Sun stared into the glass of the bathroom mirror, unsatisfied. He ruffled his hair once again, and began tilting his face at various angles to check his appearance before scowling. Again, he made a pass to adjust his short blonde styling, and came up less than thrilled with the result.

"You look fine, Sun. It's just my dad," came the annoyed, groggy voice of Blake, still nestled within the blankets. Sun had barely slept, and it showed- he was beginning to develop bags under his eyes that did little to help his thoughts about his appearance.

"Well, 'just your dad' made it pretty clear that he wants me at my best for whatever he's got planned, and I get the feeling he's not a fan of me to begin with," Sun replied with a defeated tone. "I just don't want to screw this up. Again."

"And you won't," Blake grumbled as she began to sit up. Sun watched her in the mirror, tangled within the blankets and with her hair in disarray. Somehow, he found the messy look even more attractive than her usual meticulous appearance. Perhaps because it was for his eyes only.

"I'm glad one of us is confident, at least." Sun sighed, and turned to face her as he leaned back and rested his butt and palms against the edge of the counter. "Every single one of our conversations thus far have been tense, and I mean… reconnecting with your parents is important. I care about you, so I care about them. Seeing him upset makes me feel weird, especially when I'm the cause."

Blake thumped back down into her fortress of blankets, and pulled a pillow over her head to block out the subtle sunlight creeping in through the paper of the balcony door. She mumbled through the obstruction as Sun approached the bed and sat down next to her. "He's just terrified that the weird, muscular monkey man is going to defile his precious little girl. I'll put my thoughts into a conversation with him, sometime soon. Maybe once you two get back. Maybe tomorrow. I just need more sleep. What time is it, anyway?"

Sun looked over at the clock on the wall. "5:48 in the morning. Sleep, Blake. I want you feeling rested." He placed a hand atop the blanket-covered lump, praying that he would land somewhere on her side or arm instead of her rear. "I know you're stressed out."

There was a brief pause before Blake wriggled forward in a halfhearted motion to peek out at him from beneath her pillow-crown. "…and I know you are, too. Tomorrow, you're sleeping in, and I'm not letting you get up until you start looking less like a zombie. We'll be lazy for a day, and then… maybe explore the town, together? We need a break from all of this drama and tension."

Sun's smile grew wider as he listened, and he began to rub at Blake's side from atop the blankets. "…you know… what you just said is what your friends, myself included, have been trying to get you to see for a long time, now. You've changed, Blake, and it's for the better. I think if you stay on this path, the answers are going to start to come to you more easily."

Blake looked him over through weary, sleep-deprived eyes. In a smooth motion, her hand snaked out from beneath the tangle of fabric and rested atop Sun's. "…and I have you to thank for a lot of that. You, and… Yang." Blake's voice trailed off as she said the name, and for a moment, she seemed to be looking through Sun rather than at him. He knew well that any mention of her team was off limits, and he was unsure what to say. Fortunately, Blake spoke again to break the tension.

"…but that's a topic for another time. Once you survive my dad again, tomorrow, it's a you day. I'm not letting you get up until you're rested, and then we're going to just… 'chill', as you would say. I won't take 'no' for an answer," Blake finished with an intense stare. The expression reminded Sun quite a bit of Kali's smug and knowing glances, and he couldn't help but laugh.

"Doesn't sound like I have much of a choice, do I?" Sun lifted his hand and gently entwined his fingers with Blake's. She looked bemused by the gesture, and her left cat ear flicked at his touch.

"You really don't. This whole time, you've been following my lead and backing me up while I wander, both literally and not. Now, I'm leading you for your benefit. Just go with it, Sun." Blake curled her fingers, pulling Sun's hand closer to herself as she did so. He offered no resistance, and let her drag his hand to her lips. Blake hesitated before planting a gentle, breathy kiss upon the back of his hand.

Sun's grin only grew in size at her touch, and the realization that her lips were not only soft, but warm.

"You got it. For now, though, I'll deal with your dad, and see if I can't work on winning him over a little more."

"Just be yourself." Blake let his hand go, and Sun rose from the bed with a nod. He offered her a tiny, two-fingered salute before he slipped out the door. "…that's how you're winning me over, after all," Blake said to no one in particular as she adjusted her positioning and drew her captive pillow down into a tight cuddle. With a contented exhale, she closed her eyes and sank back into a peaceful, much-needed sleep.

The events leading to Sun following Ghira through the forest while shirtless at the crack of dawn were a blur to him, but that hardly mattered as he focused on the task ahead. Coffee was had, each male had downed a simple meal of toast and an egg to hold them over, and then they had set out into the forest of exotic trees behind the manor. The foliage extended a fair distance toward the nearby mountains, and grew denser as they approached the dust-colored peaks.

