeping her mouth shut, for fear of butterflies, around Agnes. And boy, did those butterflies return with a vengeance. Agnes was her sister and it was so, so, sooooooo different.

By some miracle, Gina managed to catch her ice cream. She nearly stumbled when Nessa's attention was drawn elsewhere.

>> ”Oooh, an arcade! Can we?”

Could she feel how hot the gargoyle's face was when she'd kissed her? Could she see her pulse skyrocketting, hammering away in the curve of her throat? Did she know that Gina wanted to kiss her back, in the gayest, most heated possib- stop, Gina. You're getting carried away. Gina took another bite of her ice cream cone, perhaps too impractical for one mouthful.

"Y-yeah! Absolutely!" the gargoyle agreed. She felt like her voice was quivering, even though it wasn't. She covered her mouth to prevent herself from losing ice cream cone, "I'll take you on."

Contrary to the bluff, Gina wasn't actually particularly adept at any sort of arcade games. But there was nothing wrong with some friendly competition.

Vanessa was so pleased with herself and with Gina, she was pleasantly oblivious to the near-fumble of Gina’s ice cream. She was going to try getting out of her own head when it came to Gina. They would act how they wanted with each other, and figure things out from there. She was still worried about overstepping her bounds, but Gina was honest. If Vanessa crossed a line, she had faith her friend would politely let her know.

The arcade idea was accepted, which was great, because Vanessa was already pulling Gina through the wide threshold of the building. With how open the front of the arcade was, it led to an intriguing transition in temperature as the heat of the beach blended with the air-conditioning of the arcade. She lifted her sunglasses off her eyes so she could adjust to the darker space of the arcade, where most of the light came from the games themselves.

”I would be careful signing checks that cute butt of yours can’t cash, Gina. I play games for a living, remember?” Vanessa enjoyed the teasing nature of their friendship, and it was time to embrace it fully rather than revise every word in her head to make sure she was not letting something slip. Gina had a cute butt; even a friend would notice that, surely.

Vanessa inserted a five-dollar bill from her purse into the change machine, which spit out twenty branded tokens. She eyeballed how many constituted half and offered some of her coins to Gina. ”How about you pick the game? I don’t want to embarrass you too badly, after all?”

At Gina’s suggestion, they approached one of the many games available to them. This was good. Vanessa was in her element, and she was free from the shackles of awkward apprehension. She was free to be herself: flirty, quippy, and maybe even a little cocky when put in a gaming setting. ”What do you say, Gina? We could make this interesting. Winner gets to ask for any one thing from the loser?” It was a common enough wager back at The POW Block Party, and with the people she worked with, was always good for a memorable consequence.

Gina chuckled, shrugging her shoulders as Nessa met her challenge. She might as well welcome the blush on her cheeks with open arms, because it sure as Hell wasn't going anywhere any time soon. The two meandered towards the change machine, which Nessa offered a five-dollar bill too. She then split the coins with the gargoyle, and offered to let her choose the game. For the sake of her pride.

"Thank you! Okay, so... no actual video games..." the gargoyle mused teasingly. She lifted her shades and tossed a cheeky wink at Nessa. The shades were tucked atop her head, in front of her horns, as the gargoyle looked around. She squinted her eyes-- the sunlight that filtered the doors still made it a little too bright for the night-beast's preference. Maybe if they ventured farther in, the light wouldn't be so abrasive on her senses.

"Hmmm..." the gargoyle mused, meandering towards the back. What game, what game. Oo!

"Skeeball?" Gina asked coyly, glancing back towards Nessa. Honestly, Gina wasn't particularly skilled at any arcade games, but skeeball was like... the quintessential arcade game. And it didn't demand the sort of hand-eye coordination that accompanied video games, so maybe, just maaaaaaaybeeeee it put her on a level playing-field with Nessa. Maybe. Or maybe she was secretly a skeeball pro? Either way, at least it would be fun. 

>> ”What do you say, Gina? We could make this interesting. Winner gets to ask for any one thing from the loser?”

Gina curled her tail, grinning. Nessa didn't have a mean bone in her body, so losing couldn't lead to anything bad, right? The worst thing might be eating a jalapeño or something.

"You're on," the gargoyle agreed, "Two outta three? Or are we gonna go high-stakes on this?"

