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Trailing behind Tina, walking along the paths crossing spawn, Empanada tugs at Tina's hand. Once softly, then twice firmly when Tina doesn’t notice. Tina startles, and turns to look down at Empanada.
Beaming up at Tina, adorably, Empanada signs, “It's warm and nice out, eomma. We should do something!”
Tina chews on her lip and furrows her eyebrows. The baby’s right, it’s a nice day. Kind of hard to come by around here, with all the freaky mysteries and weird polar bears. Best not to waste it. Tina hums.
“What can we do, um,” Tina trails off, checking her communicator to see who’s awake. Empanada stands on their toes and leans to see the screen, gasping suddenly in excitement.
Quickly, Empanada signs, “Mami Mouse and Mamae Bagi are awake!”
At Bagi’s name, Tina’s ears warm and her heart skips a beat. Okay, that’s unnecessary. She can be better than this.
Empanada seems oblivious to Tina's internal dramatics. She’s already bouncing on her heels, headphones rattling around her neck.
Empanada signs, in time to her excited bouncing, “Can we go to the beach with Mouse and Bagi! Like we did before with everyone, but just us?”
Tina is struck with the mental image of Bagi in a swimsuit, hair all wet, those muscular arms just out there—she takes a deep breath, and tries to sound normal.
“That's an awesome idea, Empanada!” She fumbles with her communicator while trying to open a private message with Bagi.
Empanada just tilts their head, way too knowingly. She’s literally a baby, Tina can not be getting judged by a baby right now. Tina huffs, and stares intently at her communicator, successfully sending a message to Bagi and Mouse, asking if they’re free to hang out at the beach.
Her communicator pings twice almost immediately. They’re both available, they’ll just take a couple minutes.
“Okay, awesome!” Tina clasps her hands together, straightening. “Empanada, we need to find your swimsuit, and I need to find mine.”
Tina thinks she has her swimsuit in her backpack somewhere. A girl’s got to be prepared—who knows when a surprise swimsuit occasion will strike.
“Mine is in Mamae Bagi’s house!” Empanada signs.
Oh God. Tina fishes her communicator back out of her pocket, and apologetically messages Bagi that she needs to grab their child’s swimsuit at her house.
“Okay, come on! Let’s go to Bagi’s!” Tina takes out her warpstone, and Empanada copies her. Together, they warp to the waystone that Tina is pretty sure is closest to the front of Bagi’s house.
Bagi is already waiting for them, smiling in a way that makes her eyes crinkle at the corners. Tina swoons a little bit.
Bagi greets them, kneeling down to wave at Empanada, “Hi, Empanada! Hi, Tina!”
“Hey, Bagi!” Tina says, high-pitched. Bagi hasn’t changed into swimwear yet. Tina isn't sure if she should be grateful or disappointed—whatever. Tina hurriedly looks back down at Empanada.
“Okay, so where did you put your swimsuit?”
“Follow me, Eomma,” she signs, before grabbing Tina by the hand and hustling her through Bagi’s labyrinth of a home. Tina smiles apologetically to Bagi, before she’s dragged away.
Empanada abruptly stops in front of a chest. Tina finds herself standing around awkwardly, while her child rifles through the contents.
With a triumphant gasp, Empanada brandishes the swimsuit they had been looking for. It’s cute—a frilly pink top and even frillier neon pink swim shorts. It’s not Tina’s thing, but she’s not going to judge a baby.
Tina startles as Bagi enters the room in a flurry, arms full.
“I found Em’s shoes, and sunglasses!”
Tina fumbles and nearly drops everything as Bagi shoves the items into her arms.
“And here’s her hat,” Bagi seems to notice Tina's struggle, pausing for a moment.
“Sorry Tina, it is a lot,” Bagi smiles a little, and turns to put the sunhat on top of Empanada's head.
“Perfect!” Bagi kneels down, straightening the brim of the hat, “You look so cute!”
With a wide smile that shows off her sharp little teeth, Empanada signs, “Thank you, Mamae!”
Tina's heart warms at how sweet they are, but some awful part of her can’t help feeling a pang of envy. Her head aches. It’s not fair, how good Bagi is with Empanada. Tina's pretty sure she’s the deadbeat, like, wine mom—or something, in Empanada’s life. This is Bagi and Empanada's family bonding moment, and she’s just kind of standing there. Awkwardly. Jesus Christ.
