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It had been a rough couple of days here at TOPGUN. Their instructors weren’t messing around when they’d said they’d be put through the wringer and back. Each evening after training was over; Mutt would have to practically drag him and Wolf back to their housing. It was an ego check to be sure, one that maybe they both needed, read: Wolf more than Mutt. Thankfully, they had today off. Wolf was planning on using today to relax his sore muscles and do nothing, but Mutt and a few of their classmates had other plans.
Two quick knocks could be heard from across the room. Wolf groaned and rolled over to see the alarm clock. It read: 08:30. Who the fuck was at his door this early on an off-day? He stayed under the covers for a moment, languishing the fact that his plan of sleeping in was ruined. Begrudgingly, he pulled the blanket off of himself and stepped out of bed. He threw on some shorts that were lying on the floor and walked over to the door. And there was Mutt with a smile plastered on his face, the fucker. He loved Mutt. Honestly, he did, but damn if he didn’t get on his nerves sometimes.
He and Mutt go way back, even before their time in the Navy. They met freshmen year of high school and have been pretty much inseparable since, getting into all sorts of trouble along the way. Considering how much trouble they got into, and admittedly still do, Wolf is surprised they made it this far, truth be told. Guess the Navy is willing to put up with your antics as long as you can show them how useful of an asset you can be.
Wolf pulls himself out of his thoughts and back to the man standing in front of him. “Mutt, what the fuck are you doing here this early?” Wolf said. Mutt wasn’t deterred by his friend’s tone and energetically answered him. “Wanna come play some volleyball with me and the guys?” Hm. So that’s why he’s dressed like that and smells vaguely of sunscreen. “And get all sandy? Pass” He puts a hand on the door, moving to close it, but Mutt stops him by putting his own hand on it. “Aw, c’mon, Wolf. It’ll be fun, I promise. Don’t you want to beat the crap outta Dandelion and Rounder?” He questioned. Yeah, he supposes that would be nice, taking those two down. Ever since they arrived at TOPGUN, Dandelion and Rounder have been a thorn in Wolf’s side. Well, when he says they’re both thorns in his side, he mainly means Dandelion. Rounder is actually a nice guy, and he and Wolf get along pretty well. He thinks about it for a second and decides, what the hell? He probably wasn’t going to be able to get back to sleep anyway. “Tempting. I’ll come; just give me a minute to get ready.” Wolf replies. Mutt pumps the air with his fist, victory! “Yes! I’ll wait out here”. Wolf just shakes his head in response and successfully closes the door this time.
He turns around and leans his back on the door. He lets out a small sigh; well there goes that day of rest and relaxation out the window. Though, he decides it’ll be worth it if he and Mutt can beat Dandelion and Rounder. Wolf walks away from the door and to his dresser, where he pulls out a well-worn sleeveless shirt and some gym shorts he could care less about. The shirt, though faded, reads “Visit Rivia, Oregon!” with a graphic of some trees and mountains. Wolf gets a little nostalgic for his hometown every once in a while, and when he does that usually means he’s pulling out this shirt. He puts on a healthy amount of sunscreen –can’t be getting skin cancer now, can we? –and an old pair of flip flops, and heads back to the door.
Wolf steps out of his apartment and onto the sidewalk, where Mutt has been patiently waiting for him. “Alright, let’s go,” He says, closing the door behind him. He looks to Mutt, who still hasn’t wiped that damn smile off his face, and notices that he too chose to go old school for today’s outing. Mutt’s sporting a similarly worn down shirt that has their old high school logo on it. “Honestly, Mutt, why do you still have that thing?” Wolf remarks. “I could ask you the same question, Wolf” He retorts, glancing at Wolf’s shirt.
“Well, at least I have some attachment to the place this shirt is representing”
“And you think I don't?”
“You actually liked high school?”
“Yeah, I kinda did”
Wolf gives him a look. A look that said you’re fucking with me right? Mutt stared right back at him, unflinching. “Okay, I believe you,” Wolf said, ending the conversation. He’s known Mutt all these years and is still learning new things about him. Wolf personally hated high school and was itching to leave it. He figured Mutt was the same, guess he was wrong.
They walked in comfortable silence the rest of the way towards the beach. When they arrived, there were a lot more people than Wolf was expecting. Pretty much every person that was in their class was here. Dandelion and Rounder were already playing a game with Minx and Ram. So, Wolf and Mutt waited until they were finished. It was a good game, with Ram spiking the ball for the win. Rounder was the first one to notice the newcomers, “Hey, Wolf and Mutt! Glad you could make it!” He exclaimed. Rounder was an interesting man. He was short and stocky, not at all like most of their peers. He kinda stuck out like a sore thumb. Still, the guy could play a mean game of volleyball.
“Hey, guys!” Mutt replied, waving at Dandelion and Rounder. Wolf kicked off his flip-flops and stepped onto the warm sand. He caught Dandelion looking at him and said “Enjoying the gun show?” just to fuck with him a little bit. Dandelion turned a touch redder, a hardly perceptible change given that he was already red-faced from playing volleyball. Wolf chuckled to himself and disengaged. “We gonna play or what, boys?” Mutt came over to Wolf’s side of the net. “Yeah, yeah hold your horses” Dandelion finally spoke.
Rounder and Dandelion got into position on their side. Dandelion in the back, ready to serve the ball, and Rounder in the front. “Ready?” All of them nodded. Dandelion served the ball and it went cleanly over the net. Wolf kept a close eye on it and bumped it when it got close enough. The ball went back and forth for a while until Dandelion came up short and didn’t make it to the ball in time.
A couple of times both Mutt and Wolf ate some sand in a failed attempt to get the ball over the net. But so did Dandelion, so it all worked itself out in the end.
Tie game, 2-2 sets for each team. The winner gets bragging rites, arguably one of the best prizes to win as far as Wolf is concerned. Mutt came over to him and wrapped an arm around Wolf’s shoulder “These guys are animals, what’s our game plan?” Wolf wasn’t sure how to respond to that. “Just keep doing what we’re doing? I don’t know, Mutt. What do you think we should do?” Mutt thought for a few moments. “Be as aggressive as we can” Wolf could work with that. He nodded and took Mutt’s arm off him. He walked to the backline with the volleyball in hand. Wolf served it as hard as he possibly could without meaning it to go out of bounds. “Woah!” Rounder exclaimed, turning his head as the ball soared over the net and towards Dandelion. Dandelion leaped up and tried to spike the ball, he hit it but Rounder wasn’t able to get it over the net, scoring Wolf and Mutt a point. Dandelion growled in frustration while Mutt gave Wolf a high-five.
The game didn’t last long after that. It seemed like Rounder and Dandelion had run out of steam and weren’t able to keep up with the others. It was practically a runaway game for the duo, with Wolf and Mutt scoring most of the points. When it was over though, both teams were breathing heavily and Wolf was excited to be done. Not that he hadn’t enjoyed himself, Mutt was right, beating Dandelion was a good feeling. But, damn was he worn out, he might as well have been up in the air for hours running exercises instead of being down on the ground. Wolf walked off the sand and put on his flip-flops, Mutt not too far behind.
“Well, did you have fun, Wolf?” Mutt asked. “Yeah, Mutt, I did. Thanks for dragging me out here.” “What are friends for other than to put them into situations they might not have wanted to be in otherwise?” Wolf chuckled and they walked back to their housing together.