High above the ambiguous continental United States soared an airplane just like many of its kind. Cramped and unpleasant, saved only by periodic complimentary beverages and the occasional outcrop of good company found among passengers. The plane had been airborne looking enough that most passengers had fallen asleep, their heads tilted against the plastic windows, or lolled back against the headrest or their neighbor's shoulder. Here and there were soft snores, or slow even breaths.

Gina was wide awake.

Tilted sideways between two seats so as to contain her wings in the window seat, her knees flush with her girlfriend's legs. Thank God she was petite, but sweet Jesus what a long time to be cooped up in a plane.

The gargoyle had explored every option for amusing herself… reading, drawing, playing games on her phone. Nothing quelled the unease. Finally the mounting restlessness came to a point, and she instead turned her attention to Nessa.

Gonna was 85% sure Nessa was asleep, so waking her up outright seemed cruel and unusual. Maybe if she just… cozied up to her… she could take a little catnap? The gargoyle inclined her head towards Nessa's shoulder, minding her horns, until her temple rested against curve of where Nessa's arm met her torso.

It had been quite the year. Well, give or take a few extra months. Letting Gina go to California alone was a remedied mistake almost immediately. She took a good hard look at herself and asked if she would regret it for the rest of her life. She knew right away she would, so she made plans to move out to the coast with her.

The reason they moved there was unfortunate, but it was hard for Nessa to pretend she did not love her time in California. Gina’s home town was as lovely as she described, and after meeting Gina’s mother, Nessa felt like she had an actual mother-figure in her life for the first time in years. And, of course, being with Gina was like a dream she did not want to let go.

Then again, life was weird and chose to took turns when you least expected it. Those most recent turns had Nessa and Gina on a plane heading back to New York. With any major move came some nerves, but Nessa chose to see this as things stabilizing. A return to where they came from, together.

Nessa would not call herself a veteran flier, but she knew what she was doing. The POW Block Party had sent her to conventions and occasional off-set productions, and she quickly established her flight habits and stuck to them.

And so, yes, she was asleep, but flight sleep was a delicate thing. It was not like she could get truly comfortable in those seats. When the warmth of a body pressed against her skin, Nessa’s eyes fluttered open. In most situations, if someone was touching her on a plane, that was no Bueno.

But not this flight. Glancing down, Nessa smiled at the curly hair of the girl settling on her shoulder. Sheepishly kissing the top of Gina’s head, she whispered, ”PDA on a plane? Aren’t you worried about making the businessmen and vacationers jealous?” She stifled a yawn with the shoulder Gina was not occupying, before asking, ”I thought you were going to just occupy yourself for the flight?”

The gargoyle grinned back at the murmured inquiry, lifting her doe-y brown eyes.

"Let them be jealous," she whispered mischievously, her tail curling. Gina sat up ever so slightly, then nuzzled her girlfriend's neck, smiling remorselessly the whole time. What followed was a logical question-- wasn't Gina going to preoccupy herself? The gargoyle relented, pursing her lips in a faux pout.

"Well, I was trying," was the impish response, "But I got bored."

The gargoyle had stubbornly insisted that she didn't want to pay for wifi, politely declined the melatonin that could have pushed her into a comfortably sleepy area, and was now riding the waves of a nocturnal circadian rhythm. Sure, she'd brought stuff to do… but it had only lasted her the better part of an hour. Her smirk resolved itself to something more subdued as Nessa yawned, and the gargoyle did her best to look remorseful (even if she was, admittedly, glad for conscious company).

"Sorry for waking you," she added, more earnestly this time. She planted a kiss on Nessa's cheek and laced her arm through Nessa's, doing her best to stop fidgeting.

Vanessa had grown to love everything about Gina. It was not hard; for the life of her, Nessa did not understand how she ever had a chance with Gina. There should have been a rotating door of suitors vying for the gargoyle’s affection.

