The hospital wasn't really a place that either one of them were familiar with. Their aura was already sufficient to treat any wounds that they suffered in combat as their skills as huntsmen and huntresses were enough to prevent any massive amount of injury. But the damage that Sun's body received needed more advanced ways of treatment as his aura wasn't enough to stand against Yang's blow, rendering his ability to treat himself useless immediately after one strike.
Even though they went to the hospital in order to see Sun's condition, the rest of their group didn't ignore that Blake still had a large bruise on her face and she was in such a state of distraught that her mind had somehow managed to block out the pain entirely and it was only brought back to Blake's attention as one of the hospital's attendants noticed it and tended to her immediately.
They all sat down on a small air-conditioned waiting area partitioned by glass which gave them full view of the whole floor that they were in. It wasn't really a busy day for the hospital and only a few civilians can be seen throughout the floor although the activity within the staff members were still in progress which made the supposedly uncomfortable silence a little bit more bearable.
Before they could all sit down, a nurse tended to Blake's bruise by applying some medical gel and bandaging it up. Suffice to say the pain was a little bit lessened but that wasn't really a priority on her mind. Her heart could only take so much in one day and she felt exhausted after everything that had happened so far. The exhilaration that she felt earlier that day had pumped her heart up to unhealthy levels but this slowly declined into a more faint heartbeat because of her nervousness about Sun's condition.
A conversation could have taken some edge out of Blake but the events that lead up to that moment had rendered each one of them unable to start one up as it was too awkward for anyone of them to say a single word. Ruby and Weiss couldn't think of a single question that they could ask Blake without risking triggering Yang in any way. Jaune, Qrow, and Nora didn't really feel that they had a say on things regarding team RWBY so they decided to wait until somebody spoke up. But Yang on the other hand, contemplated silently about her actions and tried to get rid of the guilt that resulted out of the things that she had done.
Every single second felt like an eternity to them with nothing to pass the time with and stare at each other blankly. This was not how they wanted their day to go and Nora just wanted something interesting to happen to get rid of her boredom.
The door that lead to the operation room suddenly flew open and all seven of them stood with the hopes that Sun was actually okay and hopefully recovered from the injury that he sustained. Blake and the whole gang looked across the hall from where the waiting room was and low and behold, Neptune assisted Sun as they walked out of the operation room while Ren was in tow, readily available if the two friends needed assistance.
Blake had heaved a huge sigh of relief as she saw that Neptune and Sun were chatting away and it seemed like Ren tried to chime in the conversation as well. It almost looked like nothing happened at all as no trace of pain could be seen on his face but the one thing that bothered her was the obvious bandaging that could be seen in Sun's abdomen with a little bit of blood spots that were clearly visible.
Blake rushed in towards the three of them while the rest of her friends did the same. The sudden amount of people who rushed towards them had made Sun and Neptune's eyes pop as they didn't expect that the whole gang would be there to check up on Sun.
"What are you guys doing here?" Sun asked showing no signs of any pain despite the bruise on his stomach.
"Are you okay? Are you still hurt or anything?" Blake asked in quick succession, hoping that Sun could reassure her that he was alright.
"Whoa, take it easy kitty cat. I'm all fine now, just needed some bandages and medicine that helped get my aura back up. Not really anything that could kill me" Sun tried to joke.
"Well if we didn't rush you fast enough I think that it could have killed you" Neptune replied, clearly stating a snarky comment while in the presence of Yang.
It didn't take that much common sense for Sun to notice that Neptune took a slug at Yang clearly referencing her violent actions from earlier. From among the people that visited him in the hospital, Sun saw that Yang was also one of them and upon hearing what Neptune had said, a small hint of grief brushed across her face and he didn't appreciate that one bit. He knew that Neptune was just being defensive but it wasn't his intention to make Yang feel bad. After all, it was his choice to confront her and he was the only one who should be responsible for the hit that he took.
In response to this, Sun subtly smacked Neptune at the back of his head so that he would mind his tone. And in order to reassure both Blake and Yang who were surely the ones that were both worried about him the most, he quickly adjusted the flow of the conversation to take a more lighter path.
"Don't mind him, he's overreacting. I'm fine and that's the only thing that you need to know" Sun spoke.
Blake appreciated the act that Sun did and a small smile crept across her face in order to acknowledge this. Sun was quick to notice it and a small sense of recognition sprung out of him but he tried to turn his feelings down a notch just because Yang was there and he wanted Blake to have the liberty to act out as much as she wanted without him being a limiter for her.
"Where's the rest of your team? I thought they went in here with you guys?" Ruby asked.
"Well I thought that patching me up would take a long time so we sent them back to the dorm and clean the place up, but apparently not. Just needed some medicine to help me replenish my aura and here we are now"
"That's great to hear. You had us worried you know" Jaune said.
"Geez, I'm sorry that I took the spotlight from you four. This was supposed to be your big day and I picked the wrong time to be as reckless as possible" Sun nudged at himself.
Giggles rose from each of their friends and Sun can't help but feel warm inside because of all the familiar faces that gathered around them. Meeting their old friends from Beacon had reminded him of the good old days when things in the world weren't in such disarray. But as much time that he wanted to spend with all of them, a part of him knew that Blake and her friends had a lot of catching up to do and it involved some sensitive issues that they had no right to butt in on.
But despite this, Sun thought that hanging out with Jaune and his team would still be enjoyable so as soon as he got this idea, he promptly suggested a plan that could give team RWBY the privacy that they needed while also giving both him and Neptune some time to spend with Jaune, Ren, and Nora.
"Hey guys, I know that you girls want some time to yourselves and we don't mind hanging out some other time. Why don't you guys have some rest and we'll take Jaune, Ren, and Nora out for a little walk. What do you guys say?"
"Are you sure about that? I mean, we can talk later tonight so we're not really in a rush or anything" Blake replied, a little bit of concern still lingering in her voice.
"Don't worry, you four had a big day and since we're all here with nothing to do, we can hang out as much as we want" Sun told her while placing a hand on her shoulder for extra effect.
Blake knew that Sun was very much stubborn and once he made up his mind, it would be impossible for her to do anything to sway him from rethinking his decisions. She really did want to spend more time with him and the rest of their friends but Blake knew the sentiment that Sun wanted to give. Sun knew very well that she needed to interact with her long lost teammates and this was her chance to properly explain her side and correct any misconceptions that they had about her.
"Fine, but don't you dare do anything that too brash. Or I swear that I'll beat you up myself" Blake replied jokingly.
"So it's settled then, our little scoundrel Blake here will be telling us a long long story about how she magically appeared in the kingdom of Mistral" Weiss butted in.
"Chill out Ice Queen, I have a lot of stories to tell. And I don't mind chatting away for hours on end" Blake replied.
"So guys, while the girls are having their little talk, what do you suppose we do?" Neptune asked.
"It's already afternoon and I don't mind having another meal after all of that crazy high jinks" Nora suggested.
"Nora, didn't you just have a full rice meal for breakfast?" Ren muttered.
"You can't put enough food to fill this bottomless stomach" Nora replied back.
"I haven't had that heavy of a breakfast though. Me and Blake just had bread for breakfast so I don't mind taking a little lunch break" Sun spoke.
This one statement had bought impending mischief to all of them as Nora had received more material that she could use in order to make any single one of them in their group uncomfortable because of her constant joking about the love triangle that she could feel in the air.
"Oooh, I didn't know that you and Blake met earlier before the park. Did you meet up or something? Better yet, did you stay in the same place with her when she was here?" Nora asked, clearly trying to insinuate something.
Ren could only put a palm on his face as he could clearly read what Nora tried to do. Even Jaune caught small hints of this because of how well she knew Nora and even he could tell that things wouldn't end well because of this. But the two guys thought that calling Nora out would only motivate her so they hoped that Sun would say something that could get him out of that situation.