With something on the line, Gina made the wise choice to avoid video games. The arcade had plenty of options, with fighting games and classic arcade games featured prominently. There was a Dancing game, but Vanessa wondered if putting a winged woman in a small space with rapid movements and people passing by would be safe. Skeeball was a perfect pick to neutralize Vanessa’s advantage as a career gamer, and honestly, who did not enjoy Skeeball?

Gina questioned whether they would go two out of three or commit to a sudden death, winner-take-all match. Vanesa shook her head. ”Oh, only high stakes here. Besides, I don’t need you getting practice in to mount some miracle come back.” The bet was all for fun, but Vanessa was still a competitive person and had every intention of winning. She would consider what she’d ask of Gina when the challenge was over, because she had to have her head in the game.

Choosing a Skeeball lane alongside Gina for maximum taunting, Vanessa prepped a token for the slot. ”Okay, ready? In three… two… one!” The coin slipped into the machine, the scoreboards flashed, and a jingle began to play. The mechanism keeping the weighted wooden balls in place released and the game was on.

Vanessa was confident in her hand-eye coordination, and she was focused on getting a hang of consistent muscle movements. Once she got the hang of things, she should be able to hit fifties with relative consistency, which was key. Hundreds were high-risk, high-reward, because failure meant a trip to the ten hole. A bad fifty had a chance of being a forty, or at least a twenty. If she got to a strong start, then she could take a chance or two on the hundreds. Consistency was key.

She had nine tries. The first throw was to get a feel for how much strength to use. She got into the forty, which was a great start. The next two throws were a forty, followed by the hallowed fifty. Vanessa was confident. ”I wonder what I can come up with for you,” she mused allowed, taunting the friend next to her.

Another fifty! She was doing great. She did not need to look and see what Gina was doing, because that would only get in her head. Instead of looking at Gina’s score, her eyes made an accidental detour to the woman herself. From Vanessa’s point of view, and with Gina leaning down, there was a lot of… well, a lot of Gina on display.

Ten. Wait, ten? What were Vanessa’s arms doing playing at a time like that! She tossed two more balls, but she was suddenly off her game. Thirty and twenty. Not what Vanessa was looking for. Now she was left with two more attempts and a lackluster score. She had to focus. She needed a big win to make up ground, and she could not think about Gina’s chest and expect to hit the hundred.

It was a nice—

Ten! Darnit! Vanessa took a deep breath, focused on the throw, letting the ball glide across the lane, and… one hundred! She could take that! Looking up at the scoreboard on her machine, she assessed her score.

350

It was not bad! It could be a lot worse, but the last-minute snipe of one hundred points gave her a respectable score.

Nervously, her eyes moved over to Gina’s machine and the accompanying scoreboard…

>> ”Oh, only high stakes here. Besides, I don’t need you getting practice in to mount some miracle come back.”

Gina feigned a bashful rub of her head, still all smiles, "Rats, foiled!"

Honestly, though, the gargoyle hadn't been thinking along the lines of "if we play three games I'll have a better shot of winning", only "it'll be more fair overall". But sudden death was fine, too-- if the gargoyle was being realistic with herself, one game or three wouldn't make too much of a difference anyways-- for her, it was a game of chance regardless, and Nessa's hand-eye coordination was through the roof.

The two approached neighboring Skeeball lanes, and Gina surveyed her hoops as if about to give them a pep-talk. Alright guys. Don't fail me now. Nessa asked if the gargoyle was ready, which earned a determined nod. Three... two... one... coin in! The wooden balls rolled down the ramp, clacking to a stop at the bottom of the the chute. While Nessa fell into a tacitician's play of the game, the gargoyle was decidedly less... strategic? She retrieved a ball and focused on rolling it straight and true (these skeeball machines didn't have cages over them like the ones she was familiar with!! and she'd be embarrassed if a ball was sent flying...) The ball rolled, ascended, she sank a ten-pointer. At least it was points! Maybe aim more... towards the center? Gina rolled another-- thirty! Hey, not bad! Better than ten, anyways! Maybe more power... Gina rolled again. Fifty! Wow!

Gina fell into a pattern, jumping in a small celebration whenever she managed to gain points-- another fifty here, a forty, whoa! One hundred! A twenty here... ten there... Nessa finished first, and the gargoyle was down to one ball. One ball, and three-hundred-and-ten points. The gargoyle rolled her lips, looking at Nessa. With forty points between her and the brunette's final score, there were very few options for tying or winning.

