Chapter Twelve: Relaxation

Robin POV

Robin and Morgan were at the Vale library on a Saturday morning a week after the Forever Fall trip. The team had collectively decided to take it relatively easy for a couple weeks and relax after the eventful week and a half leading up to the trip.

They'd been there for about five hours, since nine in the morning, just reading and enjoying each other's company. Morgan had actually dozed off and was lightly snoring. Robin smiled softly.

Robin enjoyed the peaceful face he made when he slept. He wasn't angry or sad. He didn't have to struggle or fight.

She leaned in and kissed him lightly on the nose. He wiggled it a bit and swiped the air in front of his face before calming again.

She giggled. He was actually sort of cute like this. She'd only ever seen him sleep this calmly in the dorm or here in the library.

Morgan opened his mouth in a silent roaring yawn and opened his eyes slightly, still hazy and narrow from sleep. "Robin? I was in the middle of a great dream… I was winning!" he mumbled, twitching his ears.

Robin shook her head and chuckled. "Hey, sleepyhead. Anyone ever told you that you're kinda cute when you sleep?" she teased.

Morgan blushed slightly, rolling his eyes and scoffed. "I ain't cute."

Robin poked his nose with a finger. "Sure, Tiger. We've been here for a while. You want to get something to eat?"

Morgan rubbed the sleep from his eyes and nodded slightly.

They went back into the city and visited a small cafe. Robin ordered a small tea and panini and Morgan had a water and ham sandwich. After they ate, they walked around the town, chatting about things of little consequence.

Robin also noticed that Morgan was holding his tail higher recently, nearly straight up. His ears were also held higher recently. He'd been in a much better mood the last couple months, mellowing out noticeably. He was calmer and less stressed.

"Hey, Morgan?"

His ears flicked backward as he slowed a bit to let her catch up. "Yeah? What's up?"

"Am… am I pretty?" she asked, blushing slightly.

Morgan cocked an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"Am I pretty?"

Morgan's gold eyes examined her face. "No."

Robin's face fell, her heart crushed. "What?"

Morgan smiled slightly, the softest expression she'd ever seen on his face. He brushed aside a tear that was beginning to form. "To me, you are the most beautiful person I've ever seen. 'Pretty', I think, is an understatement and doesn't nearly do you justice." he said.

Robin pulled him down to her heightline and kissed him deeply. They separated after a couple moments. "I love you." she said quietly.

"I love you too, Robin." he said.

His scroll started ringing and his eyes flashed red for half a moment before they went back to normal and he answered it. "Hey, Ki. What's up? Can it wait? No, sorry, I'm just in the middle of a date. Yes, I have a girlfriend. Why do you sound surprised? I can have an interest in girls, too! Only a week. You remember the ninja girl with the daggers, Robin? Yeah, that's her. Wait, what do you mean 'look up'?"

The two of them looked up to see Aoi Fukurou gliding down from above, looking both healthier and happier than the last time they saw her in person.

She touched down just in front of Morgan and gave him what seemed to be a very tight hug. "Morgan! It's been way too long!" she said cheerfully.

Morgan's eyes widened in shock. "Birdbrain! Hey! Yeah, she just touched down. What the fuck's goin' on?" he asked, bewildered.

Robin heard a laugh as someone rounded the corner of the street. "We came for a visit, what's it look like?" Kiokami chuckled.

They both hung up their scrolls and Morgan fist bumped Kiokami as he tried to extricate himself from Aoi's seemingly powerful grip. "Hey, man! I thought you'd be in Vacuo for another week. How come you're back so soon?"

The large wolf Faunus shrugged. "I finished up early and I had some leave and the General figured I could use a break. He works me like a dog, let me tell ya." he chuckled.

Morgan smirked and rolled his eyes and Aoi stuck her tongue out at him. "Boo! Bad joke!" she heckled.

"As much as I appreciate the visit, Ki, I was looking forward to a quiet day with Robin. And something tells me you're not saying everything. What's going on?"

Kiokami shrugged and smirked confusedly. "What do you mean? I had some leave and General Ironwood thought I could use a break. I've been bouncing from mission to mission for months now. I'm a bit burned out."

Morgan rolled his eyes. "Ki, you only bust the dog puns out when you're rattled about somethin'. What's goin' on?" he asked more firmly.

Kiokami groaned. "Yeah, okay, fine. Something happened on my last mission but I'm not allowed to talk about it. Like, some real classified shit. The General basically ordered me to take a break so I can make sure my head's on right. He needs me for something and I'm not gonna let him down, not after everything he's done for me, you know?"

Morgan shook his head, smirking. "You were always a good dude, Dogbreath. What does he need you for, anyway?" he asked.

Kiokami looked uncomfortable. "I'm… not really supposed to say. It's kinda classified."

"How classified?" Robin asked.

The large Faunus scratched the back of his head. "Classified enough that it could get me and you guys… 'disappeared' if I tell you. Trust me, I wanna tell you and it kills me that I can't. But it wouldn't be a good idea." he explained.

Morgan snorted. "I guess. I'm gonna be honest, I never really understood why you wanted to be a Specialist. Too secretive for me. Whatever."

Aoi flapped her wings and settled onto Morgan's shoulders. "Secretive, maybe. But we do get to see the world a lot and that's fun!" she giggled.

