AN: ...Hi. I know it's been a while, so first, thank you so much for sticking with it.
My life kinda caught on fire (metaphorically) there for a few months and it took a long time to sort everything out. I've been slowly working on writing again, and fanfiction is part of that, but there was a good two months there I didn't write anything at all so please be patient.
Honestly, for all of the metaphorical fires, I think my life would have been more stable if they had been literal fires, no joke.
Some housekeeping notes:
During my hiatus, I noticed a spike in comments where people were being bigoted towards polyamorous people, sometimes outright admitting they're prejudiced against them. Comments like that will be deleted without further discussion. Bigotry of any type isn't welcome in my comments section - doubly so since I have two boyfriends and a girlfriend. If polyamory isn't your cup of tea, there are plenty of other stories you can enjoy.
I also started writing guides on writing polyamory in case you want to learn more about it - and have another in the works. Check my Tumblr (LydiaRogue)!
The next morning was bleak and gray, seeming to reflect the mood of the town as they got to work on the repairs. It was only a matter of time before the grimm showed up and so they worked to get things done as quickly as they could to bolster their defenses.
When the grimm did arrive, luck was on their side. There weren't nearly as many creatures as they'd feared - and what did come meant that the wall wouldn't have mattered much anyway.
A flock of griffons, a pack of beowolves and a couple of beringels. The dozen or so creeps that seemed to lurk around the edges of the town no matter what they did.
A family of nevermore.
While they hadn't finished the wall repairs completely, it didn't actually matter. The bulk of the attack came from above anyway, which Coco had a handle on with the occasional help from Velvet.
Fox focused on the grimm on the ground - doing his best to keep track of his teammates and the townsfolk who had joined in on the fight.
At least the grimm didn't come with the guilt that accompanied fighting humans, and he could drive his blades into their bodies with impunity.
He just had to keep his focus and try to keep them out of the center of town - and, hopefully, away from the civilians.
Focusing his aura around his fist, he slammed it into a beowolf's face. It was a devastating attack - he just hoped there wasn't enough armor on it to cause more injuries than it would have otherwise.
He heard a couple of spikes clatter against armor, but it didn't seem to cause any damage to his fellow fighters. Beyond that, he ended up focusing on Velvet - she was a fantastic point of brightness that helped him navigate the messy battlefield.
Her aura had shifted - it wasn't one he was familiar with, but then again, he wasn't sure what his own aura felt like. Her fighting style was familiar - it made the back and forth between them seamless as they fought through wave after wave of grimm.
The first group may have seemed small, but they kept coming - seemingly a never-ending onslaught coming out of the woods.
He was grateful to not be the only one holding them back - Yatsuhashi and the fighters from Botan were right beside him, holding back the waves.
Eventually they petered out, slowing down to a trickle. Fox had lost track of time somewhere in there, along with most of his aura. He was bleeding sluggishly from a few wounds, but nothing too concerning.
There was additional damage to buildings and the exterior wall - they hadn't been able to keep them completely out of the town - but they had managed to mitigate the damage.
Coco slipped her arm around his waist and kissed his cheek. "You did good, Fox."
"So did you." Her gun had been nearly constantly running during the battle, keeping the skies clear for the rest of them.
They'd survived and gotten through the worst of it - there was still work to be done, but it would be easier from here on out.
Against all odds, the array itself had managed to survive undamaged. While the tower was still being rebuilt, they were able to mount it on the second tallest building in Botan and boost the signal back to nearly pre-attack levels.
Coco stayed on top of the building, perched on the edge to call the school, taking a moment to simply breathe while she sat there, listening to her scroll connect.
"Good heavens!" was the first thing Professor Port said when Coco explained that Thulian had been killed in the first bandit attack. "I must apologize, I didn't hear you say that. I'll put out another request with more urgency this time, hopefully someone will respond quickly. How are you four faring?"
