Sun stretched awake with a soft moan and rapidly blinked several times. He slid backward to prop himself up against the pillows, and shook out his right foot to disentangle the sheets spiraled up and around his leg. A massive yawn escaped him, and he squinted across the room at the wall clock to find that it read 11:06.
"…shit," Sun cursed to himself. A hiss escaped him as he twisted slightly and a shooting pain gripped his chest. He looked down to see several light scars from nails upon his pecs, and began to blush profusely as the memory of the previous night came flooding back to him.
"…double shit."
Sun smiled despite himself and slipped out of bed, only to find his discarded boxers tangled around his toes upon the floor. He kicked them aside toward his fallen cargo shorts and made his way to the bathroom to look in the mirror, where he found a bright red spot upon the right side of his neck, along with more marks from where Blake's nails had dug into his shoulders.
"…and there's the triple. I am never gonna hear the end of this…"
Sun's grin remained firmly in place despite the reality of the situation as he peeled off the bandage on his side to reveal a raised scar. He grimaced and stepped into the shower, before he got to work cleansing himself of small trails of dried blood and the remnants of other fluids. Upon finishing, he went through his usual morning routine before heading back out into the main room and putting his clothes back on. Almost automatically, he took out his scroll and tapped the screen to wake the device, only for his heart to skip a beat.
A large banner greeted him with a simple, but effective message.
TRANSFER COMPLETE- S. AYANA
Sun frantically swiped through the various applications on his phone before pulling up his bank account, and saw that the full amount he had transferred to Sage had been returned.
"That son of a bitch," Sun mused. He flipped back to his contacts and scrolled down to Sage, only to find that there was no signal at all. His heart sank as he looked back up at the clock, and realization washed over him.
"Oh, no… come on, don't tell me they left already…"
Sun pushed his way through the bedroom door and paused, before hastily beginning to button up his dress shirt with a hot blush. He popped his collar to hide the hickey, and made hasty strides down the hall and toward the front door. Several fewer pairs of shoes were present in the foyer, and Sun's heart rate quickened as he pulled his scroll out once again.
Ruby, Ren, Nora, and Sage's signals were all nonexistent, while everyone else's remained close by. Sun's tail drooped slightly as he accepted defeat with a weary sigh, and put a hand to his forehead. He mumbled to himself as he headed for the living room, only to be jolted awake by an abrasive voice.
"Loverboy awakens. Blake told us to let you sleep, on account of how badly you've been grinding yourself down," Qrow said while swirling a glass of amber liquid from his place upon the couch. He brought the glass to his lips and let out an almost pained noise, before tilting it toward Sun. "The team going after Raven already left. Kali, Blake, Neptune, and I are heading out sometime in the next hour or so, once they get back. We would've woken you if it got to that point, but you saved us the trouble. Probably a good idea to say your goodbyes, kid."
"Yeah, I will," Sun said as he crossed his arms over his chest. The sensation of fabric over his abs felt so very wrong, but he decided to suffer through it to protect what dignity he had left. "Thanks for letting me sleep. I needed it, but… the others aren't mad, are they?"
Qrow shook his head before draining his glass entirely and keeping a hand atop the lip as he placed the container upon the armrest. "Nah. Sage in particular took Blake's side, and the others didn't make an issue of it. Come and sit, for a minute?"
"Uh… sure?" Sun said curiously as he walked over and sat down across from Qrow. The older man nodded his head toward the sliding glass door that led to the lawn, before transferring his glass to the coffee table and leaning forward to rest his forearms atop his thighs.
"Listen- most of the others are in the back yard having a cookout, and Kali's off doing a last minute supply run with Blake. I want to talk to you a little bit, man to man, before you go and join them. Think you can handle that?"
Sun raised a brow as he leaned back into the cushions of the loveseat, his arms still crossed. "I'll try, sure."
"First of all, I'm sorry if I came off as a little rough around the edges. It's nothing personal, but we're all under a lot of pressure, and things haven't exactly been going my way, lately. I'm sure you can relate," Qrow said with an outward hand gesture.
