"He'll squeal at you from the shore," Léan warned, pointedly. "He'll be terrible. Trust me...you may want to have your Nana come out and scold him. He's terrified of being scolded by older females."

"Perhaps," Glory said. She was quiet for a moment, just enjoying being with him. "I've noticed that Nana's health has improved, since we moved to the beach house," she said after a little while. "Living there has been good for her."

Léan enjoyed the silence until she spoked, and he listened intently. "That is good. Ocean air is good for humans. It improves health."

"I'm glad," Glory said. "I worried about her. It's good that she's been getting better. She's pretty much the only family I have that's worth calling 'family'."

"I just have Arcturus and my father. My father can't be considered family, and Arcturus is more like that annoying best friend who never shuts up than a brother..." Léan joked.

"And yet you still put up with him," Glory teased. She sighed. "I lost contact with my aunt, and most of my cousins... and I haven't heard from my mom in years, I doubt she even misses me. And for all intents and purposes, I don't have a father."

Léan nodded, then frowned. "...At least you have more family, even if you don't have contact with them...you still know you're there. The only one I ever remember connecting with in my family was my mother, and she was taken from me before I could even register how much she meant to me."

Turning slightly, Glory wrapped her arms around him.

"She must have been wonderful," she said.

"She was...my father was a completely different person when she was there. But as soon as she was gone..." Léan trailed off, as he held her. "I do not think he will ever stop grieving. The bitterness will stay."

Glory cuddled closer to him. She wished there was something else she could say, but there wasn't.

Léan seemed to find the cuddling comforting, for he shifted a bit closer, as well. There were no signs of his father anywhere. It seemed like he had indeed left, to seek out what Glory had been hiding about her home.

Glory rested her head on his shoulder softly, enjoying the contact.

"I'm going to miss this, over the winter," she murmured.

"You can always drag me into your home," Léan reminded her, closing his eyes. He was quite relaxed. Personally, he wouldn't mind being dragged out of the ocean by her, if it was so they could spend time with each other.

"I think I've done that to you enough lately," Glory replied. "I mean, unless you want me to..." She wouldn't drag him inside unless he wanted her to, she's already decided that.

"If you want us to be able to spend time together, dragging me into your home would be the only way to do this in winter, and now, even," Léan hummed. "I don't mind."

"You don't?" Glory asked. She looked up at him in surprise. She hadn't expected that... Last time she'd brought him into the house, he was tense and uneasy for most of the time.

"I don't. Not really. I can stay out for any amount of time, as long as I dip in water at least once every week..." Léan assured her, tail flicking back and forth once more.

Glory grinned and gave him a small kiss. She didn't expect him to return it, since he'd already probably done what he could for now by hugging her.

"Then I'll have to go out and pick up a futon matress or something, if you're going to be staying with us for a while," she said. "The couch probably isn't comfortable more than once or twice."

Léan didn't return the kiss, but he did lean in to rest his head against hers, in a strange affectionate gesture. "All right...if I am going to be staying on land for a while, we should also look into trying to get that wheelchair idea working...then I wouldn't be confined to the house..."

"I'll look into it," Glory promised. "For now, though... I just want to be with you."

Léan nodded, seeming content. He closed his eyes, shoulders relaxing. They had been a bit tense. "I understand..."

Glory could tell he was tense, and didn't quite know why. Was he afraid she would reject him? If he was, he didn't have anything to worry about. If she was going to reject him, she would have done it a long time ago. She laid her head on his shoulder again, content to be in his arms.

Léan wasn't quite sure what he was tense about, either...and that bothered him. Nonetheless, he seemed relaxed. Mimicking her, he laid his head down on her shoulder, as well.

Glory leaned against him, letting him support her in the water. While her endurance was better than it was at the beginning of the summer, it was still nowhere near where she wanted it to be. She feel a little bit of lingering tension in his arms as he held her.

"Is something wrong?" she asked softly.

Léan chewed his lip, then closed his eyes. "Not that I'm aware of...I'm on edge for some reason..." he replied, safely. "I get like that sometimes..."