Oh meh god! Fluff moment alert! Just a small, itty bitty warning for you. And, this is the second to last chapter in this story. The sequel will come out next Friday, so be looking for it. It will be called Unraveling a Revolution II until I find a better name. Suggestions would be welcome. Now, on to the next chapter! Lol

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Chapter 14: Bonding Moments

Our team files out of the airship in our customary diamond formation with Winter following loosely behind us. My senses are on full alert. We walk away from the airship, then suddenly, it takes off. I look up as it leaves. A dread fills my senses, making the hair stand up on the back of my neck and giving me goosebumps. I shake my head and fall back into formation before we begin to scout the area.

Jack halts us by raising his hand. "We should send scouting groups. I think that the best bet for the ground would be Zamin and I because of our semblances and my enhanced senses." He gestures to Zamin and himself. "You girls can search the air while we search the ground. Use whatever strategy you must to conserve strength for battle. Contact us on our scrolls if you find anything." With that, Zamin and Jack faded into a shadow.

I shake my head. "I don't think I'll ever get used to that." I smile a bit and turn toward Azura. "So, onward and upward?"

She smiles back and lifts into the air. "Yeah. I'll meet you up here."

I throw up a glyph into the air, just above the treeline. I ready a glyph underneath me and spring into the air, just barely making it to my makeshift platform in the sky. I land precariously on the edge, almost losing my balance, but Azura pushes me further from the edge. "Thanks, chica."

She beams as she floats effortlessly. "No problem, Rae. I'll catch you anytime."

I laugh. "That was so cheesy."

"But true." She winked.

I blush a little and straighten my combat skirt. "Ah, yeah. Um, so, let's get scouting. We have a lot of ground to cover."

She begins to fly ahead, all the while laughing at my embarrassment. "Whatever, Rae."

I clear my throat and follow her. I look everywhere but directly at her. My mind races. 'I know that it's only been a couple of months, but I feel like I've known her forever. She could possibly be my best friend, but somehow more.' I blush and look away from her. I look down into the forest. The area, for now, is clear and needs no attention for the moment. 'The drawings were the first sign. I mean, I've had crushes before. There was this one guy that I had known forever, he had such beautiful eyes and his smile made my heart soar. But Azura makes me feel different. Azura makes me feel shy. I'm hardly ever shy! Her beautiful eyes have those brilliant golden flecks in them. Everytime I look her in the eyes, I feel like I could just get lost in them for hours, like her eyes were a wilderness and I was the lost adventurer, but I never want to leave.' I smile broadly and sigh.

Azura looks at me in confusion. "What's wrong?"

I blush, "Nothing." My voice trails off, becoming barely audible. 'I was totally almost caught! I'm just lucky I hadn't started mumbling my thoughts out loud.' I sigh again, but softer, so she couldn't hear. 'Her smile captivates me in a way that I thought would be impossible. Everytime I make her smile, I get this giddy feeling, like a high without drugs. Her laughter is like a song, so beautiful and mystifying that you can't help but stop and listen as it plays. And her lips. They enrapture me. I just want to know their taste, their softness. My imagination can't be good enough to describe them in real life.' I sigh in tranquil bliss as I detail her entire face in my mind. Unbeknownst to me, though, I have been staring at Azura with a peculiar expression on my face as I subconsciously throw glyphs to keep up with her.

Azura looks back at me again, right after I sigh. "Why… why are you staring, Rae?"

Still in a slight daze, I answer without thinking. "Because you're so damn beautiful." As soon as the words leave my mouth, I snap out of my trance and begin to panic.

"What?" Confusion mixes with a softer emotion I can't quite peg. Then, her expression softens even more as she flies toward me. Eventually, she's standing on my glyph, mere inches from me. "Did you just call me... beautiful?" Uncertainty laces her tone, almost bringing me to tears.

