That was all Azilis really needed to see to know he was right.

"As I said, it's hard to miss," he said simply. He didn't pursue the subject.

"Just like those adorably rosy cheeks are," Viktor taunted under his breath. It earned a low, soft, guttural hiss from Léan, whose hair stood on end. He had the feeling that Viktor was just as annoying as his brother...but...ten times less normal.

After all, Viktor was someone who thought browsing nude beaches with a group of barely-adults was fun. He was a special kind of strange.

The annoyed hissing woke Glory from her relatively light sleep. Relatively in this case meaning she wasn't impersonating a dead person. She blinked a few times and looked around.

"What's going on?" she asked. "I was sleeping. It was nice." Well, she would be the first to admit that she wasn't the most pleasant person in the world when she was woken up. She snuggled a little closer to Léan, not caring what Viktor or Azilis thought at the moment.

Azilis couldn't help but think just how much she sounded like Clarissa. She seemed to be very much like her mother, and he wondered just how much like him she really was.

Léan nodded his chin in Viktor's direction. He didn't feel that it was necessary to say more, in this case. Viktor was, er...self-explanatory. He closed his eyes and rested his head on Glory's shoulder, the slight grumbling in his throat replaced by a quiet rumbling in his chest. It was almost like...a...

...purr?

"Maybe you guys should whip out the sleeping bags and blankets. Get some rest on the way back. Don't worry about me--I won't fall asleep at the helm," Viktor informed them pleasantly. "Oh...wait..." He idly explained the use and purpose of a sleeping bag to Azilis...on a boat, sleeping in one would be much more comfortable than sleeping on the deck.

"I will... pass, thanks," Azilis said slowly. The sleeping bags sounded more like a deathtrap than a form of bedding.

"I'm not moving," Glory said flatly. "I'm perfectly fine right here."

Léan seemed to be the only one who wasn't comfortable where he was. A sleeping bag sounded like a deathtrap to him, as well...but he looked almost longing at the mention of a blanket, and maybe a pillow or two to go along with that. He was twisted and sitting in a semi-uncomfortable way.

"Blankets and a pillow sound nice..." he mused, smiling absently.

Glory gave him a wry look.

"Traitor," she said affectionately, giving him a kiss. She carefully stood up, making sure not to overbalance on the moving boat and fall, and she went to dig out a pair of blankets and some pillows. Once she found them, she brought them back to where he was and handed him one of the blankets. Then she turned and handed the other to Azilis.

"Here," she said. "It's more comfortable than not having anything, at least."

Azilis was surprised, but took the blanket anyway.

"Thank you," he said.

Léan huffed stubbornly, but returned her kiss and gleefully took the offered blanket, tail swishing back and forth. He was quite happy now that he had something to soften the uncomfortable boat deck.

He seemed happier than usual, for some reason, despite his wanting to bite Viktor's head off earlier. He was upset about not thinking to bring her gift along on the trip, but he couldn't have predicted that they'd be out here this long...

He began to arrange the pillows meticulously, so that he'd be comfortable when he settled down.

Glory waited until he was comfortable before sitting down next to him and snuggling close.

"Better?" she asked. He looked happy, and mostly relaxed, but she could tell something was bothering him a bit. "Is something bugging you?"

"Erm..." Léan frowned, then flashed her a sly smile before settling down and sighing, relaxed. "That will have to wait until we are home..." he hummed, amused. "I will show you what is bugging me, then."

He closed his eyes, prepared for a nice, long rest. "I think I'm going to fall asleep fairly quickly..."

"I'll hold you to it," Glory said, cuddling with him. "You go ahead and go to sleep. I'm probably going to do the same." She could tell he was tired, and she didn't blame him. She made herself comfortable next to him, or as comfortable as she could with her hip digging into the floor of the boat.

Léan was used to laying on his side, curled up, on hard surfaces...so, it wasn't bothersome for him. He fell asleep quickly, head resting against her comfortably. He had been very tired from all the quick swimming he'd been doing, and from the confrontation he had had today.

It didn't take Glory long to fall asleep herself, cuddled comfortably next to him. She didn't even wake up when her cell phone started to buzz in her pocket, signalling that she was back in her service area.

