Willow awoke feeling absolutely exhausted. Her conversation with Summer and Adam had lasted deep into the night, and though she couldn't be sure of just how many hours of sleep she had gotten, it certainly wasn't enough. Despite the fact that she was typically early to rise, the heiress wanted nothing more than to remain in bed all day as she was- face-down, her head beneath the pillow, and sprawled out across most of the bed after her third attempt at falling back asleep. Summer had other ideas.

"Hey, you up?" the girl asked as her bottom impacted the bed with great force. Willow was jolted awake as she suddenly found herself slightly airborne, clinging to the blankets. "Or did I just wake you?"

"…yes. That," Willow confirmed in a groggy voice as she stared at the nightstand clock through blurry vision. "How do you sound so cheerful? We only got a few hours of sleep…"

"Maybe, but I feel so… unburdened," Summer explained. "At least, for right now. We need to take the day off and take some time for ourselves before we get back to Professor Gumo and the Academy. After all, this is a vacation."

"I agree that such a thing is probably for the best, yes," Willow replied as she propped herself up on her elbows and let the blankets slide down her back. "Still, you're sure you'll be able to do such a thing? No immediate pressure to figure out your Maiden status?"

"…not today," Summer declared as she pulled up one of her stockings. "That's a banned word until tomorrow."

"As you wish," Willow said with a yawn. "Have you any idea what you'd like to d-"

The door to the bedroom flung open with reckless energy as Kali marched straight through, dragging Raven along by the wrist. The faunus wore both a two-piece bathing suit and a filthy grin, while her companion was clad in something closer to her usual outfit.

"Wil!"

"…I'm right here," the girl replied with a wince. She could already feel her head beginning to pound. "You don't need to yell."

"Sorry…"

"No, she isn't," Raven deadpanned. "I don't know what she's planning, but don't indulge her. This has trouble written all over it."

"We'll see," Willow considered. "What's the rush?"

"This is a private beach, isn't it?" Kali began, emphasizing the descriptor.

"Oh no," Raven said immediately as she wrenched her wrist free of Kali's hand. "No. I see where this is going, and the answer is absolutely not."

"…where is this going?" Summer asked innocently, looking between the two girls.

"Private beach means nobody else is allowed on it," Kali explained. "Which means, I can work on my tan. All of it."

Willow blinked, her cheeks immediately going red. Summer followed suit, though it took her a moment longer to understand the implications.

"I… suppose you could," Willow admitted.

"You have fun with that," Raven said dismissively as she made her way back into the hall. "There is no way in hell I'm g-"

Raven turned her head just in time to see Roman as the two smacked into each other. Roman quite nearly bowled her over with his momentum, though he managed to salvage the situation by putting a firm hand on Raven's shoulder to keep her upright.

"Sorry! Have you seen Kal? She took off so fast…"

"In there," Raven answered in monotone as she nodded back toward Willow's room. "She's plotting bullshit as usual."

"Of course she is," Roman muttered as he moved around Raven to poke his head into the room.

"Please?" Kali asked, her voice dripping with sweetness as she kept her hands clasped together. "It could be so much fun…"

"…I mean…" Summer started, only to seemingly reconsider. "As long as it'd just be us, I guess?"

"What's up?" Roman asked as he entered the room.

"Summer and I are going to go lay around nude on the beach," Kali explained as she turned back to face Roman. "And Willow's coming, too."

"…I am?" Willow asked incredulously. "I don't remember agreeing to that notion."

"Come with me, Willow," Raven called from the doorway. "You should leave before you get sucked into something awful. You too, Roman."

"Hey, now," Roman said with an air of offense to his voice. "I'd absolutely be down for a nude beach situation…"

"Girls only," Kali said with a smirk and a wag of her finger. "And Wil- you could just come with us and hang out. Get some color on you without baring it all. You don't have to strip down."

"…you never presented that as an option," Raven balked as she poked her head back into the room.

