August 2023 - Summer Special Side Story (Part 1)

Hi guys 👋 Here's the side story of the month, which is a Beach Episode with the gang. It's around 4.6K words long and I'll split it up into two posts! 💖 I definitely had a fun time just writing the dynamics between the ROs in a setting where they are just hanging out and I hope you guys enjoy reading it too! 😊

Part 2 here!

* * * *

It’s another sunny and beautiful summer day with a clear blue sky, and it’s also the perfect time for a beach outing with your friends. To your surprise, Uncle Luka agrees to join too and he manages to tow Jackal with him. Or maybe it was the reverse and Jackal was the one who convinced him to join.

All of you are making your way toward the beach, and each of you is carrying things you’ll need for the day. Skylar is carrying a portable BBQ grill with ease, Santana brings a case filled with food materials for lunch later on, Ash’s hands are filled with beach towels, a couple of folded beach chairs, and a beach umbrella, and you yourself are carrying a little cooler box filled with drinks. Meanwhile, Rin is simply carrying a big duffel bag containing other necessities, such as spare clothes.

There are not as many people on the beach as you first expected, probably because the end of the summer holiday is nearing. As you scan for a good place on the shore, you see Uncle Luka and Jackal. Both of them are wearing simple beach shirts, and somehow, Uncle Luka managed to get a dull black and grey one.

Your uncle’s wearing a pair of aviator sunglasses, but that doesn’t seem to be enough as he still shields his eyes from the sun with his hand. Jackal, on the other hand, is still wearing his baseball cap and face mask, and both arm and leg sleeves under his buttoned-up beach shirt, covering as much skin as he can while being on the beach.

It seems their decision to go separately from your group is a wise one since they managed to stake you a pretty nice spot. In contrast to your group, the two of them pack light for the outing with only a duffel bag that is slung on your uncle’s right shoulder. Jackal is rummaging around the bag, looking for something.

You point them out to the rest of your group and you all make your way toward them.

“Hey,” you call out to both of them. “Have you guys been waiting here for long?”

Uncle Luka turns to look at you with a slight pout on his lips. “Took you long enough. Been roasting here for half an hour now.” You take a look at him closely, and sure enough, there’s a reddish tint on his usually pale skin.

“Oh shit, sorry,” you say. You see Ash starting to lay out the beach towels and Skylar setting down the BBQ grill that they’ve been holding.

Jackal clicks his tongue. “He’s fucking with you. We’ve only been here for like, fifteen minutes max. Your uncle’s just prone to getting sunburnt and like the genius he is, he forgot to wear sunscreen,” he explains.

“Damn, no need to call me out in front of my nibling like that,” Uncle Luka chuckles. “But yeah, we decided to wait for you guys here instead of at the bar there to hold this piece of land for you.”

“Thanks, Uncle Luka,” you smile. “This is a really nice spot.” And it really is. It’s right in front of the beach volleyball “court” and not too far from the bar and the sea itself.

“Ah, finally!” Jackal breathes out as he pulls out a bottle of sunscreen. Opening the cap, he squirts a generous amount on his hand before slathering it on your uncle’s right arm first.

It’s kinda sweet of him to be looking out and caring for your uncle like this and you know your uncle is thinking the same thing because he’s looking at his boyfriend with a slight genuine smile on his lips.

After he finishes putting sunscreen on both of your uncle’s arms, Jackal starts dragging your uncle away. “Excuse us, Sasha,” he says. “It’s time to make sure your uncle is properly protected from the sun. C’mon, Luka.”

“We’ll see you later, kiddo,” Uncle Luka tells you. “Although, I think we’ll be spending most of our time in the bar after this, so you can also find us there.” He points at the seaside bar nearby.

“Alright. Have fun, Uncle Luka!” you give him a thumbs up. He gives you a wave as Jackal pulls him toward the public bathroom.

It reminds you that you also haven’t put on sunscreen. You turn back toward your friends, setting the cooler box in between the two beach chairs under the shade of the umbrella. Rin is already making themself comfy on the beach chair to your left.

You bend down to fetch the bottle of sunscreen from the duffel bag that Rin carried and start slathering it on your skin. “Rin, do you need this?” you ask them, offering the bottle.