Morgan looked up and smirked. "I bet it is! But how much of his missions do you actually see, though?"

Aoi pouted a little. "I don't get to see any of them, really. Whenever he's on a mission, I just stay on the airship, which is so boring! I read a lot until I get bored, then I play some games until I get bored, then I nap until I get bored. Longest I've ever been cooped up in that thing was about a week, I think. It would be a lot more exciting if I could actually go on missions."

Kiokami smiled warmly at his little sister. "I know it's boring but I want you in the safest place I can manage and that's in my airship. I want you to go to a combat academy, too, just to make sure you can handle them."

Aoi groaned playfully and rolled her eyes, smirking. "Yeah, I know, I know."

Kiokami looked as though he'd remembered something. "Hey, Morgan? Can I talk to you in private for a bit? It's important."

Robin glanced at Morgan, who glanced at her. She gave a small nod to let him know she was okay with it. He and Kiokami walked over to an alleyway with no people around.

Robin looked up at the younger girl, who was already looking pouty that her brother and Morgan were separated from her. "So, what kind of games do you play?"

Aoi looked at her excitedly and they began discussing their favorite games and such.

Morgan POV

"What's up, Ki?" Morgan asked.

The wolf Faunus checked the alley to make sure no one was there. "Okay, I know you're going after Blanc Senior. Don't worry about how I know, I just do. I just want to tell you to be very careful. She's strong and connected to some very powerful people, I can't tell you who. I'm not going to stop you but if you do this and succeed, you will be painting a target across your back. Be careful. Watch your back."

Morgan cocked an eyebrow in surprise. "Wow, okay. That's a lot of information to take all at once. So, you're telling me that Blanc Senior's connected to some powerful people that I'm guessing are connected to whatever happened on your last mission?"

Kiokami nodded.

"Okay. So, whatever she's working on is bad news?"

He nodded again.

"And the world would be better off if she was stopped."

Another nod.

"But if I do stop her, I'm gonna attract attention from a sinister shadow organization? Is that basically it?" Morgan asked.

"That is essentially the long and the short of it. No one ever said being a Huntsman would be easy. Just… please make sure you come back alive from fighting Blanc and to watch your back after you kick her ass?" Kiokami asked.

Morgan sighed. "I'll see what I can do."

The two fist bumped and they rejoined Robin and Aoi. The four of them walked around the city for a couple more hours before the two pairs parted ways, Kiokami and Aoi heading back to their airship and Morgan and Robin heading back to Beacon.

Once the pair were back in their dorm, they sat down on the couch to watch some cartoons, holding each other closely. Nothing had really changed in their relationship other than the fact that they would be physically very close rather often.

Morgan had also noted that not only did his eyes rarely shift in anger anymore, he also held his tail more upright than he did before. He really didn't know why, he just knew that he tended to lash his tail when angry or frustrated. He had never held his tail so high before and he didn't know what caused it. He did notice that he felt rather content when it happened, though.

He looked down and saw Robin had dozed off, her ear pressed against his heart. He smiled softly and wrapped his arms more tightly around her while still being gentle. She snuggled closer to him, mumbling something about him being warm and her being cold.

He smiled again and raised his body temperature slightly, enjoying how close she was and her efforts to get closer.

After a while, however, he dozed off as well and the pair stayed as such for a good few hours, holding each other close and enjoying each other's company.

Unfortunately, however, the moment was cut shorter than either would like when both of their stomachs rumbled, as they hadn't eaten in about five or six hours and an active Aura burned through calories very quickly.

After a quick dinner, they returned to the dorm, where they spent the rest of the night reading and chatting about things of little consequence until they went to sleep.

Lilo POV

Lilo and Donna sat on the roof of the school gazing at the stars. They often did this together, Lilo liking pointing out and explaining the different stars and constellations and Donna liking hearing how excited Lilo was about the subject.

They'd been on the roof for a little over an hour. Lilo did have to admit, just relaxing with Donna felt so much better now that both of their feelings were out in the open. Though, he did feel a twinge of discomfort as he thought about something that'd been bothering him for a while.

"Hey, Donna?" he asked.

She turned toward him. "Yeah? What's up?"

"Why… do you like me? I mean, I'm not very strong at all. I'm the weakest member of the team and I barely last in hand to hand engagements, if at all. Not to mention, I'm basically a twig. So… why?" he wondered aloud.

Donna kissed him on the cheek. "I don't care what you look like, you dummy! I love you for who you are. You're smart, funny and one of the few people who don't care about my social station or money. I love you because we've been through so much together. Were it not for you, I'm not sure I'd be… around… anymore." she answered softly.

Lilo's heart fluttered slightly. He smiled softly and kissed her on the mouth and they remained like that for a few moments before separating again. "You mean so much to me, Donna. You were one of the only people to ever really believe in me."

Donna smiled warmly. "You mean so much to me too, Lilo."

They watched the stars for an hour more until they went back to the dorm and went to bed to get a much needed good night's sleep.

AN: A bit of a shorter one this time. I had a pretty good idea for Morgan and Robin's date but Lilo and Donna's? Not so much. Still, I think I got some pretty good character development in. Either way, what did you guys think of the chapter?

Review and let me know! Until the next one!