Thank you for reading and leaving a review! Aimee's friend Becky makes an appearance...yay character development...and more fluff.

Disclaimer: I do not own Gargoyles or any of its components only my original characters.

Chapter 4

On his way home, Brooklyn felt as if he were floating rather than gliding. He was so elated he barely noticed is clan-mates as he made his way into the sitting room area of the castle.

Broadway and Angela knew something was up, that dreamy look on their brother's face could only mean one thing. Brooklyn had seen that girl again and he was falling for her hard. Giving each other a knowing look they went to greet him as he stared wistfully out of one of the castle windows.

"Hey, buddy, how was your night?" Broadway asked flanked by Angela as the two of them took up a couple of seats near him.

Brooklyn turned, his beak split into a wide smile. "It was so amazing guys, we went to Belvedere Castle together and oh, she liked my flowers, and then we…" he trailed off wondering how he could articulate the next part without sounding dumb.

Angela raised an eye-ridge at her mate giving him a sly smile before turning back toward Brooklyn. "Was it another hug, Brooklyn?"

He let out a breath he wasn't aware he'd been holding, "It was better…she kissed me you guys, ME, and it wasn't weird or awkward or anything."

Lexington's face shot up at the word 'kiss'. "You guys did what?!" He practically ripped his headset off, threw it on his desk and quickly joined the others. "Aw man, now I'm the only one." he sulked.

Brooklyn smiled sympathetically at his younger brother. "Don't worry Lex, if it can happen to me, it can definitely happen for you. Never in my wildest dreams did I think a girl would ever kiss me."

Lex scoffed. "Sure, sure, well if you say so. How was it? What did it feel like to kiss a human..eh?" he elbowed him excitedly.

Feeling a that familiar rush of euphoria from the feeling of her lips on hers he cleared his throat. "Ah…it felt really good, like you see on the movies, it's like everything stands still, nothing else matters."

Broadway gently laid a hand on his shoulder. "You really like this girl don't you?"

Brooklyn released a wistful sigh. "Yeah…I can't help it, she's just the most amazing girl but…" he paused, he didn't want to push his fears and insecurities on them.

"But what?" Angela asked. "Does she not appear to reciprocate your feelings?"

He thought about that for a moment. She had definitely seemed to be enjoying it, he recalled how her grip had tightened and the flick of her tongue on the seam of his mouth. The feeling alone sending a jolt of shock and pleasure to course through his body. It all seemed to good to be true and with his past track record with women he was having a hard time believing she could actually like him for him.

"She does seem to like me but what if she's just doing it for fun, what if she's just being nice?" One thing he'd learned from TV shows is that humans could have flings with one another and then act like it meant nothing to them.

Lex was actually the one who spoke up at this. "I think you just gotta relax and enjoy it. Stop trying to make everything so serious all the time. If it's meant to be it will be." he said wisely. He'd seen enough movies and television shows to also know that you couldn't force something to be what you wanted it to be.

Brooklyn looked surprised at this. "That's not how we do things though. Gargoyles find a mate and that's it, we don't fool around and have casual encounters with humans." He turned to Angela and Broadway. "Like you guys."

Angela laughed a bit. "Ah but Brooklyn when I first got together with Broadway it was casual at first. I had never been with a male gargoyle in this way before and I had to take things slow. I think you should do the same with Aimee."

Brooklyn pondered this for a moment. He realized she was telling him in a nice way not to fall too hard or fast for this girl. "That makes a lot of sense actually, thanks Angela."

"You should speak with my father though, even though he seems to be very straight-laced as far as Gargoyles go I think he'll understand you having these types of feelings for a human. After all, you're not the first in this clan to have them." She said with a wink.

She left him to go join Broadway who had since left to go back to what he had been doing previously. Brooklyn was left to contemplate her words. She was right; he shouldn't keep this from Goliath any longer. He made up his mind to speak with him once he returned.

He didn't have to wait long, he heard Goliath's heavy footsteps on the castle floors before he saw him. Steeling himself inwardly, he went to go greet their leader.

"Hey…Goliath? Can I talk to you for a minute? In private?" He asked trying his best to conceal his nervousness.

Goliath turned to him with a smile and gestured toward the open castle door. "Of course Brooklyn, let us speak out here."

When the two of them were standing by the castle walls Goliath crossed his arms and waited for him to speak.

He let out a harsh breath and spoke in a rush. "Okay, so it's like this. The other night when we were on our way to the concert I heard a girl screaming for help, she was being assaulted by a guy in an alley. If I hadn't gotten there she probably would've been raped." He said unconsciously clenching his fists as he remembered the anger and disgust he'd felt at the time.