Bagi turns to her, as if she can sense Tina's nervous energy across the room. She probably can, honestly.
“Tina, can you finish getting Empanada ready? I need to get my swimsuit on, and I trust you!” Bagi is already hurrying out of the room before Tina can respond with an affirmative.
Tina startles. Okay, responsibility. She’s got this. She's going to be an expert at mothering.
-
Empanada won’t stop squirming whenever Tina tries to put sunscreen on her face. Tina can’t blame her, honestly, but it’s becoming a real problem. Empanada had already wiggled into her swimsuit without complaint, but now, Tina is at an impasse.
“Without sunscreen you can burn, and get really sick,” Tina lectures sternly, “Like, dying sick, even.”
Empanada signs, with the saddest face Tina has ever seen, “It’s oily, Eomma.”
Tina ignores her urge to give in. Clearly, the stern approach isn’t working. She needs to switch strategies. She can do this.
Tina collapses to her knees, and pleads, “Empanada, you’ll be a burnt pancake baby—you’ll be cooked! And then, Bagi will blame me, and hate me forever—or something, and then what’ll I do? You gotta help me out here, Em!”
Empanada looks at her with an unreadable expression. Tina isn’t sure if she had been convincing, at all, but her dramatics seem to have had some kind of effect.
Empanada slowly, resignedly nods with the airs of someone accepting a lifetime prison sentence, rather than literally just putting some sunscreen on. Tina will take that as a win. She’s just glad that Empanada is an absolute angel of a child, and won’t put up more of a fuss.
Empanada is slipping on her shoes, when Bagi rushes back into the room.
Out of breath, Bagi hurries out, “I didn’t take too long, right? Sorry, I had to find my swimsuit. Oh, Em, you look so cute!”
To be clear, Tina does not jaw-drop at Bagi’s appearance—her jaw stays perfectly in place, really. She looks at Bagi for a normal amount of time, and she does it really respectfully, too. Really, she does. God, Bagi is literally wearing a normal swimsuit. But her arms, and—No. Stay calm, Tina. Keep it together.
Bagi hums inquisitively. Empanada is quietly, smugly, looking at Tina.
“Is everything okay, Tina? If you’re tired right now, I can take care of Em—”
“No, no—I’m okay! Sorry, I just, um, got lost in my thoughts, head in the clouds. Your swimsuit looks nice, Bagi! By the way.” God, was Tina staring long enough to be that obvious?
Bagi stands up a little straighter, and smiles, pink faintly dusting her cheeks.
“Thank you, Tina, that’s really nice of you to say. Um, do you want to change into your swimsuit? I can wait outside with Em while you change, if that’s okay?”
Tina nods quickly, “Mhm, that works for me. Thanks, Bagi!”
Bagi leads Empanada out the door while Tina calls out behind them, “I’ll be done quick, I promise!”
Tina shuts the door behind her, and takes a deep breath. There’s no time to dwell on gorgeous women in swimsuits. That time can come later. Right now, she needs to get ready for a beach day.
-
Tina and Bagi arrive at the beach, hurried along by Empanada bouncing along behind them. They were going to wait a little longer at Bagi’s house—for Mouse—but Empanada was really excited for the beach. After a message from Mouse, apologizing that she will be a couple minutes late, Empanada rushed them to the beach. Tina’s pretty sure that Mouse won’t mind.
As Tina walks into the sand, she sighs in relief. Empanada definitely made a good recommendation.
A pleasant breeze, the pink sand, and the warm sun—what more could a girl ask for? Tina looks over, to find Bagi looking equally relaxed, while Empanada kicks up sand as she skips.
The mostly serene sight is suddenly interrupted by a faint, hurried rustling sound. Tina and Bagi look around quickly.
Mouse’s bright pink bikini top and ruffled swim shorts catch their attention pretty quickly. Also, her, like, one billion bead necklaces and bracelets are pretty loud when Mouse is moving in a hurry, which she is.
“Oh god, sorry, am I late? Am I late to the party?” Mouse huffs, stumbling quickly in the sand to catch up to them, one sandal precariously close to falling off.
When Mouse catches up, panting from exertion, Empanada signs, “Mami, you look so pretty!” Mouse’s entire expression melts into adoration.
She coos, and sweetly says, “Thank you, Empanadita, thank you!”
Mouse leans down, and makes an exaggerated wink. “A girl like me has to look her best for a summer day on the famous Hot Girl Beach!”