And yet she had been single and in Nessa’s life through a comedy of errors, no less. So Vanessa got to be the one to appreciate the little wonderful things about Gina Schuyler. Gina’s eyes were high on the list of things to love. They were big and beautiful and honest. Those brown eyes, browner than Nessa’s even before the change, were deep and expressive. Even if Nessa could not read minds, she could see so much in that gaze.

Gina may have had some remorse for waking Nessa, but she was also happy to have her awake. That was enough reason to be awake, honestly. A nap would be better when they did it in bed in New York.

”No apologizing, babe. If you’re bored, it’s my duty to be entertaining.” She yawned, playing with Gina’s hair when she leaned closer. ”I’d propose entering you into the Mile High Club, but even if I thought you could manage to be quiet enough, I don’t think we could logistically make it work with your wings,” she teased. That would also have to wait until a bed in New York.

Nessa glanced out through the window, seeing nothing but clouds in the night sky. ”Is this feeling real to you yet? Knowing we land and head to a hotel, this still feels like we’re visiting in my head.” Their lease and apartment would not be ready for them until the next day, so they needed a place to stay when they landed. ”We show up, I say hi to Booker and Javier and you hang out with Agnes and the redheaded witch, then we head back to Mendocino so your mom can make us her baked mac n’ cheese.” Even saying it invoked a craving.

And suddenly it was real. ”Oh my God, I’m going to miss that mac n’ cheese so much. And other things,” she added lamely when she recognized how her priorities sounded. ”Tons of things. But… okay, can we get your mom to send us the recipe? Because I’ll make a thousand of them until I get it right.”

Gina mirrored the gesture when Nessa yawned, reflexively, despite not being even remotely tired. Gina chuckled softly as her hair was tousled, letting her eyes slide shut contentedly. The murmured idea of how to spend their time, however quickly dismissed, sent a thrill through the gargoyle and made her hum contemplatively. Her tail quivered. A few telltale signs that the telepath had the gargoyle's attention.

"Damn my wings for getting in the way of things," she sighed, her head retaining its place on Nessa's shoulder. She kept her eyes closed, for the moment, entertaining what possibilities their future could hold.

Gina followed Nessa's gaze out the window, lacing her fingers with Nessa's. A thumb rubbed the back of her hand.

"It's super weird~" she agreed, her brow furrowed. Her tone broke-off uncertainly, her mind dwelling on Agnes, specifically. Becca's confused and somewhat anxious phone call about Agnes being young again-- and not, like, metaphorically rejuvenated, but actually-a-teenager "young again".

Gina and Nessa had talked about going back to New York for months now, now that Pamela was recovered and working again. As much as Gina missed her small-town home, she'd loved New York. She'd fallen in love-- with the city-- with an incredible woman.

She squeezed Nessa's hand, a touch distractedly. Her outburst about mac 'n' cheese brought the gargoyle back full-tilt though. Gina laughed, perhaps a touch too loud given the sleeping seat-neighbors. She clapped a hand to her mouth, but was still smiling. Albeit sheepishly now.

"I know the recipe," Gina assured Nessa, "I mean... it's nowhere close to Mom-tier, but... it's pretty damn good."

Something about having it made by mom made the mac 'n' cheese that much better.

The gargoyle sighed, her tail flicking idly.

"So... what do you want to do?" the gargoyle asked aloud. They were pretty limited, given their surroundings. Gina shifted a mischievous glance towards Nessa. Her quiet proposals were, given the previous recommendation of "joining the Mile High Club", tame yet unsurprising.

Make-out? she mused. Gina's eyebrow twitched in amusement, denied herself. Other passengers wouldn't appreciate that too much though. Something to get my mind off Aggie.

Ah, the meat of the problem. Gina looked away. There was still a smile on her lips, but the note of concern was undeniable.

Dating a physical mutant was interesting. There were more areas to consider when doing anything. The wings were awesome, but made certain challenges impractical because of their size. Vanessa found the horns cool, but they had to be cautious when making out or sleeping to be sure Gina would not accidentally stab Nessa in the eye.

The tail was not as obstructive. In many ways, it was like a limb, but more expressive. It also gave away how Gina felt about Nessa’s proposal by the way it quivered. Nessa smirked proudly.