Goliath gave a serious nod. "It is fortunate for her that you were in the right place at the right time." He said. "You stopped him then?"

Brooklyn continued, "Yeah, I roughed him up a bit, the piece of garbage…and I followed protocol by calling Elisa. He was apprehended by the police and the girl gave a statement. I hung around just to make sure she was alright."

Goliath widened his eyes just the slightest bit. "I have a feeling there is more to the story, please continue."

Gathering his confidence he exclaimed,"It's not my fault okay? She wanted to see me and see what I looked like and then she asked me to wait. Once she was done talking to the police she hinted that she needed me to get home safely. I wanted to do that for her." When Goliath said nothing he added, "Not gonna tell me I made a huge mistake in revealing myself to a human?"

Instead of a reprimand, he felt two large hands lay solidly on his shoulders. "Brooklyn, you are old enough to make your own decisions now on matters such as these. If this human girl was still in need of your help and was not afraid of you then I believe you acted accordingly." He let his hands drop with an amused smile at his second-in-command's shocked gaze.

He looked relieved. "Exactly, thanks Goliath, I was afraid you wouldn't understand, I mean I know you're involved with Elisa so I thought maybe…it could be like that for me and Aimee." He said feeling as though a weight had been lifted off his chest. "I've been to see her a couple times and she seems like a really nice girl. Is…that okay?"

Goliath gave a low chuckle. "Yes my friend, it would be unrealistic of me to expect you to never make human friends. I will caution you though to not reveal the location of our home until you are absolutely sure you can trust her. The safety of our clan is paramount especially with the Quarrymen still at large."

Brooklyn smiled and held out his arm to grasp Goliath's forearm. "Of course, I'm taking things slow for now. I want to get to know her first."

His leader took his forearm in his and shook it. "Brooklyn I know you would never willingly put our family in danger. I wish you best of luck with this girl." With that he left Brooklyn to his own devices.

Brooklyn folded his arms on the stone ledge recalling the events prior. Dawn was not far off and he couldn't wait to see her again.


Click click, clickity click.

SOS, I need to talk to you ASAP! The message was sent with a whoosh and Aimee placed her phone beside her on the bed where she lay.

It was 7am and she had barely slept since Brooklyn flew off into the night after their 'date'. Could she call it that? Looking at the facts, he'd A: brought her flowers and B: taken her somewhere nice to get to know her better. It pretty much hit all the central points of a date. If there wasn't the glaring fact that she'd spent all this time with a six foot, horned, red Gargoyle she'd assumed she they were dating.

She let out a breath, she needed to talk to her friend about this and sort out her feelings. Right now she was a jumble of nerves, excitement and confusion. True she had initiated that kiss between them but what now? What were the customs concerning romance with Gargoyles? Did she even want a romantic relationship?

She pondered that for a moment. One the one hand she had really enjoyed kissing him, like fireworks in her belly making her feel good and happy. On the other she was terrified, how could they make this work? She'd only be able to see him at night and she wasn't about to change her entire schedule to sleep all day and stay up all night. What about sex? Could he even have sex?

With a groan she wished with all her might she could shut off her brain. She always did this with guys. As soon as things started to get more serious she'd start over-thinking and going way too far into the future thinking of things that could possibly go wrong.

Hopefully Becky could help her sort things out. She wished her mom was still alive, it was times like these she really could use her advice. She could call her dad but it wasn't the same. He'd never been great on the topic of 'boys'.

Aimee made up her mind to go about her day as normally as possible and would compartmentalize these thoughts until she could meet up with Becky. Her first priority was coffee, she needed a nice big cup to get her through her first class.

Later during her last class, her phone buzzed in her pocket showing that Becky had replied. What's going on?! Are you okay?

Rapidly clicking a reply so the teacher couldn't see she wrote In class, I'm fine, just need to talk to you about Brooklyn later.

Immediately there was another reply. Okay, meet me at your room at 7.

She clicked back another message. See you then.

Class would be on for another hour. She hoped it would pass quickly.

Around 7pm she was back in her room. She'd just finished dinner and heard the tell-tale knock signaling Becky's arrival.

As soon as she opened the door she was engulfed in a hug. "Are you okay?! Did he do something to you?" She said pulling back and running a hand down Aimee's face.

Aimee blinked and laughed. "I'm totally fine Bex, but I do need to talk to you about something." She led Becky over to the couch and the two of them sat down. "So…there's really no other way to say this but…I kissed Brooklyn last night." She said biting her lip waiting for her friend to reply.

Becky shook her head in disbelief. "Wait, you kissed, you kissed a gargoyle, like on the mouth, didn't you say he had a beak?"

