A Gods' Holiday ~ Sanders Sides AU

The Beach Stop

It was well into the morning of the third day when they finally ended up by the beach. There were so many unexplained roadblocks along the main roads that they had to take way too many detours to come to the coast. Joan had gone to buy the gods swimming clothes, claiming that they'd really want them when they get to the sea.

Logan helped Patton out of the caravan and the two breathed in the fresh air. They hadn't gone outside too much, due to the fact they didn't really need to use the toilets found at gas stations.

"Oh my god, Lo, this ground feels so funny!" Squealed Patton as he took off his sneakers. 

Logan knelt down and placed his hand to the grainy sand, clutching his Book to his chest. "It is a curious texture. Very similar to the ground in arenas." He commented, tilting his head.

Roman whooped and tackled Logan over, much to the intellectual's' annoyance. "You got sand in your hair, Logan! You look worse than Medusa!"

"Nonsense," Scoffed Logan, brushing the sand from his hair to no avail, "Medusa's' appearance turned men to stone. However, all the mortals at this beach are still made of their usual matter."

Roman rolled his eyes, fiddling with the choker around his neck. "You are so boring, Lo. Come on, this is the first time we've been to a beach outside those from Olympus, let's enjoy it!"

"I was enjoying it until you tackled me and ruined my clothing..." Logan muttered darkly, righting himself as he dusted the sand off his trousers.

Virgil hesitated in the doorway of the camper-van.  He shuffled his sneakers away from the blinding, Florida sun, keeping in the shadows completely as he peered out. "What if it's unsafe, though?" He whispered cautiously. "What if that man sees us here?"

"Aw, c'mon, emo nightmare! Joan's gone to find us the right stuff to wear for playing in the sea, why don't you wanna play?" Teased Roman. Despite his remarks, he'd definitely softened around Virgil now he knew the weight that the scrawny god carried on his shoulders. Despite regular taunts, they were friendly and would never toe the line of insulting Virgil.

"Please, Virgil, you can't stay cooped up in there forever!" Patton pleaded, pulling the 'puppy' eyes on his pessimistic cousin. Virgil hesitated before slowly shuffling one foot to the door of the campervan.

 He stepped out and squinted in the blinding rays of the sun. "Nope, going back inside!"

Roman grabbed Virgil's' hand, pulling him back outside. "Aw, c'mon, Virgil! You don't even have to swim, just chill out with us!"

Virgil went bright red at Roman's' touch, suddenly powerless with no protests as Roman dragged him along, further down the beach.

Thomas grinned, finally shutting down the engine. He slipped the keys of the caravan into Logan's' messenger bag and waited for Talyn to finish collecting sunscreen. They were out quickly, with a plastic bag filled with lotions and creams.

"Virgil looks like he's getting sunburnt already!" They commented, looking at the skinny god, whose pasty face was flushed a noticeable red. "How long has he been out there?"

"Eh, ten seconds at the most." Laughed Thomas with a shrug. Roman dropped Virgils' wrist, leaving him flushed. The attractive god ran back to his other friends, dragging them over to where he'd left Virgil. The two mortals from the camper-van jumped out onto the sand, having discarded their shoes earlier. The gods were getting side tackled by Joan and Talyn and Thomas ran over happily.

Virgil looked at the large bag that swung in Joan's' hand. "Do we have the time to swim? What if they find us?"

Patton wrapped his arms around Virgil excitedly. "Come on, Virge! It'll be just like the time you took my swimming in the River Styx!"

"He did what?" Yelped Roman and Logan at the same time.

"Patton, you weren't supposed to tell anyone that!" Murmured Virgil, blushing as he hid behind his bangs.

"Oops!" Laughed Patton apologetically.

Logan sighed. "I will express my concerns another day. For now, we need to let the mortals rest. They have escorted us non-stop, Virgil, surely you'd want them to relax."

"Fine," Said Virgil, "But I am not 'relaxing'. You guys can mess around like fools and I'll make sure nothing bad happens." He finished with a sneer, turning to walk back to the caravan. "Have fun."