Ghira led the two of them onward while shouldering a large, heavy-looking, black canvas bag. Sun had neglected to ask questions, wanting anything but to annoy his elder on their journey. Instead, he kept his attention on the plant life as he followed along, until Ghira's voice rumbled through the early morning silence.

"So. What are your views on manual labor?"

Sun blinked, unsure how to answer. "Uh… what do you mean? As a job, or a hobby, or…?"

"No," Ghira shook his head. "The value of it, in general. Do you ever go out and just… enjoy work?" Ghira dropped the bag into the dirt and grass as he came to an abrupt stop, and Sun jumped a bit at the noise. He mulled over the question as he took in their surroundings- a nondescript, seemingly unimportant collection of trees, ferns, and bushes.

"…I never really felt the need unless there was a goal, to be honest. I've been physically working on and off since I was just a little kid. I guess it's calming? Doing repairs always gave me some time to think to myself. It's nice, sometimes, to just get away and work with my hands," Sun offered with a shrug.

"Repairs?" Ghira inquired.

"…yeah. In Vacuo, I… got pretty good at fixing buildings. Interior and exterior," Sun replied. He moved toward the canvas bag to avoid Ghira's eyes, and began to unzip it.

"…I will ask nothing more." Ghira crossed his arms as he watched. Sun peeled the halves of the bag apart, and revealed a plethora of classical woodcutter's axes strapped down against the inside of the luggage.

"…thanks. Axes…?"

"Axes," Ghira affirmed with a nod. He joined Sun's side at the bag, and slid an axe from its securing loop.

"Is this the part where you dismember me and scatter the pieces so I don't date your daughter?" Sun asked with a full-on cheesy grin. Ghira didn't return it, and instead spun the axe in his hand as he took a deep breath.

"…I may not like you, Mr. Wukong," he said, "but I… will admit that should such a thing come to pass, my daughter could do far worse. Even so… don't push your luck."

"Noted. I'll take it," Sun replied as he selected his own axe. He mimicked the spinning motion and watched as the rising sun glistened off the metal of the razor sharp blade. "So, are we cutting down trees?"

"We are." Ghira rolled his axe-bearing arm and cracked his neck. "Our housekeepers could easily handle the gathering of firewood, but I elect to do it myself, instead. It gives me some time alone, away from paperwork, the White Fang, and my duties to Kuo Kuana. You may as well come along, and experience the sensations of control and solitude for yourself."

"Yes, sir," Sun replied. His lack of sleep caused the axe to feel heavier than it otherwise would, and simply standing straight was beginning to grate on his nerves between the exhaustion and tension of the previous, restless night. "I'll do my best."

"…go on. See what you can do, on your own," Ghira said with a hint of amusement in his voice.

Despite the distinct feeling that Ghira was setting him up for failure, Sun strode forward and eyed up a decently-sized tree. The trunk was bigger around than Ghira's torso, and looked as hard as stone. Having never held an axe before, he adjusted his grip several times, before leveling the head of the tool perpendicular to the bark of the palm tree and taking a deep breath. He lined up his target by touching the blade to the tree several times, and swung hard into the wood. The axe blade stuck inside of the tree, and Sun recoiled a bit as he felt the reverberation of the impact travel up through his arms with a painful twinge.

He had barely made a dent, and he struggled to wrench the axe back out of the wood before falling over onto his rear. Sun let out a sigh as he felt his free hand mash into the dirt, and braced himself for the booming laugh from Ghira at his complete failure.

It never came.

"…I have seen worse." Sun watched with confusion as a massive hand came into view, but he didn't hesitate to take it and pull himself up.

"Well, that's comforting. Any tips?" Sun asked as he stood and dusted off the front of his pants. He planted the head of the axe into the ground and leaned over it, feeling woozy.

"Several. Are you certain that you are up to this?" Ghira replied as he leveled his own axe at the resistant tree, the blade at an angle.

Sun stood straight immediately, and tried to perk up with limited success. "Yeah! Of course!" The false enthusiasm put quite a strain on his mental state, and Sun found his smile turning into a grimace against his wishes.

"…first, relax. Tension will not serve you, here. Strike at an angle, and cut a wedge into the side of the bark in the direction you wish the tree to fall," Ghira instructed before sinking his axe into the side of the wood. A resounding thud echoed throughout the area, and Sun whistled as he beheld the comparatively deep cut and Ghira's skillful removal of the tool from the wood.

"That's a lot more technical than I thought it would be, to be honest."

"What, were you just expecting to hack at it and then run away as it fell over in whatever direction?" Ghira asked incredulously.

"…yes. Yes I was," Sun admitted sheepishly as he approached a new tree of his own. He tried to follow Ghira's instructions, only to be met with criticism.

