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Please note:

I do not own these characters. This story below is a fair use, non-profit fan fiction. It's intended to be read and enjoyed by people who can differentiate between fiction and reality, and between original intellectual property and transformative works.

Thank you for reading!

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Broadway glided through the foggy night air as he performed his nightly patrol. The barrel-chested gargoyle knew his clan couldn't protect the whole of New York but it felt good to do something. Like he was part of this city and that he was doing his part to keep it safe.

Patrolling was both easier and more difficult than it had been before everything had changed. Broadway could travel faster and further with the immense rectangular towers rising into the sky. But the structures also created endless blind spots and alleyways which were difficult to check. Though, thankfully many of these areas were well lit because the humans seemed to also understand the risks.

But on nights like this, the fog obscured everything. The gargoyle's night vision helped compensate for the limited visibility, but even Broadway found it difficult to see more than a few dozen meters in front of him.

This didn't mean that he was totally blind, however. And his ears still worked perfectly well. Broadway knew he was being followed.

He'd try to lose his "tail" by altering his route and taking turns at the last moment. And yet, his pursuer persisted, like a shadow in the fog. To Broadway, this indicated that his stalker wasn't human. But even that was no sure bet. The technology of this age was... confusing.

The humans had invented cars and planes and guns and "skyscrapers". But they hadn't invented a way for nature to live alongside them. And so the city was an endless landscape of concrete and steel, with the patches of greenery being rare, small, and thoroughly domesticated. The humans didn't even consider this strange because they had always lived like this.

He shook his head, reminding himself to focus.

Since his pursuer refused to be deterred, that meant it was time to find a spot to force a confrontation on his terms. This meant it needed to be out of the way of human eyes while offering him visibility against the possibility that there were more than one of them.

A couple minutes later, Broadway spotted an ideal location. A poorly lit building top with a convenient ledge he could leap off of, if forced to retreat.

The gargoyle landed on the building with a grunt, his muscle gut bouncing on his large-framed body. He stood in a relaxed but ready posture. His pursuer would immediately recognize it as an invitation to talk. Or to fight, depending on where the discussion went.

Broadway waited as patiently as he knew how for the unknown party to decide whether or not to accept the invitation. But patience wasn't his strong suit and his clawed foot began to tap in irritation.

Finally the gargoyle saw a shadow land on the other side of the roof. That silhouette... was it...?

"Hey... Broadway," the voice said, an undercurrent of tension obvious even as it tried to come off as casual.

"Brooklyn?" Broadway answered back, a bit confused. He wasn't the best tactician of the group, but he was fairly sure his patrol path shouldn't have intersected with Brooklyn's. And was the other gargoyle even supposed to patrol tonight?

Identities established, Brooklyn stepped closer. Broadway could see him clearly now. Rust colored hide. Strong, elongated beak. Stern eyes sitting below horns and striking white hair.

"You had me worried there for a moment," Broadway went on to say, now smiling. "I thought it was going to be ninjas or something. Maybe pirates. Or pirate ninjas!"

"...Pirate ninjas?" Brooklyn remarked, cocking his head at the absurd thought. "And how would pirate ninjas follow you through the sky?"

"Jet packs," he answered confidently. "I read about them in one of Lexington's science magazines."

"Jet packs that are perfectly silent?"

"Sure. Why not? They got electric cars nowadays. Those are silent."

"...Guess you have a point there. Anyway... I... uhhh... came to talk."

Talk? Broadway raised an eyebrow ridge at this. Brooklyn wasn't really the 'talking' type. He was more of the 'brooding quietly by himself' type.

Not wanting to insult the other gargoyle by sounding too shocked or surprised, Broadway replied, "Oh? Yeah, sure. It's a quiet night so I got time. What's going on?"

"Why does something need to be going on?" Brooklyn demanded, sounding defensive and annoyed. "It's just us talking. Like usual."