"The moment of truth," she breathed. The gargoyle rolled, the ball went up, arced-- fifty. The machine buzzed.

360

Gina's expression fell into an open-mouthed smile of disbelief as she turned to her companion. Holy crap. Gina held up her arms as if declaring a touchdown.

"Holy crap!" the gargoyle proclaimed, before remembering that there were probably tiny ears around and covering her mouth. She glanced at Nessa, cracking a smile, "Talk about by the skin of my teeth. That was crazy."

She held out a conciliatory clenched fist, requesting a fist bump, "Nice shooting, Tex. I thought ya had me."

Nessa lost! The lovely gargoyle had some skill (and maybe an advantage in the form of built-in distractions.) It was very close if one of those tens was a twenty, she would have tied, but she was the one who decided on sudden death. As competitive as she was as a person, she could handle losing to someone like Gina, who was genuinely excited about her victory. How could she be upset losing to someone who immediately covered her mouth so children did not hear her say “crap?” Gina was objectively the cutest thing ever.

The offered fist was appropriately bumped, and Vanessa chuckled. ”I thought I had you, too,” she teased. ”I have half a mind to call a do-over because I was clearly distracted by the pretty girl next to me, but I will accept my lose graciously.”

Wait, did she really just say that? It was so easy to be honest with Gina. While she was not going to be so crass to say, “your boobs are distracting,” (since, as Gina pointed out, there were little ears around,) Vanessa was surprisingly comfortable letting Gina know she was pretty. So pretty, it caused Vanessa to momentarily misplace thoughts and fail at basic motor functions. It was, after all, the truth.

Nervously looking to move past her comment, she hastily added, ”Soooo I guess this means you win.” She took the strip of tickets she earned from the machine and ripped one off, handing it over as a symbolic gesture. ”This is your one official ticket, redeemable for any one thing you want to ask of me. The only rules are ‘no asking for more tickets’ and ‘keep it legal.’” Vanessa was curious about what kind of request Gina would come up with, or what she might ask her to do. It was always the fun part of the betting games. ”Oh, and it’s only redeemable today, so the clock is ticking!”

They still had a handful of tokens, so they spent over an hour at the arcade. They had the time to spare; they got there early and were staying for the fireworks later in the evening. They played several games, including a few video games, with Vanessa giving tips to her less game-savvy counterpart. (She did exact some revenge with a total blow-out in the Road Combatant fighting game, but otherwise she was nice.) The other games they played earned Vanessa enough tickets that, when they finally left, she was walking to the beach holding a small Pokémon plushie cradled in her free arm.

Once they returned to their blanket, Vanessa carefully placed her new friend sitting in the center, away from sand. She looked down at the blanket before turning her attention over to the ocean. ”There’s no point sunbathing when I’m still this dry,” she decided aloud.

Vanessa undid the wrap at her waist, letting it fall to her feet to reveal the bikini underneath. After waiting so long for the ability to wear swimsuits in public, she was always excited to take the opportunity to show off in a bikini. She tucked the wrap under the cooler on the blanket before looking over to Gina. ”Join me for a quick dip?”

The gargoyle smiled, eyes skimming for the next game to play. She’d be perfectly happy playing skeeball all day, but with the amount of coins she had, she felt that it was especially important to choose wisely. Vanessa admitted defeat, but not before attributing her loss to the “pretty girl next to her”. The gargoyle ran a taloned hand over her hair—had it been hanging freely, rather than wrangled into a bun, she would have ran her fingers through her hair. Her knuckles awkwardly bumped against the sunglasses, so she dropped her hands. How was she supposed to counter that? Gina settled for a hesitant smile. D-d-don’t get her wrong, she liked the compliment but… oh gosh, her heart was going to jump out of her throat.

Nessa hurriedly saved her companion from responding, handing a ticket to the gargoyle and announcing the parameters of the bargain—nothing illegal, no asking for more tickets, not after today.

“I was really hoping we could do some crimes,” the gargoyle joked, her tone awkward and disjointed. Gina tucked the ticket into the pocket of her shorts, the only pocket on her persons that wasn’t her satchel (which would inevitably get the ticket very lost), and followed her friend to other games.

