Had to admit; this was a sensation she hadn't felt in a while. Coco never felt this anxious going out on missions, tasked with keeping the people safe. And this wasn't even a life or death situation, this was a friendly tournament. So why all the nerves? Luckily for her, Velvet was by her side right now, holding her hand to get her through the worst of it until she and Yatsuhashi made their way onto the battlefield.
The gunner was in an odd state of confusion with the whole scenario – the feeling was so comforting, but it always had been her being the one to comfort the shy Faunus whenever something bad was looming, even before she was her little Easter Bunny. Velvet often voiced her distain for that nickname in public, but Coco knew she loved it really – especially when they were getting intimate. The rabbit Faunus was a completely unrecognisable person when the gloves, and the rest of the clothes for that matter, were off. And Coco just loved to tease her girlfriend with the name whenever she could anyway. But the way Velvet reached out and took her hand was very reminiscent of the earlier days where that gesture was just the girl's comfort blanket.

When CFVY was first formed and they were getting used to each other as a team, the dual haired leader remembered taking the shy girl's hand on their first mission and said to her "I will always be here for you Velvet. No matter what is wrong, you can take my hand or my beret or whatever makes you feel safe and keep it with you until you feel better – they will always be with me." The team leader remembered how the Faunus' face shone with glee at the thought of someone she hardly knew looking out for her as a person rather than looking down on her as a Faunus. It shone almost as bright as when Coco asked her to be her date and girlfriend right before the end of first year dance. She even recalled how Velvet binkied at the question – just about the single cutest thing she had ever seen her now-girlfriend do. Many of their fellow students either came up and congratulated them at the dance or remained silently impartial to the entire thing, smiling and nodding from afar. But the girls both agreed, the consensus in the year was that they were all happy that they had each found the right person. The sex they had that night confirmed it – it was fantastic! It was fantastic before, but that was just to supress Velvet's urges and Coco wasn't exactly going to turn down an uncharacteristically aroused, attractive Faunus grabbing her by the collar and basically pleading to her "Fuck me". This time it had a meaningful intimacy behind it, and boy did it show.

But here they were; waiting in the wings for the two professors-turned-commentators to announce the next fight – her fight. Both of Velvet's hands clasped her oddly quiet and shaky girlfriend's own as she finally spoke.

"Coco, what is bothering you?"

"Velves, I couldn't tell you. Something seems bad; I couldn't tell you what but it's in the air. It's like Breach all over again, I felt something then too. I think it's to do with them." She turned her head towards their competition, the mint-haired girl and the silver-grey haired boy from Mistral, the same ones who helped at the Breach and who seemed to set off a nervous feeling inside the gunner's core. Her girlfriend took them in for a moment, then turned her attention back towards the one person she truly cared about, squeezing her hand tighter.

"It's not like you to be like this, it worries me. I worry about you at the best of times and this is sending me into overdrive." In an instant, Coco's brain found its way back from the stressing over what must be a trivial concern and by instinct sent signals to the girl's mouth to make her say:

"Just you wait until I get my hands on you tonight, then I'll show you what going into overdrive really feels like!" A playful smirk made its way across her face. Velvet's face relaxed upon hearing the girl she fell in love with nearly a year ago be to her normal self once again. The smaller girl wrapped her arms around her lover's neck, a grin making its way onto her face too.

"I look forward to it; Victory Sex is always fun with you Coco." She planted a tender kiss on her lips.

"Not as fun as it is with you, my little Easter Bunny."

"Coco…" the girl's face flushed a bright crimson at the nickname, but resting her forehead against her partner's soon quelled that unease. Coco's eyes opened to glance at her opponents once again and noticed that the female was looking over her shoulder at them and… smiling? And not even an uncomfortable, awkward, 'I've Just Glanced Over My Shoulder and Saw A Public Display Of Affection' smile, it was a caring, honest, 'I'm Happy For You' smile. This thought plagued the fashionista until a certain caffeine-fuelled professor announced to the world:

"And now, ladies and gentlemen, prepare yourselves for the final battle of the Vytal Festival today: Yatsuhashi Daichi and Coco Adel from Beacon, against Emerald Sustrai and Mercury Black from Mistral!" The crowd cheered as the two teams readied themselves to walk onto the battlefield. Velvet grabbed Coco's hands one last time, kissing her on the cheek and wishing her girlfriend luck as she scurried off to join Fox who was sitting and waiting for her in the spectator's seats, confused as to why he was there – it's not like he could see any of the action taking place. Yatsuhashi woke from his meditation and walked up to his team leader, revitalised and mentally prepared for the battle ahead.