She looked down at her exhausted, but unharmed teammates. "We're tired, but it's worked out," she said, a hint of pride slipping into her voice. This was not what second years were supposed to be facing, and yet they'd managed to hold down the fort with minimal casualties. "We can keep it together here until backup arrives. We don't want to leave the town unguarded and they'll need help for longer than we can provide."
One hunter would be plenty as long as the four of them were able to repel any intermediate attacks.
"Of course. I'll message you with the details as soon as I know more - and don't hesitate to get the town to evacuate if you think it's unsafe for them to stay."
Coco sighed. "I'll do my best, but they're stubborn. I don't think I'll get them to leave lightly."
It'd become obvious the townsfolk wouldn't leave unless there was no other choice - and by then it could very well be too late for them.
(She also doubted their ability to safely escort two hundred people to safety through no small amount of grimm-infested forest, but that was a different matter entirely.)
"Of course not. I'll leave you to the cleanup efforts, unless you think you need me to come out there as well."
She smiled at the thought. "No, professor, I think we'll get through just fine. We will likely need more medical supplies and food, though, so the hunter won't be able to just drop in."
It would have been nice to have them simply drop in - and they could have, if they weren't already running low on supplies again. ("Low" was probably being harsh, but they'd burned through a lot more than they'd expected to already.)
"Of course. Stay vigilant!" he said with a final chuckle before hanging up.
She slipped off the building, landing with practiced grace next to her team.
"Well, that wasn't so bad," she said to her teammates. "The plan is for him to get us proper backup and then we'll make our way back to Beacon once they arrive."
"Sounds perfect," Yatsuhashi said, stretching.
Coco pressed the heels of her hands into her eyes. It'd been a very long week - and it wasn't over yet.
They didn't have to wait long to hear from Professor Port that they had backup incoming.
The news was greeted by cheers from the townsfolk - while they were welcoming of the team, they knew the four of them would have to go back to the school eventually and were far from a permanent solution. (Mayor Azure had also thanked them personally for sticking through the attacks - it hadn't been part of the original plan and they were missing a lot more school than they'd originally intended, but it was something they could work with.)
But the day Coral was supposed to arrive came and went - along with the secondary bandit attack.
Their luck held out - when the small group of bandits saw that the town was still standing and was ready to fight back, they turned tail and ran.
It wasn't until the middle of the next day she arrived, looking exhausted.
Coral sighed as she handed off the horses' reins to townsfolk. "The road was even more badly damaged," she said to Coco as way of explanation for her tardiness. "We couldn't set down at the normal spot - the bullhead is waiting for you all further out. I'll send you the directions."
"It's fine, we're just grateful you're here now," Coco said, whole body sagging with relief, grateful to see any kind of backup. "The worst is over, but they'll feel better with someone else here."
They weren't expecting any more attacks, but with the road still out, it would be good to have backup. The anxiety and fear that had started the whole mess wasn't going to disappear just because they'd survived one grimm attack.
But that was officially no longer team CFVY's headache - they were heading back home come morning and wouldn't have to worry about it again.
The journey back was remarkably uneventful - with all the delays they were pleased to have the final leg go smoothly, leaving them to curl up together on the airship during the final part of the trip.
Velvet suppressed a sigh when one of their classmates announced their return. While it was nice to have been missed, the four of them were exhausted and weren't up for a lengthy interrogation over what had happened.
But when Blake approached, she couldn't ignore an old family friend.
"Velvet? Are you okay?"
Velvet managed a smile. "I'm fine. I had Yatsuhashi to look out for me," she said pointing behind her to her partner. Right now she wanted nothing more than to crash into bed with him and sleep for a week.
"Your mission was supposed to end a week ago! What happened?"
"Nothing happened. It was just… there were just so many of them." Velvet blinked and noticed that the rest of Blake's teammates were clearly prepared to head out on their mission. "Oh! But don't worry. You first-years are just shadowing huntsmen, so you should be fine."
"Right…" Blake's blonde teammate said.