Sun shook his head, and looked away toward the glass doors. "You have no idea. I don't blame you for how you were, the other night. A lot of people with a lot of different needs are caught up in this, and things got kinda heated. Someone had to take charge. First it was you, and then it was me."
"And that's exactly what I want to talk to you about," Qrow replied. "Moving forward, you are the leader of the team with the most dangerous job out of the three. Not only are you volunteering to break into the most heavily fortified and paranoid city on Remnant, but if and when Salem finds out what you're up to, she's not going to hold back. I hope you understand what you're in for."
"Campfire stories and singalongs aren't what I'm betting on. We'll be ready. I promise," Sun said with a firm nod. "Yang's an incredible fighter, Weiss and Ilia give us unique tactical advantages and open a lot of doors, and Jaune can heal us if an encounter goes wrong… or amp any of us to swing fights if we run into something we couldn't otherwise handle."
"And what can you do?" Qrow asked "What do you bring to the table, besides having balls big enough to speak up and challenge the professor of a huntsman's academy?"
Sun pondered the question for a while, before looking up to meet Qrow's eyes. "I'll give up anything to protect them all, and the relic itself. I'm a jack of all trades sort of fighter and specialist, and I won't hesitate to throw myself into danger to give someone else an opportunity to make a move… or to live."
"Just make sure you let other people return the favor," Qrow warned. "I'm still working on that bit, myself."
"Tell me about it," Sun mumbled. "I'm trying. Thanks, though. I've got this."
"Then I'll trust you, and leave you to it. Kali speaks very highly of you, you know," Qrow said with a smirk.
"Kali's an amazing woman. Can you… do me a favor, and check in on her, every so often? She could use a friend that isn't half her age, for once," Sun requested.
"Sure. She did tell me about her husband, and I've picked up some details on how things went in Menagerie from conversations around the house. I'll take care of it," Qrow confirmed as he stood up and grabbed his glass from the table. "Do me a favor, before your team gets out of here?"
"Of course," Sun offered as he stood after Qrow.
"Wash the damned sheets, before you head off to Argus. I don't really care what you and Blake got up to, but the walls are thin in this place, and I can only imagine what it looks like in that room, now."
Sun laughed quietly, and scratched at the back of his head. "Yeah, of course. Um… my bad, I guess?"
Qrow waved a hand and turned to walk toward the kitchen. "As long as you had a good time, and clean up after yourself. Good luck out there."
Thoughts of just how thin the walls were nagged at Sun's brain as he approached the glass door, and noticed a pile of duffel bags arranged against the wall beside it. His mouth tugged into a frown as he tore his eyes away from the ominous luggage, and stepped out into the back yard. Ilia was the first to notice him from her place at a picnic table across from Neptune, and she offered him an enthusiastic wave.
"Hey! Come on over! Yang's cooking, because we took the spatula away from Neptune!"
Neptune swiveled in his seat and spoke through a mouth full of food. He held a hand to his chest dramatically while the other kept a firm grip on his paper plate.
"You people just don't appreciate fine cuisine!"
"We don't appreciate our burgers looking like they were cooked in hellfire," Weiss replied from her place next to Ilia.
"Usually I wouldn't criticize, but… they were pretty unforgivably burned," Jaune added from his place beside Neptune. The blue haired boy scooted slightly away from Jaune and gave him a death glare.
"Traitor. Us dudes need to stick together!"
Sun rolled his eyes and occupied the spot between the two other boys, as Yang looked over her shoulder from her position in front of the grill.
"What'll it be, Sun? Burgers? Dogs? Neptune? I could probably fit him on the grill if I really worked at folding him efficiently."
"I'm all for that," Weiss chimed in as she gave Sun a smirk.
"Burger's good," Sun replied as he folded his hands in his lap. His eyes were slowly drawn to Ilia's as she looked him over, and he suddenly felt a slow and inevitable threat approaching.
"…since when do you button your shirt?"