"Well, it's a long story. Sure we stayed in the same room but that's just for the time being before we could meet you guys" Sun replied trying to sound as confident as he could.
This did nothing but fuel Nora's mischief fuelled rampage with the goal to completely turn either Blake or Sun fully red. She knew she had the upper hand on this one and decided to push through with even more implicating things about what Sun had just told them.
"Now that you've said that, did you share the same bed or anything?" Nora asked, now being clear as day that she had an inkling of how Blake and Sun spent their time together.
By this point, each and every one of them felt awkward and humiliated because of Nora's statements. Sun and Blake were the most affected by this as their faces got filled with the color red because of how Nora tried her hardest in order to expose their still secret relationship to both Blake's teammates and the rest of their other friends. Ruby and Weiss were confused on why Nora started to take shots at both Blake and Sun but they couldn't deny that they were curious about their relationship together being more than close friends.
Yang tried to hide it, but she also had a blush on her face resulting from Nora's antics. She and Blake were just reunited and she had absolutely no idea of what transpired between the two of them over the long period of time that they spent away from each other. Yang felt a small hint of jealousy sprouting from within her as even though she knew that Nora was just clowning around, there may be some small truth to what she was trying to imply.
Nora still hadn't had enough and the amusing reactions that she received from her friends had just fuelled her desire to push things even further. She was about to dig in deeper to what Sun and Blake's story had to offer but before she could open her mouth, Ren stepped in so that Nora's energy can finally contained. The energetic girl had managed to make her other friends feel awkward so Ren thought that he needed to return the favor and make her feel uncomfortable as well.
Ren walked over to Nora before she could say a word and gave her a more sensual hug than he usually preferred. He covered Nora's mouth with his chest while placing his two arms on her waist. Nora didn't expect this much physical contact during that time and especially not from Ren. Her heart completely fluttered because of her intense feelings for Ren and moments like this were few and far between. Which made Nora all the more panicked and surprised by Ren's actions.
"Whoa, whoa, what's happening Ren?" Nora muttered in a love fuelled haze.
"You've had a little but too much fun for today Nora. Call it a day and maybe I'll think about more, romantic situations for later" Ren told her.
"Okay" Nora replied back sounding even more attracted to Ren's words.
"Geez, can you guys get a room" Yang spoke from out of nowhere while she gestured towards both Ren and Nora with a jokingly displeased look on her face.
Everyone laughed because of how smoothly Yang threw out her joke and it was a good call back to her old habits back in beacon. Blake was especially eager to see that Yang had slowly started acting back to normal and the old Yang that she once adored had started to make her way back to her. This motivated Blake to continue her talk with Yang and made her even more thankful for the window of time that Sun had given her to talk to her teammates.
All of their business had finally been resolved inside the hospital and after signing some paperwork that authorized Sun's release, they were finally outside of the hospital and free to do whatever they wanted. Sun alongside the other half of Ruby's group were supposed to part ways as Sun and Neptune invited them out to spend some time with each other while team RWBY parted ways. They all started to say their goodbye's to each other for the mean time and it was time for Sun and Blake to part ways after the many days that they've spent never leaving each other's side.
"So, when did you plan on telling me that you had this planned all along?" Blake asked.
"Hey it was meant to be a surprise. And by the looks of it, things are going to work out just fine"
"Try to have some fun will you? And be more sincere with your feelings towards Yang. I don't want you holding out on her just because I'm here you know" Sun told Blake.
"But weren't you going to-"
"Blake, are you ready?" Ruby asked her, abruptly cutting her off before she could get validation on Sun's earlier actions.
Blake turned around to see that Ruby, Weiss, and especially Yang were all eager for her to join them. She saw the look on their faces and Blake immediately knew that she didn't have the right to delay the time that she had owed them. And as much as she wanted to talk to Sun and clear things out, he pretty much wanted her to spend her time with her friends rather than focus on him. In order to repay the debts that she had to her friends and to honor Sun's wishes, Blake decided that it was finally time for them to get some peace and quiet and sit down to iron out the wrinkles that she caused to her relationship with each and every one of her teammates.
"Well, I guess I have to go. But you owe me one for scaring me that much and you'll have a big talking to in due time" Blake told Sun as she tried to conclude their conversation.
"I guess I'm in trouble then aren't I. Good thing that you still have some business to take care of and that should buy me enough time to come up with as many excuses that I can"
"Goodbye Sun, be seeing you later"
"See you later too kitty cat" Sun replied as they eventually parted ways and waved each other goodbye.
All of the four girls of team RWBY walked side by side and Sun felt proud for Blake because of how far she had come. He knew in the beginning that this day would come eventually but it happened so fast which goes to show how far Blake had grown. Although he wouldn't admit it, Sun was a little bit saddened that the time that they could spend with each other had inevitably lessened because of the time that she needed to spend with her old friends and Yang.
But Sun knew that he couldn't be selfish and Blake was not an object that he could take all for himself. She was a person to and like everyone else, she has a choice. And the choices that she had were how she could spend each day now that all of them were already in one place and Sun loved her too much to make decisions for her or influence her in any way.
He couldn't help but stare at the four of them as Blake's image got fuzzier and fuzzier until they were finally nowhere in sight as they blended in to the large crowd that sprawled over the streets of Mistral. For the first time, Sun didn't feel Blake beside her and it was a feeling that felt so foreign because of the time that they had spent to each other and he thought that it would take some practice in order for him to get used to that feeling.
But not everything was hopeless, Sun remembered that he and Neptune still had their three other friends to spend the rest of the day with and he was not about to let that opportunity to come to a waste. Eating out was the one thing that he had in mind and by how things transpired that day, he had a good hunch that they needed to refuel after a long morning.
"So, you guys want to grab a bite?" Sun asked as he focused his attention on their three guests.
"I wasn't feeling that hungry earlier but now that you mention it, I wouldn't mind eating a thing or two" Jaune replied.
"After everything that had happened in the park and no offense, carrying you all the way here, I can say that I'd like to sit down and have a good meal" Ren replied in a joking manner.
"So where do you plan on taking us Sunny boy!" Nora howled excitingly.
"Chill out guys, we have the rest of the day to ourselves so we're in no rush. And I know just the perfect place for us to plop down and have a nice meal"
"Well what are we waiting for? Let's get the party going brother" Neptune cheered.
The five of them were excited to finally have some rest and some food to back things up after the exhaustion that trailed behind them. Sun and Neptune lead the way as Jaune and the others followed and they merrily made their way towards a well known restaurant that Sun and Neptune went to from time to time.
Sun reminisced about the things that happened earlier and one sour thought came in his mind. It wasn't the brutal punch that Yang delivered to him, it was the botched proposal that he tried to do from out of nowhere. He reviewed his actions and decided to evaluate whether or not his decision to do that was right or wrong and what might've happened if he was actually able to pop the question. But he didn't have the luck or privilege for that to happen as everything that came after lead to one large hurricane that propelled him to where they were now.
He was in a love struck trance earlier when he and Blake had their talk earlier and much of it was a blur except for the meaningful words and promises that she made to Blake that day. Sun felt so done and tired with his feelings and the circumstances that he and Blake were under and it felt like the only thing that could free him from all of it was to do something that would make things certain for the future instead of him feeling tired because of all the worrying and anxiety that he had especially now that Blake and Yang were finally together again.
And amidst these feelings, Sun found hope that maybe the future wasn't uncertain at all. Because as he remembered Blake's face after he uttered the first few words of the question that he meant to asked, the only thing that he saw was the most beautiful smile that he had ever seen and eyes that were filled with much hope and gladness that it made it hard for Sun to think that Blake would refuse his proposal.
