A/N
Hey everyone! Once again I need to take another moment to applaud myself for writing all these oneshots in advance. I unfortunately didn't have time to a new chapter for Tigress on Wednesday... schoolwork can be a real bitch...
Part 3 is still in the works right now. I have five chapters done and ready to go and I'm planning to work on the sixth chapter soon. Once I have ten chapters finalized I'll post the first one and organize a proper upload schedule. Part 3 has been giving me some difficulties though, I've had to scrap and re-write the plot a few different times and even now I'm not one-hundred percent happy with my current draft. The first few chapters aren't all that important to the overall plot though, so there shouldn't be much issue with how they're written right now.
Anyways... enough of my usual rambling...
Bet - Part Two…
"I'm mad at you," Rust muttered under his breath as he got prepared for the day. He was standing near the entrance of Team VHLT's dorm room with his arms crossed across his chest; the simple action did not bring him much comfort…
"And?" Vermillion's voice echoed from inside the dorm's bathroom, the door left slightly ajar.
"And what!?" Rust released his arms with a huff. "I'm in this mess because of you! Why did you agree to Mauve's terms!? You knew that she had it out for me…"
"It's not my fault that you decided to hold that completely asinine intervention," Vermillion's voice echoed back, followed by the sound of fabric ruffling. "Besides… we're suffering together! It's what couples do!"
"You and I have a very different outlook on our relationship…"
Vermillion stuck her face through the crack in the bathroom door. One of her red eyebrows was pushed up in a gesture of confusion.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Vermillion muttered in a cautious tone.
"It means-" Rust caught himself and released a long sigh. "Look… the next time you go around making bets… please don't get me involved…"
"That's funny… you make bets all the time…"
"In my opinion, money is a little easier to replace than dignity…" Rust muttered.
Vermillion's face contorted into a look of pure amusement. The redhead ducked back into the bathroom and the sounds of uproarious laughter reverberated around in the small room…
"Hey!?" Rust complained as he stomped towards the bathroom door. He raised his large hand and rapped against the wood multiple times. "What's so funny!?"
Vermillion pulled the door open, still chuckling and wiping a tear away from her eye. "That… was the dumbest thing I've ever heard you say… so stupid!"
"Well," Rust grumbled. "Perhaps we have a different outlook on dignity as well…"
"Rust," Vermillion raised her hand and very gently patted his cheek. "My great-great-grandfather had a saying…"
"Which was…?"
"Dignity and an empty sack are worth the empty sack."
"I-" Rust blinked. "I see that snarkiness is in your genes…"
"It's called being a realist, Rust," Vermillion patted his cheek again. "Now… shall we go?"
"I don't want to do this…" Rust looked down at his feet.
"Me neither… but look at it this way," Vermillion huffed and leaned back. "If we go through with it… our dignity takes a hit and everyone at Beacon laughs at us…"
"Uh-huh…"
"But if we don't go through with it," Vermillion batted her eyelashes. "Well… we'll both forever be known as the couple that chickened out of a bet... and no one will respect us…"
"This is a real Catch Twenty-Two…"
"It is," Vermillion adjusted Rust's collar. "You and I are lucky Mauve only wants us to do this for today… so let's fulfill our end of the deal, alright?"
"I still don't want to do this!" Rust moaned and threw his head back.
"Would it help if I said that you looked pretty?" Vermillion chuckled. "Because you do…"
The redhead pointed her hand down in gesture to Rust's bare legs. The skin of his shins all the way up to his knees was on full display…
Vermillion's skirt didn't cover much… She was a tall girl but still looked small next to Rust. The tall boy had thought ahead and slipped a pair of workout shorts underneath his girlfriend's skirt, which at least hid his underwear.
Vermillion had the exact opposite issue that Rust had… she was wearing his uniform pants after all. Upon first glance it looked as if she was wearing a garbage bag around her legs; the redhead had rolled up the pants legs several times so that she wouldn't trip when walking.
Rust let out a rattling sigh. "Your skirt is really tight…"
"And for once in my life I'm wearing comfortable pants," Vermillion smirked. She tugged on the edge of Rust's pants, highlighting the massive amount of space she still had. "It's not half bad actually…"
Vermillion paused for a moment; a thoughtful look stretched across her regal facial features. "And for what it's worth… you don't look half-bad in a skirt…"
"Is that like… a fetish thing?" Rust blinked. "Because I prefer pants."
Vermillion rolled her eyes. "You're such a prude…"
"You keep saying that, but I really don't think that I am!" Rust frowned. "In all honesty I-"
Before Rust could complain further Vermillion planted a kiss on his lips and tugged him in the direction of the door.
"No more complaints, let's do this…" Vermillion shot a glance back in Rust's direction.
