Day 12/30
Many people have their own personal addiction, for better or for worse. Ruby loves cookies, Nora engulfs pancakes, Roman huffs glue.
And now Emerald was part of that group's more negative side.
Ever since the pool party, there had been one mental image stuck in her mind. Call it Stockholm syndrome, but Emerald had been infatuated with Cinder ever since she had taken her off the streets and under her wing. Seeing her in a bikini was a dream come true, but seeing her pretty much naked? A gift from the gods themselves. Emerald wasn't religious by any means, but it was better than giving any form of credit to Taurus' role in the flashing.
Being a thief Emerald had stooped to some pretty low points before in her life, but just this morning she had gone to one of her lowest. She had known Torchwick had gotten hold of Mercury's camera with the precious footage of Cinder saved on it, and had actually begged him for a copy. As in almost on her hands and knees for it.
So of course Roman decided to exploit her desperation by asking a $1000 price for it.
It was money Emerald didn't have right now, but after this whole thing was over she'd gladly pay for it with her prize money. Or just steal it out of spite; either way worked for her. But Sustrai couldn't wait 18 more days for that. She needed her fix now.
Which is why she found herself in this most precarious of situations.
If she had known how many outfits Weiss had brought with her, then Emerald would have probably had second thoughts about this. Enveloped snugly by cloth on both sides, Sustrai balanced her feet on pairs of shoes lining the bottom of the closet in the room Weiss shared with her Cinder.
Emerald had gotten the idea by looking at her own room's closet, noticing the door barely made any sound when opened slightly: perfect for peeking through. Standing inside Cinder's closet and waiting for her to come in and undress seemed like the perfect plan at first. But Emerald soon realized why it was Cinder who came up with their plans, as she had overlooked the fact that she might open the closet before getting naked. By the time she thought of that, however, it was too late. She was already in a comfortable position, and she sure as hell wasn't leaving after only twenty minutes. If Cinder didn't show up by bedtime, she'd make her escape in the dark easy-peasy. Then she'd try again tomorrow.
And maybe the day after that.
Probably the one after that too.
Hell, maybe even every day until her itch was cured.
The plan was to stand in Cinder's closet instead of Schnee's, but Emerald had heard footsteps and jumped in the first hiding place she saw. The clothes around her were soft and smelled of vanilla, so at least it smelled better than every time Torchwick opened up his closet. Still, it made her wish she was just across the room around Cinder's lavender scented garments instead. Maybe then she wouldn't feel her feet falling asleep.
Emerald shuffled a bit, kicking lightly to gain feeling back in her legs, but froze up when she heard the sound of the room's door opening. Was this it? Was this the moment she was waiting for?!
"Do we really have to do this now, Weiss?"
…Of course it wasn't. Emerald rolled her eyes at Ruby's voice. Stupid happy-go-lucky kid.
"Yes, Ruby. I need you to do this for me."
Great. Weiss was here too. Just delightful. Emerald back up further into the closet, leaning against the back wall. No point in standing up for this.
"But we just did this a couple hours ago!" Rose whined, "I want to go play with Zwei."
"Too bad. Now help me unzip my dress. I can't do it myself."
Now that caught Emerald's attention. Still, she didn't move; the wall was surprisingly comfortable. She heard Weiss wince as the zipping sound ceased.
"You okay, Weiss?"
"Yes… Just a little sore. You were too hard on me last time."
"Sorry. I'll be gentle this time. Promise!"
Sustrai's eyes widened. Surely Ruby didn't mean…
She heard a bottle opening next.
"This is the right lotion, right?" Ruby asked, "These names are so weird and foreign."
"Is the bottle pink?"
"…Yeah, I think so."
"What do you mean by I think so? I know you're not colorblind!"
"It's kind of a light red more than pink."
"Ruby… You know what? It's fine. I can't wait any longer. Just get to it. I'm dying down here."
'Okay,' Emerald thought, 'This is happening. This is actually happening.' She pulled at her collar as the closet suddenly increased in temperature.
"K-Kya~!"
Sustrai jumped at Weiss's squeal. Yeah, she was starting to regret this whole plan now. This was bad. Really bad.
"You okay, Weiss?"
"Yes. It's cold, but it feels so good…"
'Shit-shit-shit-shit!' Emerald had to get out of here. NOW. The last thing she wanted was to hear these two go any further than just playing with lotion!
"Should I go lower?"
"What do you think? I'm aching all over, Ruby."
"A-alright, then…"
Yup. That's it. Time to leave.
But could Emerald really just open the door and bolt out? What if they saw her? What if they asked her to join?! What if she said yes?! What if Cinder walked in after she said yes?!
*VMMMMM!*
The sound of something vibrating made up her mind instantly. The door flung open and crashed against the wall, nearly smacking Emerald in the face as it flew back from the force. The thief didn't even look back after she dashed out of the room, holding her nose tightly so blood wouldn't flow out of it. She turned a corner and came face to face with none other than Cinder, and literally fell into her.
"Wha-?" Cinder gasped in confusion as Emerald's arms gripped her waist.
"C-Cinder!" Emerald cried, not planning on letting go any time soon. Sighing, Cinder patted her on the head, completely unsure of how to react.
"Um… Please stop?"
A dumbfounded Weiss and Ruby sat on the floor of their room, unsure of what just happened.
"Ruby… What was that?"
"I dunno," Rose shrugged, still holding the light red bottle of calamine lotion, "Whoever it was, I think their scroll was ringing though."
"Whatever. Just get back to work. This sunburn is your fault, after all."
"Aye-aye, bestie!"
*SMACK!*
"Agh! Ruby!"
"Oops! Sorry about that!"