Some of you may have noticed with your own stories, but reviews haven't been showing up on the site for a couple of days. They're recorded on the story stats, but I can't read them anywhere else other than through my notification email.
Pretty annoying, isn't it? Either way, just want to say thanks to those who left reviews that aren't showing up. I've seen them all on my email, and I appreciate them ;)
Day 11/30
It was nearly the perfect day outside. Birds were chirping, clouds were few in the bright blue sky, and the summer heat was at its highest in weeks. There was no better time for the housemates to have some fun under the sun.
Well, almost all of them.
"Aw, come on Blake! You have to swim with us!" Ruby pleaded her Faunus teammate. The cat leaned against the wall of her team leader's room as Yang and Weiss finished changing into their swimsuits. The girls already living in the room had waited for Ren to leave so they wouldn't have to get undressed in mixed company, where Yang and Blake had joined them to get away from the Lieutenant. The big guy had insisted they stay, claiming that seeing them naked wouldn't phase him at all. They didn't doubt his claim at all, but still felt uncomfortable with him sitting there in only a speedo.
"I think I'll pass on that, thank you," Blake replied, pulling at the string of her purple sundress.
"Are you sure?" Ruby pressed, now snapping a bright orange life vest around Zwei.
"I'm quite sure. I didn't pack a swimsuit anyways." Blake lied blatantly. She figured it was better to pull an Ozpin in this situation than let her friends know that she wasn't too fond of water. Yang already had enough cat jokes for her, and she didn't need to give her partner any more material.
"You can borrow one of mine," Weiss offered, holding up a frilly white bikini that matched her own. Yang couldn't help but snicker at the heiress.
"Don't you think it'll be tight around a certain region?" the blonde implied, pointing at both Blake and Weiss's chests, "She isn't as lacking in the areas you are."
"Hey!" Weiss blushed in anger, pointing her own finger at Yang, "I'd rather be like this than carry those around!"
"Oh, you're just jealous of what I'm packing," Yang boasted, striking a pose in her yellow sling bikini, "If you got the goods, then show them off!" As Weiss was about to retaliate, there was a knock at the door. "Come on in!"
"Hello!" Pyrrha waved, peeking her head in, "Mind if I change in here? The boys are still in my room and Cinder is using the bathroom."
"Be our guest," Weiss said, handing a bottle of sunscreen to Ruby, "Could you get my back?"
"Yeah, gimme a minute!" Ruby answered, lying awkwardly on the floor as she tried to tie her swimsuit's strings behind her back. "This always takes me a while…"
"So…" Yang grinned slyly, leaning in towards Pyrrha, "What are you wearing to seduce Jaune?"
"Gah?!" The redhead jumped, trying to compose herself. "Oh, uh, well… Flaunting myself half-naked is not the way I would want Jaune to notice me. I want him to see me for who I am, not as some hussy who uses looks to get what she wants."
Three pairs of eyes stared at Yang. "…Really, guys? Go look at Cinder, not me."
"Besides," Pyrrha continued, pulling her swimsuit out of her bag and holding it up for Team RWBY, "It isn't much, really. See?"
All jaws in the room the floor.
"Pyrrha," Blake said, raising an eyebrow, "Just what do you define as modest?"
"What do you mean? My mother gave me this."
"Is that what she was wearing when she met your dad?" Yang asked.
Looking over the swimsuit again, Pyrrha sighed. "Perhaps I should find something else to wear, then."
"No!" Weiss said, grabbing Nikos by the hand, "Wear it. Jaune will love it."
"But I said-
"I know what you said. But like some say," Weiss jerked her thumb at Yang, "If you have it, then flaunt it."
It had taken Ren about two hours to set up his cooking station by the pool. He and Nora had found a grill out in the shed when they were building Adam's doghouse days ago, and he decided it would be a good idea to provide a buffet to the swimmers as they relaxed. He looked just like one of those Hawaiian cabana chefs in his buttoned up floral shirt as he sprinkled some seasoning over a platter of grilled chicken skewers.
"Make room, chef!" Roman set down a big pitcher of minty blue-green liquid on the table, shaking Ren's workspace.
"I wish you could have warned me about that," Ren sighed.
"Keep an eye on this," Roman said, ignoring the cook completely, "Don't serve it to anyone until I get back. It's only for certain people. As in myself."
"I'm not even going to question why," Ren muttered to himself as Roman rushed off. He was replaced quickly by Nora, who poked her head over the table beside Lie scanning the food for something yummy. The spritely girl wore a shirt like Ren's, but was unbuttoned slightly to reveal her pink swimwear beneath. "Looking for something in particular?"