"Because you didn't even let me present the idea!" Kali emphasized as she threw her arms out to the sides. "You shot me down as soon as I said 'private beach'!"

"…in that case, I'll tag along," Raven said with a nod as she stepped back inside. "I couldn't care less how clothed the three of you are or aren't, so long as we're alone. Just don't expect me to get naked."

"Traitor," Roman hissed in an accusatory tone. "So wait, lemme get this straight- two of you are going to go sun yourselves totally naked, the other two are up in the air, and you're not letting any guys join in? Seriously?"

"Sounds about right," Summer said with a smile. "Sorry, Roman. You may get to see Kali, but you're not allowed to see me. No boys allowed."

"This sucks. You all suck!" Roman declared.

"We do, on occasion," Raven confirmed as she ushered the male out of the room. "See you later tonight, after we're all a bit darker."

"H-hey, wait!" Roman tried, only to have the bedroom door closed in his face. "Damn it…"

With a heavy sigh, he ran a hand through his fringe and made his way toward the staircase, cursing all the while.


Bartholomew sat shirtless at the counter in the kitchen, blowing gently upon a steaming mug of coffee. The boy was clad only in a pair of patterned pajama pants, and his hair was still a tangled, matted mess from his long night of sleep. Every room on the lower level of the beach house was quiet, and the boy was reveling in the silence. He could see Adam Taurus asleep on the air mattress set up between the sofas, unmoving. Not once had the boy stirred since Bartholomew's arrival.

Taiyang was the first to descend to the lower floor, fully dressed. Bartholomew held a finger up to his lips and nodded toward Adam, causing the blond to move a bit slower down the steps. Taiyang approached the kitchen slowly and carefully, speaking in a hushed tone as he moved toward the refrigerator.

"Sorry. He's still out?"

"He is indeed," Bartholomew answered at a near whisper. "I believe he was up late. I heard conversation outside while reading last night."

"Any idea who else was out there?" Taiyang asked as he removed a carton of orange juice from the fridge. "Raven was with me, and Qrow was with you, so…"

"Hm," Bartholomew considered. "I did hear quite a bit of movement across from our door in the middle of the night. Summer? Willow? Perhaps both?"

"Maybe," Taiyang acknowledged. "Speaking of Summer, what do you make of this whole Maiden thing, anyway? You tend to have interesting thoughts."

"…I tend to have interesting thoughts?" Bartholomew asked with a raised brow.

"Yeah, you know," Taiyang tried as he poured himself a glass of orange liquid. "You're… smart and analytical. There's a lot going on in your head that you don't say. I'm interested."

"Your semblance at work," Bartholomew mused. "You and I could stand to speak more frequently…"

"We all talk to each other a lot as a group, but… yeah," Taiyang agreed as he sat down next to Bartholomew. "Maybe that's something we can work on throughout this vacation. Get to know the people outside of our teams a little better."

"I would like that," Bartholomew agreed. "As for your leader's situation… I'm actually not sure what to think. We certainly need confirmation before making any sort of move in regards to the headmasters or the path forward, but… I feel that it changes little."

"It changes little?" Taiyang asked incredulously. "It changes everything!"

"How?" Bartholomew asked. "Summer is our friend. She has two semblances. We're helping her master both, and we intend to support her on that journey. If you ask me, nothing has changed at all, from our perspective."

"…huh," Taiyang considered. Still, something tugged at the edge of his mind, insisting that there was more to the story. In that moment, it all clicked, and Taiyang was able to put his feelings of unease into words. "Salem. This whole thing with Salem could change everything."

"It could indeed," Bartholomew agreed before sipping his coffee. "But we do not know how, or why. Clearly, we need answers in that department. Perhaps from Professor Gumo. Perhaps from Jinn."

The name sent a shiver down Taiyang's spine, and the orange juice chaser didn't help him feel any less cold.

"…you're not suggesting we use a Relic of Whateverthehelltheyare without Professor Ozpin knowing, are you?"

