Life was good.
Coco Adel strutted down the runway with a sensual smirk, clad in her trademark beret and a short, tight, low-cut strapless dress the color of champagne, showing off her long legs with every step. Her sunglasses kept the flashing lights of cameras from blinding her, but she could hear the wolf whistles and the frantic typing and clicking as she walked by. This is what she was meant to do.
Of course the fact that it was only a small time show wasn't ideal, but her body was. Coco was on the shorter side for a runway model, still noticeably taller than average, and she could slip into heels of any size if clients insisted on height. She was fit and slender with a classic hourglass figure and curves in all the right places, with wide hips and eye catching cleavage: her breasts weren't exceptionally big, just C-cups, but they were a nice handful and she knew just how to flaunt what she had. Being pretty wasn't the only job requirement; presentation was the name of the game, and Coco had that in spades.
She was gorgeous, graceful, glamorous, and she knew it. She lowered her shades to meet the eyes of some chic fashion designer in her early 50's, a well known lesbian, and blew the older woman a kiss. Coco kept her smirk friendly as she walked by what was sure to be a valuable connection. If the woman was a little bit younger it might have been more than that, but Coco wasn't looking for a roll in the hay, even if she wasn't strictly against it either. She got jobs because she was scorching hot and knew how to tease. If the crowd wanted her, they'd better enjoy the show, because this was as good as most of them were going to get.
Coco made her way behind the curtain and quickly took a towel and a bottle of water from her manager. She wiped beads of sweat off the back of her neck and took a few controlled sips. The spotlight was always a bit too hot.
"How was I?" She asked.
Mark sighed, well used to the girl's fishing for compliments. "Coco, I swear, if you made the crowd any harder their pants would have burst. For someone who's barely legal, you sure know how to put on a racy performance."
Coco smiled. "Sex sells." She said, walking past some make up caked skeleton who was supposed to follow her. "Speaking of which, don't we have a lingerie gig to do?"
"After the show, yes." He said. "But this goes for at least another hour-"
"-Skip it." Coco said. "Everyone worth seeing has already gone. When are you going to stop messing around with the smaller catalogues and get me into the big leagues?"
Mark pinched his temples. "I've told you these things take time. No matter how talented you are, the bigger shows want a model with a track record. Working around your school hours doesn't make things easy either."
Coco smirked. "That won't be a problem for much longer. While we're on the subject, I've got a school project I'd like your help with."
Mark's eyes narrowed. "I'm not interested in helping you with your homework." He said irritably.
She walked over to where they were storing her phone and then sent him a collection of photos. "How about talent that blows these bitches out of the water?"
Mark rolled his eyes before opening the message. Then he stopped, eyes bulging. He ran a hand through his slick, gelled hair and let out a long, low whistle.
"Damn, Coco." He said, voice low. "Where in the hell did you find these broads?"
"Beacon." She said.
Mark winced. Schoolgirls. As if Coco wasn't temptation enough.
"We're putting together a calendar shoot for a school fundraiser." She explained. "You might recognize some of the names. Weiss Schnee. Pyrrha Nikos. You want in?"
Her manager blinked again. Then he let out a deep laugh. "You know anyone in this town that wouldn't be? I'd give my left nut to do a shoot with Nikos."
"And you'd give up your right to fuck her." Coco teased.
Mark shrugged, unwilling to deny the allegation. "I'd give it up to fuck any of these dames, actually… gods, how old are they?"
"Ask me no questions and I'll tell you no lies." She said. "Just keep it in your pants."
Mark smirked. "I'm a professional. I haven't banged you, have I?"
Coco smirked right back. "You haven't because you can't." She said. "We both know that if you could, you would."
Mark flushed under her stare and quickly broke eye contact. "Cockteasing dyke." He murmured under his breath.
"I have an eye for talent." Coco countered.
"No kidding." Mark said, looking over the photos again. "These shots are pretty good." He said, focusing more on the lighting and angles than the perfect bodies they captured. "Who took 'em?"
"Little Miss September." She answered.
Mark flipped back to the 9th girl in the line up, a breathtaking bunny girl who seemed camera shy, in an endearing sort of way. Then he looked more closely at the photo. The shot composition was still well done, but the angle was a little off, the lens hadn't been adjusted properly, and a half dozen minor errors made it a lesser product.
"Notice anything different about this one?" Coco asked. "Velvet was behind the camera for all the others, but for her shot we had to get a stand in. See the difference?"
"She's got talent." He said thoughtfully, flipping to the other shots. "But if you want her in front of the camera, I don't think she has the presence to pull this sort of thing off. There are a couple others I have doubts about."
It was a good group, all things considered. If you were to focus test it most audiences would say all the girls were 9's or 10's, but aside from pretty faces and killer figures there was a great deal of variety: from Weiss Schnee's snow white complexion to the dark brown girls from the southernmost parts of Anima, Human and Faunus, tall and short, curvy and slight, blondes and redheads and brunettes with differing styles and personalities that oozed from every picture.
"Velvet's confidence needs work." Coco admitted. "But for what we're shooting for that isn't a problem. The different personalities make a more complete package- the amateurs make this seem genuine."
Mark nodded thoughtfully. "So, what do you need me for?"
Coco cut right to the chase. "I need 365 outfits."
Mark swore under his breath. "Of course you do." He said bitterly. "When have you ever passed up a chance for free clothes?"
The model smirked unrepentantly "A girl's gotta keep her wardrobe full somehow." She patted possessively on the piece she was wearing now. "I'm not giving this dress back, by the way."
"...Of course you aren't." He muttered. "You know who's paycheck that's going to come out of?"
Coco chuckled. "Since I'm the reason you're getting paid at all, I think I deserve a bonus once in a while."
"Why do you need 365 outfits?" He said, trying to figure out how the hell he was going to finance this.
Coco stared at him like he was a simpleton. "One for each day of the year." She said dryly, the 'duh' going unspoken. "These are just proof of concept shots, an audition. The final product will have a different one for each day, with each girl getting a different month. If you could set it up so that each outfit fits the girl, the season, and any special holiday themes that come up, that'd be great."
Mark bit his tongue. "Do you have any idea what you're asking me to do?" He said.
