Fog

"Hey hey no don't!" She let out hurriedly, swatting at Mydnight's hands and pushing him away from her suitcase. "No peeking."

"Peeking at what?" He asked. "I was just gonna chuck this in it," he produced a pair of socks that had been folded and left on Ambur's bed. A pair she had missed. She took them from him swiftly and smiled.

"Well thank you but I don't want you to see what's in there yet," she blushed as she turned the bag away from him and quickly stuffed the pair of socks inside the bag without letting him see. If he had he would have had the opportunity to peek at her dress for the Vytal Festival ball, but he would have to just wait to see that.

"What are all your underwear on top or something, jeez," he laughed as he extended a hand toward her, gesturing to suggest he would carry the bag for her.

"No just! Don't worry about it!" she said as she walked past him and toward the door with her bag in tow. "And I appreciate the offer but what's a super-strength semblance good for if I can't carry my own bag," she winked back to him, teasing him by holding the bag in just her pinky finger effortlessly, for demonstration.

"Ya fair enough," he shrugged with a smile and grabbed his own bag from his bed and fell in behind her in the hallway. They were the last two students to be leaving the building that had any plans to do so. Some students were going to the festival but others simply used the tournament as a form of an extended vacation. If they weren't in the tournament and they didn't feel like watching then what exactly was the point of freezing to death in Mantle? There wasn't one.

The coliseum had left for its destination months ago, being towed through the air to Atlas Military Academy by airships. The pace was so grueling and slow that they had to leave weeks in advance to make it to the school for any maintenance and to be stocked to feed the crowds. As they reached the staircase Ambur spoke up again. "I really do appreciate it you know..." She muttered softly, knowing that she wouldn't have to speak very loudly for her partner to hear her.

"Appreciate what?"

"The way you...treat me like I'm normal..."

"Hah. And here I thought you wanted me to treat you like you were special. You gotta make up your mind," he teased before he was gently jabbed in the hip by her elbow, seeing a snicker flash across her lips.

"You know what I mean! Jerk," she laughed out before returning to her softer tone. "The way you offered to carry my bag. The way you hold doors open for me or ask if I'm alright when I trip or just...anything really. You know how I feel about you and...you know how I felt about myself. I've gotten a lot better but you still make me feel...normal..."

"You are not normal Ambur," he smirked and patted a hand on her shoulder and she laughed along with him. "Not even a little bit normal. But that doesn't mean I can't just be nice to you. I don't do all that stuff cus I think you need it. I just...do it," he shrugged.

"Gee make a girl feel special why don't you," she huffed out in sarcasm as they reached the bottom of the stairs and headed toward the exit through the grand open foyer of the student hall. Ambur could actually see Olivier and Bronzine waiting for them through the glass in the large double doors, but before she could make it there she felt Mydnight grab hold of her hand and she stopped as suddenly as she could. Goosebumps ran up her arm and she turned her head back as their eyes met. His golden orbs locked on her red's as he pulled her closer to him and she was forced to let him.

"Look you know I'm not...good at this whole...thing that's kind of happening between us but...if you really need me to say it to you then I will." The words rang in her ears as her face began to heat up, her cheeks glowed bright pink as her mind began to race in time with her heart. She wanted to hide her face in her hands but she used every ounce of strength she had to simply stand there. More strength than it took to lift Twin Moons, her great blade, off the ground, or it took to rip any Grimm in half. All just to stand still in this moment and listen to the words she had wanted to hear since she had first seen Mydnight in her freshman year at Signal Academy. "You ARE special to me Ambur."

'Thud'. Mydnight almost jumped at the sound. His ears twitched at the sound. His vision flicked to Ambur's free hand, seeing that she had dropped her suitcase to the tile floor. His eyes flashed back up to her face but before he could study her any farther he felt her tug on his hand. A little harder than she may have meant to. Any harder and she'd have dislocated his shoulder. Before he could express how much it pained him though he felt Ambur let go of his hand and grab hold of the collar of his shirt as she pulled him in closer to her. It was all so fast that he couldn't stop to read her expression. He thought that she had been getting ready to scold him or to hit him for something he had said but that all changed when she pulled on him just enough to close the small gap that was left between their faces as she pressed her lips to his.