Being stalked through the fog and mist didn't sound like it was the "usual" but Broadway knew if Brooklyn got too pissed the thin-skinned gargoyle would just say "nevermind" and leave. So he bit his tongue before he shot back a retort and chose to wait instead. He wasn't very good at waiting but Goliath had taught him that sometimes doing nothing was better than doing the wrong thing.

It took Brooklyn another minute of sullen silence to speak up again.

"I just... You know, I was working out the other day, at the clock tower, and... I thought I saw you watching me."

That's what he'd wanted to talk about? Broadway was confused.

"Yeah? I guess I was. For a bit anyway."

He wanted to say more but the blue-skinned gargoyle decided to keep practicing patience.

"Oh. Okay. Yeah... I thought so. And then later I was showering and... You came in too."

"Did I? I mean, sure, I suppose I did. But the clock tower bathroom is like a public shower? Plenty of space for more than one person."

Broadway could not have been more confused. Was Brooklyn trying to lecture him on personal space? But if so, why wait? The rust colored gargoyle never had any trouble expressing his opinions before. And he usually does so loudly and in front of everyone.

"Yeah, exactly. So, I wanted to ask... Did you come in to... look at me? I mean... to see me... undressed."

The blue gargoyle's eyes widened at the question. Just where was he going with this?

"I did see-- I mean," Broadway stammered, "I guess I did see you. Naked, I mean. You had your eyes closed because of the soap and you were facing the entrance. You didn't hear me at first because of running water. That's... uhhh... just how things sort of worked out? I guess?"

"...Yeah," Brooklyn agreed, his expression unreadable. "I guess that's just how things worked out."

"But you saw me naked too!" Broadway replied, almost defensively. "I saw you looking while I was soaping up. So... were sort of even then, right?'

"I... I wasn't really looking," Brooklyn answered evasively.

Why did his voice sound so tight, Broadway wondered. And... was he blushing? Brooklyn, blushing? This conversation... That look.... What did it all mean? Broadway was thoroughly confused. Which, unfortunately for him, was not all that uncommon of an occurrence.

Slowly, with glacial speed things began to click into place for the rotund gargoyle. He'd always known he wasn't the smartest gargoyle. That was definitely Lex. And he wasn't the best tactician, because that was Goliath. He wasn't even the best fighter, either. Brooklyn held that honor, having long ago mastered both hand-to-hand fighting and at least a few weapons.

But that didn't mean he was completely stupid or lacked instincts, even if they sometimes lagged behind. And right now his instincts were telling him... something strange. Certainly something unexpected.

Was Brooklyn...?

Broadway cleared his throat.

"That's not to say that I wasn't unhappy to spot you in the shower room."

"...You were?" Brooklyn asked, his voice low and posture uneasy.

"Sure!" Broadway reassured, channeling his usual happy self in contrast to Brooklyn's brooding mood. "You know, I'm always saying we don't get enough time to hangout. Heck, I spend more time with Goliath than I do with you. And all he wants to do is spar on the practice mats. Well, and talk about Elisa."

Agreeing noncommittally, the more aerodynamic gargoyle said, "Yeah, sounds like him."

Broadway was trying to decide what to say next when Brooklyn cut in to say, "I've taken enough of your time. I should go. You have the patrol to finish."

"Oh. Yeah," the big blue gargoyle agreed. "But you know... Tomorrow I'll be taking a shower right around the same time. I'd probably be too distracted with soap in my eyes if you wanted to... I dunno, take a peek."

Brooklyn said nothing, his beaked expression as set as ever.

Then he tilted his head in acknowledgement of his clan mate and said, "Maybe I'll catch you later, Broadway."

And then with a sprint and a dive he was off, leaving the larger gargoyle to stand on the empty rooftop by himself wondering, 'What am I supposed to make of that?'

Broadway found it difficult to focus on what remained of his patrol. He couldn't get the rust colored gargoyle out of his head. And then there was the other question...

Just what had Brooklyn seen in the shower which had interested him so much?