Coco smirked. "Of course I do." She said happily. "I'm offering twelve of the hottest pieces of ass you've ever seen on a silver platter, including two celebrities. Since this has Beacon's name attached to it some of the high society types will check it out, too; you'll have to pick which companies will beg the sponsorships out of your hands. You'll get a decent payday, some good publicity, and the best portfolio we could ever put together to finally start working with the high rollers- not to mention a chance for some top tier talent, if you can get them to stick around."
Mark sighed, before a grin slowly spread over his face. This was going to be a bitch to put together… but she was right.
"Can you tell me their names?" He said, trying to hide his excitement.
Coco could read him like a book. "Well, from start to finish: Coco Adel, Weiss Schnee, Blake Belladonna, Nora Valkyrie, May Zedong- actually, Blake was originally going to get the month of May, but then we noticed that under her hoodie May had an awesome rack, and once we brought her on board of course May was going to get May-" Coco trailed off as her manager coughed impatiently. "Yang Xiao Long, then Arslan Altan, then Ciel Soleil, Velvet Scarlatina, Ruby Rose, Pyrrha Nikos and Azora Arc-"
"-Arc?!" Mark cried. He had looked over all the photos approvingly. May, Velvet and Ruby were all a bit too uncomfortable for regular modeling, but they were cute as could be, definitely something he could work with. Weiss and Pyrrha obviously had plenty of experience in front of a camera, even if they didn't revel in it like Coco did. Yang, on the other hand, was a natural, voluptuous and vivacious, exactly the kind of attitude he needed and a body he could drool over. Arslan had a certain poise to her, as did Ciel, although she came off like she had a stick up her ass, and Blake's skittishness in front of the camera came off as if she felt too good for it- her aloof attitude was actually pretty hot, all things considered. Nora, the ginger, had an infectious energy of her own that promised pleasure or mayhem depending on how you looked at it. The last girl, the busty blonde in the glasses, seemed almost as aloof as Blake, but as much as she might have flipped his switch, if she was Mason Arc's daughter there was no way in hell he'd touch her.
"What's the problem?" Coco asked, sensing that her manager was no longer caught in his usual bitching and was actually spooked.
"I don't know if you've heard," he said sharply. "but there's a strict gag order on the Arc family and I'm not about to break it."
Coco shook her head. "Some paragon of the free press you turned out to be." She said. "We aren't a tabloid, Azora agreed to this. I wanted her little sister, too, but she wouldn't sign on. If you think some of these girls are camera shy, then-"
"Did her daddy agree?"
Coco shrugged. "How should I kno-"
"-Drop her or drop me." He said.
Coco was caught off guard, but only for a moment. "Mark," she said slowly, strutting over to him. "we've been doing business for a long time now, long enough that you know damn well how easily I could replace you."
"Not for this." He countered. "No one with any credibility to lose would stir up that hornet's nest. If you push this, you're going to be the one out of a job"
Coco hummed thoughtfully, considering the prospect. Modeling was a good gig, but it wasn't all nice clothes and photoshoots. Their company was almost as valuable as their marketing, and the right connections could fast track you into the hottest parties in the kingdom. Some of these agencies were a glorified pipeline that sent the beautiful to the rich and famous. A few girls wound up as trophy wives to some big shot executive or actor or athlete. A lot more wound up as side pieces, with the most shameless being glorified escorts. Most models burned out and were used up within a few years, after their looks faded and their souls were crushed. The smart ones knew what they wanted and knew the game and its players.
Coco knew Mason Arc by reputation - she knew models had a habit of falling into his bed, even if the papers didn't talk about it. Girls gossiped, after all. Mason Arc had an image he marketed, and while 'modeling' wasn't the right word he had been in enough ads and on enough posters that he ran in those circles. However connected he was Coco couldn't make sense of her manager's reaction, genuine as it seemed to be. As far as she knew,the Arc didn't have any ownership stake in the would one talent, no matter how famous, be able to blackball their entire careers?
"Like I said, Azora agreed." Coco said. "If Daddy has a problem with it, he can say so and I can find a replacement. Until then, she's in. Are you?"
Mark bit his lip for a moment. Then he looked down at the photos again, thinking of the babes and the deals, his brain at war with his wallet and his dick.
"...One word and she's out."
Coco sighed. "Fine." Then she walked out, willing him to follow. "Now hurry up. We've got a shoot to do."
Presentation was the name of the game, and the key to winning was knowing your audience. On stage Coco was a salacious sex symbol, but when visiting her best friend's home she had to change tactics.
Her outfit was still stylish- she wasn't going to visit Velvet without looking good- but her skirt was school regulation length, and her blouse was fully buttoned up. They hugged her form and hinted at the goods underneath, but left a bit to the imagination- perfectly tailored to a visit to the Scarlatinas. The lacy black lingerie she was showing off for the cameras earlier that night were her little secret- and if Coco did find an audience for them she was sure they'd appreciate her 'sexy or nothing' panty policy.
Velvet hadn't responded to any of her calls or texts, and had seemed out of it for the last few days. Normally Coco was willing to give the girl her space, but she needed her photographer and Velvet had pulled the disappearing act for long enough.
She rapped on the door, patiently waiting as she listened. No one came, she could hear loud voices through the wood. Incoherent, mostly merry voices, and the occasional bellowing laugh. Coco calmly and loudly knocked again.
The voices hushed.
"Meg!" One said authoritatively. "Someone's at the door!"
"I'll get it." She said tiredly.
Over her footsteps Coco could hear a third, nasally voice asking if it was the pizza guy, and a fourth voice caustically saying that they hadn't ordered any pizza. The third voice mumbled that they should have before the first told him to be quiet.
A familiar rabbit faunus cracked open the door.
Meg Scarlatina was taller than her daughter- her hair was a few shades darker and her eyes a few shades lighter, but the biggest difference were the faint lines of bitterness on her face.
"Oh." She said. "It's you." She looked at Coco for a long moment.
The fashionista didn't budge.
"The boys are having a poker night right now." She whispered. "This really isn't the best time-"
"Hey babe, who is it!?" a gruff voice called from the other room.
She sighed. "It's Coco, one of Velvet's friends from school."
"What does she want?!"
"I think she's here to see Velvet."
The voice paused. "Well, let her in!" He yelled.
Mrs. Scarlatina muttered something under her breath and obeyed.