"Ready?" he questioned, already knowing the answer. CFVY's team leader smirked as she fixed her beret on her head and replied,

"You bet, big guy."


"Okay, I was not ready for this…" Coco admitted to herself, pulling herself off the ground. The trees in this quadrant of the arena were densely packed, so very few people – if any – could see in between them from the stands. And she knew that her girlfriend would start to worry if she didn't get out fast so that she could see her. Her fear crept back from earlier, her hands shaking so hard not even a heavy-duty Gatling gun could steady.

"Coco." The duel haired girl spun round, barrels whirling so she did not waste any time dealing with the girl who was trying to trick her, calling her name like she knew her to throw her off guard. But the barrels wound down to a stop as the gunner watched as Emerald dropped her weapons and walked towards her, hands in the air.

"That was a stupid idea, kid. Now you've got no means to defend yourself" she mentioned, though anyone with even the smallest hint of moral fibre in their body could tell that this was someone with something more pressing on their mind, and Coco saw that in the red eyes of her opposition.

"Look, I don't want to fight you right now but I needed to tell somebody. Now was the perfect, and really the only, time I could tell anyone."

"You do realise," the gunner replied, an eyebrow arching in confusion, "that this is a tournament, right? The entire purpose is to fight"

"Can I please just tell you – it's eating me up inside that I can't say and it is important for everyone's survival." Survival. That one word hit a nerve with Coco. She retracted her gun back into its briefcase and walked towards the mint haired girl who looked scared and yet relieved that she could speak her mind. Her head lowered as she began to speak.

"I need to be quick. There is a plan – I am involved in it – which causes mass panic in the school causing Grimm to attack and the Tower to fall."

"But if you're involved, why would…"

"I'm not involved anymore! Well, I am but they don't know I'm not." She looked up at the person she was entrusting and for the first time since she had been to this school she saw her coffee brown eyes staring back at her, her sunglasses held in one hand as her other hand rest on Emerald's shoulder. "It's complicated and I promise that if everything I planned goes well I will explain everything. But for now, know that I need to beat you here." The gloved hand retracted as the look of sympathy turned into one of anger – she felt like she had been betrayed. Her hand reached around to grab her briefcase, but the dark-skinned girl reached out to stop her, red eyes brimming with tears. "Coco, I need you to trust me that what I am saying is the truth! If I win here, then my team advances. Providing they succeed and advance as well, then Mercury fights with Yang and that's when they want me to cause an illusion that starts the chain reaction leading to Beacon Tower falling!"

"How do you know he will fight Yang?" Upon hearing a claxon, the pair of them look up at the sky to see Yatsuhashi being eliminated, his valiant fight with Mercury lost.

"Because my boss fixes the fight we needed to fix to get us here. Please Coco, believe me!" A tear fell down her face as she finished, "I don't want anyone else do die or be hurt because I didn't do the right thing." After what seemed like an eternity of nothing, Coco sighed and nodded to Emerald who in return wiped her tears and grinned. "Thank you, Coco. Please don't tell anyone."

"I won't tell."

"You have my word though; everything." She grabbed her sickles again, and turned to the gunner. "And sorry, this might hurt…"

With a ringing gunshot, Coco flew out of the forest, landing all the way in the centre of the stadium next to an unconscious Yatsuhashi. Emerald walked from the forest, swinging her sickles by the chains.

"And with an amazing upset" Oobleck announced "Emerald and Mercury are victorious!" Velvet's hand raised to her mouth. Fox rested his hand on her shoulder as she uttered the name of her girlfriend in shock. Ruby, who was sat elsewhere in the stadium, looked down to see two second years who she was inspired by, bested so easily. She and everyone else were so caught up in her thoughts, no one else noticed the smile Cinder Fall was sporting as she got up from her seat and walked away to the combined cheers and boos from the respective Mistral and Beacon crowds. As the two members of CFVY came off back to the wings of the stadium, one being carried off by paramedics to receive Aura shots to help bring him round from his unconscious state, the other hobbling in discomfort, Coco talked to Fox in a hushed voice.