The gargoyle fumbled her way through the rest of her tokens, occasionally shining at the classic, pure-chance arcade games, but absolutely tanking most of the video games. Regardless of the outcome, the gargoyle seemed to converse with each machine, squealing at moments of intensity and sassing any disagreeable elements. When one game was over, the gargoyle was more than happy to proffer any earned tickets, should she actually earn them. Nothing was as fruitful as her miraculous skeeball performance, however.

Having earned a small boon, the two returned to the beach. Gina trailed after the slender brunette, carefully picking over the hot sand. It was well into the afternoon and the gargoyle could feel the siren’s call of a nap. The sunglasses had been returned to the bridge of the gargoyle’s nose, and she carefully circled to the other side of the blanket. Good, no one had bothered it. Gina set her bag down, setting the folded towel atop it. That would make a decent pillow.

Nessa had other plans. And, upon shedding her wrap, the gargoyle eagerly changed her plans as well. She looked… beyond words, honestly. In a good way. A great way. Ma-damn.

>> “Join me for a quick dip?”

“Hell yeah!” the gargoyle agreed, unbuttoning her shorts. The shorts sat low on her waist, below her tail, so there were no additional snaps to speak of. Gina wriggled free of the jean shorts, carefully pulling her feet through before discarding them atop the satchel-towel pile she’d already started. Her bottoms were a solid, medium pink that coordinated with the floral print of her top. Despite having been walking around in the partially-shear tankini, the absence of shorts suddenly made her feel more exposed. Her cheeks were luminous with warmth.

“I’m not much of a swimmer,” the gargoyle admonished, unsure if she brought it up to Nessa before. They carefully wove their way past umbrellas and towels, blankets and sunbathers and small sandcastles towards the immense sea before them.

“Sink like a stone,” she elaborated, quirking a self-deprecating grin. Maybe it was the wings, maybe it was her feet, but for some reason she could only (at best) doggie-paddle on the surface. She paused at the water’s edge, letting a small wave burble over her taloned feet. Given the leathery quality of her skin, it took a few moments for the water to register as “absolutely frigid”. The gargoyle followed Nessa with her eyes. It’d be a good respite from the relentless sun on equally-persistent blush upon the gargoyle’s face.

Gina unfortunately had her sunglasses on, keeping Vanessa from reading any thoughts she might have had at Vanessa’s disrobing. Oblivious to anything behind the tinted glass, she was still feeling a natural boost to her confidence. The salt-scented breeze was caressing her skin, she was moments away from the cold, refreshing embrace of the ocean, she was sure she was working on a rocking tan, and most importantly, she was having a great time with Gina. She was past the over-thinking and just enjoying her time with the winged woman.

Of course, she was not immune to Gina’s stunning features either. Gina had been pulling off cut-offs like no person before her, but watching her shimmy out of them made Vanessa’s heart flutter. It was official: those thighs were allowed to wear anything.

They walked toward the ocean and Gina reminded Vanessa that the water was not her natural element. It made sense from a mutation standpoint; gargoyles did not swim. The structure of her hands and feet might have played a role as well alongside her aerodynamic but not hydrodynamic wings.

Vanessa watched as water rolled over their bare feet. Goosebumps could be seen running up her legs, but it was a good feeling in contrast to the heat of Summer. This was a necessary part of the beach, and she was not going to let Gina bail and let her do it alone. ”Don’t worry, Genie. We don’t need to swim anywhere. Just some splashing and cooling off. We can go about waist-deep—well, my waist, so maybe your chest,” she corrected, smirking at the shorter woman.

Reaching for Gina’s hand, Vanessa took it and turned so her back was facing the ocean. She grabbed the other hand and backpedaled, tugging Gina along with her so the water started lapping against their legs. ”Besides, you have me here. Worst case scenario, I rescue you, perform mouth-to-mouth, and you can praise me as your hero.” The way she was teasing Gina was so surprisingly smooth, she almost failed to notice she worked a kissing joke somewhere in her comment.

Vanessa could feel water rising and falling somewhere between her thigh and her bikini bottoms. ”Ah,” she sighed in satisfaction. ”So refreshing. Come on, there’s not much better than this, right?” She still held Gina’s hands, and she was facing her friend rather than looking where she was going. The way Gina smiled was so pretty.

So pretty, Vanessa was more or less oblivious to the sound of a wave slowly approaching her from behind.