Azilis gradually fell asleep, nowhere near as comfortable as the others seemed to be. He slowly relaxed enough to doze off, but he slept lightly regardless.

Viktor parked the boat out in the shallows, backing up towards land. "Guys!" He called, semi-loudly. "We're back! Come on, wake up!"

Léan was jolted unwillingly out of his sleep, which had been rather deep. "Ugh...your voice makes my skin crawl..." he muttered, unhappily, as he blinked the sleep out of his eyes. He didn't bother moving from where he was as he tried to get his bearings.

Glory jerked awake as well, and she wasn't pleased about it.

"It is too stupidly early for you to be so loud," she snapped at Viktor. Regardless, she got up. She was just too much in the habit of making herself stay awake if she had to be up early. She wouldn't let herself oversleep if she'd already been woken up once. She nudged Léan gently. "Come on," she said softly, "we're home."

Azilis was already awake, having woken when the boat slowed down. He looked around to see where they were and recognized the beach. It brought back many memories...

Léan grumbled stubbornly, but slowly sat up. It took him a minute to balance himself, and then he finally, though unwillingly, shook the sleep off. "Bleh. Too early..." He shifted himself out of the blankets. With the sleekness of the boat's deck, he couldn't crawl to the edge and slide out. He would need her help.

Viktor killed the boat's engine and hopped out onto the rocks. "I'll hook my truck back up onto it. Carry what you can out of it while I hook it up..."

Azilis was already near the way off of the boat, and he didn't hesitate in sliding off into the water. He would be much more comfortable once the boat was gone.

"Working on it," Glory replied to Viktor. At the moment, she wanted nothing more than to go inside and crash on her bed, but she knew she couldn't do that yet. Grabbing her bag, she tossed it out onto the beach, making sure it cleared the water and landed on the sand. There was nothing fragile or breakable in it, so she didn't care that it bounced a bit. Once she'd taken care of her stuff, she helped Léan to the edge of the boat.

Léan gratefully slid down into the water, swimming around in rapid circles. Most merpeoples' scales didn't dry out so quickly on land. His were an exception. He hated it, since he hated the feeling of them peeling.

Léan immediately ducked down into the rocks to search for the cave he'd stowed Glory's birthday present in. He didn't want to waste any time.

Viktor was able to quickly hook the boat up to his truck, to his relief. "Back away! I'm pulling it out of the water!" He hopped into his truck and started it, pushing forward slightly. The boat cleanly pulled itself out of the water.

Glory quickly hopped out of the boat and onto the rocks just before Viktor pulled the boat out of the water. She almost stumbled and fell into the water, but she managed to catch herself in time. Her legs weren't used to actual solid land at the moment, but she knew it would fade. And she was much more comfortable on the rocks in water she could stand in than she was on the boat in water too deep for her comfort. Once she was sure she wouldn't trip over her own feet, she jumped across the rocks until she was on her favorite rock, right on the shore.

Viktor sighed, looking relieved. "I am going home, and straight to bed. Is there anything else you need out of the boat, or do you have everything?" he asked, curiously.

Léan resurfaced from below the rocks at this point, his hands behind his back. He would wait until Viktor had left.

"If I missed something," Glory said dryly, "I can live without it until I can drive straight enough to pick it up later."

"Pfffft. Fine." Viktor saluted her and then pulled off of the sand, onto the road. He was out of sight in just a few seconds.

Léan pulled himself up to rest in the shallows, tail flicking back and forth amusedly. He looked tired, but he still wanted to give her her gift before she collapsed in bed and didn't move a single muscle for a few hours.

Glory watched him leave and then turned around to see Léan. She didn't sit down, because she wasn't sure she'd be able to force herself to stand back up again.

"I thought you'd want to get some more sleep," she said softly.

Léan lowered his head, then looked up again, a pleased expression on his face. He lifted his hand up out of the water, and out from behind his back. Clutched in his hand was a dark blue necklace, made of many pretty blue stones that were semi-carved to fit snugly against each other.

"I didn't forget your birthday. I forgot to bring the gift along," he admitted, embarrassed.

"It's beautiful," Glory said softly, taking the necklace carefully. It looked so delicate, she didn't want to damage it. "This must have taken forever to make."