Rin shakes their head. “No, thank you. I’ve put it on before leaving the house.” They put on a pair of wireless earphones before lying back.

You strain as you try to reach your upper back and shoulder areas properly, making a noise of frustration that catches Ash’s attention. “Let me help you with that, Sasha…” they say shyly as they approach. “I—If you want to, of course!”

Smiling at them, you hand the bottle to them. “Thanks, Ash. Appreciate it.”

“You're welcome,” they mumble quietly, hands touching your back gingerly.

“Have you put on any, Ash?” you ask them as they spread the sunscreen on your back.

“Do they even need to?” Skylar pipes up, cutting off Ash before they can answer. “They are immune from getting burned by literal fire.”

“Well, sun rays are different, okay? The UV might still harm their skin,” you point out. You remember Aunt Cara always made sure Ash was wearing sunscreen during the few beach outings you had before.

“No, I haven’t,” Ash answers your question, standing back up. “I’d rather not take the risk to prove Skylar’s theory,” they mutter as they start squirting the sunscreen on both of their arms.

“Fair, I wouldn’t too,” Skylar snickers, bending down to grab a volleyball and throwing it up and down idly. “That’s why I put it on before we arrived here.”

“Sasha… Can you help me?” Ash asks bashfully, cheeks flushed. “With my back?”

“Of course.” Taking the sunscreen, you start covering their back and shoulder areas. Ash hasn’t even spent that long under the sun, but already, their skin is pretty heated up.

“Ooh, I see why you didn’t put it on at home,” Skylar grins, wiggling their eyebrows. “Ash, you sly dog. Maybe I should have… forgotten too, so Sasha can help me.”

“W—What?!” Ash blurts out. “I actually forgot, you asshole! I’m not like you.”

Santana saunters over. “Wait, don’t Ash and Sasha live together anyway? Your accusation doesn’t make sense then,” they point out Skylar’s logical fallacy and Ash nods enthusiastically.

“Oh shit, yeah. I actually forgot that,” Skylar chuckles.

“Idiot,” Ash breathes out in slight irritation.

You clap their back lightly, signaling you’re done. “There you go. All done.”

“Thanks, Sasha,” Ash sighs as they get back up from the beach chair.

“So, what do you guys wanna do first?” you ask.

“Well, seeing that the volleyball court is not used right now, how about we have a few matches now?” Skylar suggests, bouncing the ball in between their hands.

“Sure, I’m up for it,” you reply, getting on your feet and doing a little stretch.

“I call dibs on teaming up with Sasha,” Ash chirps, already making their way to the court.

“Alright, who wanna be on my team then? Rin?” They turn to Rin.

Rin takes off one of their earbuds and says, “Whatever it is you’re trying to rope me into, I’m not interested. I’ll just watch.”

“Maybe you can help keep tabs on the scores then,” Skylar sighs and Rin just gives a noncommittal shrug. “Santana?” They turn to Santana next, this time, putting on puppy eyes.

Santana looks at them for a couple of seconds before sighing, “Fine… Just a couple of rounds though, and then I’d love to just relax, if you don’t mind.”

“Yes!” Skylar cheers, pumping their fist. “Of course, of course. Just a few rounds, promise.”

The three of you walk over to the court where Ash is already waiting. For the next fifteen minutes or so, the four of you have fun, playing a casual and lighthearted match. Skylar scored first, followed by Ash, and then by sheer luck, you.

You make a serve; the ball flies over Santana’s head and Skylar effortlessly replies with one of their own. Keeping your eyes on the trajectory of the ball, you try to catch it but it’s clear that it’s beyond your reach. Thankfully, Ash behind you does, replying with a smash so hard that as it whizzes past you, you half-expected it to be ablaze and have smoke trailing it.

Understandably, Santana moves out of the way but not Skylar. They hit the ball hard, giving Ash a taste of their own medicine. You duck reflexively, even though it is not aimed at you. Ash slides on the ground, trying their best to not let the ball touch the floor, alas, they’re not fast enough and Skylar’s team gets another point.

“Fuck!” Ash curses under their breath, standing up and brushing the sand off their body.

“Oh my God, what the fuck was that you two?” you ask, glaring at the two of them.