Aimee snorted in laughter, "He does but it doesn't seem to matter, he can still form words, he still has lips somehow but that's not the problem Becky!"

"Then, what is?" she asked, thinking that kissing a guy with a beak was pretty high on the OMG factor right now.

Aimee rubbed her arms, "I'm getting feelings for him, like real feelings and I'm freaking out!" she cried placing her head in her hands.

Her friend's gaze softened, "Oh Aimee…I guess it doesn't matter if the guy's human or not, you still turn into a nervous wreck when things start to get serious."

"I know..." She wailed. "Why am I like this?"

"What is it that's got you all wound up? Is it the fact he's not human?" Becky asked calmly.

Her automatic reply was "No, well, it's part of it but it's not the main reason. It's the completely opposite schedules, it's that I still barely know him. I don't even know if I can have a proper 'physical' relationship with him." She finished.

Becky blinked at the last part of her sentence. "Physical…as in sex…as in you're thinking about having sex with him? Did I hear that right?"

Blushing hard, Aimee nodded. "I won't lie…I've thought of it."

Her friend pushed her hands out in front of her a few times she said, "Wait, wait, back up, kissing is one thing, sex is another, you need to find out if it's even possible first. No matter how human he appears to be he's still another species okay?" Ever the logical one, Aimee had to admit she was right.

Becky continued. "You need to take this one step at a time alright? If you're serious about him and he feels the same this is a conversation the two of you are going to have to have sooner or later. You're going to have to come to the terms with the fact that you two may not be compatible in that area. Is that something you're willing to risk?"

Aimee considered her friend's words; she had a very good point. The answer came to her easily. "Yes." She finally said. "If it ends up that we can't be together in that way then I'll accept it, besides there are other ways to have a physical relationship besides the actual act." She felt better now that she'd talked about it.

"As for the other stuff like the opposite schedule thing, just take it for what it is. You'll figure it out together." Becky finished.

Aimee grinned and suddenly pulled her friend in for a hug. "Thank you Becky, that really helped. Pulling back she asked, "Uh…do you wanna meet him?"

"Meet him? Meet your Gargoyle boyfriend? Uh, yeah!" She exclaimed with a burst of excitement. "Is he coming now?"

Aimee shrugged. "He could be, it's around the time he usually shows up. A little after sundown."

Just then a shadowy figure suddenly touched down on her balcony. Becky let out a squeal, "Is that him!?"

"Shhh…Bex, be cool." Aimee said in a whisper. She went to her back door and slid the door open.

In walked Brooklyn who froze upon seeing her friend staring at him with her eyes huge and her mouth wide.

Aimee started speaking really fast. "Uh…Brooklyn, this is my friend Becky, she just happened to be here, and I thought she'd like to meet you, and you meet her and…Becky this is Brooklyn!" she said pushing all the words through with one breath.

Regaining his composure Brooklyn held his hand out politely. "Nice to meet you Becky."

Still awestruck, Becky placed her hand in his and shook it lightly. "Nice to meet you too…" taking her hand back she said, "Wow Aimee you weren't kidding on the height thing."

Brooklyn laughed at that. "First time meeting a Gargoyle and that's the thing you picked out? Not the horns, red skin or the wings?"

Becky just shook her head numbly. "I mean, yeah, those too but wow, I almost didn't believe her when she told me she was saved by a Gargoyle."

He grinned, "Well here I am in the flesh, hope you heard good things about me."

"She's talked about little else for the past couple days, but yeah, all good things." Becky affirmed, calming down finally.

He looked relieved. "Glad to hear it, have you known each other long?" he asked.

Becky linked arms with her. "Yep, ever since Grade 3. We're pretty tight." The two girls grinned at each other.

He chuckled. "Like my brothers and me, thick as thieves we are. I'm glad she's got a close friend nearby." He said, glancing at Aimee who was still looking a bit flushed but gave him a sweet smile.

Sensing that the atmosphere had changed Becky decided to take her leave. "Weelll…I think I'll get going, gotta be up early, you wanna walk me to the door Ames?"

She jerked her to the door and the two of them stood outside for a moment while Brooklyn waited. "Oh my God Ames, he's incredible." Becky said in a hushed tone.

"So you see it finally?!" Aimee whispered back.

Becky hugged her again. "Yes! Just remember one step at a time, okay? Treat him like any other guy trying to win your affections." She said. "And if you do have sex…make him wear a condom!" she finished in a harsh whisper.

Aimee couldn't have blushed harder if she tried, "Jesus Christ, we're not there yet but okay, I will. See ya Bex."

"See ya Ames." He friend said and left to head toward the elevator.