=========================

The following day, Broadway didn't spot Brooklyn around the clock tower. But he wasn't very good at keeping track of everyone's duty schedule, so he didn't think much of it.

Besides, the lithe gargoyle preferred to keep to the private, quiet areas of the clock tower which didn't see much in the way of foot traffic.

Broadway considered telling Lexington about his encounter with Brooklyn, but decided against it. The rust colored clan member could be so closed off and private, he might be offended if Broadway shared what he assumed was a private conversation.

But that left the large gargoyle with a problem. He wasn't very good at figuring out stuff like this, so if he couldn't get help from someone smarter, how was he supposed to know what to do next?

He decided the only thing he could do for the time being was keep his shower time appointment and see if Brooklyn showed up. And if he did? What would that mean? Would they continue their conversation in the shower? That didn't sound likely, considering he was dealing with Brooklyn.

Still, it was the only obvious course of action so that's what Broadway did. He wasn't a fan of overcomplicating simple things. Which was why Brooklyn sometimes got under his hide. That guy seemed to complicated everything, with his stares and his brooding and his questions that went nowhere.

Part of Broadway thought that Brooklyn seemed as unknowable to him as gargoyles must seem to the humans. But he'd always been loyal to the clan and Goliath vouched for him, heart and soul. So that was enough for Broadway.

He didn't doubt the other gargoyle's intentions. He just didn't understand them. The whole thing was giving him a headache. Broadway hated thinking this hard. Thinking was supposed to be Lex's job!

He figured all he could do was wait and see.

And when the clock tower struck the hour with its resounding chime, he made his way to the shower. Only to find that Brooklyn was already there, off to the side of the modestly sized room as he stood under one of the ceiling mounted spigots, facing the wall as he scrubbed himself.

Broadway almost went to his usual spot in the far corner, but after thinking about it for a second he decided to use the spigot next to Brooklyn instead.

"Morning!" he said in his usually jolly voice.

Brooklyn said nothing for a moment which made the larger gargoyle frown in consternation.

But then he spoke up with, "It's evening. It's always evening for us when we wake up."

The other gargoyle thought about this for a moment as he got the shower started and shrugged.

"Well, in the television shows I watch, the humans always greet each other with 'good morning!' So, this is sort of like our morning, right? After all, we usually start off our day with breakfast -- not dinner."

Brooklyn looked at him then, but instead of his usual stone-faced expression, he looked half annoyed, half amused.

But then... something unexpected happened.

As if unable to help himself, Brooklyn glanced down, away from Broadway's face and below his heavy set belly. Broadway expected the other male to immediately jerk his eyes back up or towards the wall but instead... Brooklyn seemed... frozen in place?

The rust colored gargoyle just stared at what hung between Broadway's thighs as if transfixed. His stare made Broadway look down too, to try to figure out what the other male was thinking.

Had he grown hard when he wasn't paying attention? No... His own member looked soft and dormant to him. Was there something strange or different about it? He didn't think so.

Broadway looked back at Brooklyn with the intention of saying something to his clan mate, but the words died in his mouth before they were spoken. Because while he may be soft, Brooklyn definitely wasn't.

The other man didn't seem to have noticed yet, but his shaft had extended out to its full length under the running water. It was almost the same shade as the rest of his hide, but looked to be a bit lighter in color. What's more, it was twitching.

Time seemed to catch up with Brooklyn when he noticed what Broadway was staring at. Looking down at his own waist, Brooklyn hissed in displeasure under his breath and turned to walk away.

Before he even knew what he was doing, Broadway's hand reached out and grabbed the root of Brooklyn's low hanging orbs, holding the retreating gargoyle in place.

Brooklyn hissed again, this time in surprise and displeasure.

"Let me go," he ordered, the rust colored gargoyle's posture squaring up as if ready for a fight.