"…a deeper angle. Aim for a 45," Ghira deadpanned as he worked to fell his own tree.

"Yes, sir."

Sun drew a deep breath as he gripped the axe, his knuckles turning white while he tried to find the perfect angle. In that time, Ghira had taken three more swings, and transitioned to the other side of his tree. Sun tried to block out the distraction, and swung again. He greatly misjudged the position of the blade, and ended up sinking only half of it into the bark. With an annoyed grumble, he made a rocking motion to dislodge the blade and swing again, hitting into the same shallow cut.

"Better. Continue, until you reach the halfway point within the wood." Ghira put one last chop into the opposite side of his tree, and the massive plant began to creak and buckle under its own weight before leaning toward the carved wedge and beginning to fall. The giant palm crashed down into the brush with an echoing thud, and Sun found his nerves shredded by the noise.

"That's... new. Uh, how many trees do we need to down?"

"Fell," Ghira corrected. He approached another and rested his palm against it, axe over his shoulder as he watched and waited. "Let us try to bring down five each. That should last the manor for a month, or potentially more."

Sun's face fell as he considered that he hadn't even managed to get halfway through his first. He expected that five could take him into the early evening.

"…yes, sir…"

The sun slowly rose and crested the mountains as the duo continued their work, largely in silence. Sun had managed to fell two trees, albeit sloppily. Ghira had reached his final one, and seemed to be largely unaffected beyond deep, controlled breathing. In contrast, Sun's face, shoulders, and chest were slick with a sheen of heavy sweat, and the belt area of his shorts had turned a darker shade of denim from the pooling moisture.

Once again, Sun got to work chopping as Ghira watched. Comparatively, his blows were sloppy, uneven, and jagged. His arms grew heavy as he reached the halfway point within the wood, and Sun felt as though he might topple over as he made the few steps to the other side of the tree. He kept his eyes trained on the core of the tree, and yelped in surprise as he felt a giant hand pressing into the center of his chest. Sun's forward motion stopped immediately against Ghira's limb, and his nerves seemed to amplify the sensation of pressure in his tired state.

"Stop," Ghira commanded. Sun looked up at the elder male in shock. Adrenaline coursed through his veins, setting him both more awake and slightly numb.

"What? Why?" he asked, his voice unsure.

"Because you look ready to keel over. Your work has not been terrible, for a first attempt."

"Yeah, and you've doubled it." Sun shook his head and stepped back to free his chest from Ghira's palm. "Just let me do this, okay?"

"To what end? You're still just a boy. In truth, I did not expect you to manage the task in a timely fashion, or potentially at all. You have no need to press on in hopes of impressing me," Ghira finished.

Sun stared up at Ghira with a defiant expression, brows furrowed and eyes narrowed. "Yeah, actually. I do." With a huff, he walked around to the other side of the tree, relying on a second wind as he wound up his axe.

Ghira grunted and rolled his eyes as he watched. "At this rate, you're going to injure yourself. Again, you need to stop. Know your limits."

"Limits are made to be stretched," Sun replied with a strained voice as he sunk the axe into the wood. The cut was at a deep angle, despite needing to be at a straight horizontal on the second side. He stared at his work, anger and shame washing over him as he realized that he had already made a costly mistake.

"Not when you seem as though you haven't slept since your arrival in Kuo Kuana. That cut should be l-"

"Level, I know!" Sun interrupted in a frustrated voice. He pulled straight back to remove the axe from the tree in frustration, and ended up tugging fruitlessly as he forgot about the mistaken angle. With his palms slick with sweat, he lost his grip on the tool and took several steps backward to stay standing as the axe remained wedged into the bark.

Ghira paused, and let his arms drop to his sides as he regarded Sun with a look of concern. "…is all of this… because of me?"

Sun groaned and turned to face Ghira, leaving the axe in the tree as he ran a hand through his soaked hair, exasperated. "What? What do you mean? The fact that I suck at this?"

Ghira approached Sun, looking unamused. In one swift motion, he grabbed the handle of the axe and yanked it up and out of the tree, before letting the tool fall to the forest floor. "No. Your sleeplessness, tension, and attitude, at present. Your stubborn insistence on harming yourself through carelessness and defiance. Be truthful. Have I brought this on?"

"Partially, yeah!" Sun admitted in an angry tone as he stood up straight and faced Ghira down. "How else am I supposed to feel? I screwed up when we first met, I got caught sneaking around the house that same night, and you came down on me. Look, I get it. I really do. Blake's your daughter, and I'm an unknown. You probably feel like you don't know her right now, since you've been apart so long, but you don't know me, either! One of the first things you said was that you 'don't like me', and you've said it again twice, today included. We're faunus! Do you know how many times I've heard some variation of that, from people I barely know?"