Nessa’s feelings about Becca and Agnes were mixed, but they mattered to Gina. Agnes had undergone some bizarre situation that made her a teen again. This would be hard for Gina to adjust to, and Nessa wanted to be supportive through it all. Not just for the Mac and Cheese, but Nessa was still glad Gina knew the recipe. ”Well, I know what we’re making for Sunday dinners, then.” Maybe she could start off on the right foot with Agnes as Gina’s younger sister.

Ever since Gina learned about Nessa’s mutation, she was getting better at sharing intentional thoughts with her, like a one-way secret conversation. For someone who was proposing sex on a plane, the suggestion of making out in public still pinkened her cheeks. It sounded like a nice plan, to be sure.

Except for the next thought. Nessa’s smile faltered. Gina was worried, and while a ditraction was valid, maybe it was better to offer some real support. Nessa ran her fingers through Gina’s hair softly. ”This’ll be okay. Whatever Agnes is dealing with, having you there as a big sister will make things better. You know how to make lost girls feel found, I promise.” If no for Gina, the night of the birthday party might have devastated Nessa.

Maybe a little distraction could help, because the Agnes situation did lead to another thought. ”I am pretty glad you met me when you did, though,” she admitted. ”If you met teen Nessa, you’d realize how much of a mess I was. A gay, trans little spaz. I would have fumbled every word around a cutie like you.”

The gargoyle's smile cracked, and she sighed conentedly at Nessa's touch, closing her eyes. That was some small consolation-- but Gina had never been the big sister. In her family, and in her friend group, she had already been the baby of the arrangement. The gargoye could feel herself melting as Nessa spoke. Nessa was good at finding the right thing to say when it counted. Gina caught the other woman's free hand, and kissed her knuckles.

On the topic of miraculously being younger, Nessa regaled what teen-Nessa was like.

"I wasn't as sarcastic," Gina mumbled, "Teen me is like... now!me but with less edge. I was kinda clueless too."

Life had a funny way of tossing mutants from their safe, insular worlds and into the real world, though. Not that "being a failed hit" and also "a victim of police brutality" were your standard markers of young adulthood, but... they definitely changed a person.

It was clear that Gina was lost in thought, because her eyes remained downcast. In her years of dating Nessa, it was a periodic but subconscious habit when she needed to sort her thoughts. Gina squeezed Nessa's hand lightly, then let it go without really moving her hand away.

An idle index finger traced circles on the back of Nessa's hand instead, "What game could we possibly play to wile away the hours..."

Vanessa’s dating history was messy. Shelby and Chloe felt like youthful puppylove with girls who had previously been smitten with her perfect brother. Spencer was… well, a tornado of mass destruction. And if she had been smart, she would have passed on dating Becca, who had too much baggage to treat their relationship maturely.

Despite a long dating history, Gina felt like the first girlfriend Nessa had a true partnership with. She made the big choice to follow Gina to California and now she was realizing the truth: she was committed. When Gina needed her, Nessa would be there. She loved her relationship and that meant putting in the work.

It also meant knowing when her girlfriend needed petting and reassurance.

”What? My gorgeous gargoyle? Oblivious? You don’t say,” she teased, laying it on thick. ”Though you without the sarcasm doesn’t even sound real.”

They rested comfortably in their seats as Gina went somewhere in her head. With Nessa’s powers out now, she was conscious of when someone’s eyes were away from her own. She respected Gina’s privacy and wanted her to know she could have time with her thoughts without Nessa needing to peek.

They had time to kill and from the looks of things, Gina had exhausted most of her games. Thinking of ways to pass the time, Nessa’s mind drifted to New York. ”You know, it feels like forever since we’ve been back in New York. When all the moving is squared away, what do you think our first perfect New York City date should be? A whole day-out date,” she clarified, figuring that would give them plenty to plan and fantasize over. ”And for each perfectly New York idea, we can seal it with a kiss.”

Because any excuse to kiss Gina was a good one.