"Not yet," Broadway retorted. He didn't really know what he was doing but it felt wrong to just let Brooklyn walk away, with nothing said and nothing settled. He wished he could just think faster. If he could think fast like Lex or Goliath, he wouldn't have to resort to trapping Brooklyn in place like this.

Brooklyn raised a fist as if preparing a strike. Broadway simply squeezed gently, to warn his clan mate that this would be a foolish choice.

The skinnier gargoyle made a throat noise which sounded like a combination of a croak and a yelp. Slowly he put his fist down. But his angry grimace remained.

"I said, Let me go, Broadway."

"Soon," Broadway said, trying to appease his rookery brother. "But not yet. Not until we talk."

"There's nothing to talk about," Brooklyn insisted.

"Oh yeah?" the other gargoyle retorted, his voice full of smiling sarcasm. "Then why is your big stiffy pointing right at me?"

"It's not like I have control of it!" he shot back, trying again to back away only to again be forced to stand in place as Broadway pulled him back by his own testicles. "These just happen!"

"Your stiffy is being more honest than you right now," Broadway pushed on. "It wasn't hard when I first came in. Did it see something it liked, Brooklyn?"

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"You know, I get a lot of gruff about being dumb. I'll admit -- I can't connect the dots as fast as you or the others. But just because I'm slow doesn't mean I'm dumb. So why don't you just tell me the truth? Because I'm not letting you go until you tell me what's going on."

Brooklyn's eyes glowed in the low light of the shower room.

"You don't want to do this, Broadway. You know that I'm the better fighter."

Broadway grinned at him.

"In a fair fight? Sure. Absolutely. But I have you by the balls. Literally. So unless you want someone to come in and see you in such a compromising position, I suggest you get to talking. Tick tock, Brooklyn."

"This isn't fair!" Brooklyn protested, very nearly whining.

"Never said it was," Broadway agreed. "But hey, look on the bright side. At least part of you is enjoying this!"

The blue gargoyle used his free hand to point at the rust colored gargoyle's erection, which hadn't faded in the slightest. Instead, it was now draped over Broadway's fist and forearm, twitching and shifting in place as Brooklyn moved.

"It doesn't mean anything," Brooklyn said, crossing his arms obstinately.

"If you're just going to keep lying to me, you're going to be here a while."

"What are you trying to get me to say!" he demanded.

"If you're looking for a place to start, why don't you explain why you flew all over the city just so you could talk me up about a shower."

"There's nothing to say. I just... I didn't know what your intentions were. Or whether you even had any intentions. I saw you looking at me while I was working out and I wanted to know why."

"Uh huh. Okay," Broadway 'agreed', as if he wasn't buying Brooklyn's excuses. "But why did you care in the first place? You've been acting weird around me and I want to know why."

"And I'm telling you, there's nothing to say. Except..." and then Brooklyn took the opportunity to reach down with lightning speed to grab Broadway's somewhat larger sack. "To say that if you don't let me go, maybe I'll be the one who starts squeezing. Yeah?"

Broadway frowned and thought about this new statement for a few moments. Then he smiled.

"Actually... That feels pretty good. Look... I'm starting to get hard too."

"Stop that!" Brooklyn hissed, trying to keep his voice down so that they didn't draw unwanted attention. "Get yourself under control!"

"You're one to talk," Broadway replied. "And it'll probably stop growing if you stopped playing with it. You can let go any time you want."

"No. You let go first."

"Not going to happen. Not until I get the truth. But while you're down there... Your hand is feeling nice. You might as well play with them a little."

"Fuck you," Brooklyn hissed.

"Wow, you move fast," Broadway said, laughing at his own bad joke. "Well, if you're not going to play with mine... how about I play with yours?"

Not wanting to relax his grip with the hand keeping Brooklyn in place, Broadway brought down his other hand to Brooklyn's crotch, whose eyes were suddenly going wide in dismay as he shook his head and stammered nonsensically.

"N-n-no! D-don't! Stop it!"

"Stop what? You mean, stop this?"

