Pyrrha let out a happy sigh as she took in the view before her.

No, school, or rain, or late night projects today, just the beautiful, scenic beach with her friends. A scene that was far out shone by her beautiful girlfriend, who at the moment was in a swim suit, doing much the same; ogling the ocean.

All the planning had been done and double checked, heck, even the weather was clear and warm, the sun was shining. Everything was going right.

Today is going to be a fun day.

"You're going to burn if you don't put some suntan lotion on." A very concerned voice pulled the tall redhead out of her musings, as Ruby nudged her with a bottle of it.

"Sorry!" Pyrrha's hand went to take the bottle… only for it to move out of her grasp at the last moment, causing the teen's head to tilt in confusion. "Ruby…?"

"M-Mind if I put it on you?" Ruby's voice was almost shy as she asked, as if she was nervous that Pyrrha, in some alternative universe might deny her that. "I-if that's okay?"

Instead of answering, Pyrrha merely set out one of the towels she was holding across the sand, and settling into a comfortable position with a relaxed smile. "That sounds like a grand idea, Ruby."

In some ways, Ruby had two different modes. There was the side of Ruby that Pyrrha saw when they were alone, the one that wasn't afraid of doing intimate stuff with her. It was a side that had no qualms about randomly giving Pyrrha a bunch of love bites just because. On the other hand…

When they were in public, that side disappeared, and Ruby always seemed to be a tad… hesitant about doing anything even vaguely physical with her. This was the perfect example; if it had just been the two, the stutter in her voice would be gone, and the shy tone would have been nearly non-existent.

Honestly, Pyrrha was fine with that, she even found it to be more than a little endearing. Trying to push or change that would be something she'd never force on her Rose, despite perhaps wanting to be a bit more physical when other were around. But it was… it was…

Her ability to form coherent thoughts suddenly started to evaporate as Ruby's hands began to make stress in muscles that Pyrrha didn't even know she had, disappear.

Somehow she had forgotten that Ruby was really good at massages. How did I forget this? I need to get more of these. Yet that mental note was quickly forgotten, as quiet happy sounds kept coming from her lips.

The sound of approaching footsteps ended that train of thought quickly, as the massage stopped, Ruby's hands jerking away at the noise.

"Um, I know you two are a thing and all, but, uh, Ruby, we reaaally don't need to know how happy you make Pyrrha." Yang said.

Pyrrha could feel her own cheeks burn with embarrassment, and a glance at Ruby's showed that hers were positively ruby red, as a silence descended.

In some attempt to break the awkward silence, Pyrrha said the first thing that came to her mind.

"…so, do you need help applying some suntan lotion on yourself, Ruby?"

The problems with having Pyrrha Nikos as your girlfriend were vast and numerous, on occasion – even if they were pleasant ones.

In this particular occasion, it was that playing beach volleyball with your bikini clad girlfriend was… difficult.

It was like playing a video game on some super suicidal difficulty. On the one hand, one would imagine that one's eyes would stay firmly planted on the ball. That made a logical sort of sense, given the ball was the object of the game. On the other hand…

Getting to ogle Pyrrha Nikos in a bikini, and having the girl herself give a big bashful smile whenever Ruby got caught, was faaar more distracting than some bouncing white ball.

So in terms, of actually playing the game… Ruby was pretty sure she was useless. Nora and Yang just wrecked them, as Pyrrha could only handle so much on her own, even with her reach.

Focus Ruby, focus! You can do this! The thought of Yang's smug face was enough to temporarily pull the girl away from gawking at the object of her affection. I just need to focus on the ball. The bouncing ball…

Problematically, there were two bouncing orbs that were much easier on the eyes to follow. It was only by the most extreme self-control that Ruby once more pulled her mind out of the gutter. Maybe, I should be where I can't see them?

For a time, that worked, as the two sides became more even… only for Yang and Nora to start winning again.

It wasn't the bounce this time that drew silver eyes, but the defined back muscles as Pyrrha spiked the ball, or bumped it. WHY IS MY MIND SO DEEP IN THE GUTTE-

That was the precise moment a volleyball smacked Ruby in the forehead, knocking her over.

"Ruby!" In a moment, the lovely teen was looming over Ruby, with a very concerned gleam in her eyes. "Are you okay?"

"Y-Yeah, I'm fine." Ruby shook her head, slowly figuring out her surroundings, slowly making out the concerned figures of Nora and Yang hovering over them. "Did we lose?"

"Probably." Pyrrha gave a small shrug. "C'mon, let's get you to the first aid station." Without further ado, Pyrrha scooped Ruby up in her arms, in a bridal carry before trotting away from the game.

As annoying as the problems that came from dating such a wonderful individual, Ruby couldn't help but feel that the positives far outweighed them as she snuggled her head against the two bouncy orbs.

Totally worth it.

AU: The Promise Land has arrived.

The Beach chapter.

Except, that's not quite right. More like… BEACH MINI-ARC!

…I have to hit all the beach tropes.

Randomly, I realized that the "[insert character name here], you useless lesbian!" REALLY applies to Ruby in this chapter, especially for volleyball. In her defense, it IS Pyrrha Nikos.

Also, sorry for having this chapter be a day late. I TECHNICALLY had it done yesterday, but was too lazy to go through the edits until today and then I had a bad case of "OOO, LOOK A SHINY!" for a good few hours. Normally I would have posted this right before work, but, well… my poor dog got sprayed by a skunk (in the mouth actually), and everything where I live now smells like it… so work didn't want me to come in, and therefore my need/want to post was lessened.

Tl;dr: I was lazy.

Right, so I'm going to try for Dilation on Tuesday.

Thank you for reading, I hope everyone has a wonderful day! :D