Coco adjusted to the light fairly quickly as she stepped inside, but for a moment she was tempted to rub her eyes anyway.
Like her daughter, Meg Scarlatina had a svelte, slender figure, and it was impossible to miss the growing bump on her stomach.
Meg smiled as she saw the younger girl's eyes linger.
"How long?" Coco asked.
"About 9 weeks." She said, as the pair walked into the kitchen. "It's showing a bit earlier than usual because it isn't my first pregnancy-"
"And 'cause I knocked her up with twins!" a voice called in a bellowing laugh.
Minos Taurus was about as different from Velvet's father as a man could be. William Scarlatina was a genteel creature of the laboratory. Minos was a hard faced day laborer who cut his teeth in the dust mines. Will was trim and slight. Minos was beefy and bulky, with bulging arms and a slight beer belly. Will wore a lab coat to work and button up shirts at home, but you'd never catch Minos out of a wifebeater and faded jeans. Will was a clean shaven man of average height with medium brown hair and eyes, who blended easily into any crowd. Minos was impossible to miss in any group, 6'4 and built like an ox, with a shock of red hair, electric blue eyes and a perpetual 5 o'clock shadow… not to mention the large, curved black horns that extended a good 10 inches out of his head each way.
Minos stood to greet the two women, pulling them into his chest for a hug. He was smart enough to keep his hand on Coco's waist, but he grabbed Meg's ass possessively in front of the other men.
"Gods, Bull." a faunus with a pig snout said. "There's a fucking kid here."
Minos let Coco go but twirled Meg around so she was facing the table. "She's legal." He said. "And it ain't like it's something she ain't seen before."
"Or done before." Coco supplied, pulling up a chair.
Minos guffawed. "See?" He said. "Baby doll's fine."
"Call me that again and I'll snap your neck."
The room went silent. The other two men looked at her aghast.
The Bull Faunus laughed even harder. "Gods, you ain't bad for a human girl." He said. Minos's neck was as beefy as the rest of him, if not bigger- it had to carry the weight of his horns, as well as his ego. The idea that a model like Coco would try and break it was ridiculous… that wouldn't stop her from trying though, and he knew it.
"Deal her in next turn." He ordered. He gave Meg one more affectionate grope. "Wanna play, babe?"
Mrs. Scarlatina was flushed pink from head to toe, either from arousal, embarrassment or both. She shook her head, not saying a word. Minos leaned down to give her a kiss on the cheek, nuzzling his coarse chin against her sensitive skin. Then he sent her out of the room with a pat on the ass.
"Be a doll and get us some drinks, would ya?" He asked, smiling.
"...Yes dear." She murmured softly.
"I still don't get how you get away with this kind of shit." The Pig Faunus said indignantly.
Minos chuckled. "And that, Piggy, is why you never get any pussy that you didn't pay for."
Piggy scowled and looked down at his hand. Coco felt a little sorry for the guy- she didn't hate Faunus, but she had pretty firm 'do's and don'ts' when it came to who she let in her bedroom, and like most people she'd ruled Piggy out the second she laid eyes on him. She was fine with Faunus, but some traits worked a lot better than others. Sexy cat girls or bunny girls were actually fetishized by a lot of Humans, but outside of mammals it was an increasingly niche market, and even among Faunus, when your trait fucked up your face you were dealt a really raw fucking hand. It didn't get a lot worse than a snout right smack dab in the middle, and the fact that Piggy had a fat, flabby body to go along with it wasn't helping things.
The third Faunus in the room was lean and lanky, and at first glance would pass for a normal Human. The snake tattoo that went from his forearm to his neck certainly stood out though, and when he opened his mouth a forked tongue came out.
"Why isssn't ssshe playing if ssshe isssn't mad?" He asked.
Minos shrugged. "Fuck if I know." He said. "The gal likes her news." Sure enough, Coco heard the familiar jingle of VNN in the background as Mrs. Scarlatina rummaged through the refrigerator.
"Maybe she thinks you're losing enough of her money already." Piggy joked.
Minos scoffed and threw another Ⱡ1,000 chip into the pot.
Meg came back into the room with three beers.
Minos arched an eyebrow. " What about her?" He asked.
Meg glared. "She's Velvet's age, she's not old enough to dr-"
"I'll take champagne, if you have it." She said confidently. "Wine if you don't."
Minos snorted. "Beer ain't good enough for ya?" he said. "Well, might as well get her some of the soft shit. You sure as shit can't drink it." He said.
Meg broke.
"Gods, I am sick of you ordering me around in my own bloody house!"
"Here we go again." the Snake Faunus muttered, as Minos stood and gently pulled her out of the room.
There was another way the two men in Mrs. Scarlatina's life were different. When Velvet's parents were mad at each other, they let it simmer into passive aggressive sniping and long, quiet nights at the dinner table, culminating in a messy divorce and a broken marriage. When Meg got mad at Minos, she started screaming and usually ended up with his cock in her mouth.
The first time they fought Velvet thought they were over. The fourth time she had to reconsider. Some time after the tenth she started to think that her mother liked it.
Already the volume had dimmed and the three eavesdroppers had to stay perfectly quiet to overhear the lovers' conversation.
"It's like you don't even respect me." She whimpered, pounding futile against his chest.
Minos pulled her against him and began stroking his hands down her body. "Of course I do, baby girl." He said gruffly. "You're my baby girl."
Meg chuckled bitterly. "That's what I mean, dickhead. I'm not a baby girl. I'm a grown woman. A career woman. A respected woman."
"Respected by who?" He said. "Those pencil necks and paper pushers who's eyes bug out of their heads when you walk in the room? They don't know how to handle a woman like you… how a real man treats his women."
"A Faunus man?" She asked, eyes twinkling. That flipped her switch.
"Yeah." He said darkly. "Not those pencil dicked humans or house broken pets you call coworkers. Wild, rowdy, undomesticated men. I can't show you off in front of the fellas with staking a claim- wouldn't want them to take what's mine."
Meg pouted. "I'm not your property." She said weakly.
He put a hand against her stomach, uncharacteristically gentle. "Aren't ya?"
Meg flushed again as he pulled her in for a kiss.
"You're my baby girl." He repeated. "And I take care of what's mine."