Broadway took Brooklyn's member in his other hand and began stroking it. It felt hot and firm in his hand and it amused him that it looked to be a touch small compared to Brooklyn's size and sizable attitude. It appeared decently long but perhaps a bit thin. And the extra length just made the lack of girth all the more apparent.

Maybe someone suffered a bit from 'small dick syndrome', Broadway wondered. Not that it was a micro penis. It was just... not what he had expected from such a muscular guy.

"Please, Broadway... I'm begging you -- stop!"

"You started this," the blue gargoyle reminded him. "I just wanted to talk. You're the one who decided we should play with each other. So now that's what we're doing. You're touching me... I'm touching you. Why? Are you embarrassed?'

"N-no..." Brooklyn said, who was staring pointedly at the ceiling as Broadway continued to slowly jerk him off.

"Good. I'm not embarrassed either. You're a handsome guy and we're having nice, clean fun. Because we're in the shower. Get it?"

For a moment Brooklyn said nothing, as he continued to stare up into the spigot as it sprayed warm water into his face.

Eventually he said, "...You are? ...Having fun?"

"Sure. Why? Does that surprise you?"

Brooklyn's beak moved wordlessly for a moment. But soon he answered, "If you... If you keep doing this... I'm going to..." Then he just moaned.

"Already?" Broadway asked, somewhat surprised. "I've barely started touching you. You must really be pent up."

"Please, Broadway..."

"Please what? Please stop? Or please keep going?"

"I... I don't know," Brooklyn said, now practically panting with the effort of holding himself back.

"You know what I think? I don't think you want me to stop. I think you're about to paint my stomach and chest with your cum. Shot after shot of it. I bet you're going to make a real mess of my belly."

Broadway moved his hand a bit faster. He squeezed and twisted his grip, eager to see the perpetually grumpy gargoyle lose his composure and spew his load.

"Your balls are practically dancing in my hand now. You must be really close."

"Broadway!"

"I like it when you say my name like that. Like you're my needy clan mate and I'm taking care of you. Don't worry -- Broadway is going to make you feel real good. You're so impatient. Just hold out a little longer."

Suddenly Broadway felt the pressure on his balls go slack.

"There, I let you go! Now let me go! Hurry, you ham-fisted oaf! You have to let me go before I...!"

"Looks like you're just a bit too late there, buddy. The show has already started."

Brooklyn groaned as his legs wobbled due to his knees going weak. Both of his hands fell on Broadway's sturdy shoulders as he steadied himself. And then he came.

"MmhmmmHmmmMmm~!" Brooklyn whimpered, a noise that sounded cute and helpless to his clan member's ears. Especially consider the tough-as-nails guy who was making the sound.

Broadway used his grip to point the light red member towards his big belly, whistling appreciatively as long, thick streams of gargoyle seed covered his stomach, chest, and even his own crotch.

"There we go," Broadway said as he continued to stroke and pump. "No need to sweat it. Just let it all out. Your pall Broadway's got ya. Feels good, doesn't it? Just let it go, one squirt at a time."

Brooklyn was in no position to talk as he leaned heavily on Broadway to keep himself up right. It was almost intimate, the way the skinnier gargoyle leaned on his heavy set clan brother.

Finally the orgasm tapered off as Brooklyn's climax came to a shuddering end. Broadway slowed and then stopped his stroking as the rust colored gargoyle caught his breath.

Removing his weight off his sturdy clan member's shoulders, Brooklyn stood back up to his full height and said, "You're... an insufferable idiot."

The words were rude but something in the way the other gargoyle said the words sounded... appreciative? Maybe even kind? Broadway definitely wasn't used to Brooklyn speaking this way.

"Ummm... You're welcome?" Broadway offered, resisting the urge to look down his chest to see just how big of a mess the cumshot had made him.

And with those words, Brooklyn gave himself a quick rinse off in the still running water and headed towards the exit.