Sun threw his arm out to the side in an exaggerated gesture, his anger rising as his filter deteriorated. "What were you hoping to get out of that? Were you trying to make me feel like shit, because that's what happened. I've been thinking about that since my first night in town, and how I can fix it, and every time we talk it feels like any progress we make together just gets erased by default. I don't know what to do to make you even give me an honest chance, and right now, I kinda feel like I don't even deserve one," Sun said as he looked down into the grass.

"I still don't totally understand Blake's situation, but as I learn more and more, I'm starting to see just how big it is. She's leaning into me, and I'm comfortable with that. I'm fine with people relying on me, and I like helping out and fixing their problems. But this problem, with Adam, and Ilia, and even her team after Beacon… I don't even know where to begin. I'm just winging it and putting on a brave face, for her sake. I feel like we're going to hit a point where Blake needs me, and I won't have an answer. She might run, again, or she might start worrying about me, and that's the last thing she needs."

Sun let his arm drop, before he brought it back up into his hair. "I hate feeling useless. I hate feeling like I'm letting people down, and I'll go nuts if I end up making Blake feel even more alone because I can't get my own shit together. Having you against me just adds to it, and it's causing tension between you and her. I know it is. I just want to slowly become a part of your family so I can keep helping her, because she's worth it, to me… but I have no idea what to do. I have no idea what to say around you, or how to interact with a father figure."

The boy looked up at Ghira with a pained expression, and found him looking unreadable in return as he continued. "I… never had that. I don't even know my parents. I was stuck in a foster home until I got sent to the academy for defending it from a grimm attack. I don't get the idea of 'family', and I thought maybe meeting Blake's would help me figure it out. I was hoping that maybe I could start feeling better, too, after meeting you guys, instead of like the unwanted runt who was just dumped off at some shack for kids that were too much of a burden. Instead, I just feel like I did before, or maybe even worse." Sun let his eyes fall back to the ground as all of his anger left him, replaced with sincere longing and guilt. His motivation rushed out of his heart and mind like air from a balloon that someone had stopped pinching closed, and he suddenly felt as though he just wanted to slump into the grass and decay.

"What do I have to do to just have a chance at being something more than an annoyance to you?" Sun finished, his voice small.

Ghira stood silent through the speech, his expression unchanging as he absorbed the boy's thoughts and took them to heart. Slowly, he offered a hand.

"…you just did it. Your honesty is something I am unused to, and for what it is worth, my intention was never to drive you to this point. You made several good points, and… I suppose I should say that I'm… sorry, Sun."

Sun clasped the hand with a desperate grip. The words did nothing to alleviate his physical burdens, but he allowed himself an uncertain sigh of relief.

"Thanks, Mr. B… but I'm just like that. I live inside my own head a lot more than I let on, and some things people say just… buzz around in there for days. Weeks. It's torture."

"I can see that, now. However, that is not my biggest point of concern," Ghira said as he furrowed his brow. "Is all of this really a means to an end, for the sake of helping my daughter back onto her feet? All of your own wants and needs are an afterthought?"

Sun let his hand slip from Ghira's, and rubbed at his bicep, ashamed. "Yeah. That's how it's always been. Before Blake, it was another friend I had at the Academy. He needed some support, so I gave it to him as best I could. You probably picked up on the fact that I'm not exactly thrilled with myself, so I just… take a back seat to the people I care about."

"I certainly did, yes." Ghira paused, and stooped to pick up the fallen axe. "We're going to have to work on that."

"…we?" Sun asked as he let go of his arm.

"Yes. We." Ghira moved back to the canvas bag and slipped the axe into its designated storage loop. "Let us finish packing here, and then go and get some real food, on the way home." The larger male offered a rare smirk, and Sun felt an oddly pleasant sensation within his chest as he cracked his knuckles.

"Sounds good, Mr. B."

"…call me Ghira."

Author's Note:

As merendinoemiliano pointed out in a review, Ilia did grow up elsewhere, and I forgot that detail while writing since I didn't bother to double check. For the purposes of this story, I'll be keeping her childhood in Menagerie to deepen the connection with Blake and give her more reason to hold such a grudge.

As far as updates… some of you have probably noticed that this chapter is up a day early. There's a distinct reason for that- I'm speeding up temporarily. Valentine's Day means nothing to me, but it seems incredibly fitting for a certain chapter to fall on that date, and I figure that some people would appreciate having something romantic to read that features Sun and Blake on the holiday. Therefore, the update schedule is now every other day for a bit and going to be:

2/12: Chapter 13

2/14: Chapter 14

After that, I'll go back to updates every three days, meaning that Chapter 15 will go up on Saturday the 17th.

-RD