Logically the idea was patently absurd. Minos Taurus was a sleazy boyfriend who slept around and didn't make half of what Meg Scarlatina pulled in, even before alimony. He was sleeping under her roof, and even though he worked long hours after his child support checks he barely had enough to pay for his own booze.
But Meg wasn't thinking logically anymore. She was staring up at the man, starry eyed and heart pounding. "Okay." She said.
"'Atta girl." He said, cupping her cheek. "Now be a doll and let me and the boys have our fun. I'll make it up to you."
Meg nodded, then walked away with a flirtatious sway in her step. "I know you will." She cooed, before shrieking lightly as he spanked her again.
"Why do you always go for the assssss?" the Snake Faunus asked, as his companion sat down.
Minos chuckled. "Are you kidding? These Scarlatina girls ain't got much in the tit department, but Meg and her daughter have some of the tightest asses I've ever seen, and those legs-" he let out a long, low whistle.
Coco didn't exactly disagree, but size wasn't her most important criteria. They might be on the smaller side, but perk on those tits… quality over quantity.
"Don't talk about her daughter." Piggy whispered, beady eyes darting to see if the woman of the house would come back. "She's like, 3 decades younger than you."
Minos smile suavely. "I'm allowed to look, aren't I?" He joked. He then spent the rest of the round explaining his theory about secondary Faunus traits. It was hypothesized, though never conclusively proven, that a Faunus's body was influenced beyond their obvious trait to go along with their animal type. Of course, Minos's mind fixated on a handful of specific cases, like leggy Rabbit Faunus or Bovine Faunus with big racks.
"First girl I'd ever been with was a heifer-" he said, putting his hands out way in front of his chest. "-with a cow tail and giant milk jugs that you wouldn't even believe. Got even bigger when I put a calf in her." He said, taking a swill of beer. "...Though she wasn't much of a 'heifer' by that point. We stuck it out for 4 years. I'd had my fill of Cattle Faunus after that. Had to branch out."
Coco rolled her eyes alongside the other men. "You sure know your way around the ladies." She said sarcastically. "You've got what, 5 ex-wives?"
Minos chuckled. " 3 ex-wives." He corrected. " 5 baby mamas… 6 now, I guess. Took me 3 tries to figure it out, but marriage is just another way for the lawyer to fuck you when its over. Just get while the gettin's good, then get out."
The Snake Faunus, who Coco had been introduced to as Kaa, laughed. "Minosss, you're a ssscumbag."
The taller man shrugged. "I pay my child support on time. As of now, I'm an upstanding citizen."
"Good luck with that." Kaa said, as betting ended and he flipped down a straight.
Minos scowled. "...Gods damn it." he muttered.
"How long are you planning on sticking around here?" Coco asked pointedly, as Meg walked into the room with a smile and handed her a glass of red wine.
Minos shrugged, not knowing or caring if Meg had heard what had been said so far. " A while, hopefully." He said. "Meg's a good girl, and I'm not getting any younger. I think the two of us have a good thing going on."
Coco could understand why he'd wanna stick around- he got to live in a nice pad with a good looking woman. But for the life of her she couldn't get why Mrs. Scarlatina put up with the guy.
A few months after the two had started seeing each other, Coco asked Meg what on earth a classy woman like her saw in a bum like Minos. He was a hard man who lived for cheap booze and loose women, slept around and wasn't timid about it either. He wasn't the type for easy companionship and he had a horrible track record with raising families. Meg had to realize that once the honeymoon period ended their relationship had no future.
Normally Coco was brushed off with a 'he's funny', or 'he's hot', or, worst of all, 'you wouldn't understand.' But, one night, Coco had caught her after a couple glasses of wine and she got a funny look on her face. Then Mrs. Scarlatina had made this confession.
"You'll be amazed what you're willing to put up with when it's attached to top notch dick."
Coco doubted it.
"Ssso girlie…" Kaa said, tossing her a card. "Sssure you want to play?"
What Coco really wanted was to see Velvet, but the girl could be stunningly reticent when she wanted to be, and she needed information. She'd stick around for a hand or two, see what she could find out.
"Deal me in." She said.
Minos chuckled. "Sure you've got the cash for it, darling?" he teased. "You're big blind, and it's Ⱡ500 to play, but if you ain't got the dough I'm sure we could work something ou-"
Coco threw a Ⱡ10,000 chip on the table without even looking at her cards.
"I raise." She said cockily.
Kaa folded instantly, while Minos emptied his wallet, muttering 'cocky little bitch' under his breath.
Piggy looked at her incredulously.
"...Where'd you say you went to school again?" He asked nervously.
"Beacon."
A bottle clamoured to the floor.
"Shit, man." Piggy said, eyes wide. "You never told us Meg's girl went to fucking Beacon-"
"-Daddy's paying for it." He said coldly. "Apparently he's some bigshot engineer in Atlas… the filthy fucking Blue."
"Come on man." Kaa said. "No politicsss at the table."
Minos scoffed. "Yeah right." He said. "Meg's a bit domestic for my tastes, but she has her head screwed on straight enough when it comes to the war. Part of the reason she left the limp dicked bastard."
It was true. Velvet was born in Atlas- her mother was an undergrad and her father was a TA in one of her engineering classes, getting his Masters. It was a small scandal when they started fooling around- Mr. Scarlatina lost his place at the school for it. Meg Cottontail and Will Scarlatina had a shotgun wedding- Meg finished her senior year with night classes while the Scarlatinas watched the baby, and Will finished his Masters at another school on a scholarship from a contractor for the Atlesian Military, where he'd worked ever since.
The couple came from very different backgrounds and had very different views on the world, but after the spark had faded they still had a little girl they both loved more than anything in the world. That made their petty squabbles seem small.
Until they weren't.
The Kingdom of Atlas had been the richest, most militarized and most stratified of the Kingdoms, and the growing rift between the different parts of the country had slowly but surely made its way into the Scarlatina's marriage. Meg had been born in Vale and was naturally sympathetic to the migrant workers and impoverished Faunus that made up a growing part of the Atlesian underclass. Will had been born to a middle class family in Atlas with roots in the Kingdom going all the way back to the first conquerors from Ilos, and valued the traditions and structures of Atlesian culture. When times got rough, their factions turned on each other.