She grins, looking closer at Empanada. “You look super cute too! We’re almost matching! The little sunglasses, your little hat,” Mouse dissolves into squeals, adjusting Empanada’s sunhat.
Bagi murmurs, “Yeah, you all look so nice, I almost feel underdressed.”
Tina shakes her head firmly, and takes a long look at Bagi, and then glances at Mouse and herself. Bagi looks gorgeous, honestly. Maybe she’s biased—but Bagi rocks the speedo and shorts combo. Anyway, she doesn’t think Bagi could be underdressed for anything, really. And Tina’s own swimsuit is pretty standard, nothing too crazy. She guesses Mouse is overdressed, but that’s, like, Mouse’s brand. Glitter and glam just comes naturally to that girl.
Mouse interrupts her musing. “Well, I think everyone here looks beau-ti-ful,” she grins, “but I think Em is going to run into the ocean by herself if we don’t get moving.”
Tina turns to look at Empanada. Sure enough, Empanada is looking at the ocean longingly while kicking the sand. She turns to look at Tina, hopefully.
“You’re right, Mouse—let’s go, then!”
-
To be clear, Mouse started it. Tina is standing with her feet halfway in the water, adjusting to the cold water. Bagi is talking with Empanada in the sand, and Mouse is—well.
Mouse is moving through the water, towards Tina, as fast as she can, with an evil grin on her face. Mouse’s plan dawns on Tina a little too slowly.
“Don’t you dare—” Tina gasps as she’s interrupted with a splash of icy-cold water and a cackling pink blur.
“Mouse!” Tina shouts, with appropriate dramatics. Mouse is already fleeing, giggling.
“Oh, you’re going to regret this,” Tina mutters, hissing at the cold water to wade after Mouse.
Tina calls out, louder. “Did you hear that, Mrouse! You won’t get away with this!”
Mouse just keeps cackling.
Tina trails behind Mouse, neck deep in the water, moving as fast as she can. Finally catching up, she splashes the back of Mouse’s neck with cold ocean water.
“Ay—Puta mierda—Coño!” Mouse swears and stiffens at the cold, tail lashing through the water.
“That's what you get,” Tina says, smugly. Her moment of victory is swiftly stolen from her, as someone grabs her ankles and dunks her in the water.
Tina quickly resurfaces, sputtering, and turns around in confusion. She finds herself chest to chest with the culprit. Bagi stands there, hair soaking wet, blinking water out of her eyes, with a bright, mischievous grin that makes Tina's heart work ten times faster and her brain work a billion times slower.
“Oh—Wow—Hi, Bagi,” she breathes. God, is that all she could think of to say? That's embarrassing.
“Hi, Tina! I think I saw a water fight, so I had to join in. I mean, if that’s okay with you.”
“Yeah, um—yeah! Of course!” Tina stammers, “Of course you can join. You look nice—by the way! If that’s not weird to say! The water, uhm, suits you!”
Tina needs to bury herself in the sand. She’ll bury herself in the sand, like a crab, and she won’t come out for a million years. That's what she’ll do.
“Oh—thank you! You look nice too, Tina.” Bagi smiles. Water from her hair is dripping onto Tina’s swimsuit. They’re so close. Bagi’s cheeks and ears are flushed red. Absent-mindedly, Tina thinks she has some extra sunscreen in her bag. The sunlight reflecting off the water shines in Bagi’s eyes in a gorgeous way. Tina doesn’t want to break eye contact. It makes Tina a little dizzy, honestly—Tina thinks she could probably look into Bagi’s eyes for a really long time, and not get tired of it—maybe even forever.
“Uh, guys?”
Bagi and Tina turn to look at Mouse. Empanada is floating next to Mouse, looking at them with her head tilted to one side.
Mouse stares at them with a complicated expression, half between proud and uncomfortable.
“Do I need to leave? If you guys are going to make out, I can leave—or I can stay, if you like that sort of thing! I don’t judge—”
Tina reels away and Bagi’s eyes widen.
“That's crazy—no! We’re having a water fight! Who said anything about making out—” Tina stammers frantically. She gives the water a firm slap, promptly getting water in Empanada's eyes. “—See! Water fight!”
Empanada blinks water out of her eyes. Squinting at Tina, she signs, “I'm hungry, eomma. Let’s go and eat something!”
Tina's whole burying-herself-in-sand-like-a-crab idea never looked more appealing.
“That seems like a really good idea, Em!” Bagi takes over the conversation, to Tina's relief.
