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Gazing out at the sea, Oda was entirely mesmerized. He sat from the edge of the dock, feet dangling into the water as he watched the sun sink down below the ocean horizon. The sunset painted the sky a rich, enticing gold, though it was hard to believe that the day was nearly over already. Oda couldn’t remember the last time his head felt so pleasantly empty, filled only with idle daydreams and observations.
The breeze feels good, it’s been so hot today.
In a place like this, it’s almost as if you could forget time itself.
Someday, I’ll wake up every morning to an ocean view.
“Odasaku!”
At the sound of his name, Oda finally broke his gaze from the ocean, turning to glance back at the shore. Standing at the edge of the beach where sand met grass, Dazai waved to him, clutching what looked to be a bundle of sticks in his other hand. He then jogged down the shore, stopping just before crossing onto the dock Oda sat at the end of. Upon closer inspection, his bundle of ‘sticks’ was actually a collection of sparklers.
“What are those for?” Oda asked.
“When it gets dark!,” Dazai explained brightly. “Speaking of which, Ango’s back at the cabana. He started working again , can you believe that? He won’t leave either, but I’d really like him out here after sunset with us.”
“I’m not surprised,” Oda replied. With a sigh, he stood up and stretched, taking one last long, admiring glance out at the ocean before he turned to head back down the dock where Dazai was waiting. “Let’s go get him then, yeah?”
Dazai grinned. “Really? You’ll help?”
“Of course. Ango’s due for a break anyways, we’re on vacation.”
With that, the two of them set off back in the direction of the beach house.
The vacation had come together somewhat spontaneously. With all three of them having an overlapping weekend off, and Dazai happening to have connections with a vacation home renter, one thing led to another, and the weekend getaway was suddenly in action.
Before heading around to the back patio (where Ango was no doubt still tapping away on his laptop), Dazai darted up the front steps, to retrieve a couple of water guns that he’d previously staged for such an occasion. With a cheeky grin, he offered one to Oda.
“You’re always prepared, huh?” Oda commented as he took it.
“Of course! Come on, let’s sneak around this way.” Dazai held the gun to his chest, finger over the trigger as he slunk around the wall towards the backyard. He moved no differently than if he were stalking a real enemy at work, and Oda followed after him.
Silently, Dazai motioned around the corner where Ango was set up, entirely oblivious to his two snipers. When Dazai raised his gun to aim, Oda did the same. He placed his finger on the trigger to shoot, but suddenly, Dazai shook his head to stop him.
‘Hold fire,” Dazai mouthed.
Oda tipped his head inquisitively,
“Just watch,” Dazai whispered softly. Without changing the aim of his water gun, he raised his voice. “Ango~!”
In the split second that Ango turned in search of the sound, Dazai fired, and Oda followed suit. They hit him square in the face and chest respectively, and Ango let out a shriek of surprise, hastily pushing his laptop aside and out of the range of fire.
“Wh-what?! What are you doing?!” Ango leapt up out of his seat, covering his face with his arms as Dazai came barreling around the corner, still firing streams of water until he’d emptied his barrel. “Cut that out!”
“ Finally !” Dazai laughed, discarding his then empty water gun. “You’re off that damn laptop, are you done working?”
“No?! Odasaku-san, not you too! You didn’t have to interrupt me like that !”
As Oda came around the corner, he fired one last shot at Ango for good measure, before setting down the weapon. “We’re on vacation, I mean, can it not wait?”
Ango pushed his glasses up, brushing water off of himself as he regained his composure. “As a matter of fact, no.”
“Sure it can!” Without giving him a chance to protest, Dazai slammed Ango’s laptop shut, seizing his arm before starting back towards the beach. “It’ll be dark soon, and we need you on the beach with us!”
“Stop that! I have too much to do right now!”
Dazai only laughed, linking his arm with Ango’s as he dragged the protesting man back down towards the shore.
Oda watched them go with a fond little smile, before picking up Ango’s laptop. He inspected it to make sure it hadn’t gotten wet, then collected the rest of Ango’s belongings from the lounge as well. He made a quick stop inside to put them all down, before joining his friends down in the sand.
By the time he got there, the sun had fully disappeared beneath the water, and Ango had begrudgingly given in to Dazai. He sat cross-legged on a beach towel as Dazai handed him a sparkler, accepted without complaint. “There you are,” he said, as Oda approached.
Oda nodded as he sat down beside him, and Dazai eagerly handed a sparkler to him as well.
“Let’s light these up!” He announced.
Oda turned it over in his hand to inspect it. “I’ve never actually used one before,” he admitted.
“No?” said Dazai. “You’re in luck then, I’m a professional!” He pulled a lighter out of his pocket, and leaned down, using it to light Ango’s first. Ango jumped as it flickered to life, holding the sparkler a little further from his face as it began shooting off its crackling orange sparks. “See?” Dazai said with a grin. He then lit up Oda’s as well as his own.
Even as his own sparkler burst into a crackling flame, Oda found himself more enthralled by Dazai’s, and the way he held it proudly in front of him, pointing it up as if it were some sort of magic wand. He traced it through the sky, leaving a trail in its dancing wake.
“You could draw with it,” Oda suggested, testing his own out in an experimental motion. “Or write with it?”
“Ooh!” Dazai turned back to his companions with a flourish, and began to elaborately maneuver his sparkler in a series of up, down, and curving motions. After a moment, the sparkler fizzled out, and he stopped. “What did I just write?”
Ango set his own used sparkler down. “I don’t know.”
“Do you, Odasaku?” Dazai asked.
“The first part looked like a star. You lost me after that.”
Dazai only smiled as he lit up another sparkler. “It’s a secret then!”
For a while, the three remained entertained by their sparklers and simple conversations. They stayed that way until the sky darkened into a star-dappled, velvet blue. It was then that the first burst of color lit up the darkness with a sudden hiss, a boom, and a sky high green explosion.
“They’re starting!” Dazai suddenly exclaimed, jumping to his feet.
Ango nearly leapt out of his skin. “What?!”
“The fireworks! Surprise! It was part of my deal with the renter.” Dazai beamed as he sat back down beside Oda, watching another firework light up the sky, this one a brilliant gold. “Aren’t they beautiful ?”
“Did you know about this, Odasaku-san?” Ango asked.
Oda’s gaze was fixed on the sky above, watching more begin to explode above the ocean. “No. It’s a pretty good surprise though. Now I see why Dazai was so insistent on having you out here by dark.”
Ango seemed to relax as he settled back down. “Oh…”
Dazai scooted closer and leaned his head against Oda’s shoulder. The three of them fell quiet (save for the occasional ‘oohs’ and ‘ahs’), as the show commenced. Explosions of colors painted the night sky, sending sparks raining distantly over the sea that reflected back the fiery shades.
Though the moment was undoubtedly fleeting, it was all their own. It was peaceful, for once free from the bloodstained politics of work in the Port Mafia.
Even if only for that moment, the three could exist together in a world of summer nights and firework shows.