Aimee stepped back inside the door and saw Brooklyn still hanging around her back door. "Thanks for waiting." She said. "Sorry to surprise you like that."

He crossed the area between them and settled his gaze on her, "Don't be sorry, I'm the one who dropped in on you. If anything I'm sorry I interrupted you."

"Oh it's fine, she was leaving anyway." She said, trailing off. The air somehow felt heavier between them. She looked at Brooklyn and felt his intense gaze, suddenly wanting to be in his arms.

He must have sensed this for he moved even closer, stepping just inches away from her. "I…couldn't wait to see you tonight." He breathed.

Slipping her arms around his neck she closed the space between them, pressing her body against his in a tight hug. "Me too." She said into his hair.

Hugging her felt almost as good as kissing her. Tightening his arms around her he relished the feeling of her soft curves pressing against the hard plains of his body. It was as if they were a perfect fit. Her heart thumped against his chest. It felt unusually fast almost as if…

"Hey, you nervous about something? He said as he drew back.

Damn he was more perceptive than she thought. Figuring she might as well be honest with him she nodded slightly. "I was…a little, this is all new to me and I was afraid that we were moving too fast." She said, whispering the last part.

He pulled her into his arms again speaking softly. "I'm sorry, I don't want you to feel pressured to do anything, we can take this as slow as you like. I was nervous too." He admitted. "This is all new to me as well but…you already knew that," he said with a slight chuckle.

That was true she realized; this was all new to him. She felt better as she pulled back slightly to look up at him. "We can take this as slow as you like." She said echoing his words, the corners of her mouth edging up into a grin.

The urge to kiss her just then was strong, but he wanted to wait for her to make the first move. "So…any lessons on the agenda for tonight?"

She blushed, her nerves threatening to resurface; she took a breath to calm herself down. Just have fun with it, remember? "I definitely think we could use more practice." She said giving him a playful smirk.

There it was, that was the invitation for a kiss and he took it. Leaning down he managed to correctly judge the space between them and let his lips fall upon hers. Their touch was feather-light at first and then became firmer as she pressed closer. He gently prodded the seam of her lips with his tongue just as she taught him the day before. He bit back a groan as she easily opened her mouth to him swirling her tongue against his.

Brooklyn's style of kissing was unlike anything she had felt before. It was a larger space to work with on her part but it was still very doable. There was a bit of a gap between them due to the length of his beak so she wanted to try angling her mouth on his to see if she could get a little closer. Reaching up with her hand she let it merge into his wild mane of hair to press the back of his head. At the same time she angled her mouth on his opening it a bit wider. She felt a low groan rumble through his chest as he mimicked her actions placing one hand in her hair, while keeping his other arm tight across her back.

So, so good…he never realized such a small movement on her part could make such a huge difference. He quickly realized that the combination of angles + tongue with each kiss in rapid succession was the best way to go. Kiss for a few seconds, change angle, use tongue, repeat. It was awesome. The only hitch in the whole thing was having to stop to catch his breath and the fact that their makeout session was seriously turning him on.

Aimee too, drew in a couple deep breaths as they separated. "That…that was really good." She said breathless for a few seconds. "You're a fast learner."

"Helps to have a good teacher." He replied, evening out his breathing. He suddenly wished he wore something thicker than his signature dark blue loincloth. He did not want to know exactly how good her teaching was with a certain part of his body.

She was about to reply when she let out a huge yawn. "Ugh, sorry, I didn't get a ton of sleep last night."

"Let's take a break then for now. How about we watch something?" Brooklyn suggested, leading them over to the TV.

She smiled, "That sounds good." And settled into his arms as they positioned themselves comfortably on the couch.

He wrapped his arms around her and placed one hand in her hair stroking it slightly. He loved how soft it was. No one besides him, Goliath and now Angela even had hair and he wasn't about to try to touch theirs. Aimee's hair was silky smooth and it slipped through his fingers like water.

They settled on watching some sitcom and he felt her sigh contentedly in his arms. Pretty soon her breathing evened out and he could tell she had fallen asleep. When he was sure it was deep enough he gently picked her up and placed her in her bed, carefully tucking her under the covers. He shut the remaining lights off and placed a soft kiss on her forehead before leaving.

What an amazing night. He could definitely go for more just like that one. He did realize though with an internal groan that he'd forgotten to ask her if she'd told her friend not to tell anyone else that he'd become involved with each other. She seemed like the trustworthy type but he'd make a point to ask her about it the following evening. He'd just drop by and they'd have another great time together. He could hardly wait.

Unfortunately for him, real life always managed to get in the way of things in both his world and hers.

A/N We're still fairly innocent here, the more mature stuff begins in chapter 5.