I take her hands into my own. "Yeah. You are, though. So godsdamn beautiful." I try to finish sorting out my feelings in seconds. 'I like her. I know I like her... a lot. How could I not? I feel safe with her, cared for, and I always seem to get butterflies in my stomach everytime she flashes her bewitching smile. I might even be in love with her. This is so strange. I've never had a crush on a girl before, but I know that the heart wants what it wants. I can't change it now.' I dare to lean forward, bringing us within centimeters of each other's faces. I search her eyes, looking for that slight bit of resistance and find none. I finish the descent, my lips meet hers and a spark ignites through my body. That small touch brings absolutely everything into perspective. I pull away after just seconds. A smile stretches across my face. "That was amazing," I whisper oh so lightly.

Azura giggles like a schoolgirl or something. I mean, we are schoolgirls, but I've never really heard anything quite like it before. It sounded like she was drunk, like when you get so giddy that you can't even think straight anymore. "Yeah, amazing." This time, she leans in. Our second kiss lasts far longer than our first. I wrap my arms around her neck to bring her closer as she wraps hers around my waist to do the same. I try to communicate all of how I feel in the span of a minute or so. As we draw away, my scroll rings.

I sigh. "Damn them and their horrible timing." I unhook my arms from around Azura to answer. "Yes?" I try so hard to keep the annoyance out of my voice.

"Whoa, what's got you so wound up?" Zamin's voice comes from the device. His image is nowhere to be seen.

I pinch the bridge of my nose in an outward display of my displeasure in our situation. "Where are you, and what news do you have for us?"

Zamin seems to take the hint that I'm in no mood for his games. "Well, We're just east of our starting position. WE were ambushed by an unknown amount of Grimm. They're surrounding us all sides. We need back up stat!" He stage whispers, where we hear him, but he's not too terribly loud.

"Copy. We're on the way." I hang up and pinpoint his coordinates with my scroll. I turn to Azura. "You get all that?"

She nods. "Yeah. I got it." She turns away from me. "So, um, what does, um… this, make us?"

I chuckle at the awkwardness of our current predicament. "What do you want us to be?"

She looks me in the eye now. "I would like for us to be together." She hesitates for a bit. "Do you?"

I give her a very uncharacteristically sweet smile. "I'd like nothing better." I hold out my hand, and she grabs it. Our fingers intertwine naturally, like they were destined to connect. "Now, come on. You can walk on my glyphs with me. Conserve your Aura for the fight ahead." And with that, we walk hand in hand to our teammates, all the while, that foreboding sense of doom terrorizing me from within my mind.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Meanwhile, on the Ground: Jack

We fade out of the shadows slowly, surveying our surroundings carefully. I sniff the air hesitantly, making sure nothing is around us. A twig snaps behind me, but I recognize the gait of the walk as Zamin coming from his own examination of the area. I turn around to face him. "Our best bet will be to continue east. Do you know which way the girls went?"

He shrugs. "Maybe east? I don't really know."

"Alright, then. I think we should stay ahead of them so that we find the den first. Who knows what'll happen if they find it before us."

Zamin looks at me skeptically. "You sure are more talkative without the girls around." He gives me a weird crooked smile that kind of creeps me out.

"Well, I just don't want to accidentally expose them to some of my inner thoughts." I shrug.

Zamin turns around and begins to walk backwards, somehow avoiding the multiple trees in his path. "What do you mean, 'inner thoughts'?"

"I don't want to talk about it." I look away from him, hiding my anger and pain from one of my only friends. 'I'm getting so fucking mushy.'

"Come on, man. You can tell me. We're teammates and comrades in arms." He strikes a pleading pose with his arms extended toward me. "Confide in me your strife, oh friend of mine!"

I chuckle under my breath at his antics. My eyes narrow in sadness soon after. "Are you sure you want to know, Zamin? My past is filled my loss, pain, and blood. Will you plead with me to gain nightmares?"

He suddenly turns serious. "You shouldn't have to carry the burden of your sorrows by yourself. Sometimes, you have to let someone in."

I look at him skeptically. "What could you even do to help me if I do decide to confess?"

"I could help you cope. My parents taught me that all people are worth protecting and that I should care for all those in need if I am capable. You need help, and I am perfectly capable of providing it." He suddenly looks to the sky all dramatic and crap. "It is my moral code. It is my duty and privilege to help all those in need."

"If it'll get you to shut up, I'll tell you." I run my fingers through my hair, hoping I won't regret divulging my deepest secrets.