"Hey, wait!" Broadway called after him. "You still haven't told me anything. Why did you follow me on my patrol?"

But the warrior gargoyle didn't bother to turn around. Instead, over his shoulder he called back, "I guess you'll just have to keep wondering then."

And then he was gone.

Broadway sighed. Just what the heck was that supposed to mean? Why did Brooklyn always have to make everything so difficult? The other gargoyle knew he wasn't smart, so forcing him to figure things out on his own just seemed... Well, rude.

The barrel-chested gargoyle must have been thinking about the situation for a while because eventually Lexington came in with a towel draped over his narrow shoulders.

"Broadway!" the small gargoyle griped at Broadway. "I've told you a thousand times, stop wasting water! And while you're at it, stop wasting shampoo. You don't even have hair -- why are you drenching yourself in the stuff? We have to pay for those supplies, you know!"

'Shampoo?' Broadway almost asked, then remembered that he was still splattered with Brooklyn's spent load which had practically drenched his wide front side.

The gargoyle wasn't really embarrassed about being caught this way. Well, not exactly embarrassed, anyway. But it seemed indelicate to burden Lex with details of a thorny situation that he didn't even understand himself.

On the other hand, maybe his little buddy Lex could explain just what was going on with their fellow clan member.

After pondering that question a moment, Broadway decided to keep his own counsel until he could get a better handle on the situation.

"Oh. Yeah. Sorry about that," Broadway said, apologizing for at least the water which he supposed he had been wasting. "But why are you here? You usually don't shower until later in the day."

"Yeah, tell me about it," Lexington whined in his youthful voice, rolling his eyes as he set the towel aside and turned on one of the showers adjacent to Broadway. "I was sparring with Goliath but the guy won't shut up about Elisa. He's obsessed with her and he can't even see it. I made up an excuse to leave so I could give my ears a break."

"Obsessed?" the larger gargoyle asked, facing the shower spigot so he could start washing off Brooklyn's spent seed.

Lexington sighed in relief as the already warmed water poured down his winged form, the shower already beginning to relax the knotted muscles which had developed during his training bout with the clan leader.

"Yeah, obsessed. As in, passion mixed with a touch of insanity. Poor guy doesn't even realize he's in love with her."

"Love?" Broadway said, then realized he was just repeating single words as questions. He hated when he did that. He knew it made him seem dumb to other people.

"It's definitely love. I had my doubts at first but there's no denying it now. And Goliath isn't the only one. Just the other day, Brooklyn was asking me if I had any books on how to ask someone out."

"Out? Out where?"

"Out. As in, out on a date. It's a human thing. So maybe he's got himself a human friend? Or a human girlfriend. Which surprised me. I didn't think Brooklyn had any friends. Well, besides us I mean."

Wait -- Brooklyn was dating some girl? Maybe even a human girl? Is that what he'd been trying to talk to him about? But why would the fighter want his opinion on something like that? Broadway didn't have any advice when it came to relationships with humans or dating.

Broadway was so confused. All this thinking today was beginning to make his head hurt.

"Oh... Well, I'm sure he knows what he's doing," Broadway said noncommittally, shrugging.

Lexington chuckled grimly at this.

"Brooklyn? That guy is clueless when it comes to matters of the heart. He's all stress and testosterone and attitude. I swear, that guy just needs to get laid already."

Broadway opened his mouth to say something about the ironic statement and then immediately closed it after thinking better of it.

Wanting to move the conversation away from Brooklyn, Broadway asked, "So... What about you? Are you dating anyone?"

Lexington coughed loudly as though he'd somehow gotten shower water into his lungs.

"Huh? Me? I mean... Not really. I've been on some internet chat sites... But that's about it."

"Oh yeah -- The internet. You said that's like, a really big deal in the human world, right?"

The shorter gargoyle tilted his head to look at Broadway like his clan member had just asked whether the moon was big. Broadway hated when people looked at him like that. It made him feel even more stupid.