What started out as a temporary economic downturn turned into mass riots- General Ironwood, the de facto Head of State, had begun ramping up militarization, drilling the troops harder and harder, revoking leave and keeping pay static, while taxes soared.
He'd promised that he'd had his reasons, but there was unrest across the Kingdom. The Faunus were the most aggrieved, the lowest rung on the ladder and the first hit by the storm. The military had stood by him, though. Ironwood was a War Hero from the Faunus Rights Revolution- as a Junior Lieutenant he'd defied General Legune's orders and called for a general retreat, leading the Special Operatives in a rearguard maneuver to cover them, and he was credited as the sole reason anyone had made it out of the nightmare that had been Fort Castle. He'd nearly been court martialed for it; instead, he'd been catapulted to the height of Atlesian Command by the war's end. Afterwards he oversaw a revamping of Atlesian Military doctrine, with more focus on mechanized warfare and airpower to keep the men out of harm's way. Even if he was a no good son of a bitch who was working his men down to the bone, he'd given an arm and a leg for them and there wasn't a soldier from the General Staff to Boot Camp that wouldn't have done the same for him. If he said he had his reasons, they trusted him. Will trusted him.
Meg left him over it.
There was a custody battle, until a bomb went off in Atlas Academy, the day Ironwood was going to make his big announcement to the world. All his closest advisors were killed and any evidence justifying his mobilization was destroyed. No one knew who did it. No one trusted each other any more.
The NCOs blamed traitors in the Officer Corps. The Officers blamed a rat in the rank and file. With CentCom blasted to bits, the command structure fell apart. The violence in the streets intensified, and over half the rank and file joined the revolutionaries instead of shooting their friends and families. Entire units splintered. By the time the dust cleared, 65% of the men were on the side of the Reds, and the popular uprising had military grade weapons and training.
But the Blues held Atlas. And in that floating Citadel they had virtually all of the Altesian Engineers, Pilots, Mechs, Technicians, Specialists and Officers. They were outnumbered, but they were better equipped and better organized, and they had an unassailable fortress in the skies to launch their assaults from. The Reds, unable to crack the defenses of the mountain in the sky that hovered mockingly above them, did everything they could to starve them out. The Blues, for their part, tried to hold strategic parts of the Kingdom to keep their supply lines going, bombing rebel strongholds and any resource they couldn't hold. 3 years later, and hundreds of thousands were dead, millions had fled, and millions more were starving, in what had once been the greatest city in the world.
Will had stopped fighting for custody after the first shot was fired. He wanted his little girl out of the Kingdom as much as his ex-wife did. Now all Velvet saw of her father were letters which went undelivered half the time, and the occasional vid call, when the signal wasn't being jammed. All while getting constant dispatches from the front, letting her know whether or not her daddy was dead… while mommy rooted for the other side.
Velvet dealt with a lot of shit.
Minos sneered at the look on Coco's face, in a decidedly unmagnanimous way. "Got something to say?" He snarled.
Coco shrugged. "Do you raise or call?"
The room relaxed again as Minos shook his head. "Call, for now." He said.
"So, lighter subject." Coco said. "How did a bastard like you knock up so many women?"
Minos smirked, looking over his cards. "Better question is how'd I knock up so few?" He said, thumping himself on the chest. "You're looking at a bona fide breeding bull, sweetheart. Bitches line up for this Grade A beef. Hell, if it weren't for birth control there'd be countless little Faunus out there that look like me… god, I really hate that shit."
"Wouldn't you be even more fucked without it?" Piggy asked. "Think about the money."
Minos scoffed. "Fuck the money." he said, throwing another Ⱡ100 on the table. "I'm not going to take it with me. I can shit it out, or I can pour it into a good time." He emptied out another beer and threw the bottle into the trash, eyes slightly glazed. "And let me tell you, brother, there ain't a better thing in the world than breeding a bitch."
Piggy looked at him doubtfully. "I don't know man." He said. "A nut's a nut."
Minos shook his head. "I'm saying this for Snake Eyes, over here, because there's no woman on earth who'd have your spawn, Earl." He said contemptuously. "But somehow, you can tell when it's gonna take. If you think fucking a bitch is good, fucking a baby into a bitch is out of this world." He was talking to the other men at the table, but he was looking at Coco. "When you pin her down, look her in the eye and say 'I'm gonna make you a mommy', the rush, it's like… you're a God , man, bringing life into the world. And she looks at you like one, too… fucking worships you."
Coco let out a derisive giggle.
Minos chuckled. "I don't expect you to understand, yet." he said. " But you're a hot young thing. Someday, someone is gonna do that to you, and you'll know exactly what I'm talking about. You're gonna love it." He smirked lasciviously. " Be a doll and tell me how it feels, then. Always wondered how the other half lives."
"Is that what you did to Velvet's Mom?" She asked, throwing Ⱡ300 in as Kaa turned the flop.
Minos matched her. "Oh yeah." He said. " She was an uppity one, at first. Just wanted a casual role in the hay after a rally." He raised the pitch of his voice to an exaggerated falsetto. "'You have to use a rubber, I have a career.' I got in that rear and pounded that out of her real fast. By the end of the first month I got her to drop the rubbers for pills… two months later she dropped the pills."
That seemed out of character. It had been a huge point of contention in Mrs. Scarlatina's last marriage, how Will always wanted to give Velvet a sibling, but Meg wanted to focus on her job, saying she had taken enough time off to be a mom already. For all his big talk, something Minos had said had gotten her to change her tune, and right when her daughter was leaving the nest he had managed to fill it back up again. Coco wondered if Velvet had told her father that this brute Bull had bred his wife at 40 when he wasn't allowed to in the prime of her life.
"The night I finally got her was the best I've had in years." He said wistfully. "She could tell midway through what was about to happen, and she started to panic, but I just got on top of her and started telling her how hot she'd look with my mutt in her belly. By the end she pulled me in good and deep, and I don't think I've ever seen her cum that hard. She went wild ."
Coco looked at her cards carefully as the river came out. "Do they always know?" She asked.
"Most of the time." He said. " My first girl, well, she had a great rack but wasn't the brightest crystal in the cave-"
"-Which is why she wasted her time with you." Coco said.