A bright cloud had hovered over Sun's head and the once vibrant smile that he had earlier had returned once again because of all the positivity that he extracted out of the memorable moment that he and Blake had earlier and his mind had started to buzz and think about what would have happened if that moment truly came to be.
But a mild heart attack had suddenly hit him from out of nowhere as his hand rifled through his pockets. The single most important object that he had on him wasn't in the pocket that he left it in and Sun's world had started to crumble as his fingers couldn't register the familiar feeling of the ring inside of his pocket. Sun tried to contain his panicked self as doing anything brash could give himself away and reveal his little secret. But doing so proved to be difficult as beads of sweat quickly manifested on his face because of the rushed beating of his heart.
Sun thought that maybe he just left it in some other pocket so he decided to feel every single nook and cranny in his shorts just to make sure that he didn't misplace it or anything. But his little search didn't net him anything as the ring was nowhere to be found and Sun was completely crushed by the revelation that it was no longer in his person.
The only place that Sun could think the ring was located in was either in the hospital or the park and neither one of those placed gave him a reassured feeling that he would be able to retrieve it without a hitch. Returning to the hospital would make him more suspicious as he couldn't think of any good reason to return as he no longer had the need to be treated. And the park wasn't any good either as the place was so big that it would be hard to find a small little ring across the large landscape that it had. And because it would be dangerous for them to return back to the park just an hour after they've caused obvious damage to it.
Sun's heart sank because of this and he felt sorry for himself because he couldn't give it to Blake and due time. And utter fear for Blake's mom, Kali, because he lost the precious ring that she had entrusted to him and broke the promise that he made that he would give it to her daughter no matter what.
His feet had refused to move because of how sunken he felt due to the fact that he had lost the ring that was entrusted to him and Sun felt that he had made a great disservice to Blake and her mom because of this. Sun felt a light tapping on his shoulder and it was hard for him to muster up the effort to turn around because of how disheartened he was.
It was Neptune and he had a sly smile on his face. He didn't know why he had that look on his face but not even his bestfriend's facial expressions could cheer him up from what he had just discovered.
"What do you want Neptune?" Sun asked, completely gloomy compared to his joyful self just a few moments ago.
"Why do you look so sad, it's like you lost something" Neptune replied, clearly adding an emphasis on the word lost.
And adding on to that, Neptune gestured over to his right hand and revealed an opened palm. Sun's eyes started to dart open and a grin inevitably started to form on his face because of the peculiar little object that sat on top of Neptune's palm. It was the ring that Kali had given him and he couldn't be any more thankful that he hadn't lost it or the possibility that something could have damaged it in some way.
"I took it from your pocket when you were unconscious. They might've found it if I didn't get it sooner so I kept it so that wouldn't happen" Neptune stated proudly.
"You're a lifesaver dude. And that's not an exaggeration" Sun told his friend, almost overcome with the feeling of giving him a large hug.
Sun didn't want to spend any more time away from the said ring and he reached over to Neptune in order to receive it. Neptune obliged and joined Sun as he also reached over to give Sun what was rightfully his. The panic that had set in had disappeared as soon as he was assured that it wasn't lost or anything. Sun was nothing short from being relieved as he was about to get the ring that he thought he lost, but both his heart and Neptune's had stopped and their tongue's fell down to their throat because a small hand had suddenly flew from out of nowhere and intercepted the exchange that Sun and Neptune were about to have.
"Mine!" Nora screamed in a childish and mischievous manner.
"NORA NO!" The two boys screamed out of shock.
Nora skipped along her merry way as she had obtained the small object that Neptune discreetly tried to hide from them. Sun and Neptune were left motionless as the both of them were caught and there was nothing that they could say or do that could dissuade Nora from sharing what she had just found to both Jaune and Ren and it was pretty obvious at that point that Sun would have to tell the three of them the whole story.
"What do we have here sunny boy? Looks like someone has a little bit of explaining to do" Nora teased while she gloated because of the small ring that she knew meant much more than its face value.
"Nora, what are you holding?" Jaune asked, while Ren approached the two of them because of the development that had just occurred.
"Well by the looks of it, it's some kind of ring. It's really pretty, where did you find it?" Ren asked.
Nora gladly pointed over to both Neptune and Sun who still just sat there and stared directly towards the three of them while their eyes never trailed off from the ring that Nora now had on her hands. After all of the effort that they went through in order to keep the ring a secret between the two of them, they never thought that their little secret would be foiled that easily.
"That's a pretty ring Sun. Never thought that you would be the type to wear one though" Jaune commented.
Ren thought the exact same thing as Jaune and was just about to comment on how grand the ring looked. But upon reviewing the context behind all of it and the fact that both Sun and Neptune looked so shocked all of a sudden made Ren think a little bit more deeper rather than settling with his initial thought.
It didn't take long for Blake's image to come into Ren's mind and everything suddenly seemed as clear as it could be and even though all of the pieces connected, Ren couldn't believe that the ring that Nora currently had on her hand would serve a much more special purpose. And judging by how Nora jittered uncontrollably and by Ren knowing that Nora had a knack for making fun of relationships among their group, Ren tried to bring up the small theory that he had on his mind. Just for the sake of putting his mind to rest and grab both Sun and Neptune's attention.
"Sun if you don't mind me asking, is that... an engagement ring?" Ren asked while Nora almost lost it as Ren had the exact same idea that she had on her mind.
"Ummm, maybe?" Sun answered, trying to be as ambiguous as possible.
"I KNEW IT!" Nora shrieked in victory as loudly as she could. Jaune and Ren didn't have the privilege to react to Sun's revelation as they were too preoccupied by Nora's sudden burst of energy and tried to hold her down before she could do anything unruly or childish.
"Calm down Nora, it's not that big of a deal!" Jaune told Nora, trying to knock some sense into her.
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN NOT A BIG DEAL!? YOUR FRIEND WANTS TO PROPOSE YOUR OTHER FRIEND AND YOU'RE SAYING IT'S NO BIG DEAL!" Nora screamed in outrage.
"Guys guys, calm down will you!" Sun shout in order to stop everyone in their tracks.
"You just can't catch a break today can you?" Neptune told Sun as he patted his shoulder in sympathy.
"So, mind telling us the whole story or not?" Ren asked with a wry smile on his face.
"Ren, I thought that you were on my side?"
"Well I might not be as enthusiastic as Nora over here, but nevertheless I'm still interested in this ring of yours" Ren replied.
"Yeah come on Sun, we're all friends here. We promise we won't tell and besides, what better way to tell us your story than over a hot meal with a bunch of your friends" Jaune butted in.
"You really don't have any choice bro, why not just let them in on our little secret?" Neptune advised.
Sun tried to think about any other option that he could take just to have an out in his current position. He already had a bad enough day as it is and when he thought that he could relax and forget about everything that had happened that day, his utmost secret just had to be revealed to a bunch of his friends nonetheless and no matter what he did, the information had already leaked out and wasn't exclusive to just him and Neptune.
He couldn't be any more annoyed because of how frustrating the whole debacle had became. A visible frown can be seen on his face which was contrasted by the eager smiles that came from Jaune, Ren, and Nora along with Neptune who also joined in on the fun, just because he knew that Sun would be forced to tell the story anyway. They were all eager for a good gossip and nothing could be more juicier than a good love story.
"I guess I can tell it as long as you keep quiet" Sun spoke, completely defeated by the presence of his friends.
"Yeah yeah of course we'll be quiet. What kind of friends would we be if we ratted you out like that" Nora replied.
"Woah, you really suprised me Nora. I thought that you'll just blab everything out as soon as you heard the whole thing" Jaune told her.
