The sky was impossibly blue, with not a cloud in sight. Waves crashed, hissing on the golden sands, and a pair of coconut trees loomed overhead, bent slightly inward over me, a natural arch. There was some fabric and string beneath me, although it didn't really do much but keep some of the sand from getting between my armor plates. Not the greatest of hammocks, although I supposed it had been wishful thinking. Probably for the best it broke before the trees did, anyway.

It was quiet, the silence only broken by the sea and the occasional screeching seagull. Peaceful. Even the hunger was easier to ignore, here, in this little paradise.

"There you are," a woman's voice called out from further inland, steps muffled by sand. "I've been looking everywhere for you." I opened my eyes—I hadn't realized I'd closed them again—and turned my head towards the sun, low in the sky. A silhouetted figure, slim and elegant.

"Get off your ass. Are you ready, little guy?"

I climbed to my feet, carefully resting some of my weight on one of the palm trees. It swayed drunkenly, and I let it be. I looked up at the woman. Her smile was wide, and contained a great many razor sharp teeth, but it seemed a little forced. And she smelled nervous, although her scent was weird. The way she kept touching the loose ends of her head scarf, shifted her weight from one splay-clawed foot to the other, only added to that impression.

"Ready?" I asked the lanky woman. She was a good head taller than me, and I was a good head taller than most. It was a novel experience.

"Good," she said, taking my question for assent. Oh well.

I followed her down a small road, winding along the shoreline. Boats dotted the crystal-clear sea in increasing numbers as we approached a small marina, her pace just a hair under jogging, her long steps eating up the distance. She seemed pretty self-controlled, but I saw her check her phone a few times, as well as glancing back at me, yellow eyes flashing. I wondered if it would be a good surprise.

Two people were waiting at one particular dock. One was a bustling, quiet man, tanned skin, preparing a nice-looking boat for… takeoff? Setting… sail? He wore a captain's hat, a crisp white that matched the polished white of the boat. Doing boaty things. He smelled of salt and sweat, a local.

The other was a petite woman, tan but not as tan as the captain, with short brown hair. She was dressed more casually, wearing a colorful sort of sarong over a bikini top and short shorts. She waved as we approached, and the tall woman's scent of nervousness grew a bit more pronounced as she languidly waved back.

The two women met with an enveloping hug and a quick kiss, making small talk as they went aboard, the tall woman waving me to follow when I just watched them go.

"It's fine, I only got here a few minutes before you did," the shorter woman said, brushing some hair from her face, the sea breeze picking up slightly as the sun lowered in the sky.

"That's good. I know you can't bear to wait for me," the taller one replied, grinning ear to ear. She only got a groan in reply, and then the captain untied the last of the ropes and took us out to sea, smoothly picking up speed once we left the buoy-dotted line marking the edge of the marina.

It was a very nice boat. Two levels above, one small cabin below I could just poke my head into. The captain stayed on the top-most level, steering the ship towards the deeper waters with long, slow arcs, taking his time. The… ground floor? Had been set up with a pair of deck chairs and a large dog bed. Nice. I curled up on the latter immediately, letting the smell of saltwater fill my nostrils, basking in the waning warmth of the setting sun.

The two women chatted quietly, occasionally asking me questions, or leaving me room to chime in. I didn't feel the need to interject. They thanked me for flying them and some coworkers out here, although I wasn't sure if they were being serious or not. Something about the sunshine, maybe. It was really quite nice out. I was glad they invited me out for the ride—or I had invited them out for one, it wasn't clear—although a part of me eyed the taller woman's claws. They looked sharp, and her smell hinted at things not quite human beneath the skin. Maybe some promise there.

Her puns were a bit off-putting, though. Relentless. And oddly themed.

"I'm not giving you the set up," said the smaller woman, folding her arms. The taller woman only grinned. "I'm not!"

"Come on, ask me what I'm waiting for."

"No!"

"Come oooooon."

Little one groaned even harder. "Why aren't you talking," she said mechanically.

"I'm…" Big one delayed for three whole seconds, smile inhumanly wide. "Pawsing fur effect." That one took me a second to parse. Puns were difficult, sometimes. The consistent topic helped.

Little one made a disgusted noise. "I'm banning you from jokes forever."

"Oh, come on, admit it. That was koala-ty."

"Ugh."

"Okay, okay, I get it. My sense of humour can be polarising."

"UGH."

"No need to make such grizzly faces."

Little one reached over and put her hand over big one's mouth. "Please stop."

Laughing, big one leaned back, putting up her hands. "Sorry."

"No you're not."

"No I'm not," big one agreed. "Ooh, look! Are those dolphins?"

Little one jumped out of her chair to lean against the boat's railing, looking out at what were, indeed, dolphins dancing through the waters nearby. I thought I'd smelled food.

Big one caught my attention, waving a long-fingered hand in front of my face. Whispered quietly, but urgently. "You've still got it, right?"

I blinked at her. That was, apparently, not the answer she was hoping for, her voice turning to an insistent, low growl. "Come on, I gave it to you back in New York so she couldn't find it in my luggage. You have it with you?"

New York? What? I tried to think back—vague impressions of tall buildings, nice parks, only a little bit of screaming. A zoo, animals on edge around me, agitated. People in spandex. Nothing concrete.

Her brow furrowed, teeth bared in frustration, gesturing more urgently with one hand. "The thing," she hissed at me, pointing at me. Me, with my complete lack of pockets. What was she even…

I coughed a little, something tickling the back of my throat. An odd sensation. I flicked a tongue at whatever it was, trying to dislodge it from behind one of my grinding teeth, and… oh, hey.

Big one had looked at little one's back, still leaning over the rail, then turned back to me with murder in her eyes—which quickly turned to faint confusion and a flood of relief at the small shiny bit lodged on the tip of one of my five foot-long tongues. She daintily plucked it from my grasp with long fingers, then practically threw herself at the deck behind little one. Crouched, as though ready to pounce. Waiting for her to—

"They're so cute!" little one squealed, then turned around to say something else, only to notice big one and freeze, eyes wide. She looked at big one, who was on one knee, and the tiny, diamond-tipped ring clutched in her hand. Little one clapped both hands to her mouth in shock, and I could almost taste the surprised happiness coming off of her in waves.

"Steffi, I uh, you, um, your eyes are, your face is..." Big one was breathing quickly, her pupils narrowed to slits, panic-sweat tickling my nose. "Fuck I had this whole thing prepared, I um. Shit." She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and then almost yelled. "Will you marry me?"

"Yes!" It exploded out of little one and then she was throwing herself headlong at big one, crashing into her and bearing them both to the deck. They were laughing and crying and little one kept saying, "Yes, yes, yes, yes!"

I bore witness to this magical moment, and felt…

Lonely.

Even as I basked in the second-hand radiance of this lovely young couple, took pictures with little one's phone, accepted a good-natured berating from big one for scaring her, I just couldn't help but think…

Would I ever find something like this?

Worse yet… what if I already had?