"Exactly." Minos replied, smirking. "Anyway, we were both 16, young and dumb and full of cum, and she told me it was fine because you couldn't get pregnant the first time." He laughed. "Then we had our second because she was convinced she couldn't get pregnant while breastfeeding… turns out you can. I put the last one in her the night before she served me divorce papers. She wanted one last dose before she left me, and she was sure she wouldn't get pregnant our last time." He let out a barking laugh.
Coco rolled her eyes as they took final bets. "Somehow I doubt that."
Minos chuckled. "I ain't bullshitting, girlie. I'm a damn good lay and I've got the record to prove it."
"Dude, how many kids do you have?" Earl asked awkwardly.
Minos shrugged. " Can't say for sure. Lotta one night stands, a couple maybes. Far as I know: 3 pures, 5 mutts - 2 more on the way. 2 half-breeds."
The Faunus had their own racial hierarchy, divorced from the human concept. Purebreds, or 'pures' were the children of Faunus of the same type, and invariably were that type themselves. The old tribal system in Menagerie was built on these kinds of matches, so anyone who wasn't a pure was held in low esteem in the homeland.
Mutts, on the other hand, were the children of two Faunus of different types. Humans used that word as a slur to describe all Faunus, but amongst themselves it was a pun for 'hybrids' or 'mutants', since that kind of couple was spinning the dice on what kind of Faunus would pop out. There were no hybrid Faunus, every one was one type and one type only, but superstition held that Faunus children inherited some strengths from each parent, and in some circles mutts were held in even higher esteem than pures.
Half-breeds were at the bottom for both groups. A Faunus born of a mixed couple, one Human and one Faunus. These children were fully Faunus, but Faunus Chauvinists did not look kindly mating with Humans, and those who subscribed to the 'Mutt' school of thought believed such Faunus were watered down with inferior Human stock.
Meg and Minos were pures, according to Velvet anyway; their children would be mutts. Velvet was a half-breed.
"Wait, you banged a Human?" Kaa asked incredulously.
"A couple." Minos said proudly.
"I thought you hated humans?"
The Bull Faunus shrugged. "So?" He said. "No man is prejudiced against pussy."
"How did that happen?" Earl asked.
"Well, the first one was between Wife 2 and Wife 3." He said. "She'd never been with a Faunus before, wanted to try one out. The second… well, I had this asshole overseer, really had it out for me. So I took my complaints to his wife… she was much nicer." Minos let out a deep belly laugh. "The look on his face 9 months later when a horned baby popped out." He said. "Ha! Priceless."
"...Did you lose your job?" Earl asked.
"Of course I lost my job!" Minos said impatiently. "Who the fuck cares? I got new work waaaay easier than he got a new woman."
"I can't believe any one night stand would be stupid enough to go unprotected." Coco said, showing her cards.
Minos chuckled. "Wanna know the dirty little secret?" He said. "Plenty will do it if you ask. The first one offered me a condom, and I told her 'I don't wanna wear this, and you don't want me to either. I want you, not a rubber, and I don't mind taking a chance'."
"They bought that?" Coco said skeptically.
Minos smirked. " Enough do. It's so much better raw, and girls like to gamble." He threw a flush down, beating her high pair. "And sometimes, when you gamble, you hit the jackpot." He laughed as he pulled the money over to his pile.
Coco kept silent about the loss.
"...How's Velvet taking it?"
The smile fell off his face. "Taking what?"
"The babies."
Minos let out a frustrated snort. "Who knows?" He asked. "Who cares?"
Coco frowned. She's met many a Minos in her time. Men like that had two approaches to women. If they thought they could fuck one they were relentless in their pursuit; if they thought they couldn't they couldn't care less about a girl. Velvet was his girlfriend's daughter, so she should have been off the table, but she was stunning so she should have been right back on it.
But Velvet wanted nothing to do with the man and he knew it. She hadn't liked any of her mother's boyfriends but she seemed to dislike Minos especially, for obvious reasons. He was the polar opposite of her Dad, and if talking Daddy down turned on Mommy it did no favors with daughter dearest. Without the shared passion he had with Meg, Velvet was just an overeducated snob, an uppity Human pet who thought she was too good to play with a salt of the earth Faunus like him. To Velvet, Minos was nothing more than 'the arsehole that's fucking my mum.' She assiduously avoided him.
But Coco had seen enough to guess she was probably still safe at home. Minos was a sleeze who'd knocked up six women already, and if Coco or Velvet gave him the go ahead he'd happily turn either of them into his lucky number seven. If they didn't though, he wasn't cruel or stupid enough to force the issue.
"Why don't you ask her?" He said bitterly. "She won't talk to me, but if it's one of her Human friends-"
Coco threw another Ⱡ10,000 on the table. "-All in good time." She said coolly. "Right now I'm not finished taking your money."
The three Faunus have her incredulous looks. "Gods, girl." Minos said contemptuously. "Does Daddy give you that much lien to burn?"
She smirked. "I model, actually. Just finished up a shoot, feel like celebrating."
Minos looked her over appraisingly. "...I believe it." He said. "Well, Miss Coco." He asked condescendingly. "What did you model for?"
" The Pears Catalogue ."
Earl spat his drink all over the table, face bright red.
'What the-?'
Minos let out a boisterous laugh. "You're shitting me." he said gaily. "That second rate underwear magazine? Really? Fucking, really?!"
"Really." Coco said acidly.
"Small world, ain't it Earl?"
The pig faced man looked at his friend desperately. "Bull, please… " he begged.
"Ya see, Piggy here is a big fan of Pears , not that he ever buys anything."
" Please stop- "
"- He just likes to take it with him into the bathroom. Helps him pass the time." He chuckled. "Hell, if you're in it I might have to borrow next month's issue."
Coco had never seen anyone so totally crushed by shame. She hoped she'd never have to again. Earl stood still for a long moment, then his face crumpled, streams of tears and snot rushing down. Then he forced himself to his feet and blindly stumbled out of the room, bolting to his car and speeding out of the driveway before anyone else in the room could move.
The remaining Faunus looked at his friend, eyes narrowed.
Kaa finally spoke, voice dripping with disgust. "Bull, even for you, thatsss-"
"-Hilarious." Coco said dryly.
Minos grinned. "I know, right? It was too perfect not to bring up."
