Scarlet Fever

summary: She's no damsel in distress, but then again, she never pictured her knight in shining armor with a tail.
words: 1,600+
disclaimers: I do not in any way own RWBY or its characters.
A/N: I will be the proud head of this new ship. Let it set sail!

Winter at Beacon Academy was a beautiful thing.

Velvet wasn't usually very fond of such cold weather, but she couldn't deny that the white blanket over the school and the frost in the air was a sight to be seen. The bare branches of trees hung like skeleton arms, holding up the snow that weighed them down. Students rushed out of classes to have snowball fights in the courtyards. Velvet spent her time sitting on the courtyard benches, drinking hot chocolate and silently watching others. If she kept to herself, she was usually left alone.

There were other occasions in which she wasn't so lucky.

Despite the fact that Cardin had some kind of newfound respect for Jaune, he and the rest of his team still retained their old habits behind his back. Velvet was just one of their victims, as much as she tried to avoid it. She had done everything in her power to avoid violence and it was scary having the urge to fight back build up in her gut.

"Hey, cottontail!"

Velvet looked up from her book and felt her heartbeat immediately accelerate.

Team CRDL came swaggering towards her with their all too familiar smirks on their faces. Cardin led his pack of pigs and propped his foot up on the other side of the bench she sat on.

"How's the weather treating you?" he asked, leering in.

"Fine," she muttered. "And yourself?"

He shrugged. "Been a little cold, to be honest." He quickly glanced around the courtyard, smiling when he found it to be empty aside from them. "I like this jacket, cottontail," he said, grabbing the collar. Velvet wore three jackets and the outermost one that Cardin had in his grasp belonged to her father. "Mind if I borrow it?"

She jumped to her feet, pulling her jacket tighter around her body. Russel and Dove flanked her on both of her sides, keeping her in place.

Cardin grinned as he took a step closer to her. "Oh, come on," he said. "I'll give it right back, promise." He thrust his hand out and grabbed a fistful of her collar, violently tugging her forward.

"Stop!" Velvet shrieked. "Let me go!"

Cardin laughed and raised his fist—

"Hey, idiots!"

A tightly packed snowball smacked Cardin in the side of the face. "Ow!" He and his gang looked around wildly for the source of the attack.

Sun Wukong grinned from his perch in a tree branch. He threw another snowball and hit Cardin in the face once again. "Why don't you pick on someone your own size!"

Cardin growled and wiped the snow from his cheek. "You'll pay for that, you freak!"

"Little problem with that plan, big guy." Sun smirked. "You'll have to catch me first." He back-flipped off of the tree branch and landed on the wall surrounding the courtyard. "Come on, you punks!" Laughing shrilly, he took off in a run, somehow keeping his footing on the slippery stone underneath his sneakers.

Team CRDL took off, looking odd with their feet dragging up snow as they ran clumsily. Lark tripped over his own boots and face planted in the snow. Sun whipped out his weapon and shot at the branch above Lark's head, burying him in a heavy mound of snow.

Dove hopped over his stationary body and made a grab at Sun's tail. Sun whipped around and smacked his attacker across the face with the end of his staff. Dove went headfirst into the courtyard wall and collapsed.

"Get back here and fight, you animal!" Cardin yelled.

Sun smirked. "Me? An animal?" He jumped into the air, caught onto a low-hanging tree branch, flipped his body over several times, and kicked both Cardin and Russel in their chests. He hung upside down from his tail and dusted off his hands, surveying his handiwork with satisfaction. "I think I'm the real man here, fellas."

Velvet approached him slowly. "I could've taken them," she said with slight indignation.

Sun smiled; it wasn't patronizing or mocking like she expected. "I'll bet you could have."

Her eyes flicked upward to his thin white shirt and exposed chest. "Aren't you cold?"

He shrugged; this did nothing to hide the goosebumps on his arms. "Not really."

She disregarded his answer as though she hadn't heard him. "Get down here," she ordered, peeling off her top jacket.

Her authoritative tone surprised him. Still, he teased, "Isn't that the gentleman's job?"

She rolled her eyes, having none of it. "Just do it."

He obeyed and dropped down to the ground. He stood up straight and she realized that he was nearly a head taller than her. She handed the jacket to him and he sheepishly pulled it on. It may have been big on her, but it was almost a perfect fit on him. The thick wool looked odd with his ripped up jeans and sneakers, but he folded into the warmth it offered him.