Rust could already feel his cheeks reddening before they left Team VHLT's dorm. By the time they exited the dorm building Rust's cheeks were as red as Vermillion's hair…
Or they at least felt that way…
The worst and most humiliating part was the stares. It was a sunny day and many Beacon students had opted to sit outside for their lunch break. Rust could feel hundreds of eyes on his back as he and Vermillion walked hand-in-hand.
"Hey Rust!" A voice jeered from the crowd. "Nice legs, bro!"
"Yeah! Shake it Rust!" Jeered another voice.
The catcalls were definitely worse than stares…
"You see?" Vermillion elbowed Rust's arm. "I told you that you looked pretty…"
"This is humiliating…" Rust's eyes were glued to the ground. "Really humiliating…"
"That's the point!" Vermillion scoffed. "Honestly... I think that I'm getting off easy right now…"
As if on cue, a female voice called out from the crowd.
"Nice parachute pants!" Teal roared in laughter and pointed straight at her team leader. Lavender was next to the blue haired girl, covering her mouth with her hand and snickering. The growing crowd followed Teals's lead, turning their attention (and mockery) towards Vermillion.
Rust turned his head to view Vermillion out of the corner of his eye. The redhead was visibly fuming; her bangs hung low and concealed her piercing blue eyes.
"I'm going to make her run laps later," Vermillion muttered in a low tone. "She'll run until she can't physically do it anymore… and then she'll run more."
"Right," Rust nervously chuckled. He felt his entire body tense when Vermillion squeezed his hand tightly.
The two of them were nearing the main courtyard of Beacon academy. Behind them an absolutely massive rabble of students followed- still pointing, laughing and jeering. At one point Rust could spot Sage and Honey in the crowd; the two of them flashed Rust and Vermillion some thumbs-up signs, but didn't actively call out to them.
In the central stone plaza… the two facilitators of their torment were waiting for them…
Mauve and Asher were seated on a small stone wall. They watched Vermillion and Rust approach with great interest. Even from the distance they were at Rust could spot the smug look stretched out across Mauve's face.
She was enjoying this… Asher was too, if his grin was any indication.
Rust and Vermillion came to a stop in front of the young couple. The sea of students that had followed them came to a stop as well, all curious about was going to transpire.
"Hey, Rust… Vermillion," Mauve greeted the two of them with a smirk. She raised one of her legs and let it rest atop her other one.
"Hey Mauve," Vermillion grumbled under her breath. "Asher…"
"How are you two doing today?" Mauve mocked with a grin. Her hungry amber gaze turned to view Rust. "Oh, Rust! There's a bit of a breeze right now… I hope that you're not finding it too… drafty?"
The crowd roared with laughter.
"Ha, ha… you've made your point," Rust felt the aforementioned breeze and moved his hands down to flatten his skirt. "Can we change now…?"
"Not just yet…" Asher answered in a soft tone; he placed a gentle hand on Mauve's shoulder to get her attention. The two of them locked eyes for a moment, as if they were having a silent conversation with each other.
"There is one last thing I want you two to do," Mauve spoke slowly as a small smirk pushed up the sides of her lips.
"Which is?" Vermillion narrowed her eyes.
Mauve nodded to Asher and the boy quickly got to work. Asher bent at his waist and reached behind the stone wall he and Mauve were seated upon. The grey eyed boy extracted a large boombox with an attached mic, which up until that point had been concealed from view.
"No…" Vermillion gasped, her blue eyes bright with fear.
"Yes," Mauve gave Vermillion a bare-toothed smile. "You mentioned that if you won… I would have to sing karaoke for you. Forgive me for… adapting your little idea to suit my own purposes."
Mauve turned her gaze in Rust's direction. The moment her intense amber eyes made contact with his Rust felt his body tense in fear.
"Vermillion is going to sing for us, Rust. You, on the other hand..." Mauve spoke in an ice-cold tone. "I want to see you dance."
Warmth…
Crimson moved his neck from side to side as he walked, stretching the joints to undo the very slight crick that had plagued him all morning. Despite being in Atlas for over a month now Crimson still felt like a stranger in a strange land; he had developed a nervous habit of clenching his jaw as he slept.
He had to look into getting a retainer or something… assuming that was included in the student package.
The tall redhead reached the door of his dorm room and wrapped his hand around the handle, swiping his scroll to deactivate the lock. It was thankfully a weekend so Crimson didn't have to worry about any classes, but he certainly wasn't looking forward to tonight's training session.
Fighting grimm was hard… but trying to stop Carmine and Sable from murdering each other was an extra layer of challenge.
At least Liz would be there… that girl was the one bright ray of hope Crimson could see amongst the never ending gray that was Atlas. They had become best friends in a matter of days.
But that friendship was about to be tested...
Crimson's sharp blue eyes became glassy when he strolled into his own dorm. He had been in the process of shutting the door behind him when his hand froze, causing the door to close with a meek click.