The gargoyle smiled at Nessa, the waves lapping at her ankles. A chill ran up Nessa as she waded into the water, but she was far braver than Gina, who lagged behind her. Her friend was patient, explaining that it was just a dip, and they didn’t have to legitimately attempt swimming. The grey-skinned girl’s stomach burbled pleasantly at the use of “Genie”. She was Gina to almost everyone… “Genie” was a pleasant change of pace. It somehow felt… more tender.

“You make it sound like I’m one of the Seven Dwarves,” the smaller woman chastised, standing stubbornly taller. Gina felt her gaze drawn towards Nessa’s aforementioned waist. The waves might be up to the gargoyle’s ribs, but certainly not her chest. Her cheek’s colored. God, if only she could have a waist like that. Nessa took Gina’s hand in her own, drawing the gargoyle deeper. Gina’s tail floated on the water’s surface. Her feet were fully covered, and now it was rising to her knees. A thrill ran through Gina

>> ”Besides, you have me here. Worst case scenario, I rescue you, perform mouth-to-mouth, and you can praise me as your hero.”

Gina smiled bashfully, her stomach fluttering. Oh nooo… butterflies! She couldn’t… let Nessa… hold that kind of power. It wasn’t fair! Gina had to have some fun too!

“Hey, don’t make promises you can’t necessarily keep,” the gargoyle teased back, squeezing Nessa’s hand. Yeah, smooth! That was pretty smooth. Don’t offer mouth-to-mouth if you didn’t mean it. Gina felt warm from the inside-out. Nessa was just so… luminous. There wasn’t really a better word for it. Being with her was like basking in the sun.

The water rose towards her hips, towards the tips of her wings. Gina shivered. She felt that! Rather than the dull cold she felt against her legs, the cold was sharp and clear against the thin membrane of skin stretched over her wings.

“Ah, brr!” the gargoyle remarked. Gina carefully fanned her wings, suspending them against the rolling surface of the ocean. Nessa checked-in again, earning another dopey grin from the gargoyle.

“Not much,” the gargoyle agreed, “M-maybe flying.”

Her eyes lingered on Nessa’s face, her expression, the curve her lips—ugh. Since the gargoyle was facing the sea, she saw the swell approaching.

“Ah, Nessa-“ the gargoyle began warningly, pulling at her friends’ hands, “Heads up.”

Maybe it wasn’t a big deal. Maybe she was just antsy because she wasn’t good at swimming.

Gina was not going to take Vanessa’s relentless teasing and flirting without a fight, and her fighting consisted of implied kisses. That was not the return-fire Vanessa was expecting. A few “ums” escaped her as she tried to think of a good comeback, but Gina’s wings made contact with the water, causing the first noticeable reaction Gina had toward the cold. Vanessa wondered if her mutation made her more prepared for the cold. Or the heat. Really, she was curious about many of the practical ways Gina’s mutation affected everyday life beyond awesome wings and a custom color palette. Regardless, the “brr” took some pressure away from her need for a reply. Her eyes were definitely taking more frequent trips to Gina’s lips, though.

Vanessa was embracing the soothing salt water on her skin, but Gina had her own preferences that were hard to argue with. ”That sounds amazing. I’m not even ashamed to say I’m so jealous. It must be amazing to just move freely though the air,” she said dreamily. Telepathy had near unlimited usefulness, but it was hard not to consider trading it away for the ability to soar through the air.

Her mental departure into the clouds was cut short when Gina tugged at her hand, giving her a warning. Heads up? It took a moment for the reason to sink in, with Vanessa turning inquisitively in the direction of the ocean. She had just enough time to turn her head away and brace for the wave as it washed over her body. The force of the water was enough to shove her forward and into Gina.

There were a few seconds of sputtering and laughing as Vanessa tried to regain her footing under the water. She still had Gina’s hands; her friend could not swim, so the last thing Vanessa wanted was to see her friend swept away. As she straightened them both up, her hand grabbed Gina’s waist to stabilize them. ”S-sorry, I forgot the universal rule: the ocean can be a d***.”

She pulled her hand away (after letting it linger on Gina’s waist a moment longer than necessary,) brushing away the wet hair plastered to her forehead and cheeks. ”Look on the bright side? Now we can sunbathe and nap to dry off?” Her dip in the ocean was refreshing, but it would be complimented best by soaking up some sun on the blanket that was calling out to them.