"I'm not suggesting anything," Bartholomew said with a shrug. "Not yet. I will say, though, that we've been lied to, or at least misled, multiple times by our own headmaster. It's getting rather old. I appreciate facts and mutual trust more than I do convictions and intentions, Taiyang. Those two can be notoriously unreliable."

It was then that Taiyang noticed an odd, biting sort of emotion lingering around Bartholomew. Taiyang had picked up on it before, and it always came as a momentary, harsh little spike akin to a sudden mouthful of spice in an otherwise bland meal. Unlike every other time he had tasted it in the air, though, that uncomfortable feeling lingered and didn't seem to die down at all.

"Girls suck."

Bartholomew and Taiyang both looked over to the staircase as Roman noisily descended to the ground floor in a huff. The pasty redhead had a scowl upon his face as he stomped toward the kitchen and snatched the carton from the counter before beginning to hunt for a glass.

"…rough night?" Taiyang asked, already feeling a bit nauseated from the sudden influx of frustration bubbling in the air.

"Nah. Last night was great," Roman said with a filthy smirk as he poured out his orange juice. "This morning can eat me."

Bartholomew merely rolled his eyes as he finished his coffee and turned his stool around to face his teammate.

"What's wrong? The girls planning to go work on their tans, and you're not allowed to go and watch?"

Roman paused for a moment and came quite close to overfilling his glass as he stared his leader down. He saved it just in time by pulling the carton up and heaving a dramatic sigh.

"Yeah, actually. What, did you hear Kal upstairs?"

"…no, I was just guessing the most inconsequential and inappropriate thing to be upset over that I could think of," Bartholomew said with a smile. "Glad to see I know my team rather well."

"Give 'em their privacy, man," Taiyang admonished. "They're our friends, you know, even if they're all pretty hot. Besides- I'm sure you've seen more than enough of Kali to miss out on this without causing you any harm."

"Yeah, and apparently I'm not the only one," Roman grumbled as he took a quick drink.

Taiyang's stomach lurched as another spike of negativity permeated the air.

"Well, you've yet to make your move to make it official, correct?" Bartholomew asked. "The clock is ticking, my friend."

"Yeah, yeah," Roman sneered. "And shut up about that. We don't need that kind of shit lingering in the air."

"We don't," Bartholomew agreed. "Though I can't help but wonder…"

"Stop," Taiyang warned as he moved a hand to his stomach. "Otherwise, I'm leaving. There are way too many bad vibes in the air right now…"

"I'm leaving," Adam groaned in a frustrated voice as he rose from the mattress, still covered in blankets. "Gods, you people are loud…"

"Apologies," Bartholomew offered. "Are the girls still upstairs, or…?"

"Not for long," Qrow answered as he rapidly descended the staircase, fully dressed and freshly showered. "They're on their way now."

Taiyang felt the most powerful of emotions that far into the day the second Roman locked eyes with Qrow. The venomous look that Roman gave the other boy was enough to give Qrow pause.

"…something up?" Qrow asked.

"…oh," Taiyang said as he set down his glass and shuffled out of the kitchen. "I'll… be right back…"

"Oh?" Bartholomew asked. "That's… hm, I suppose could see that happening. Tick-tock, Roman."

"…the hell is going on down here?" Qrow inquired. "What am I missing?"

"Nothing," Roman snapped as he took Taiyang's abandoned seat. "Nothing at all."

"I'm missing sleep," Adam complained as he strode into the kitchen, wearing his collection of blankets as a cloak. "I hate all of you. Can't we have a minute of peace and quiet in this damned house?"

His answer came in the form of thunderous footsteps down the stairs as all four of the girls made their way to the lower floor. Each was clad in a swimsuit and had a beach towel either around their waist or over their shoulder. Willow was at the head of the pack, looking somewhat nervous and excited as she hurried toward the kitchen with her scroll out.

"My father is calling! Everyone, be on your best behavior!"


Author's Note:

She might as well ask them to negotiate world peace.

-RD