His tail puffed out, ears perked up and his hands grabbed for her shoulders in surprise. It was a rough kiss. Ambur didn't really know what she was doing or how to do this properly but she knew that she couldn't have stopped herself from trying any longer if she had wanted to, and she didn't want to. Not one bit. She had been imagining their first kiss like some dream or a fairy tale for years now but those daydreams had never looked like this. She had always imagined that Mydnight would finally make the first move but at this point, she didn't care who started it, she was going to finish it. It didn't matter that she was probably grabbing his collar too hard, or that she had yanked him over to her. Nor did it matter that she had never kissed anyone in this way in her entire life.

After a few moments of initial shock, she felt Mydnight relax a little, his fingers loosened on her shoulders and he began to push back and step in to take control of the kiss so she no longer had to lead. She was relieved to find that he did, in fact, know what he was doing. She felt his thumb trace her jaw down to her chin, pushing her back slightly to lighten the kiss, so that their lips were gently woven together, instead of how mashed they had been together when she had been doing the leading.

Relief washed through her as the realization hit her brain that she was getting everything she had ever wanted. This was it. She was kissing him. Not only was she kissing the boy she dreamed of every night for over five years.

He was kissing her back.

That's when Ambur began to feel it. It was soft at first but she could tell it was steadily getting more violent. His hand was shaking and his lips were trembling. She could feel his lips steadily becoming more open with each kiss. At first, she had been all for it, sliping her tongue out of her parted lips each time to lick his lips and eventually their tongues had begun to meet each time. She hadn't understood at first but then it all came back to her in a rush.

She was kissing Mydnight.

Mydnight. Her partner. Not just the boy of her dreams. Not just the boy she had dreamed of kissing for years. As the trembling grew and grew and his grip became tighter and tighter she began to feel his enlarged k-nines nipping at her lower lip each time he found the opportunity to do so. Those sharp fangs brought her back to consciousness as her eyes burst open and she began to realize what she had done. Her hands left his collar and went to his shoulders, and before their lips could meet another time she pushed him away from her. Only a few inches at most, the pairs hot and heavy breaths ticking each other's necks as they stared back at each other, faces lit up red.

"Wow...I'm..sorry but...wow," Ambur breathed out with a smile. "Are you okay I didn't mean to get you worked up I just...You..." she stammered as she searched for the words.

She could see he was still shaking, and his k-nines were bit down on his own bottom lip now as he was no doubt trying as hard as he could to settle himself. "Don't apologize," he said softly with a pained smirk. "I'm the one who should apologize...sorry if I took it too far."

"Are you kidding?" She chuckled out before pulling them back together for one final kiss. This one she planted on his lips soft and not for too long. She pulled him into a hug right afterward and began to rub her hand up and down his back. "If you had said that back in our dorm room we'd have missed the boat," she breathed up and into his ear. Her breath sent shivers down his spine and caused him to grip onto her tighter as if trying to keep a grasp on his own sanity.

"You're probably right about that," he laughed back as she felt his fingers dig into her back.

"Really though are...are you gonna be alright? I didn't mean to make you lose control I just...I couldn't wait anymore and you very clearly weren't going to make the first move," she giggled out.

She felt his chest rise and fall as he took deep breaths to try and slow his heartbeat and come back to his senses. "I'll be fine...It's just really difficult. I haven't done anything like that in months now. I've been trying to avoid it. I just never knew I could want it so badly," he laughed nervously.

"Well, that's what happens when you abstain for so long I guess. How do you think I feel...that was my first kiss...never mind all the other stuff."

"That's not what I meant," he smirked as they separated from each other and she gave him a curious look. "I meant I never knew I could want that from YOU so badly." Her smile lit up again at that. He lifted his hand to her cheek and brushed back the hair over her right eye. She couldn't help but a cringe a little at the thought of her scar being exposed to him, but the touch of his hand on her cheek counteracted the feeling perfectly.

"I guess you really do know what to say to a girl don't you?" she breathed out with a smile.

"Hah, ya maybe," he said before leaning down to grab her bag for her and headed for the door. "Come on, I think our audience is getting antsy," he laughed, prompting Ambur to turn toward the double doors, finding Liv and Bronzine looking in through the glass, the former's jaw completely slack and the latter was giving a thumbs up to Mydnight with a great big smile on his lips.

Ambur's cheeks burned hotter than ever as her shoulders slumped as she looked up to the ceiling and let out a long and annoyed "Whhyyyyyyyy."

/

"Ughhh," Bronzine wheezed as he leaned over the railing on the outdoor observation area of their airship.

"Jeez, man are you gonna make it?" Mydnight laughed from behind him as his friend held his hand up behind him, middle finger extended.

"Fuck...you," Bronzine chuckled slightly. "You know I get airsick."