“Yeah,” Santana pipes in. “I think that’s all for me for now. I have to start preparing the grill for lunch.”

“Me too,” you say. “I think you guys are better off playing 1 vs. 1 for now to resolve whatever rivalry is going on between you two. I’ll watch though.”

Ash and Skylar both turn to look at each other. “I’m up for that,” Ash says resolutely.

Skylar grins sharply, a competitive glint shines even through the aviator sunglasses they wear. “I’m gonna go all out this time. Prepare to lose.”

Ash rolls their eyes. “Keep yapping. That’s all you’re good at.”

You saunter over to the chair beside Rin’s and lean back as you watch the two of them get ready for their match. Rin leans close, pulling out one of their earbuds. “What are those two up to now?” they ask.

“They’re gonna resolve their rivalry through a match of volleyball,” you explain right to the point.

“Huh, interesting. I’ll probably watch too--a bit,” they mutter, turning their attention away from the book on their lap to the court in front of them.

“Reading a book? You know this is time to relax, right? You’re already busy enough in your day-to-day life,” you point out.

They raise the book and show you the cover, but it’s not like you can read it since it’s in Japanese. “Don’t worry,” they assure you with a slight and fond smile. “This is a novel, nothing work-related, and I’m reading it to relax. I usually don’t get time to read a lot, so this is a good chance to finish up this book.”

“Oh, great then,” you smile back. “But you won’t want to miss this match.”

“Agreed,” they chuckle as they turn back to watch Ash and Skylar starting their match, and you do the same.

Almost immediately, the two of them set a pretty brutal pace and the shots they send to one another are so hard and fast that the sounds attract some people who decide to stop for a little while to watch. And true to their words, they don’t really hold back.

The two of them quickly rack up scores, sometimes alternating, keeping the other on their toes constantly. You keep track of the score until they are tied. Skylar sent another smash and this time, Ash can’t react fast enough. Luckily for Ash though, the ball falls just right beyond the line by the slightest margin.

Skylar though, seems to not notice it as they jump high in excitement, pumping their fist enthusiastically. “Hell yeah! I win!”

Ash glowers at them and then the ball, putting their hands on their hips. “No, the ball was out of the court.”

“Ah, c’mon. Don’t be such a sore loser.” Skylar wiggles their eyebrows, which annoys Ash even more.

Ash turns and their eyes light up as they spot you and Rin watching. “Let’s ask them about it then,” they say, already making their way toward you. Skylar quickly catches up.

“Hey, Sasha, Rin. You guys saw what just happened, right?” Ash asks.

“Yes,” Rin answers calmly before you can. “And I saw the ball touching the line. Pretty sure that still counts as ‘in court’.”

Skylar grins smugly, radiating an “I told you so” aura.

Ash’s eyes widen in disbelief. “What?! No fucking way! I was the closest to the ball when it happened!”

Rin cocks an eyebrow and you see their lips twitch up in a teasing smirk. “Are you implying that I’m lying just to piss you off?” They bring their hand to their chest as if offended.

“Yes! And I’m not implying, I’m outright accusing you,” Ash huffs, pointing at Rin before turning to you, giving you the puppy eyes. “Sasha, you saw the ball fall out of the court, right?”

Argh, you were tempted to follow Rin’s lead and tease them a bit, but with the puppy eyes… You just can’t…

Sighing, you tell them the truth, “I think I saw it fall just beyond the line.”

Ash grins, “Yes! I know I can trust you, Sasha.” They turn to Skylar. “Well, we still gotta settle the tied score.”

“You’re just delaying the inevitable,” Skylar sighs dramatically. “But, finee.”

The two of them begin walking back toward the court but before they can resume, a group of three teenage girls stop by. They crowd around Skylar with their phones out.

“Oh my God! You’re Phase, right? Can we get pictures please?” one of the girls pleads.

Skylar looks around nervously to see whether other people around might have heard it. “Yeah, but on one condition: Please keep quiet okay? And don’t tell anybody else that I’m here.” They flash a charming grin for good measure.

The three girls squeal and Skylar quickly tries to shush them. They quiet down before the four of them start posing for group selfies. Ash moves out of the way to make sure they don’t get into the background by accident. They make their way back to where you’re sitting.

Well, it seems the match is over for now.

Part 2 here!