"Inhale…exhale…breathe in…and out…" A Faunus girl was standing in the courtyard of Beacon's campus muttering to herself. Phila asked for her fellow teammate, Rod to meet her in the courtyard to ask him a question. Well…ask wasn't exactly right. She needed to tell him something and she believed that the courtyard was the best place to do so. However, when she arrived, she noticed that there were a lot of students lingering around, chatting or reading, which wasn't good since she wanted a little privacy. The shy hawk Faunus asked everyone to please leave for no more than half an hour, which was met with success and mostly happy responses once she explained; something that she was glad for. But that was a small victory for what she was about to do. Even though she had privacy and a good day, she couldn't help but get nervous, resorting to the nerve-soothing action of inhaling and exhaling, which was barely working as her mind kept racing with questions and possible failure.
"Come on, Phila…you need to pull yourself together for this…you're the one who asked him, so you can't give up now…inhale…exhale…" Several thoughts kept appearing, such as being told that she and Rod were obviously infatuated with each other and that they need to act on it when they could. After Rod temporarily left the team for the promises Dion offered, she fell into a depression, believing that they weren't going to meet again. Four months passed before Dion made another large-scale assassination attempt. Though he was successful, he had Rod stay behind to cover up any evidence that pointed towards his guild and, if necessary, eliminate those who knew. Phila made it a point that she, and only she, was to convince Rod to come back to being a member of Team HYPR, which was settled in combat that was won by her. After a long and rather harsh interrogation on his actions, Rod finally re-settled his place on the team. Phila knew at that moment that she needed to confess to him.
"Hey Phila! You said you wanted to talk, didn't you?" She nearly jumped when she heard his voice. She nodded wordlessly at Rod, trying to straighten out her now-spiraling mind.
"Ahaha…maybe I should start the conversation then? Because honestly, I missed being able to talk with you when I was under Dion's wing." Rod walked over and stood next to Phila, who was staring at him.
"Why are you staring? I'm being honest here. I mean, I missed Hadia's antics and Yasu's too calm personality, too, but I missed our chats the most. Weapons, classes…heck, even just sitting or standing in silence as the world continued on. There's just a calming air about you that no one else seems to have." Phila couldn't keep herself from blushing from his compliment, smiling and nodding.
"I missed you, too. I don't need to explain why though, right? Yasu gave you an earful, and he's still not done, now that I think about it." Rod sighed as he bowed his head.
"I apologized, but he seems intent on telling me everything…but I guess that's what I get for making such a stupid decision. I should've turned him down the minute you guys did…"
"Maybe…but you did get a better motivation for why you're doing this, right? So…while it was painful for us, you did gain a valuable experience." Her statement earned a nod from the bespectacled Huntsman as he rubbed the back of his head.
"You don't need to rationalize my actions. Valuable experience or not, I turned down true friendship for half-truths. The fact you guys willingly wanted me back and vouched that I wouldn't waver off this path again is great! I promise that I will stay true to my convictions this time!" Rod smiled at her, which Phila reflected back with a smile of her own.
"But that's not what you wanted to talk about is it? Sorry, I should've kept it brief."
"Oh, don't worry! Um…yeah I have something to tell you. It's really important." Phila felt her nerves come back, but she wasn't about to let them ruin her confession.
"Rod…when you left, I was devastated for several of the same reasons you said, but there was more I was feeling. I…couldn't believe what happened. I left things the same because I was scared that it would ruin our friendship and teamwork, but then Dion said those things and you were gone anyway." Phila had to take a few breathes to steady her voice so that it didn't crack.
"When I found out where you were 4 months later, I had to be the one to bring you back. I needed to bring you back so that I could say these next words…!"
She took a deep breath.
"I…love you! I…want to be your girlfriend…!" Phila was blushing immensely and Rod looked taken aback.
"You…do…? May...may I have a minute to think it over…?" The words felt like someone took her own lance and stabbed her heart, but she held onto some hope that Rod did just need a minute to think.
"Of course. There's a bench just over there, so maybe we should sit down as you do…?" They both walked to the bench and sat down. Phila was looking down, trying to keep her depression a secret. She didn't think Rod would outright turn her down, but she couldn't think of any confession from any stories she read that started with 'Let me think about it' turning out good. Her heart was screaming to run to avoid hearing the words 'I don't feel the same', but she knew that she had to see this through to the end. If it did turn out that the obvious infatuation between them became just friendship during Rod's time as an assassin, then she would at least try to stay Rod's friend. A night of crying would be needed, first.
"Okay, I have my thoughts ready." She took a deep breath as Rod's words broke through the silence, bracing herself for rejection. She then nodded for Rod to talk.
"Phila…I love you, too." He was blushing somewhat as he looked at her. Phila didn't seem to register what he just said.
"U-um…what…?"
"Oh, did I mumble a bit? Sorry about that. It's harder to say the first time around…I love you too, Phila." Phila felt the relief wash over her and remove her doubts, although her doubts came out as tears, making Rod worried.
"Ph-Phila?! Did something happen? I'm sorry, was my confession too casual? What should I-" She shook her head quickly as she clasped her hands together.
"N-no, I'm just…relieved that you…didn't reject me…" Rod blinked in shock.
"Reject…? Why would you think I'd reject your confession?"
"You…said you wanted to think it over…the stories I read that had 'Let me think about it' as a response to a confession never…turned out well." Rod then facepalmed himself as she explained.
"Okay, I really am an idiot…I really didn't mean to make you think I was trying to let you down gently, I was trying to put together an appropriate response. Man, how dumb can I be?" Phila wiped her tears and laughed lightly.
"Pretty dumb, I think~"
"Hey, that's not nice!" Rod tried to sound offended, but his smile and slight laugh in his voice gave him away.
"Well…um…we're girlfriend and boyfriend, so should we come up with nicknames…?" Rod shook his head.
"No, not yet. There's a step before nicknames." Phila looked puzzled as she thought about what couples do.
"Um…confessions…hold hands…"
"Kiss." Even though Rod said the word easily, he was blushing, which was met by Phila's face turning red.
"K-kiss. Sh-should we kiss…now…?" She tilted her head a little. Rod responded with a nod and starting leaning in. As he was, Phila suddenly leaned forward as well, bumping their foreheads together.
"Ow…!" They both held their foreheads and looked at each other. They both started laughing loudly at their blunder. After a few minutes of laughing until they were almost crying, they calmed down a bit.
"That was not the first kiss I was expecting!" Phila nodded as well, still giggling a little.
"Yeah! Ahaha, I got a little nervous and thought I should lean in too! I guess I leaned in too much."
"Just a little." He nudged her lightly, Phila responding with a playful nudge as well.
"Okay, I'll lean in, Phila."
"A-alright." Rod began to lean in again. This time, he and Phila's lips met. The kiss lasted a few seconds and they pulled away, blushing harder.
"Th-that was…nice." Phila's hand was over her lips. Rod nodded.
"Yeah. Want to come up with the nicknames now?" Phila shook her head and rested it on his shoulder.
"I think we should keep calling each other by our names. For now, let's just enjoy the day…" Rod smiled and nodded, putting an arm around her and resting his head on hers.