"That will just spoil all the fun and I'm not a monster that gets in the way of love. But don't worry, I have my own ways of having my fun with this" Nora told Jaune with obvious mischief on her voice.
Sun felt a bead of sweat trickle down his forehead because of the subtle threat that Nora made. That was the exact reason why he was afraid to give Nora this information because she was a wildcard and he didn't know whether or not she would hint about it when Blake was there and the issue was so sensitive that Sun couldn't risk even the thought of him having that ring be bought up in Blake's mind.
"Don't worry, I have your back. I won't let her jeopardize your love life with her jokes or anything" Ren told Sun, reassuring him that he would keep Nora in check at all times.
That was the first piece of good news that he received that day and he was glad that Nora's outgoing and energetic attitude was balanced out by Ren's more calm and rational self. The two were complete opposites and somehow turn out to be one of the best couples that he knew. That thought reminded him of Blake a lot but decided to put it on the back of his mind just to forget the feeling of him missing her.
"So, are we going to eat or not?" Neptune asked, clearly ready to sit down and finally eat after all this time.
"Fine fine, we're going already. But you're paying for this one, I'm going to let them in on my secret just because you couldn't pass that ring more discretely" Sun told Neptune.
"Hey, you don't have to tell them anything. But I have to warn you, Nora's a bit itchy for a story and not telling her may just land you into a world of trouble when she meets Blake"
"Don't you dare do that!" Sun spat out in a panic.
"I'm just kidding dude. Fine, I'll pay for your food just this once. I feel sorry for you because you already got hit on the stomach and about to spread your secret"
"Are we just going to stand here or what?" Jaune complained, clearly hungry because of all the talking.
All of them had their fill with the long conversation that they had and they didn't want to let their whole day devolve into them talking just right outside of the hospital that they exited. Nevertheless, they still had much more to talk about but their hunger for more talking was outweighed by the need to feed their stomachs and the small group that they had split off into had decided to finally move the party over to the restaurant that Sun had recommended. They took the road that directly went opposite of the path that team RWBY took to go to the place that they were staying in.
Neptune along with Jaune's team had started to acclimate to each other and they all went their merry way with Sun in front of their group to lead them to where they were slated to eat. This was the first day that he had to spend without Blake by her side and he suddenly felt that his right hand had started to slightly itch without him knowing what caused it. The only thing that he could think of was the fact that he held Blake's hand so often that his body had subconsciously started to look for that sensation.
Before they could start to proceed deeper into the street that they went through, Sun looked over behind his back one last time before his eyes couldn't see the street behind them anymore. He hoped that Blake's image or a small part of her could still be visible before they took a sharp turn.
But the only thing that greeted him was the loud bustling of the kingdom and a mirage of people that flooded his vision.
The familiar sight of the commercial district had once again graced Sun and Neptune's eyes and it was easy for them to navigate through the various crowds of people that flocked within the district that wanted their own fair share of what the district had to offer, or even manage their own businesses that the people had gone there for.
On the other hand, the newcomers to their group where in awe due to how different the kingdom was compared to their old memories of Vale. No matter what the day and how busy the time of year was, they never saw any street or place in Vale that busy and it was even harder for them to digest that this was a regular occurrence in that area.
They made sure to stay close to Sun and Neptune as even a second of separation from the two of them would cause them to completely get lost in the kingdom as they didn't have the capacity to wade through the immense amount of people. Their knowledge of the kingdom's layout wasn't that great even though they already spent a few days within.
"I can't believe that you spent a week in here without even visiting all of the fun places" Sun voiced.
"We were on guard duty outside of the gate for all of that time to get some funds for all of our expenses. We were also pretty tired from the journey to get here so we just slept and lazed around soft beds that we missed so much" Jaune replied.
"Don't you worry, now that you have me and Neptune we'll make sure that you have the best Mistral experience that you can ever have"
"And by the looks of it, we're already on the first stop of your Mistral tourism checklist" Sun happily noted as he pointed over a big establishment that had a large sign posted on top of it.
It was apparently the restaurant that Sun had lead them to. Jaune, along with Ren and Nora were pleasantly greeted by the scrumptious aromas that came from the said establishment and the already wide smiles that they had on their faces had grown due to their eagerness to enter the building and help themselves to whatever had made the different smells that invaded their noses.
"Pots and Pans, not really the most fancy sounding name is it" Nora mentioned.
"Even if it isn't, that doesn't mean that it will taste any different from good food. You remember the small breakfast that we had? That came from stalls and it was still pretty good" Ren replied to Nora's observation.
"You have a point. The only thing that matters is that it tastes good in my mouth and fills my stomach to the very brim!" Nora exclaimed excitedly.
"Don't worry, our team usually frequents this place and we have never been disappointed. I guess that's enough to earn your trust right?" Neptune told them.
"It's okay dude. They're about to learn that true Mistral cooking is not something to scoff at" Sun added to Neptune's statement.
Sun lead the way and opened the door that was located on the side of the building for the rest of his friends. They hurriedly made their way inside and if the smell of food wasn't already strong enough outside of the building, the whole place seemed to be enveloped by it inside as Nora had now fallen victim to the strong smell of ingredients being cooked within the kitchen.
The boys were more concerned on finding a table before they could start digging in and feeding their ears with Sun's story but the place had a decent amount of people in it and Jaune worried that they wouldn't find a table that could fit their whole group. He tried to look around for any space that could fit all of them but his search didn't reward him with anything.
"Do you think that we'll be able to find a table in this place?" Jaune asked.
"Relax dude, there are more tables upstairs. People in here never run out but we seem to find a table no matter what" Sun replied to Jaune's question.
With that said, they all made their way to the second floor of the building while Ren dragged Nora along with them. She was too focused on the smell that came from the food being cooked that she reverted into her overacting hungry self as she went into a catatonic state.
Compared to the busy scene downstairs, the second floor was much more tame and less people occupied the space that it had. There were a bunch of open tables that could fit them all and still have room for two or more people and they were free to choose any spot that made them comfortable. Because of the large window that overlooked the part of the commercial district that they were in, Sun and Neptune decided that it was best for them to choose a table that gave their friends a view of the land.
After choosing the appropriate table, they were finally able to relax their drained legs and sore butts after the fairly long walk that they took to reach the place. Menus were individually handed out to them and it revealed that the restaurant had offered various selections and there was so much to choose from that the three foreigners were daunted on what to choose.
"There's so many to choose from Ren, I want to eat it all" Nora stated dreamily.
"Control yourself Nora, you're going to get a bellyache" Ren told her responsibly.
"Doesn't matter if my belly had fun before it"
"If you won't do it for yourself then do it for me will you? You do know that I'm the one who rubs your stomach after you get one of these bellyaches"
"Even better!" Nora cheered.
"These two lovebirds, I don't know if they're annoying or completely adorable. I guess you can call it sickly sweet" Jaune noted.
"On to more important matters, have you guys already decided on what to order?" Neptune asked.
"Not really sure yet. I mean there's so much and we're not from here so we don't know what's good or not. Why not order what you usually order and see where we go from there" Jaune advised.
"If you say so"
Neptune gestured over to one of the servers that roamed around so that he can order the usual food that they had due to Jaune's request. A person had seen the gesture that he made and went over to their table wasting no time at all. A girl approached them wearing a uniform that mirrored the outfit of all the other employees that were present in the restaurant. She had blue eyes and her brown hair was tied up into a ponytail and with her was a pen and piece of paper, clearly ready to take their order.
"So, what are you two fancying today? And it looks like you have some new faces to tend to" The girl asked, clearly familiar with both Sun and Neptune's face but not so much with the other trio.
"We're just showing them around the place and since we've been here so much, we know that you won't disappoint them with your cooking" Neptune replied.