"Glad you had fun." She snarked. "And I hope you enjoy the photos, because that's the best you're ever going to get."
The Bull Faunus smirked. "Whatever you say, girlie." He said. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have a woman to please."
He stood up with an obscene bulge in his pants and gave her a saucy wink. With that, he sauntered out of the room.
Kaa shook his head. "Sssorry you had to sssee that." He said earnestly.
Coco gave him half a smile. "I've seen worse. Met worse, too."
"Bull'sss not a bad guy." He said, before catching the look on her face. "Not the worssst guy." He corrected. "He'sss good to have in a ssscrap, worksss hard, would never hit a woman, and he'sss a lot of fun when he'sss not being a total dick."
Coco nodded. "Like I said, I've met worse."
"...That doesssn't mean he ssshouldn't be better."
The brunette shrugged, wiping her chip off with a napkin before sliding it back in her pocket. "We should all be better." She said coolly. "Doesn't mean it's gonna happen."
Kaa laughed without smiling. " I like you, Human. Velvet'sss a sssweet girl, it'sss good that ssshe hasss a hard asssss like you in her corner."
Coco smirked, cocking her sunglasses. "Damn right." She said. Just as she was making her way to the stairs, and Kaa was headed out the door, a strangled cry rang out of the living room.
Kaa and Coco rushed in to see Meg and Minos curled up on the couch, with breaking news on the screen. Minos's hand was frozen under her shirt- he had stopped moving when she had frozen up. Megs eyes were glued to the screen.
"-ttack occurred several hours ago." Lisa Lavender said clearly "As the 12th Engineering Brigade was repairing a tower of the Cross Continental Communication system, after the Reds had knocked the remote mining town of Verge out of the network. A small contingent of the White Fang spearheaded a Red assault on the unit. The 12th was primarily composed of non-combatants, and the site was far enough from the front lines that Blue Command spared no more than a small escort. The 12th was able to repulse the attack and restore communication to the site, but preliminary reports suggest that the casualties of the operation were… profound. Our top analysts believe the entire sabotage and subsequent withdraw might have been a trap laid for this precise purpose-"
Meg muted the TV.
Neither of the other Faunus understood why she seemed so affected by the report. Minos tried to break the silence.
"I've got a nephew in the Fang." He said cheerily.
"No ssshit?" Kaa hissed.
Minos nodded. "His parents, my kid brother and his wife, were killed in a mine explosion, a bum operation on the wrong side of Mantle. Kid almost was too. The SDC was up to some shady shit, more concerned about covering it up than anything else. He kicked around my pad for a few years… he was an angry little spitfuck, needed to get laid. Good to see him making his way in the world. Wonder if he was part of the hit." Then his eyes widened, as a series of names made their way across the chyron.
William Scarlatina commanded the 12th Engineering Brigade.
Meg's face was as white as a sheet.
"I don't care." She told herself firmly. "I don't care. I don't care. I don't ca-"
Minos pulled her in for a kiss, firm and hard. Meg melted into it, eager to forget, to feel, and not have to think.
"Well, that'sss my cue to-" Kaa said, walking out of the room before stopping short as Coco sped up the stairs like a bullet.
Coco burst into the room to find a heartbreaking scene.
Velvet was caught in mid-sob, eyes red and face blotchy. Her ears were drooping so low that they almost were blocking her face, but the undisguised hurt on her features was impossible to miss. The Faunus girl was curled up defensively in her sheets, and she retreated further when she saw someone else in her room.
"Coco?" She croaked incredulously. "What are you-"
The taller girl dove into the bed, wrapped her arms around her and held her tight.
"Gods Velvet, I'm sorry." She whispered, unsure of what else she could say. "I'm so, so sorry."
Doe eyes blinked. "What for?"
Coco pulled back slightly, trying to look her in the eyes. "Well, your dad-" She said weakly.
"Dad's fine." Velvet said. "He gave me a call an hour ago, before the report went public. He got out okay, didn't want me to worry… but it was bad. We talked for a little while. First time in months, actually."
"Oh…" Coco said, confused. "That's… good."
Velvet nodded wistfully. "He said he might be able to call more often now that the tower is back online. I doubt it." She sighed. "The Blues want the town's entire mining operation back, but it was shut down for a reason- there's barely any dust left to get, and what is there would be dangerous to extract even if they had the proper manpower. Dad's going to be run ragged trying to square that circle."
"So…" Coco asked. "...what were you crying about?"
Velvet shrunk back into her sheets. "...don't wanna talk about it." she mumbled.
Coco put a hand on her shoulder. "Is it your mom?"
Velvet shook her head. "You mean the pregnancy? I've had weeks to process that. Mum's a grown woman, she can make whatever decisions she wants."
Coco bit her lip thoughtfully. If Dad was fine, and Mom wasn't giving her trouble, then…
The fashionista sat up straight, her face dark and her voice low.
"Who do I have to kill?"
Velvet laughed feebly. "It's not like that."
"Really?" Coco asked. "Because from where I'm sitting it looks exactly like that."
"Coco-"
"-I've seen you get sour milk poured all over your head and you walked that shit off in an hour." Not that that had stopped Coco from leaking the perpetrator's private nudes to the entire school, but that paled in comparison to what she was going to do to this motherfucker. "Who are they and what the fuck did they do?"
"Forget it, I'm just being stupid-"
"-Give me the name. I'll handle the rest."
"HE DIDN'T DO ANYTHING WRONG!"
Coco's shoulder's went slack. She frowned softly and let out a tired sigh.
"...Boy trouble?" She asked.
Velvet forced out a laugh. It was a sad, broken sound. "Yeah." She said, falling back on the bed, eyes looking up longingly at the ceiling. "Boy trouble."
"Who is it?" Coco asked, a bit more kindly this time.
Velvet blushed. "I said I don't wanna talk about it."
"Is it that hot blind guy with the scars?"
Velvet sighed. "No."
Coco pressed on. "How about that huge Mistrali dude?" She said, wiggling her eyebrows suggestively. "Word on the street is he's got a really big sword, know what I'm saying?"
Velvet's cheeks went pink. "It's not Yatsu." She said. Velvet was silent for a long moment, and when she opened her mouth again her answer was barely a whisper. "It's Jaune."