Mouse looks like she wants to protest for a moment, but she doesn’t say anything. Apparently, her love for Empanada wins over her love for being an instigator.
Together, they wade out to the sand, running with shaky legs to their beach towel. Empanada’s the first to get there, already sifting through the bag of towels that Tina had brought. Tina wraps a towel around herself, shivering. Bagi follows suit.
“I hope someone brought food, because I got nothing,” Mouse remarks. Tina doesn’t think she has much food either, honestly. Maybe avocado toast?
Bagi perks up, and quickly begins rustling through her bag.
“I actually brought sandwiches! Um, let me find them—aha!” Bagi pauses to brandish 4 sandwich bags with a proud smile. “I actually brought one for everyone here! The sandwiches are vegetarian, of course.”
Mouse and Empanada make grabby hands for a sandwich bag amid thank you’s, while Tina sighs dreamily.
Tina murmurs softly, “So resourceful and generous, Bagi, wow…”
Mouse turns around and side-eyes Tina. Bagi doesn’t react—she probably didn’t hear Tina, with all the sandwich bag crinkling. Tina figures that’s probably for the better, to be honest.
Mouse is still looking at Tina. Tina threateningly stares back at Mouse. She will not tell Bagi about how stupid Tina sounded just now. Mouse just looks at her, a little mischievously, and then shrugs and goes back to eating her sandwich. Tina sighs. Safe, for now.
-
It’s getting late. Not stupid-late-o’clock level, but enough that it’s dark, and dark enough that weird overpowered freaky creatures will probably start showing up outside and trying to kill her soon. And while Tina is really strong and could fight them off for everyone, easy—well, she would rather be inside. Looking around at the tired faces around her, Tina is definitely not the only one.
Tina stands up and clasps her hand together suddenly, startling everyone from their sandwich-induced stupor.
“Okay everyone! I think we’re all a little tired, so maybe it’s time to go home. And Empanada is probably tired too—she’s a baby, her bedtime is soon, right?”
Empanada looks up at her. A little hesitantly, she nods. She signs, “Can I stay with mami Mouse for a little longer? I want to help her with decorating her house more.”
Mouse coos, and suddenly stands up, dusting sand off herself.
“True, Tina! And great idea, Empanada,” Mouse turns to face Tina and Bagi, “I think it’s time for me and Em to leave—but this was really fun, we should do it again sometime!”
Mouse is already grasping her warpstone and waving, Empanada following suit. Mouse hesitates, and quickly leans in to whisper to Tina, “You and Bagi have fun, okay?” before promptly disappearing into a cloud of purple sparks.
Tina is pretty sure she’s flushed to her ears. Bagi looks at her curiously, but apparently chooses not to ask what Mouse said. Thank God for that.
“Well—I guess I should get going, then, right?” Tina hesitantly says. Bagi hums and tilts her head.
“We can stay longer, if you want to, Tina. The ocean is really pretty when the sun is setting, right?”
Bagi’s right, as always. It does look really pretty. Tina feels her heart beat faster when she turns to find Bagi is looking at Tina—not the sunset. Tina can’t help but look back.
Tina wishes she could live in this moment forever, but she starts to hear quiet scuffling of some kind of freaky night creature approaching. Of course, something had to come and ruin the moment. Tina sighs.
“I wish I could stay longer, Bagi, I really do, but I think these stupid-ass monsters are going to actually maul us if we stay out here.”
Bagi nods, and hums consideringly. “Do you want to stay at my house tonight? I can set up an extra bed—You don’t have to, of course! I just thought maybe, because you’re still building your home—?”
Tina hesitates. What is there to lose? Well, a lot, actually. There’s honestly a lot at stake. What if Tina snores in a really stupid way when she sleeps? What if Tina starts sleepwalking and, like, kills Bagi’s dog, or something? What if Bagi finds out who Tina is? What if Bagi hates her? What if—Whatever.
“Yeah, that sounds good—great, even!” Tina rushes out, like Bagi will change her mind if she doesn’t answer quickly enough.
Of course Bagi doesn’t change her mind, because Bagi is an angel like that. Tina doesn’t know what she did to deserve it.
Bagi lights up at Tina’s response, and that makes it a billion times worth it. Probably. She thinks. She hopes.
-
When Tina falls asleep, her dreams smell like saltwater, and kind-of-wet vegetarian sandwiches, and Bagi.