"Well, order up then"
"Let's see, we'll have stir-fried noodles and beef, fried rice, grilled pork, and some dumplings for the appetizer"
"Some much needed advice, make everything a large. Anything smaller than that Nora will just devour in a heartbeat and before we know it, we don't have anything other to eat than her leftovers" Ren butted in, while Nora nodded her head in agreement to what Ren had said.
"It's fine, their regular servings are pretty hefty and we often have some spare takeout to bring back to the dorm. But if Nora does suck everything up like a vacuum, we can just order some more" Neptune replied.
"So, anything else that you would like to add?" the waitress asked them.
"Well, your number would also be nice on top off that" Neptune told her with a flirtatious face that clearly wanted her attention.
"Nice try, never happened once and I'd like to keep that record thank you very much. To be honest, I prefer your other blonde friend over there at the back" The waitress replied, throwing a wink at Jaune while he responded by waving his hands in front of his face.
The waitress walked off after taking Neptune's order. Neptune's failed attempts at getting the pony-tailed girl's number had started to stack up and Sun couldn't help but let out a small snicker in order to poke fun at Neptune for his failed attempts at snagging himself a lady to date.
Jaune had a red blush on his face because of the wink that the girl had given him and he felt embarrassed because of it. Sun thought that it was too comical that Neptune had once again been rejected and was easily outdone by Jaune without him even meaning to.
"How about that Neptune, looks like Jaune over here has better game than you" Sun teased.
"Big deal, she wasn't even that cute anyway" Neptune responded.
"Says the guy who got rejected 10 times and counting"
"What can I say, I'm pretty smooth with the ladies" Jaune spoke, adding onto Sun's attempts at teasing Neptune.
That comment was not appreciated by Ren and Nora at all. Some small part of them was hit by that statement even though Jaune said it in a joking manner. Something pulled them to give him a look of resentment because of what he said as their memories of their old teammate came flashing into their minds.
"Did you really just say that?!" Nora muttered, clearly showing some anger while Ren maintained the scowl that he had aimed at Jaune.
Sun and Neptune quickly shut their mouths as they didn't anticipate the sudden shift of tone that both Nora and Ren had on their looks and manner of speech. Jaune was moderately startled by Nora's harsh tone and he faced the two of them only to be greeted by his two friends who were mad at him in just a blink of an eye.
Jaune immediately knew that he set the two of them off by what he said and even he hated himself a little bit looking back at what he just said. If he had the opportunity, Jaune would punch his face in a heartbeat because of being so insensitive and hurting his friends. He promised that he would never forget Pyrrha and he wanted to reassure both Ren and Nora that he still loves her after all of the time that had passed.
He made a weak smile as he looked in both Ren and Nora's eyes as he clutched the red sash that was wrapped around his waist. It was an ode to Pyrrha's memory and he wanted to carry something around to make him feel that she was still around and emulate the warmth that she gave him.
"Don't worry guys, I'm still taken" Jaune uttered, holding the red sash.
This immediately registered within Ren and Nora's mind as an apology for what he had said and a reminder that she was still her one and only love. They both felt sorry for getting mad at Jaune so quickly as they knew that if it hurt for them, then it must have been double the pain for him.
In order to make amends and patch up their little argument, Ren and Nora scooted closer towards Jaune as Nora wrapped him around in a hug while Ren placed his arm along their shoulders to join in on their embrace. Sun and Neptune stayed quiet along the whole exchange as they didn't want to interject on their personal issues. But it seemed like the three of them had made up and they looked over to Sun menacingly with the intent to get something from him.
"Well now that we're done with our drama, it's time for you to reveal yours monkey boy!" Nora demanded, back to her old bombastic self.
"Don't you want to eat first?" Sun asked, sounding a bit surprised.
"We've got your juicy story to feed on in the meantime. So why not indulge us right now"
"You heard the lady" Ren added.
Everyone on the table faced Sun and he was directly put on the spot. He didn't have any other choice but to begin his long story without him even having the opportunity to choose a way to tell it in the most efficient way. But his friends were too eager about it and Sun just thought that it would be better to just get it over with rather than have it keep bugging him for the rest of the day.
"To be honest it's a really long story so if you don't mind, I'll just give you the details that really matter, okay?"
"Its fine, now go ahead and give us everything you've got" Jaune told him.
"Well, here it goes" Sun spoke one last time before he took a huge gulp of air to prepare for the amount of words that were about to leave his mouth.
"As you all know, after the fall of beacon Blake left her teammates . I saw her running away so I decided to follow her discreetly. I knew that she wouldn't want me tailing her so I never revealed myself to her even after a few months have passed"
"I don't mean to be rude, but you sound like a totally obsessed stalker dude" Neptune commented, breaking the chain of thought that Sun had on his mind.
"It may look that way but I really just wanted to know that she's safe. And I do know that it sounds creepy so don't interrupt the story further, okay?"
"Fine, proceed"
"As I was saying, eventually I found out that Blake was headed to another continent and that place was Menagerie. Her original home and where her parents were located in. Apparently she wanted to reconnect with her parents because she hadn't seen them in a long time and I was given the opportunity to meet them as well"
"So, what were they like?" Jaune asked.
"Well, her dad was named Ghira and he was a pretty strict guy. I can tell that he really wasn't a big fan of me being in there and we both kind of got on the wrong foot together and didn't really get along quite well. But I can say that he's an honest man and we eventually set things straight"
"Blake's mom on the other hand, Kali, was really warm to me. Like Blake's dad, she was weirded out that I was accompanying her daughter but she was really quick to turn around. We spent a fare amount of time together and believe it or not, we actually sparred once. She was also really playful with the idea of me and Blake being a thing"
"Well are you two a thing?" Nora asked.
Sun had to scratch his head for that question. Things were really complicated right now especially that Yang had factor to play in their relationship and he couldn't really explain their situation clearly as of the moment because he hadn't covered that part of the story yet.
"I'll answer that question later. You guys are going to need some context if you really want to help me out on this one" Sun replied.
"Anyways, we spent a few days together without much happening. She wanted to bond with her parents more so I let her be for most of the time while I wandered around their house or checked out the surrounding area. Things were pretty normal, until one day we got into a fight together"
"What did you two fight about? I know that you're all love struck with everything about her so I can't really think of a reason on why the two of you would fight" Neptune asked.
"Here's where things get interesting. Apparently, Blake was contacted by our old friend Adam and asked to meet him in a place called the Wastelands. He promised to hurt everyone who was close to her which meant that Blake felt obligated to follow through with his request even though it endangered her just to make sure that nobody else but her would be hurt"
"She didn't want to tell anybody about it but the premise of meeting with the one who caused her so much pain didn't sit with her too well and I could tell that something was bothering her. At the time, I didn't know anything about the whole thing but I decided to bug her about it because I really just wanted to help her. I'm not going to sugar coat it, she was pretty defensive and we threw out some very harsh words that night"
"The next morning, I woke up to find that she was gone without a trace. Her scroll wasn't in the room along with her weapon and she really made sure that she couldn't be traced because the only way I was able to learn about the whole thing was the letter that Adam sent to her which she threw in the trash. And without delay, I rushed over to the place that Adam indicated in the letter"
"So, were you able to stop her before she reached him?" Jaune asked.
"Hate to say it, but I was able to reach her on time but I didn't stop her from fighting him. She was too traumatized by everything that was connected to Adam and I felt that she needed to fight him she would be able to save her from herself. The bad news was that she got beaten, and I had to step in and fight Adam for her"
"Considering that the two of you are both alive and well, I'm guessing that things didn't go well for our little Faunus extremist" Ren spoke up.
"I did hear that he had to be serious just to beat him. And you do not want to see this guy get serious" Neptune added.