"How are you gonna fight in the tournament? You know the Colosseum floats right?"

"Never mind that," Ambur added, " The entire city of Atlas floats! You're screwed," she chuckled as she began to rub her hand over her teammates back.

"You guys are the worst you know that?" Bronzine sighed. "Worst friends a guy could have," he joked, turning around and leaning his back against the railing.

"Yeah well, I guess you're stuck with us," Ambur shrugged and joined him in leaning against the railing. The fog hung thick in the air around them. The day had started off nice but the farther north they got the colder it became and the more the fog set in around their cluster of airships.

"Lucky you two freaks are the same height," he smirked as he nodded his head toward Ambur, his vision flicking down to where Mydnight's coat hung from her shoulders. "Like a glove huh?"

Ambur's face lit up before she shoved her shoulder into Bronzine's. "Shut up I was cold..." Mydnight folded his arms with a smile as he joined the other two against the railing on the other side of his best friend than Ambur.

"It wasn't an insult," he retorted with a grunt of mock pain in his voice. "Shouldn't YOU," he began again pointing to Mydnight, "Be wearing her clothes? She's the one who kissed first, that means she wears the pants right?" The trio fell into another bout of laughter, Ambur even having to wipe a tear from her eye before Mydnight spoke up.

"I wouldn't do them justice," he chuckled. "She can wear the pants if she wants but I don't think you'll wanna be between us when she does," he finished before patting Bronzine on the back.

"Nooooo no I do not," Bronzine squirmed and stepped out from the middle of them, spun on his heels and pressed a hand into Mydnight right shoulder, and Ambur's left, gently pressing the two of them closer together. "No thanks, that's all you."

Both of their faces lit up this time as their shoulders knocked together gently and Ambur let herself lean into her partner and placed a hand on his chest. "You are so gross," she smirked, not really meaning it. "You're into that?" she muttered softly, wishing the words hadn't slipped out of her mouth.

"I mean I don't see what's wrong with a girl who can throw me around and do whatever she wants-"

"UUUTTT uuup no," Bronzine cut him off and turned to leave. "No I don't need to hear this I'm out," he yelled with his fingers in his ears and headed back toward the interior of the observation area. This sent Mydnight into another laughing fit as Ambur put her face in her hands, embarrassed, not just by the fact that she had asked the question, but also that Mydnight hadn't even hesitated to start answering it.

"Man I'm glad he's back to normal," Mydnight finally said softly as she felt his arm draped across her shoulder.

"He just needed his friend back, you know?" Ambur agreed as she looked back up to his face. "Are you really okay?"

"Why wouldn't I be okay?"

"Well you were walking crooked for like twenty minutes after we kissed and you were biting me preetttyy hard," she teased and swiped her finger under his chin with a cheeky grin on her lips. The pair began to laugh together but as they came back down Ambur was the first to speak again. "Does Rosa know you guys are done?... Like...DONE done?"

"I mean I said we needed a break like five months ago. If she hasn't gotten the message by now then that's hardly my fault."

"Okay but what if she's still waiting for you to change your mind?"

"Are you actually feeling bad for her right now?"

"Look don't misunderstand. I hate her and I…"

she drifted off before speaking back up softly. "I want this," she said as she took hold of his hand. "But I don't need her accusing me of cheating or stealing you from her. That's a whole argument that I really don't need in my life. She's still our teammate. She's going to be pissed worse than ever when she finds out we are...you know...If we can do anything to keep her head in the tournament then we need to do so. We'll need her for at least the first round. After that, you and I can take care of the rest but we need her on her game to win the first match."

"Huh, finnnne I'll go talk to her."

"Just don't tell her that we've kissed. Let her find that out on her own okay?"

"You're the boss," he shrugged before stepping away from her and back toward the entrance to the indoor observation dome to find his ex, leaving Ambur alone in the cold with her thoughts.

This didn't last long however as she soon heard a familiar voice coming from the doorway. "Why're you out here alone Ambur?" Liv asked curiously as she joined her by the railing. "It's not even nice out," she shivered.

"Mydnight and Bronzine were here a minute or two ago, I just haven't gone inside yet."

"Speaking of," Liv couldn't help but smile a little. She still wasn't completely over the moment she had shared with her best friend the night of the concert but she couldn't deny that she was happy to see Ambur wearing Mydnight's coat. "Some first kiss huh?"

Ambur's face became beet red, "Thank god he knows what he's doing because I do not at all," she laughed nervously.

"Looked like you were gonna eat him for a minute there," Liv chuckled.