"Nope," Nora said, "Just really, really, really, REALLY hungry."
"Here," Ren held out a chicken skewer for her, "I may have overdone it with the spices. Tell me how this tastes."
Nora opened her mouth wide and engulfed the stick (and Ren's fingers) in one bite. She held it in her mouth, enduring the intense flavors.
"Well? How spicy is it?"
"…Vewry," Nora said, her mouth full and burning. Still, she gave him a thumbs up in approval; she didn't want to disappoint Ren and say he overdid it with the spices. Smiling, Ren let go of the stick and continued his work as Nora scurried to the pool and began shoveling in water to cool her mouth off.
Across the pool, Cinder lowered her sunglasses and looked at Nora with disgust. Wearing a pitch-black two piece, she was lying under a big umbrella to shield herself from the sun's rays. Like Blake, Cinder wasn't too fond of water either, but for completely different reasons.
"How undignified," Cinder rolled her eyes, sipping on her glass of passion fruit juice from a straw, "And keep fanning, Emerald. The breeze went away."
"Y-Yes ma'am!" Sustrai said gleefully, palm fan in hand. Cinder was grateful for her subordinate's eager desire to pamper her today, though she wished Emerald would stop staring at her outfit the whole time. "So, just to clarify… You aren't getting in the pool with the others?"
"For the last time," Cinder sighed, "I am not joining those buffoons in the pool. Such play is too childish for me."
"CANNONBALL!" Jaune shouted as he leaped from the highest rocky outcrop and into the pool. A huge splash of water followed, raining down on Cinder and Emerald.
"…My point proven."
"Look at 'em all," Mercury said, holding a video camera in his hand, "Beauties everywhere, earning us lien by the second."
Leaning up against a rocky outcrop beside him was Adam and the Lieutenant, both quite disinterested with his words. This was Taurus' first time in a group environment in a long while, and everyone other than these two were uneasy around him. His eyes were glued on Blake, who was laughing with Sun underneath a fake palm tree. He could barely see them through his crudely taped-up mask, but he could tell she was enjoying herself without him. Completely unacceptable.
"I hate my life," Adam said, completely monotone.
"Cheer up, boss," the Lieutenant said, "There's no reason to be sad right now. You remember what I said to you yesterday, right? Gives you a reason to live, doesn't it?"
"All I remember about yesterday is you cracking a goddamn cane over my head. Do you really think I'll remember a single, goddamn, fucking thing you might have said to me you piece of sh-IIIIIIIIIT!"
Ironwood wasn't wrong about how the shock collar worked. Just like every other time Adam had an outburst of anger today, he began thrashing on the ground as a jolt of electricity shot through his veins.
"Will you two shut up?" Mercury snapped, zooming his camera in on Neo, whose ice cream had just dripped onto her chest right above her black and white bikini, "I don't need any background noise in my video."
"Film Blake," Adam coughed, slowly standing to his feet, "I'll pay you handsomely for it."
"Don't worry," Merc said, focusing in on Yang next, "I'm getting everybody."
"Even the guys?" the Lieutenant asked.
"…Why would I film them?"
"You said everybody."
"Look, just shut up. I mean it this time. I need you guys' help."
"No," Adam replied quickly.
"Hear me out, okay? All I've been getting on this camera are babes in bikinis. But you know what's better than that?"
"…A bunch of nicely toned bodybuilders?"
"No! Girls without bikinis on."
The thought of a nude Blake flipped Adam's opinion around completely. "I'm listening."
"What we're gonnna do," Merc smirked, "Is catch one of them off guard. One of you undoes their swimsuit, and I get their puppies on film. A girl being soaking wet earns bonus points. You guys help me out, I'll give some of the lein I earn from selling this online to the White Fang cause. Deal?"
"Deal," Adam nodded, "And thank you for supporting the White Fang revolution. Your donation will go on to help countless-
"Save the charity speech, pal. What about you, big guy? You in or not?"
"I don't know…" the Lieutenant sighed, "Does it have to be a girl?"
"He's not going to do it." Adam answered for him.
"Yeah, kind of figured that one out," Merc said, walking off with Taurus close behind, "Come on then. Let's pick our target."
"You mean Blake, right?"
"I said we'll figure it out."
"…But Blake is our primary choice, right?"
"No wonder your own Lieutenant knocked you out."