Neptune looked over at Sun and raised a brow as he noticed the purple material covering Sun's usually exposed abs.
"Yeah, that does look weird, but it also looks good."
"And it has the added benefit of not making Neptune and I look bad, by comparison," Jaune offered somewhat jokingly.
"Guys, it's no big deal," Sun insisted as his cheeks grew hot. "I just felt like changing it up a bi-"
"Pull his collar down," Ilia stated plainly as she nodded to Neptune. Neptune hiked a brow and dropped his hot dog to immediately make an attempt as Sun raised his hands and did his best to fight off his friend.
"Dude, come on!"
"You're hiding something!" Neptune accused as he continued to flail and approach Sun's collar from various angles. Sun managed to deflect each set of pinching fingers that Neptune threw out, as the entire picnic table rocked slightly in place.
"Boys, honestly!" Weiss complained as she shook her head. "Would you both stop acting so childish a-… what is that?"
Neptune finally managed to tug Sun's collar down and exposed the reddened circle of flesh for all to see, as Sun's face quickly darkened to match its shade.
"…oh my gods," Ilia squealed with a devilish grin. "Someone had fun last night!"
Jaune looked away immediately as Yang turned around in the middle of cooking and rolled her eyes skyward at the sight.
"Weiss is right. You people need to grow up. Couples fuck. It's what they do."
"Yang!" Weiss said in breathless disbelief. "My poor ears!"
"Your ears are gonna get a lot worse than that, traveling with the four of us," Yang warned. "And to answer your question, that's a hickey. It's a sex thing, when you suck on someone's skin to leave a mark. It's usually ab-"
"Okay, that's enough of that!" Sun interrupted loudly as Weiss covered her ears, her cheeks and ears matching Sun's in their shade of red. "Can we all please just get over it and move on? I wouldn't pry into your relationships, so you can all go ahead and back off of mine any time, now."
Jaune cringed slightly as he observed the red spot with a mixture of both disgust and awe. "Yeah, probably because we're all single. You're lucky."
Ilia let out a loud snort as she continued to laugh into her hands, and Neptune wore a wide, irritating grin as he poked Sun in the side with a finger.
"I'll leave you alone… until we're alone. Then, I want details!"
"Stop that!" Sun whined as he squirmed in his seat. "I've got a scar there, and it's still fresh! I just took the bandage off like ten minutes ago!"
"Alright, alright, that's enough fun at his expense," Yang ordered as she sat down next to Sun. She passed him a plate with a burger upon it, while keeping another in front of herself. "We've gotta focus."
Yang made a quick motion of sticking her fingers in her ears, and then popping them out while looking at Weiss. The smaller girl finally uncovered her ears and looked around the table, before returning to her burger.
"…please tell me it's safe"
"You're good," Ilia reassured as she patted Weiss on the shoulder. "We'll save the real interrogation for when you're not around."
Sun rolled his eyes, and jabbed Neptune in the side with his free hand. "So, you're leaving soon?"
Neptune squirmed at the contact, and nearly choked on his food. He gagged dramatically before sipping from his paper cup, while Ilia continued to laugh at the scene.
"Uh, yeah, pretty soon. I'm gonna miss you."
Sun's tail flicked as he offered Neptune a sad smirk. "I'll miss you, too, even if you're a pain in the ass."
"Now, kiss," Ilia commanded as she finally got control of herself and brought her hands together over the table.
Neptune moved for Sun's lips without hesitation, only to be blocked by a fuzzy yellow tail that shot up from beneath the bench. Sun rolled his eyes as he used his extra appendage to push Neptune's head back, and focused his attention on his burger instead.
"Nothing personal, but I'm both taken, and not into dudes."
"Boring," Ilia complained.
"…you're really… spirited," Jaune commented from his place at the end of the bench. All eyes snapped to him as Ilia gave him a confused look. "I just mean… I haven't really seen you awake, much. I wasn't expecting you to be so… like you are."