The redhead wasn't sure if he should say something or just leave…
Liz was lying on the floor in the far corner of the dorm room, just next to the dorm's provided desk. Sitting on the desk and angled low was a heat lamp, it's bright orange glow indicating that it was active.
Did he mention that Liz was almost nude? Emphasis on almost…
She was dressed in her undergarments, which were (unsurprisingly) coloured the same shade as her hair. Her unblemished skin glittered in the dim light of the room as she shifted, her taut body flexing like the whip she wielded in battle.
"Who's there?" Liz yawned loudly, making Crimson cringe in fear. Up until that point she had been shielding her eyes with her hand, but that hand was now beginning to move…
Crimson's gaze snapped upwards to face the ceiling, he moved so fast that he undid the crick in his neck. "I didn't see anything!"
"Crimson?" Liz blanched. There was the sound of cloth ruffling and quick movement. "You uh… you can look now…"
"It's uh… safe?"
"Well duh…"
Crimson slowly turned his eyes back down, still squinting cautiously. His sharp eyes finally settled on Liz, who was sitting upright and regarding Crimson with a curious expression. She was shielding her body with a heavy quilt that she had pulled off her bed.
"Sorry," Crimson muttered. "I didn't mean to intrude… do you want me to go?"
"S'fine," Liz frowned. "In all honesty I should have tried to find someplace more private."
"Right," Crimson nodded, clearing his throat awkwardly. "What were you doing? If you don't mind my asking?"
"Oh this?" Liz answered quickly, pointing with her finger at the heat lamp. "Oh… I like to use it whenever I have some free time. You know…"
"I do?" Crimson muttered before a look of realization came over his face. "Oh, I get it!"
"Ten points for you!" Liz snorted and rolled her eyes. "But yeah… my heritage comes with the nasty baggage of having a lower body temperature, which kinda sucks when you live in a tundra."
Crimson smiled and rolled back and forth on the balls of his feet. "But why were you in your underwear? Wouldn't wearing thick clothes make you feel warmer?" The words had left his mouth before he could think about the implications of what he had just said; Crimson felt himself freeze in terror.
A coy smile edged up the sides of Liz's lips. "My underwear? I thought you said that you didn't look?"
"I-"
"But if you know I'm in my underwear right now…" Liz drawled out with a smile, leaning forwards and pointing her finger at Crimson. "That means you were lying to me!"
"Maybe I saw you for a second…" Crimson gulped and looked away. "But I looked away just as soon as I walked in! Sor-"
Liz was laughing loudly, which gave Crimson pause.
"It's fine!" Liz snorted in amusement. "Honestly Redwood… I get it! You walked in on me! In all honesty I should have been more careful and worn something."
"Okay," Crimson breathed in relief as Liz continued to chuckle. "But back to my original question, why not wear something over yourself?"
Liz frowned for a moment and looked away. "I don't know… you grew up in Vale, right?"
"Near Vale, but yeah…"
"Did you have hot summers?"
"All the time… in my opinion it was the worst time of year," Crimson answered as his face twisted into an unpleasant look.
Liz looked fascinated. "So you felt the hot sun on your face?"
"What?" Crimson stuttered for a moment. "Yeah… all the time."
Liz nodded and smiled, gesturing with her hand at the heat lamp. "I've never been outside Mantle so I don't know what that feels like… so far this is the closest I've gotten. I strip down when I do this because I like the heat on my bare skin."
Crimson blinked and slowly nodded, fully understanding Liz's reasoning. "I get it… just keep a blanket handy in case something like this happens again, alright? That way any more embarrassing situations can be avoided…"
"M'kay," Liz hummed as she began to lie back down. Suddenly an inquisitive look passed over her face, followed by a light smile. "Hey, Redwood?"
Crimson had been one second away leaving the room to grant Liz some privacy. "Whats up, Liz?"
"Nothing," Liz gave her team leader a mysterious smile. "I'm just wondering how warm you are…"
Crimson felt himself stiffen… was Liz flirting with him? He wasn't completely sure, she had always been a bit teasing towards him.
"You look warm," Liz continued with a smile, tracing a finger along the carpeted ground.
"I- I guess I am?" Crimson stuttered out, his hand clenching the door handle so hard it was denting. "T- Thanks?"
"No problem," Liz held the smile on her face. "Now shoo, team leader."
Crimson didn't have to be told twice, nearly ripping the door off its hinges as he bounded out of the room and slammed the door behind him. He panted with exertion and held his back against the door for a moment, splaying his arms out to cover the frame.
There was something about that little smile Liz gave him that drove him mad, but her smile wasn't the only reason he was feeling pretty warm at that moment…
Atlas was a weird and wacky place, but Crimson wasn't regretting boarding the bullhead that had taken him there… for one specific reason.