"Yes, Broadway. The internet is a big deal. The entire human civilization basically runs on the internet."

The blue gargoyle hated arguing with Lex because the skinny clan member always won in the end... But that just seemed too silly not to refute.

"But... That can't be right. You can't, like, download a meal. Or get water from the internet. You can't travel using the internet. And the internet won't defend you if your castle is attacked."

"Castle? Broadway, your head is still living in the tenth century. But you're technically correct. The internet can't feed you directly. But it can let you order food. Or purchase seeds for that matter, so you can grow your own food. And it can teach you how to farm and cook. Or it can tell you the best places to buy ingredients if you don't have the land or time for farming. The best quality, the lowest cost, the shortest distance. And that's just food!"

Broadway could see that Lex was getting excited. The smallest clan member always seemed to come alive when this age's technology was brought up in discussion. The blue gargoyle thought that was probably a good thing. Especially since it wasn't like he or Hudson were going to master human tech or be able to explain it to the others.

"The internet offers way more than just food," Lexington went on to say. "Some people joke that the internet is mainly for po--," Lex seemed to catch himself before continuing on. "Ummm, streaming movies."

"...Oh," the rotund gargoyle said, once again feeling dumb. This human world was just so complicated. Sometimes he missed his simple life. The life before his clan's thousand year stone hibernation.

Deciding he'd spent enough time in the shower Broadway moved to head out, his head now full of troubling thoughts.

But before he left he turned to ask, "Lexington? Do you think it's okay for us to live in a big city like this? It just feels like it's only going to cause us trouble."

Lex thought about the question for a moment and the warm water cascaded down his head and body.

"Ultimately, that's up to Goliath as clan leader. But despite the obvious dangers, I still think living in a city like this is the best call. The giant buildings give us places to hide and allow for travel by gliding. The humans are varied enough here that we can find and recruit allies, who can help us out during the day while we're in our stone form. And the people here are so jaded by special effects and marketing stunts that, when they do catch a glimpse of us, they just assume someone is shooting some new action movie. So on balance... I think it's our best choice for the time being."

Broadway nodded, then left.

This wasn't the answer Broadway had been hoping but it made sense. Plus, he didn't hate everything about the city. He loved detective movies and those shows always featured characters who lived in big cities like this one. So, the city did seem sort of exciting and perpetually new, as if it were refreshed each time the sun set. Life here was anything but boring.

And he supposed Elisa was a plus too. She was a good friend to him personally as well as the whole gargoyle clan. And, from the sound of things, maybe more than just a friend to Goliath.

Broadway thought about these things as he made his way back to his private room. It was small because space was tight in the clock tower, but it was his.

Closing the door behind him, he glanced around his room. It consisted of mostly just a mattress and a small desk which was dominated by an old box television and DVD player. It had everything he needed, for the time being.

Though his nose wrinkled at the smell coming from the pizza boxes piled up in the corner. He could already hear Lex's phantom voice in his head, warning him for the hundredth time about not attracting rats.

As Broadway's eyes scanned the room, they got caught on a scrap of paper sitting on his mattress.

He was sure that hadn't been there before. Making his way over, he plucked it off the bed before reading it over.

The note read, "Thank you. Also, clean up those disgusting pizza boxes"

It was Brooklyn's angular writing, all jagged edges like it had been scribbled in a hurry. And the note's contents were typical Brooklyn. Confusing and confrontational.

"The pizza boxes wouldn't have bothered him if he'd stayed out of my room!" Broadway griped to himself out loud.

And just what exactly was the man thanking him for? Did he mean what happened in the shower? But hadn't Brooklyn called him an insufferable idiot after? The man was so confusing. Broadway had no idea what was going on in his head.

Then Broadway noticed a follow-up at the end of the note.

"PS: I got something for you. Put it in your desk drawer. Password is 0958"

Password? Huh?