"It was still a huge crawl and I had to use the second part of my semblance just to trip him up. In the end it all worked out and a small side note, I actually got his weapon as a trophy for myself. Hope that I can try it out someday"
"A word of advice, please don't show that thing to Yang. We don't want another rampage and something like the sword that cut her arm off doesn't really bring any good memories to mind" Jaune advised, quickly addressing the possibility that the object could bring harmful effects to Yang's mental state.
"Don't worry, I'll bring it to our dorm once we get out of here and I'll make sure that Yang won't get to see it"
"To continue my story, Blake was severely wounded by Adam and she almost bled out in the process. All of her aura was gone so I had to make a stop in a small village to get her some help. We passed the night in there and immediately made it back to her parents the following day. It was a pretty rough time, but we got past it with nothing but a life threatening cut and a severely disfigured hand"
"That covers everything that you need to know that happened before what I'm about to tell you. I'm telling you this because I trust you enough to keep my little secret and you guys deserve the whole picture because of all the trouble that I dragged you guys into. So do you promise to keep your mouths shut about the ring?"
Jaune and Ren both nodded their heads immediately as they intended to comply with their friend's request of keeping quiet about a ring which had some implication to his relationship with Blake that they still had no idea about. But Nora decided to be playful as she wasn't immediately on board with the idea of not being able to throw any quips or subtle jokes about it. Ren was quick to rectify this as he softly pinched Nora on the shoulder so that she would also nod. Nora felt the sudden sting that Ren had inflicted on her and that made her copy their motion as well.
"So here it goes. During that time, me and Blake still hadn't gotten over the fight that we had the other night and things were still pretty sour between the two of us. Not going to lie, I was more angry than her than she was to me and I was in a really bad mood so I decided to hit the sack early that night just because I was pretty tired"
"I was almost about to doze off until the door flew wide open and Blake went inside and locked the door behind her. That got me by surprise so I initially spoke in a loud voice but she quickly told me to pipe down. And this is where things get a little bit, interesting" Sun trailed off.
"Stop teasing me and spill the beans, did you guys make out or not!?" Nora asked in a quick burst and Sun immediately blushed because of that question as it was really close to what happened that night.
"Jeez Nora, you can really be straightforward sometimes" Neptune told her.
"I just want to know if these two are actually together or not" Nora replied.
"I think we were getting to that part Nora" said Ren.
"Can I just skip over to the part that I need your help on? Things like that are really private so I'm just going straight ahead to-"
"NO!"
Sun was immediately shot down by the razor sharp stares that his four friends threw at him so much so that he felt like he would be cut just by how intensely they glared at him. It didn't help that their voices were full of so much demand and fury that the hairs on his neck stood up on all ends because of how much their voiced made him tremble.
"Blake is going to kill me if she finds out that I told you about this stuff" Sun weakly uttered.
"It's fine you're already in trouble as it is. So, give us all of the important details" Nora requested mischievously.
"After she told me to quiet down, she told me not to freak out and, she started to, remove some of her clothes" Sun spoke in broken phrases, trying to muster up the will while eating up all of the shame of telling his friends about this.
This was only the first part of the more mature side of his story and it was immediately met by outrageous reactions from every single one of his friends. To his left, Sun noticed that Neptune stared at him, wide eyed and his right hand had jittered in disbelief of what he had just heard. In front of him, his three friends from Vale also had their own ways to express their thoughts about the details that he revealed.
Ren had the most tame reaction as he tried to hide the grin on his face by covering his mouth with his left hand. Jaune on the other hand had started to chuckle uncontrollably and he tried to control it to the best of his abilities as he buried his face on the table while wrapping his arms around it to conceal the high pitched sounds that he made. Nora was in so much enjoyment because of what she heard that she now thumped the table with her fists in congratulation to what Sun had experienced and it was so loud that Sun noticed that people were now staring at them due to the commotion that they were making.
"Pipe down will you. This is already embarrassing enough as it is and I don't want other people staring at us because of all the ruckus that you're making" Sun apprehended his rowdy friends.
"I think this is too much for me to handle" Jaune spoke, still trying to control the fits of laughter that tried to escape out of his mouth.
"This isn't even the best part Jauney boy. So what happens next on this spicy little adventure?" Nora asked.
"I think I'm going to die through shame because of this whole thing" Sun inferred.
"Rest assured, none of the things that you said here will leave the table" Ren assured him.
The red tint that stained Sun's face had continued to persist and he wasn't even done with the whole story. He would never think that on a day that was full of so much danger, that telling this story to his friends would be the single thing that he hated the most as a life threatening wound was much more easier to bear rather than the complete and utter embarrassment of revealing sensitive information to other people that shouldn't even learn about it.
"Before you get all excited, the only reason why she did that was because she wanted to sleep with me that night and I guess she wanted to be more comfortable"
"Are you sure that it was the only reason why she removed those clothes?" Neptune questioned.
"Looking back at it now, I'll be truthful and tell you guys that I think her own comfort wasn't really the reason why she did it" Sun confessed.
"You see, now you're finally being more accepting about the whole thing. Now, what happened next?" Nora urged him to continue.
Sun looked back to that one magical night that set everything to motion which was one of the most cherished moments of his life. He could never forget the radiant moonlight that streamed across the window that he had beside him on the small bedroom that he stayed in during his stay on the Belladonna's house. He could recount every single feature about Blake as the moonlight made her image more clear and illuminated all of her curves and made her realize how truly in love he was for her.
And how could he forget about the first ever kiss that they shared with each other. It was the one moment that he could remember that made his heart beat so fast that he felt he could pass out. Sun could remember the joy and love that they both shared with each other with their first kiss together. The feeling of Blake's body right up against him had made Sun think about her that very moment and wished that she was still right beside him.
A sudden pause had occurred after Nora asked him to continue and they noticed that Sun had a small smile creep along his face as he stared off into nothing. They could tell that the memory that he was trying to recount was a special one and it bought him a big deal of happiness. In that small moment, the four of them could tell how special Blake really was to Sun just because of how thinking about a fond memory of her could bring Sun into a state of peace that easily.
Neptune hated to interrupt his stillness but they had to keep things moving so that they may be able to help him out on some of his concerns. He didn't want to do it as he felt bad for knocking Sun out of a dream that he seemed to enjoy which spread warmth around the rest of them who also sat on the table.
"Dude, can you continue?" Neptune asked, a little bit more calmer and less energetic than his usual demeanour
"We talked for a little bit just to make things a little less awkward. But we started to get serious and to put it lightly, our emotions just started to pour out. I guess we just tried to bury our feelings deep within us because of everything that had happened before that night. Some even because of my own anxiety"
"And before we knew it, we shared our first kiss together. She was right on top of me and I couldn't believe that the girl that I loved actually had feelings for me too. She is really beautiful and to put it lightly, that night was really wonderful" Sun told them, feeling emotional because of how special that night was to him.
"So, is that good enough for you guys?" Sun asked, still wearing the blissful smile on his face.
"I think we got what we wanted. Seeing you looking all love struck and hazy just telling that little story of yours tells me that she's really special to you. I'd much rather prefer seeing you all happy about it rather than embarrassed because of the kissing part. Nora is finally satisfied!" The girl uttered, clearly touched by Sun's story.
"You're scaring me Nora. I never thought that you could actually be rational for once" Jaune remarked.
"She is a big sucker for love stories you know" Ren informed them.
"By the looks of it, the two of you are in love with each other so much. So what gives?" Neptune asked.
"Things are complicated between me and Blake and that's because of one thing"
"She has feelings for Yang too, doesn't she?" Ren tried to piece together.