Zamin just sits, with his back to a tree. I give him a sideways glance before taking a seat across from him. "Well, you see, I'm an orphan. My parents were killed by some obsessive Faunus hating group called the Anti Faunus Organization. They openly hunt any Faunus in their areas of control." I steel my expression against any pain I'm feeling. "I was nine when it happened. My parents and I were taking our customary walks in the woods. We used to do it every Saturday. They came at us from all sides. My parents were adequate warriors, but they hadn't brought their weapons." The memory flashes before me.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

Memory: Jack

The men were everywhere. Me being only nine, I had no previous combat training. I only sparred a bit with my mom and dad when they wanted to play. The men were armed to the teeth, scaring me. They try throwing out nets to catch us. I hear some of them yelling about cutting our ears off for a trophy. I start to cry. My parents are holding off the ones directly in front of them. They're back to back, fighting in a way I had never seen from them before. Most of the AFO members go down, unconscious.

My mother turns to me and tells me to run. I'm scared, but I do as she tells me. I slip past the humans in front of me fairly easily. They're mainly focused on my parents, considering the fact that my mom and dad are giving the organization members a run for their money. I was able to get away safely, but my parents weren't so lucky. I can hear the screams in the distance, pull more tears from me. I cover my ears and wait it all out.

After hours of hiding in a tree and crying my eyes out, I make my way back to my parents. What I see haunts me to this day. Blood is everywhere, soaking into the ground and staining the grass red. What I see of my parents shock me. Their claws are torn out, leaving nothing but bloody nubs at the end of their fingers. Their slightly pointed fangs are missing. Where they once were is now just crimson holes that have hardened from the blood coating them. Worst of all, their ears are cut off. Their magnificent wolf ears, nothing but blunt lines with matted fur where the blood had seeped down to drench their hair. The stench overwhelms me and makes me nauseous. I throw up right there, falling to my knees to cry for what seems like forever.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Present: Jack

I snap back to reality after Zamin pokes me in the shoulder. My stoic expression has given away to mournful tears. "They didn't make it. I ran away, but when I came back, they were dead. I decided to leave that town and just became a hobo or something. I wandered around for about a year before I was found by the White Fang. Being the impressionable youth that I was, I agreed to join." I give a sarcastic smile as I remember that day.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Memory: Jack

It is a surprisingly sunny day out. I'm just basking in the light, trying to think of a way to get more food for the week. My usual strategy is theft, but I had been in this town too long. I'm ready to move on, I think.

Just as the sun reaches its highest point in the sky, I hear a rustling from my right. I turn sharply, my ears perking up at the slight noise. I stand carefully, assessing the threat. No smell comes to me on the wind, indicating that the people are downwind of me. Suddenly, a girl about my age and a boy a little older than both of us steps out of the brush.

I growl a warning. "Who are you?"

The boy surprises me by flashing me an assuring smile. "My name's Adam, brother. And this is Blake." Blake stands there, suspicious of me, I guess.

"I am no brother of yours." I growl low in my throat, letting my inner wolf start to come forward.

Adam looks at me with pity. "All Faunus are my brothers and sisters. You are no different. You are my brother."

I look at him skeptically. "What are you talking about? We're no more related to you than I am to humans."

Adam laughs. "I meant brothers in plight. We are kin of the soul, both wronged by humans. I seek peace. I seek equality. What do you seek, brother?"

I scoff at his notions. "I seek my next meal."

Adam looks me up and down, then smiles at me. "Well, come with us, brother. We have plenty of food."

I go with them but only for the food they promise. They take me to this warehouse in the Industrial District in Vale. Faunus are just walking around freely, no humans in sight. I gawk at the scene before me. All my life, the Faunus I have seen are low key citizens. They never did much to draw attention to them, especially with the AFO out to capture and kill any and all Faunus they can get away with. This openness is so new to me. We eat, and I let Adam convince me to stay. I join the White Fang in hope of peace.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

A/N: It finally happened! Yay! The Azura x Rae train has left the station. Hmm. Tell me, do you want more fluff in the sequels, cause I think it's gonna happen. Follow, favorite, review!