Broadway checked the drawer and found a human phone and a charging cord. He tapped the screen like he'd seen Elisa do a hundred times and the device came to life. The big gargoyle carefully tapped in the password. Zero... Nine... Five... Eight.

It was the year Broadway had been hatched. Though in practical terms he wasn't nearly so old as that number made him sound, due to his clan's thousand-year plus stone hibernation.

The phone's screen changed. There were little circular pictures. He thought they were called buttons? Why had Brooklyn gotten him such a confusing piece of technology. Was he supposed to carry this around, like humans did? That seemed like a bad idea since he was sure he'd drop it, lose it, or crush it while fighting.

One of the buttons was pulsing which caught his eye. Broadway tapped it.

"One unread message. Read now?"

Had Brooklyn left him a message? But... why? He could have said what he had to say on the rooftop. Or the shower. Or in the damn note he'd left on his bed.

He shrugged. Why not? Broadway tapped "Yes", which was to the left of another button which read "Not now."

The screen changed and new text appeared.

The digital message read, "I'm serious. Clean up those disgusting pizza boxes already."

It took all of Broadway's willpower not to throw the phone into the wall as hard as he could. His eyes glowed white in frustrated rage.

Why did Brooklyn have to be so... so annoying!

That was it. The last straw. No more mister-nice-guy. Broadway tossed the phone back in the drawer and stormed out of his room, slamming the door behind.

As he made his way down the clock tower hall, Hudson greeted him as the older gargoyle walked in the opposite direction.

"And where you be off to, in such a huff?" the scarred gargoyle inquired, his tone amused.

"I'm going to practice with Goliath. Brooklyn thinks he could take me in a fair fight? I'll show him. I'll become the best damn fighter this clan has ever seen!"

"Now that's the kind of passion I like to see!" Hudson praised. "But I think Goliath already headed out. You just missed him. Though... If you like, I could train you. This old beast knows a few tricks or two. That is, if you're truly ready to learn. You should know, the training will take many months and I won't be going easy on you."

Broadway gave the bearded gargoyle his most winning smile, extending his hand for a friendly shake which Hudson gladly accepted.

"You provide the training... I'll provide the pizza!"

The mature gargoyle laughed at this and said, "Sounds like a fair bargain if I've ever heard one. But your body will need more and better fuel that pizza alone can provide. Let's try to expand your food horizons, shall we?"

As they walked together down the hall, Broadway smiled. Finally, a topic he felt knowledgeable about!

"Actually, there's all kinds of pizzas! Vegetable pizzas. Meat pizzas. Cheese pizzas. Dessert pizzas. There's a pizza for practically every occasion!"

"Is there now?" Hudson remarked, genuinely curious. "Tell me more about these... 'meat pizzas'. What sort of meat is the dish served with?"

"All kinds of meat! You can even load them up with multiple kinds of different meats -- On a single pizza!"

Hudson's eyes widened at the revelation.

"Truly, we live in an age of wonders. You've sold me, young one. Practice first... Then, we shall feast on 'pizza'. And next session... perhaps something else. Something not-pizza."

Walking shoulder to shoulder towards the sparring room, Broadway was already feeling better. He didn't know what Brooklyn's deal was but he knew that next time the rust colored gargoyle tried to strong arm him he wouldn't have to rely on any cheap tricks to get the upper hand.

Broadway thought that maybe if the stubborn, tight-beaked gargoyle respected him more, Brooklyn might actually speak his mind when he asked him what was going on.

And worst case, the heavy set gargoyle decided he could just use his superior weight to pin the far lighter male down. He'd just sit on the other gargoyle until he confessed what was bothering him.

Maybe then he'd hear more about this mysterious human girl Lexington thought Brooklyn was dating. But first things first -- Broadway was going to master hand-to-hand fighting! He might be dumb and he might be fat, but one thing was certain:

There would always be a place of honor within the clan for those who could defend their fellow gargoyles' lives, property, and happiness. And he was just the gargoyle to defend them!