"Fox, stay with Yatsuhashi until he gets a bit better. Velves and I need to talk in private for a little while." She winks at him, but due to her brain being slightly knocked out of whack by Emerald's attack she momentarily forgot that her teammate was blind. The little Faunus giggled, causing the milky eyed man to roll his eyes after putting two and two together then nodding to her, agreeing to her terms. As the men of the team left to tend to the larger man's damages, the females came together as the bunny girl spoke first.

"Coco, what the hell happened to you in there?"

"Not here. I have got some serious shit to tell you." Sorry Emerald, Velvet doesn't count.


Back at the CFVY dorm room, the two female members of the team were sat on Velvet's bed, the Faunus' ears drooped at the sight of her confident team leader so unlike herself. "And I have no idea what she means. It's so… annoying!" The gunner lay back on the bed, her frustration being taken out on a singular spot on the ceiling. Velvet just lay down next to her, holding her hand and trying to make sense of it all.

"I know you don't want to hear this right now, but I have no idea exactly what she means either." The fashionista let out an audible groan of annoyance before her girlfriend could continue. "But clearly what she said was true, you said she was pleading to you to let her speak."

"And she deceived me, Velves. I 'had' to lose to keep her 'plan' going." The anger in her voice built at a pace. "I could have, fuck I should have, just kept the barrel whirling and unload a few founds into her. Dropped her Aura reserve right there and then; who could stop me?"

"Coco…"

"But no! I let my guard down and listened to her and now look where we are! The one fucking opportunity I get to partake in a Vytal Festival and I basically forfeit the match to a green haired bitch who puppy dog eyed her way into making me care!"

"Coco Adel!" The taller girl's gaze flew towards that of her partner. The quick kiss that Velvet planted on her lips was more than enough to bring Coco down a peg or two. "You are one of the most selfless people I have ever met in my life. You let so many other people's perils and worries pile up on top of you whilst you let yours build up without a second thought. Today was another show of the Coco I fell in love with; the compassionate, tender and caring Coco that is always there for the little guy."

"But she's not here right now." The quick response was accompanied with a brisk turn so that all the rabbit Faunus could see was the back of the other girl. "Who you have lying in front of you is a girl who got her arse thoroughly beaten." She peeped back at the smaller girl. "And not in the way you know I like." And with that, the duel haired girl returned to her post of staring at the wall.

"Which reminds me Coco…" Velvet said knowingly, her left arm grabbing the team leader's easiest to reach arm whilst tracing her finger up and down her lover's back. "You said we would." Once again though, the response from the fashionista was snappy and to the point.

"Quit it Coco. Victory Sex implies we need to be 'Victorious', funnily enough. The only prize I've won is the ability to stare angrily at the wall." But moping was all but forgotten when a soft hand forcefully grasped her wrists and pulled her back on to her back, arms stretched as far as her partner's smaller frames would reach; instead the moping was replaced by shock.

"I know," she said as she leaned in and kissed her lover again, much more passionately than the first time. "You're angry that you lost a fight you feel you should have easily won, right?" The beret wearing girl nodded. "So, as Victory Sex is out, why don't we go for a double – Consolation Sex and De-Stress Sex?"

"Innuendos, Velvet?" Coco smirked as she rolled her usually submissive partner onto her back, arms holding her by the wrists just as the Faunus had tried on her, her usual confidence flowing back into her like a surge of electricity. "Didn't realise my little Easter Bunny wanted this so badly."

"How could I forget?" she responded with a wink, the nickname clearly not phasing her anymore. "'I'll show you what going into overdrive really feels like!'" The pair's jackets were soon on the floor, starting a pile that would evidently be growing in the next few minutes. They kissed again as Velvet's hand found their way around Coco's waist and grabbed hold. "Remember now, Coco?" Coco's knee eased its way slowly up between her lover's legs, causing a gasp from the little rabbit girl.

"Yeah I do. And I so fucking am Velves!"

Fox was walking back to the dorm, as Yatsuhashi had been told that he just needed a night in the ward but he would be perfectly fine come morning. He got a few paces away before he made out the undeniably obvious sounds of Coco and Velvet in the heat of passion with one another. Without even pausing to take in what was happening, the copper haired boy simply turned on his heel and walked away, whistling quite loudly to block out the sounds. Whilst it definitely sucks not being able to see anything, Fox realised that it did have its benefits every once in a while.


I really loved this chapter, Crosshares is such a great ship and I really enjoyed writing them. I admit there isn't as much action as I had initially planned for it, so I know I've got some making up to do in any later chapters.

As always, feedback - good or bad - is much appreciated