"It was my first kiss!" Ambur yelled back softly, "How was I supposed to know what to do? Besides, he didn't complain!"

"Surprised he was able to keep his hands off of you honestly."

"It's a good thing he did, I don't think I would have been able to stop myself...or him," she thought aloud as she bit down on her bottom lip.

"Man what have I done. Turned a shy goth girl into a sex fiend," Liv laughed before Ambur joined in.

"Not yet, come on that's not fair. All we did was kiss!"

"You made out for like a solid sixty seconds."

"So? It was a really good first kiss. Not my fault that he wants me back," she winked down to her shorter companion. "You dressed me up for success," she shrugged. "You gave me the courage to kiss him Liv...thank you. If it wasn't for you coming over on that first day and saying hello I...I may never have gotten this far."

Liv raised her hand absently, "Nah...I'm sure you're giving me too much credit. You'd have told him how you felt eventually. You just wouldn't be as drop-dead hot while doing it," she winked back and shrugged.

The girls couldn't help but fall into another fit of laughter for several moments before finally falling back into silence as they looked out into the fog. "You're welcome though..." Liv said eventually as she grabbed onto Ambur's hand. "I am really happy for you. I hope it's everything you ever wanted it to be." Ambur couldn't help but stay silent as Liv began running her thumb over the amazon's hand. "You deserve to be happy Am...just... don't forget about the rest of us, Alright?"

Ambur was stunned by Liv's words, shocked that she could think that Ambur would ever leave her in the dust. "I won't," she replied softly and pulled Liv into a tight embrace. Liv swiftly found herself buried in Ambur's chest against her will but there was no way to overpower the amazon now. She was thankful that Ambur likely couldn't see her face from this angle because her cheeks were lit up like a Christmas tree.

/

"Yo," Mydnight let out with a sigh as he rapped his knuckles on the door of their overnight room. "Rosa you in there?" He had figured she must be, considering she hadn't been in the large crowd of students in the observation dome or in the cafeteria.

"Yeah," he heard in return.

"Decent?"

"Yes," she scoffed and Mydnight could practically hear her eyes rolling through the door. He opened the door to find her brushing out her long pink locks on her bunk, seemingly dressed for bed. It was a little late but not nearly late enough for that if you asked the wolf.

"You got a minute to talk I...gotta tell you something."

"Sure," she blinked up at him in surprise. He walked inside and shut the door behind him, "What's up?" She asked and he could see her mood lifting as hopefulness shone in her bright blue eyes. In a way, it did make him feel even worse about what he had to tell her but it still needed to be said.

"Well I...need to tell you that I...I'm sorry."

She hadn't been expecting those words to come out of his mouth to be sure. Her mood quickly changed as quickly as it had before and her shoulders sank. She returned to brushing her hair. "You didn't come here to tell me that you've chosen me, did you?"

"...No...I didn't."

"Thought not," she sighed before setting the brush down on the table beside the bunk.

"I'm sorry for...well, leading you on is I guess what I did. It was a rotten thing to do and well...I should have told you sooner."

Rosa's eyes rose back up to connect with his, "Why did you do it anyway? I...I was really into you Mydnight and I thought...you felt the same way but there were signs I guess...What was going on with you? Why were you always so checked out and why did you just go along with all of it if you hated everything I said and did?"

I...uhm..." He began slowly as he raised his hand and scratched behind his head, trying to come up with an excuse. "You were my first girlfriend ya know and...I didn't...Really know what I was doing. That doesn't make it right but...that's why."

"I guess that makes sense," she sighed. "Well, I appreciate your apology...even if it is REALLY late. I'm sorry too...If I pressured you into doing anything you didn't want to do but in my defense...You were at least acting like you liked it."

Mydnight's heart actually began to hurt a little at her last statement. He hadn't expected this to go so smoothly. He expected her to yell at him and accuse him of cheating or any number of things but somehow this hurt worse than all of that. "Well thank you...I wasn't pretending I just...I don't know I didn't know any better I guess."

"Well," she began again. "If you ever change your mind just let me know okay? I'll...TRY...to be nicer to the others in the meantime if that...helps."

"I'll uh...I'll do that," he lied. "And I'm sure that they will appreciate that. We need to act like a team if we are gonna get out of the first round of this tournament."

"Oh please," she rolled her eyes with a smile on her lips, "Even on our worst day we could beat any team in that bracket. I wouldn't worry about it."

"Hah," he chuckled before turning to leave. "Confidence is half the battle after all."