Velvet looked over to where her own team was stopped, looking at her as if to ask what the holdup was. "I should go. Be safe, okay?" she said with a small wave, then walked off towards Yatsuhashi, who wrapped an arm around her shoulders.
"Friend of yours?" he asked quietly.
Velvet wrapped her own arm around his waist. "We know each other from Oobleck's class, I think they were worried." It was as much of the truth as she could share, since Blake wasn't open about her faunus heritage. Velvet couldn't blame her - not after everything she'd been through her first year.
Fox smiled. "I don't know why. We can clearly handle anything these missions throw at us."
Velvet shrugged, wishing she could tell them she and Blake went back. "Still disappeared for a week longer than we were supposed to, and they were heading out on their own mission."
"Just as long as the four of us can go and get some proper sleep," Coco said, stretching. "What do you say to just going back to the dorm and crashing, putting our weapons away in the lockers later?"
The other three voiced their agreement - they all just wanted to clean up and relax.
Yatsuhashi and Coco went first in the shower - they took less time than their partners and so it simply made sense.
Sitting down on his bed, Yatsuhashi regarded Coco, who had already changed into her sleepwear. "Velvet said you wanted to switch partners for at least one dance, if we'd made it." He wasn't one to beat around the bush when he had something on his mind.
Coco sat down next to him, running a comb through her hair. She always looked so vulnerable without her customary beret and sunglasses. "It was a thought." She tossed the comb onto her desk. "You seem like a good dancer."
He raised an eyebrow. "Not Velvet?"
Coco moved closer, pressing up against Yatsu's side. "Her too, but…" She glanced to the closed bathroom door. "I don't know what's going on there."
He wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "I don't know either," he admitted. "Something to do with Haven, I think. She's not ready to talk about it, but I mean, she's admitted to it, which is more than I knew two weeks ago."
Coco nodded, turning towards him. "She's never talked about anything that happened to me. Has she talked about it with you?"
He shook his head. "I worry about her. I don't even know what her old team was called."
Coco's brow furrowed as she thought about it. "You know, neither do I."
Before they could contemplate it further, Velvet walked in from the bathroom, already dressed in her pajamas.
"Sorry Velvs, I stole your spot," Coco said, though she made no move to relinquish it.
Velvet just shrugged and tossed her towel over her desk chair. "I don't mind. Though, if we pushed these two beds together, all four of us could cuddle more easily," she said, gesturing to her bed as well as Yatsu's. "Watch a movie, unwind."
Coco's face brightened and they quickly did so, Fox coming out and grabbing the blankets and pillows from the other two beds.
They all collapsed on top of the mountain of bedding together, curling up around one another in a tangle of limbs.
"As much as I like this," Coco muttered from under Yatsu's arm. "We should talk about it."
He pressed a kiss to the top of her head. "Velvet and I have talked about the four of us dating one another if you wanted to as well."
Velvet sat up a little to watch Coco and Fox's reactions, grateful to see that they were smiling. "I mean, we were planning on asking you to the dance," Fox commented, wrapping his arms around Velvet a little more tightly.
"Would have said yes," she said, Yatsuhashi echoing her. The smile she offered in return was interrupted by a gentle kiss from Fox.
"Just the four of us, though?" Coco asked, hesitation creeping into her voice.
Yatsu tilted her head up to offer her a kiss in turn. "Just us," he agreed readily, Velvet and Fox both nodding in agreement.
Coco reached out to hold Velvet's hand, who shyly tangled their fingers together.
The debrief the next morning started well enough - both Coco and Velvet giving their parts of the story when the four of them split. (They left out the argument and the self-doubt - that was something the four of them could handle on their own.)
Port started to respond, but then there was a hiccup of static on the school's PA system.
When the alarms started blaring, signaling an emergency in the city, Coco's head thumped against the table. "Everything else on this mission went sideways, so why not the debrief as well?" she asked the wood grain.
"Good heavens!" he said, getting to his feet and retrieving his weapon from where it was mounted on the wall. "We'll finish this conversation later; we need to get to the city."