Sun did nothing but nod his head in confirmation to what Ren had said. He was in a loss about how he should feel regarding the love triangle that they were stuck in. As much as he loved Blake and how much he meant to her, Sun couldn't disregard Blake's feelings and he didn't have it in himself to hold Blake back from expressing her feelings or being simply happy. Even though it was in someone else's arms. On the other hand, Sun knew that Blake also had feelings for him and the love that they had between each other was too genuine to be thrown aside that easily.
"When we started this relationship together, I already knew that she had feelings for Yang and she did too. But the one thing that she told me was that even though she loved Yang, she couldn't deny that she also loved me as well. We decided to stay together anyway and stop worrying about what could happen and instead focused on what we had" Sun explained.
"Why not just talk to Yang about it? Maybe you guys can work things out and make her understand that you and Blake are in a relationship" Neptune tried to recommend.
"I don't want to invade on the time that those two want to spend together. We all know that those two were pretty much in love back when they were still in Vale and I can tell that Yang had feelings for Blake for a very long time now, maybe even longer than I do. Yang needs her after everything that had happened to the two of them and the only reason why Blake is even in here was because she wanted to reconnect with Yang and let her know about her feelings"
"So you're just going to see what happens eventually?" Nora asked.
"I promised myself that even though we're both in a relationship right now, I won't force Blake to stay with me if she can't be fully happy. I don't want to force myself on her and if both Yang and her end up being together, then I'll cherish the time that we spent together and be happy for the two of them" Sun replied, trying to the best of his abilities to make a weak smile even though he felt grim about the thought of being left by Blake.
Even though he tried to sound composed and calm about the whole matter, Sun's friends could tell that he was very much distraught by how powerless he felt because he seemed to have no ability to influence how the whole scenario could go down. He hoped that his friends had any ideas on how they could help him cope with all of it but they were empty handed with any helpful advice that could aid him. Regardless, the one thing that his friends did know was that they could try and cheer Sun up no matter how much it took. They may not have any idea on how to get him out of the sticky situation that he was in, but knew that all that he needed right now are friends that could support him and they had no intention to hold back on fulfilling that role.
"Dude, not every relationship is perfect. You have your ups and downs and I guess this is one of the slumps that the two of you are bound to encounter along the way. But as you said earlier, you went into this relationship knowing that Blake had feelings for Yang. That means that even though you need to tackle some hardships, the time that you are willing to spend with her is worth all of the trouble that you are going through for her" Neptune spoke, trying to console his friends while placing his arm on his shoulder.
"No love story is exciting without a little conflict in it, right? You just have to push through with everything that you've got and let her know that you're still in the game!" Nora declared with a passionate fire.
"You have the opportunity to be with a person that you like and you shouldn't take that for granted. Let her know that you appreciate her and never let Blake feel that you're being distant just because of her spending time with Yang. It would just make her insecure and won't really help your situation" Jaune added to the dialogue that his friends had started.
"So even though you want Blake and Yang to reconnect with each other, make sure to still let her know that you two are together. You should be subtle about it, like giving her compliments or holding her hand from time to time. But kissing should be banned for now" Ren concluded.
Sun might've not gotten what he had asked for, but the overwhelming support that he received from his friends was certainly the next best thing. He was still clueless about his approach but his spirit was renewed and he could say that his morale was at an all time high. His friends had reminded him that not everything was lost and holding on to what he could was the only sure-fire way to ensure that he could have a chance of retaining his relationship with Blake.
"You guys really are the best" Sun complimented his supportive friends.
"We already know. And by the way, you never told us how you got that ring of yours" Nora responded quickly.
"Before we left off for Mistral, her mom pulled me to the side and gave me the ring and made me promise to give it to her no matter what. Which reminds me, I think that she'll beat me up if she finds out that I wasn't man enough to fulfil my promise. I guess that's one more thing to help me keep going" Sun recounted.
"At least now we know what we're dealing with. It's not hopeless you know. You took out Adam for God's sake and went through hell just to save her from all of that. What's a little love triangle compared to that. I believe that you can do it" said Neptune.
"Thanks man, appreciate it"
In a stroke of luck, as soon as Sun had finally gone over his story and everyone of his friends throwing their own two cents on the whole thing, their noses were suddenly assaulted by the powerful smell of food that came crashing towards them and all of their heads were instantly hooked to the same waitress that took their orders earlier, but now holding trays of food as she headed their way.
"And I thought this day couldn't be any better" Jaune told them, in response to the food that was being set on the table.
"Consider this our reward for that messy park encounter and our boy here being beat to a pulp. You can take out anyone that you want but there's no way that you can handle Goldilocks when she's mad" Neptune teased.
"Hey, you try taking a shotgun blast and a fist right in the stomach. It still hurts even with the medicine and I don't even know if I can eat as much as I do with the bruise that she gave me. I'm surprised that it hasn't healed fully yet" Sun complained.
"If that's what you're saying, I guess I could just eat your share of food if you don't want to eat" said Nora as she mocked Sun.
"Let's not be hasty, I didn't say anything about me not eating. I'm starving too you know"
"Well what are we waiting for, let's eat!" Ren invited them all.
"Let's go!" The rest of them cheered.
Clashing of utensils, chewing of meat, passing of plates and many other sounds that involved eating was the only thing that could be heard from their small table of friends. This was the first real meal that all of them had for the day and they spent no expense on trying to outdo each other in terms of consuming the most food. Neptune had told them that the servings were pretty hefty but the three newcomers seemed to underestimate the sheer size of the plates of food that were set before them.
Jaune noticed that he had already ate three to four scoops of the fried rice that Neptune had ordered and considering that they were sharing the plate across the five of them, he was surprised to see that only half of it was missing even though he remembered that Nora had even more servings than him. The same thing can be said across each dish as there were plenty more for them to eat and he thought that they would never be able to finish everything on the table.
Surprisingly, even though Sun suffered from slight pains because of the injury that he attained, it wasn't able to make a dent on his drive to stuff as much food into his stomach as possible and ate at the same pace as all of them. Out of all them, he was probably the most drained both physically and mentally due to the wild turn of events that happened in the park. The only way that he could refuel himself was to be reacquainted with the food that he had dearly missed during his time away from Mistral and he could feel himself get a little bit better because of the delicious food that distracted him from feeling fatigued.
It was safe to say that each and every one of them were satisfied by everything that was served in the table. It was hard to believe that all of them got their fair share of the whole spread and they were even shocked that Nora had to tap out even though there were still leftovers that they could eat. True to his word, Neptune was right on saying that the servings were plenty and they were very much happy to know that even if they get hungry later on, they can dig in on some of the leftover food that they could take home with them.
"Geez, you weren't lying when you said that there would be a lot of food" Jaune told Neptune.
"When our team goes here we have a bunch of leftover food that we take back to our dorm. Usually we get three meals worth of food whenever we order here so you really get the bang for your buck" Sun replied.
"Which reminds me, shouldn't we pay up and get a move on? We're pretty tired so let's pack up and rest for a while" Jaune suggested.
Upon Jaune's request, Neptune signaled over to the same girl that tended to them throughout the duration of their stay and told her to ready the bill that they had amassed.
"Shouldn't we split the bill between the five of us? Even though we're your guests, it would be rude if we let you pay for the whole thing. It should be fair since Nora ate a majority of the food and we're responsible for her" said Ren.
"It's fine, we want you to have as much fun as you can so you can keep your lien to yourself. There are many more things for you to blow your money on and this is a meal for us friends so I don't really mind"
Upon saying this, the bill that was designated to them had finally arrived and Neptune pulled out his wallet to pay for it. Sun was surprised to see that Neptune had pulled out the exact sum of lien that they needed for the bill without him rummaging for change to desperately cover the amount like he usually did. And upon closer inspection, Sun noticed that Neptune had even more lien tucked in his wallet and this made him curious on how Neptune could have so much money than normal.