The wave surged towards the two young women-- while it threw Vanessa into Gina, it merely swept Gina up for a moment. She felt the cling and pull of the water, its urge to sweep her away (a sensation that sent chills through the gargoyle). But with her wings fanned, she was merely pushed off the ground for a few feet, and then gently sat back down. Gina nonetheless shifted her hold on Nessa, moving her hands from her friend's hands to her forearms, until the sea set her back down. They stood hugging in the ocean for a moment, wobbling in the wake of the wave. A small shiver ran through Gina's tail-- the cause of said shiver was subject to debate.

>> ”Look on the bright side? Now we can sunbathe and nap to dry off?”

The gargoyle was released from her friend's arms, and the smaller of the two women nodded with a wordless vigor. She'd passed the test of courage by successfully venturing out into the water-- but now that she'd waded out, Gina was more than happy to wade back in. She was not a swimmer after all.

Besides which, ever since she'd gotten up that morning, Gina had felt the pull of a nap tugging at her consciousness. Though she was an active member of diurnal society, she spent much of the time... extremely freaking tired. And any amount of daytime napping was a welcome activity in her book. The gargoyle waded into the shallows, frequently checking over her shoulder to ascertain that her friend was still following, and that no waves were trying to sneak-up on them. Soon, she'd successfully found her way out of the water, small waves swirling around her ankles.

The blanket beckoned to them amid the sea of other beach-goers. Gina carefully picked her way through the crowd. Once at the blanket, she hunched beside it, flipping a corner over.

"Know what the best part of sunbathing at the beach is?" Gina quizzed Nessa, grinning. By way of an answer, she began to dig one hole out in the sand, taloned fingers scraping past the loose, silty stuff above and clawing at the wet sad below. This was deposited next to where the blanket had been set. Gina then dug an identical hole of similar size immediately next to the first, again depositing the loose sand. The blanket was replaced, and the gargoyle grinned up at Nessa, "Stomach sleeping~"

It was a luxury not often indulged in by the gargoyle, and she was going to take advantage of it. By this point, the sand had dried, so she stood back from the blanket, dusting off her legs and feet. Sure, there was probably some stray grains of sand (particularly on her tail), but she wasn't going to worry about that right now. A nap was in order! Gina carefully settled onto the blanket, rearranging her shorts and her bag so that they were towards the top of the blanket-- a makeshift pillow.

Gina laid on her side, carefully maneuvering her wings out behind her, half-folded. Waiting for Nessa to settle. She rested her head on her forearm. Once her friend settled, she'd take off her sunglasses... but once that happened, she was wasn't going to open her eyes again. It was far too bright. Gina watched her friend, unsure of what to do next. Were they just going to sleep next to each other? That's what sunbathing was, right? The night after her birthday party played like a scene on repeat in her mind-- foreheads pressed, hands entwined, legs tangled. Nothing happened, honestly, but... it was still stuck in the gargoyle's mind and-- urgh. 

Gina did not put up a fight; she was more than ready to leave the ocean and enjoy a nice rest in the sun. Vanessa was well-aware that Gina’s mutation made her more apt to be nocturnal, so forcing herself to live in the day-focused world of society took a toll on her, exhausting her quickly. Vanessa could not help but notice the parallels between Gina and another type of animal as they slowly sloshed through the water back to shore. ”You know, it feels like I’m hanging out with a cat,” she teased. ”Adverse to water and partial to napping in the warmth of the sunlight.” How could she not share a revelation like that?

They returned to the blanket and Vanessa started padding her skin with a dry towel. The sun would do most of the work, but she wanted to avoid collecting irritating sand all over herself while she slept. As she took care of herself, she watched Gina dig a hole in the sand, followed quickly by another. Slowly she realized what Gina was actually doing, which led to her trademark guffaw. ”Haha. Boob holes.” It was actually a genius idea, but it felt silly nonetheless.

”I’m gonna lay out on my back for now,” she said, replying to Gina’s preferred sleeping method. For someone who had a late start, she did well enough for herself, but her chest by no means made stomach sleeping difficult. She took a seat next Gina and reclined back, removing her sunglasses. The last thing she needed was a tan line outlining her eyes.