"Thanks." He flattened out the wrinkled part of the collar where Cardin had grabbed it.

The corners of her mouth tipped upwards. "Call it even."

He scoffed. "That hardly seems fair," he argued, a playful glint in his eyes. "I did save your hide back there. Doesn't the noble knight deserve a kiss from the fair maiden?" He bowed deeply and wiggled his eyebrows.

"I'd hardly call you noble." She narrowed her eyes slightly. "But, thank you."

"No problem," he said, winking grandly.

"Why were those guys bothering you, anyway?"

They were strolling through downtown Vale where the shopkeepers were hanging up bright lights and families were window shopping. The air had a sharp chill with just enough cheer to make Velvet smile. Sun was at her shoulder, not standing too close, but aware of his distance. Why she decided to join him when he offered to take her around town, she didn't know. Maybe it was because he helped her. Maybe it was because he was a faunus like her. She just met the guy; normally she took a bit more time with things instead of jumping right in. He didn't give her much reason to trust him, but he still didn't give her much reason not to trust him.

Velvet sighed and looked down. The miserable light in her eyes made him regret asking. "They bully all the faunus at Beacon. They're very discriminatory."

Sun frowned. "Why do you let them push you around like that?"

She shuffled her feet uncomfortably. "I'm afraid that I'm not the type of girl who likes conflict," she murmured.

He smiled and raised a single eyebrow. "That seems ironic, considering you're training to be a Huntress," he pointed out. She chuckled a bit and his smile grew to a grin. Keeping the ball rolling, he pulled out an apple from his pocket. "You hungry? Or would you prefer a carrot, Bunny?"

She regarded him suspiciously but accepted the offering when he bounced it off his elbow all the same. "You paid for this, Monkey?"

He gave her an exasperated look. "Does it look like I have enough money to pay for these?" He pulled out another apple and took a bite.

Velvet rolled her eyes. "You do realize that you can't keep stealing around here if you expect to stick around."

He raised an eyebrow. "What makes you think I want to hang around this place?" he asked, wiping his mouth on the back of his hand.

Her mouth pulled up into a smile that could probably also be taken as a smirk. "Just a hunch," she said simply.

Dismissing whatever that meant, he shrugged. "Well, what am I supposed to do? Get a job?"

"You could try applying to Beacon," she suggested, hoping she didn't sound eager. "It's obvious you know how to use that staff. Why not become a Huntsman?"

He snorted. "I don't do that whole 'play by the rules' thing." He emphasized his point with air quotes. "And besides, those uniforms are lame."

She gave him a look. "Just because it doesn't show off your completely unimpressive abdomen…"

"Hey!" He laughed despite himself and shook his head. "You got quite the mouth on you for someone who doesn't like conflict," he said, pointing an accusing finger at her.

"I pick my battles," she said with a saucy smile and sway of her hips.

Something swirled in the pit of his stomach and the corners of his mouth unwillingly pulled upwards. He opened his mouth, probably to say something witty, but she cut him off with a gasp.

"I've got to get back to Beacon!" She tossed her apple back to him and he clumsily caught it after several tries of bouncing it back into the air in his attempt. "Thanks for the save!" While he continued to compose himself, she stood on her toes and pecked him on the cheek. As he stood there in a daze, she took off in the other direction with a smile on her face.

"W—Wait!" he cried, reaching out for her. "How am I supposed to give this back to you?" He looked down at the jacket he still wore.

"Come back when the snow passes!" she yelled as she ran off.

"You really trust me enough to expect me to come back?" He frowned.

"No!" She smiled in contrast. "That's why I expect you to prove me wrong!"

He sighed and his arm fell back to his side. He watched her go and resisted the tug in his gut that urged him forward. Instead, he shrank back into the jacket around him and sniffed the fabric that held her scent. When the time came, he'd come back. He owed her a jacket and she owed him a proper date.

A/N: This turned out way shorter and sloppier than I intended. Sorry about that.

I will be the proud head of this new ship. Let it set sail! I kinda picture the Sun/Velvet ship to be like Jack/Rapunzel ship of the Big Four. So naturally, I fell in love with it instantly.

I am currently writing an AU Sun/Velvet fic that will be written better, I promise. I probably won't have it posted soon, but as soon as possible! Hope you guys enjoyed! Make sure you favorite/review! Thanks so much for reading.