"Is that a bad thing?" Ilia questioned with narrowed eyes.
"No! No, not at all!" Jaune insisted with a raised hand. "It's actually kinda nice. I was a little worried that our team might end up being pretty gloomy, since we're all… things are hard, right now. It's nice to have someone around who doesn't mind messing around a little. Not that anyone here is boring, or…" Jaune trailed off, beginning to look a little guilty.
"…it's okay, Jaune," Weiss said in a comforting tone. "You're right. Yang and I haven't exactly been the life of the party lately, and Sun…"
"…yeah," Sun agreed, before Weiss could find the words. "I haven't been myself at all, lately… but I'll try to bring some energy back into the mix, too."
Yang set her food down, and laced her fingers beneath her chin as she propped her elbows upon the table. "About that. We've got three days before we head out. I've been thinking that it'd be nice if we… each just kinda did our own thing, for the next two days, and then spent the last one together, before we head to the train station. Take some time to wind down, and then start bonding. We don't all really know each other, here."
Weiss nodded along with Yang's suggestion, while Ilia remained silent. Jaune gave Sun an expectant look, and the faunus pointed to the center of his chest as he raised a brow.
"Well, what do you say?" Jaune asked. "You're our leader, now."
"You want me to just start making decisions for the good of the group?" Sun replied. "I mean, I can, but I figured this would be more of a democracy."
Weiss shook her head, her ponytail bouncing lightly with the gesture. "Someone has to be in charge, and all of this was your idea. If we had a problem with you taking control, we would've said something by now. So… what do you think?"
Sun nodded slowly, and cleared his throat. "Then that's what we'll do. Two days to ourselves, one together, and then we set out."
"See?" Neptune stated with an inflated sense of pride. "I told you all that Sun's the best. He'll take good care of you guys."
"Neptune…" Sun began as his shoulders drooped slightly.
"Nope. Don't wanna hear it. You actually care about everyone around you, and that's a rare trait, fit for a leader. You'll do great, and when we link up again, I'll be right back at your side as number two. For now, that honor can fall to Ilia."
Ilia rolled her eyes and stood from the table. "Oh, don't worry, Neptune. You'll always be number two."
Yang smirked slightly, as Weiss and Jaune offered Ilia blank stares.
"…I don't get it," they said in unison.
Sun raised a hand to massage his temples as he checked his scroll, and tapped out a text to Blake.
I'm finally awake. You back soon?
The reply came immediately, and Sun's stomach fluttered in a combination of warmth and worry.
Home in five.
Neptune stood to follow Ilia, and collected the used plates before making his way to the garbage can placed at the side of the house. "Well… I guess it's about that time…"
The others rose from the table in a disorganized fashion, and Sun was the last to stand.
"Looks that way. And… I feel awful, to be completely honest."
"So do I," Ilia agreed. "It… really won't be the same without you around."
Neptune turned back around from the garbage can with an oddly pensive look on his face as Ilia approached. He heaved a sigh and wrapped her into a tight hug, which Ilia returned using her unbroken arm.
"…we'll see each other again, and when we do, I want double the sass from you to make up for lost time," Neptune mused. Ilia pulled back a bit and looked up at him with slightly moist eyes.
"…you'll get it, asshole. Be cool. Be safe," she insisted before leaning up and planting a kiss on Neptune's cheek.
"You too, babe," Neptune replied. Ilia stepped to the side as Sun made his way forward, one hand in his pocket and the other at his side as he took a long, deep breath.
"…what she said, basically," Sun attempted as he offered a hand. Neptune clasped it with his own and yanked Sun forward immediately into an even tighter hug, before patting him heavily on the back.
Neptune leaned forward to Sun's ear, and paused for a moment before whispering.
"…you got this. Stay strong, man."
Sun's lip twitched as he looked down at the grass, not quite as confident.
"…yeah," he replied as he broke the hug. "Take care of Blake, for me."