Vanessa looked over to Gina, wondering how their nap was going to go. When they rested next to one another, it was hard not to return to the first night they had in Gina’s bed. They slept so close, and while it made less sense to entangle herself with Gina when they were sunbathing, the desire was still there. There was just something comforting about having the woman close—and she knew that comfort came from the feeling that, for a moment, they were sharing something more than friendly.

Gina glanced over to her, and for a brief moment, their eyes caught one another before pulling away. What she found was surprising, because Vanessa was not the only one having nostalgic thoughts and feelings about their first night together. Gina was sleeping on her side, unsure of where to go next.

Knowing where both their minds were, it was hard to say no to what she really wanted. Closeness with Gina was worth more than an even tan. Vanessa reached for Gina’s arm, taking her hand and pulling it across her waist. Suddenly, they were no longer separate. Gina’s arm was around Vanessa’s body, pulling her naturally closer. Gina’s chest pressed against Vanessa’s side, which warranted a blush that was thankfully less noticeable with the sun on her cheeks.

Vanessa maneuvered the arm closest to Gina, sliding it over the pile of clothes she was using as a pillow. It was a smart gesture, but she hoped Gina would not mind making due with her bicep, shoulder, and chest as a new makeshift pillow.

She could have explained her decision, because it seemed obvious what her motivation was, but it was time to nap. Instead, she just yawned and said, ”Sorry, I think I’ll sleep better this way.”

She was sure she was right. They had some time to kill until the sun started setting and she was going to sleep with a beautiful woman at her side while she waited for the fireworks.

And there would be fireworks. She was starting to feel more confident about that…

Gina tilted her head at Nessa’s remark, a crack of a smile breaking into a grin, and then a self-deprecating chuckle.

“I’m also not adverse to free food,” the gargoyle added. Or back rubs, was the mental addition. As the two settled, the gargoyle wriggled her way down. Sleeping on the beach was the only time she could be a stomach-sleeper—if Nessa was bustier, she would understand the commodity of stomach-sleeping. The gargoyle laced her arms in front of her, and rested her chin upon her forearms, sidelong eyes sliding towards her beach-companion.

And like that, Nessa was pulling her closer, and Gina was (noticeably) easy to maneuver. She propped herself up and eased towards Nessa, scooting helpfully along. Nessa placed Gina’s hand on her own waist. The gargoyle bit her lip. Holy crap. Whereas the night of her party, Gina could cuddle Nessa under the guise of consoling her friend. On the warm blanket, on the beach, there were no excuses to hide behind, beyond that “they wanted to”.

There was some careful adjusting of wings, some precautionary ascertaining that horns would not scratch her friend’s arm… the last step was that Gina removed her sunglasses, closing her eyes to the blindingly-bright view around them. These were then carefully folded, and placed towards the top of the towel. She laid her head in the crook of Nessa’s arm, somewhere in the vaguely shoulder-chest area.

“Hm, same,” the gargoyle agreed, smiling. She’d sleep well regardless of the position, but this certainly was cozy. Of course, now her mind was clamoring with all the points of contact between her and Nessa—Gina’s hand upon her hip, her chest against Nessa’s side, her head on her shoulder… the tops of her feet against the side of Nessa’s leg... The gargoyle’s heart stuttered cheerfully and, in the back of her mind, the gargoyle had genuine doubts about sleep being a realistic possibility.

…when the nap did descend upon the gargoyle, it descended with a vengeance. At some point, the noise of beachgoers around them faded into a blur and then nothing. Similarly, the sensation of resting against Nessa faded, and Gina slept. She slept hard. (This was much unlike trying to sleep at night, where the gargoyle could sometimes lounge about for hours before nodding-off, if she nodded-off at all…

Eventually, Gina was pulled back into the world of the living by a creeping chill that ran down her spine. The gargoyle shivered, her brown eyes sliding open. The fading brightness of the world leapt aggressively at her eyes, and Gina fumbled for her sunglasses. She’d only need them for maybe an hour longer, if that, but she still smushed them back onto her face. Sunset, already? My, how time flew.

The chill that was creeping into the air, brought-on by the tall shadows that now stretched across the beach, urged Gina to resume her position next to Nessa. She looked up at her, tail flicking idly. Should’ve brought a sweater, the gargoyle thought begrudgingly. She’d been so prepared for the daylight hours, but unprepared for once the sun set. Shame, shame.