"Did you steal that wallet? It looks like you're rolling in the dough right now" Sun questioned him.
"Like our three friends over here, I assumed my duties as the team's co-captain and we took on some hunting missions to cover our expenses and make some extra cash to save. I guess we went a little bit overboard because we have a lot of lien on our stash right now. Team SSSN can function without our leader you know" Neptune bragged.
"Well don't ask me for help the next time you face a pack of beowulfs. But in all seriousness, I'm proud of you guys. I can't believe that you actually took on some missions when I was gone even though you three are lazy when I'm asking you to take them on"
"What can I say? I think it's time for us to switch rankings my friend"
"We can do that, if you beat me in sparring that is" Sun challenged.
"I'm just joking. I can't even take you on if I wanted to" Neptune quickly responded.
"So, are you guys ready to go?" Sun asked the whole group.
They all agreed and stood up from the table and made their way outside of the restaurant. Ren made sure to remember the name of the restaurant before they leaved just to make a mental note that the place was a safe option to choose if they wanted to go out and eat again. They were all pretty worn out and sleepy because of the load of food that had entered their bodies. The problem was, the place that Jaune and his friends stayed in was fairly distant from that part of the commercial district.
"I hate that we have to walk all the way back to the place that we are staying at. I just want to get a nap and I'm tired! Ren, will you carry me?" Nora pouted.
"We have no choice Nora. Let's just get it over with and sleep as much as we want back in our room" Ren told Nora.
An idea had popped out of Sun's head and he remembered that their team's dorm was pretty close to where they were. It was just a short walk from where they are and their room was spacious enough for them to share if he and Neptune slept on the couch and floor. It was late in the afternoon and Sun didn't mind getting a small nap. Knowing the feeling of being both tired and drowsy, Sun decided to invite their friends over to their team's dorm.
"Hey Neptune, why not let them stay at our place for a little bit? I mean, it's not a very long walk from here and I'm pretty sure that we'll all fit if we let them stay on our beds" Sun suggested.
Nora's eyes suddenly lit up in excitement because of the idea of not walking a long distance back to their own rooms. But even though Sun had made an offer, Jaune felt like they would be a bother to them by crowding team SSSN's room.
"Are you sure about that Sun? We don't want to be a nuisance to you guys and we're not forcing you to let us stay anyway" Jaune retorted.
"Don't worry about it. It gets boring sometimes when only these guys are around and to be honest, we haven't had any real guests back in our place for a while"
"It's also the perfect time to have you guys. Scarlet and Sage are probably cleaning up the whole place if they followed what I told them and today will probably be the cleanest that our place will ever be in a while" Neptune added.
"So, are you guys game?" Sun asked.
Jaune thought the whole thing over and with the sleepiness that he felt along with Ren and Nora's, Sun's little proposition didn't sound so bad and since they were the ones who insisted, the three of them agreed to stay over at Sun's place for a while just to get a little nap.
"With that decided, let's head over there and catch some z's" Neptune remarked.
Neptune lead the way and they all headed towards the dorm that team SSSN called their home. Sun hadn't seen the place in a while and he was quite excited to set foot on it once again.
Jaune couldn't be anymore thankful that they accepted Sun and Neptune's invitation as he didn't expect that it only took five minutes or less for them to reach their dorm compared to the long walk that they would have to make just to get out of the commercial district and make their way towards the place that they originally stayed in. Sun and Neptune formally made them feel as home as possible. Contrary to what other people thought, team SSSN's room was pretty spacious compared to the rooms that most teams had in Vale. It had room for a small kitchen and a small space that looked like to be their living space and in the corner of the room sat the two bunk beds that their team supposedly used.
The first thing that all of them saw as soon as they stepped inside was both Sage and Scarlet finishing up on changing the sheets of their team's beds. The room also had a floral scent and looked well kept. This was the first time in a long time that Sun had seen their room this clean but he knew that this tidiness wouldn't last long as their team was too rowdy and irresponsible to maintain this type of quality for their room. Nevertheless, he was thankful that the two made an effort to clean the place up and even better, their air conditioning was in full swing and it gave them all sweet relief from the intense heat outside.
"Welcome back buddy! I thought that you'd drop by here first since we haven't seen you in a while. Never thought that you'd reach the hospital first" Scarlet teased.
"Nice to see you again team leader. Never thought that you'll finally get to hang out with us" Sage greeted.
"It's nice to see you two again. I promise I'll make it up to you three now that I'm here. But do you two mind that these three crash here for the afternoon?" Sun asked both Sage and Scarlet
Jaune, Ren, and Nora waved towards Sage and Scarlet as they also waved back. They didn't really know each other quite while but the three of them thought that they were pretty nice considering that they were both friends with Sun and Neptune. They honestly thought that both Scarlet and Sage would be apprehensive about letting them stay there but they didn't look a single bit irked by their presence.
"We don't mind. But to be honest, the place was so messy and we just finished cleaning everything up. Is it okay if me and Scarlet get some rest?" Sage asked both Sun and Neptune.
"Funny you should say that. Actually, all of us are here to sleep so nothings holding you back" Sun replied.
Nora heaved a loud yawn which somehow made all of them more eager to get on with their little afternoon nap. Sun decided to take the couch that was located in their small living space while Neptune took a spare sheet and a pillow to make it more comfortable for him to sleep on the floor. He didn't really prefer sleeping in there but he wanted to be hospitable to Jaune and the others. Sun had an injury so it would be fair for him to have the couch, while Scarlet and Sage were rewarded with their soft beds after the rigorous work that they had to endure just to make the place tidy for them. Neptune drew the short stick on their sleeping arrangements but he didn't have the energy to negotiate things further.
Jaune slept on the bottom half of the spare bunk bed that they occupied while Ren and Nora snuggled with each other on top. To make things more comfortable for them, they turned off all of the lights to dim the whole place and left the curtains open to let the faint sunlight in. The sun wasn't as bright as earlier and made the room faintly visible for their convenience. The air conditioning worked wonders on easing their nerves and helping them become unconscious as Scarlet and Sage were immediately knocked out only a few seconds after they hit the sack. Jaune was also quiet which meant that he had also entered the realm of sleep while Ren and Nora started to ease in while hugging each other warmly.
Sun was still awake but his eyes started to get heavier by the second. He looked over to Neptune who was still awake but only barely.
"Can you believe that technically, this is our first ever slumber party" Neptune realized.
"For a team like ours, I consider that to be pretty uncool" Sun commented while letting out a small chuckle.
"Well to be fair, we actually have a girl in here. So at least that's some points added to the coolness factor" added Neptune.
"Hey, I heard that. Don't make me come over there" Ren suddenly spoke from out of the blue. Hearing the quiet conversation that the two were having and being defensive about Nora's involvement.
"We're sorry!" Neptune quietly shouted from where he laid.
"Ren's pretty calm all the time. But mess with Nora and you'll get beaten up in no time"
"You still thinking about her?" Neptune asked, clearly talking about Blake.
"Having all of you guys certainly helps on easing my mind. But yeah, I'm still thinking about her"
"This isn't really the way that I wanted to spend the afternoon. But I can't complain too much" Sun added.
"Well I'm going to sleep now. I hope that you can figure out things between you and Blake"
Those were the final words that Neptune told Sun before he turned over to his side and join in on the others who had finally started to drift and fall asleep. Sun was finally left alone to his own thoughts but he felt too tired to start going off into a tangent and imagining scenarios that could happen between him and Blake. It now started to irritate his eyes just by keeping them open and he finally gave up on trying to stay awake. A good nap would help him heal his bruise and make him feel refreshed after a few hours. Without another second thought, Sun finally closed his eyes for the time being and said one last thing before he finally gave in.
"I hope so too"