"You kidding me? I'll be taking care of him," Blake replied from her place leaning within the doorframe. Sun's heart leapt at the sight, and he stepped back from Neptune while she approached. He opened his mouth to speak, only for Blake to sneak in and capture it with her own before pulling him into an intense embrace. The kiss lasted for what seemed like an eternity to Sun, and he kept his grip on Blake's hips tight as she finally pulled back.
"…wow," Jaune commented from his place amongst Weiss and Yang, who had all decided to give the others some space by remaining near the picnic table. He pulled lightly at the collar of his hoodie as he cleared his throat. Weiss nodded, her ears, cheeks, and throat all a furious red.
"…wow indeed. You two… you're intense, I suppose."
"Sorry," Sun said as he rubbed the back of his neck.
"Don't apologize. It's nice to see, when everything else around us is so bad," Yang admitted with a knowing smirk. "Looks to me like you two really are in deep."
"…please don't embarrass me," Blake requested as she gave Yang a pleading look. Yang merely waved a hand, before approaching and offering the other to Blake.
"Now isn't the time. Next time we meet, though… no promises."
Blake accepted it, and then melted into a hug from Weiss as the shorter girl approached. "Thank you. Both of you…"
"…one more coming," Ilia said as she made her way over to Blake. "I'm trusting you to do what I couldn't."
"What you couldn't?" Blake asked as Ilia went for yet another hug.
"…help our people. Make strides with the right cause," Ilia replied before stepping back. "If anyone can do it, it's you and Kali."
"And if anyone can keep my man happy along your journey, it's you. Take good care of Sun for me. He's a handful," Blake joked before exchanging a knowing smile with her boyfriend.
"You bet. I'm guessing Qrow and Kali are loading up?" Ilia asked.
Blake nodded, and shook out her hands. "Yes. We're taking a car to the airfields, and then using a cargo plane to get back to Menagerie. Apparently Ruby's team didn't take one, but they said they're heading for Patch."
"Patch," Yang repeated. "Smart. Mom probably used a portal to get out of Haven unseen, and her only option would be Dad. It's a good place to start looking… though refusing a plane is odd."
"Probably to avoid drawing attention?" Weiss offered. "They are carrying a 'relic', after all. They likely don't want to be noticed until they have Raven on our side."
"Regardless… this is goodbye for a while," Blake reminded. She offered Sun one final kiss, before giving the others a small wave. Neptune joined her side, and the pair headed for the glass doors together.
Sun drew his hand over his eyes and sniffled a bit, as he took one final look at the pair. "Yeah. Not too long, though… we've got this. All of us."
The assembled teens nodded in agreement, before Neptune raised a finger.
"Oh! I almost forgot!" he said enthusiastically, before beginning to rub his hands together. "Alright… almost got it…"
Jaune let out an anxious sigh. "Almost got what?"
Neptune clapped, and pointed before sweeping his finger to point at each member of the squad heading for Atlas.
"Team Waxy! W-W-A-X-I! It dips into last names, but it's as good as you're gonna get!"
Sun stared blankly at Neptune for a moment, before he opened his mouth, and closed it again. Finally, he blew out a breath and shook his head. "I hate you, and I'm glad you're leaving."
"…Team WWAXI it is," Ilia said with an impish grin.
Blake merely smirked, and then blew Sun a kiss. "Love you."
"You, too," Sun replied as he held his forehead. "See you around."
Blake and Neptune disappeared into the house to head for the front door, while Yang laughed lightly and pulled out her scroll, only to begin texting.
Weiss raised a brow, and then mimicked Sun's gesture as she brought a hand up to her forehead.
"Do I even want to know?"
Yang shot Weiss a wide grin, before snapping her scroll closed. "…I just christened them Team Bacon. B-K-Q-N."
Weiss threw her hands up as she made her way back inside the house with a dramatic huff. "We're all going to die."
Author's Note:
This was supposed to be a short chapter, and then the antics spiraled out of control. Who's ready for a callback from 50+ chapters ago? Tune in tomorrow for a little attention to a detail that probably seemed like a throwaway line.
-RD