The junior Velvet made eyes at whenever he popped by. She should've known.
It didn't hurt to play dumb for a little bit, though. "You mean the blond, school shooter looking motherfucker?"
"Coco!" Velvet shouted indignantly.
The girl laughed. "Come on, Bun Bun, you can't me you don't see it. The baggy old clothes, that quiet intensity, the look he gets in his eyes sometimes-"
"-Jaune would never kill indiscriminately!"
That sentence hung in the air as Velvet flushed under her friend's gaze.
Coco looked at the Faunus pointedly. " ...That's an oddly specific caveat."
Velvet sighed and explained the whole sorry affair. How the pair were locked in the closet, started fooling around, how Sky had caught them red handed and threatened to blackmail her before Jaune throttled him within an inch of his life, and probably would have finished him if Velvet hadn't stepped in ("Why'd you step in?" Coco asked coldly) how the two of them hadn't talked about it for over a week and when they finally did touch base he didn't want her anymore.
Coco took it all in with only a single interjection, then took off her sunglasses and set them on the table. Her eyes were serious as she spoke to her friend.
"Well, points for protecting your honor, but on the whole I'd say you dodged a bullet."
"Co-"
"The guy said it himself, he was just using you because you were easy and around. He told you the truth and did you a favor. Good riddance."
The Faunus girl wouldn't look at her. "I… liked him." Velvet whispered. " I really, really liked him."
An icy chill ran up her spine as Coco heard the unspoken four letter word that Velvet was too timid to say. You didn't hole up in your room and cry yourself to sleep for days on end over someone you liked .
Velvet picked up on part of Coco's skepticism.
"...I guess I shouldn't put it in the past tense." Velvet joked feebly. "I still like him. A lot."
'Fuck.' Coco thought to herself. 'Fuck!'
"Well, tell you what, Bun Bun." She said lightly. "That calendar gig we're doing just got some professional sponsors… which means you're getting a paycheck and cute outfits and a chance to mingle with hot models that'll make you forget all about lover boy in no time."
Velvet smiled weakly. "...Sounds fun."
The two sat in silence for a long while, Coco offering silent companionship and comfort to her forlorn friend. Hesitantly, she reached for Velvet's hand, but before she could grasp it a strange sound rang up from downstairs. It was the sound of a belt buckle hitting the floor.
"Bull, not out here!" Meg whined. "What if the girls come down? They'll see!"
"Let them!" he bellowed. "Let those sluts come down and learn how a real Faunus fucks!"
Mrs. Scarlatina let out a wanton moan as a chorus of flesh slapping against flesh filled the home.
Coco went pink. "They're doing it in the living room?" She whispered incredulously.
Her friend shrugged. With her hearing Velvet was bound to catch some of what they got up to no matter where they did it.
"Yeah, babe, roll those hips. Ride that big bull cock!"
"Oh! Oh! Oh! I love it! It's so big and hard!"
"It's all you fuckbunny!" He shouted. "Now bounce for me!"
Velvet started, flushing pink. Coco looked at her quizzically.
"...Jaune called me that." Velvet admitted, with longing creeping in her voice. " His Fuckbunny . I… I guess that's something Mum and I have in common."
"That and being attracted to assholes." Coco muttered.
Velvet glared daggers at her. "Jaune is nothing like him."
The brunette shrugged. "You think so? You know how your Mom's bull is, and I bet when you aren't around yours talks about you the exact same way."
Jaune was bored.
He was 2 hours into his shift on Saturday morning, all his weekend's homework already completed in a neat little pile on his desk. Now all that was left to do was nod politely and exchange some pleasantries as he scanned members in, and wait on standby in case something else came up. How he was going to stand several more hours of this was beyond him.
Boredom was a foreign emotion. Normally it took him a lot longer to get his work done and the constant war within his soul certainly kept him busy. Now that he had more or less come to terms with his nature, he had far more mental energy than he knew what to do with.
He looked back at his assignments with some lingering surprise. The work had taught him more about himself than his subjects.
Jaune's reaction time was 5 times faster than a typical human's. If he has to guess, that was to give him an edge in combat, but it meant he processed information that much faster. He read faster. He wrote faster. He learned faster, and that might just blow his cover.
Jaune didn't know if that ability was part of his enhanced physiology or a product of his aura; as far as he and Cinder could tell either explanation could be true, or both. Cinder had told him that she could amp her perception by channeling her aura, but that was an active ability, not a passive one, and Jaune himself wasn't able to do anything that advanced yet: at least not consciously. He'd only recently isolated his aura, and it had been a matter of days since he'd first channeled it into his hands, which made them strong enough to shatter steel. Cinder had told him his form was sloppy and wasteful, but she seemed impressed with his progress. She'd started to make suggestions about how he could improve, but a side effect of recruiting his aura was getting obnoxiously horny and Cinder thought his raw power was a massive turn on so their clothes had hit the floor well before that lesson could commence properly.
'I need to work on that.' Cinder was one of his few sexual outlets, but she was also his most reliable source of information regarding his Blessing and his aura. Their pre-sex banter and pillow talk were nice, but frankly he ought to spend more time pumping her for information and less time pumping her.
The memory of Cinder screaming his name into his mouth as she came flooded out any regrets.
Still, he had to think carefully. There were people out there that wanted both of them dead. He had to remember that, had to make sure he didn't draw any unnecessary attention, and every move had to take that into account.
He had used his newfound clearheadedness to ace every quiz, test, presentation, assignment, or any other busy work Beacon had thrown at him since returning to school. At the time he had simply reveled in finally being free to think without interruption every 30 seconds, but what if somebody noticed that a student who had been middling at best was suddenly at the top of the class? What if they started looking into his other records to see if anything else was unusual, like, say, a physical? Maybe he ought to dial it back a bit.
'...Miss Goodwitch would kill me.'
A few people had noticed how much his grades had shot up, but none had been more observant than his math teacher. Jaune had finished before everyone else but Miss Goodwitch still held him back after class yesterday to grade his exam right in front of him, and, seeing the look on her face, Jaune had never been prouder of a perfect score. Glynda was ecstatic.
Of course, because this was Glynda, it was more the sparkle in her eyes and the slightest spring in her step that gave her away, but it was a treat nevertheless. Jaune didn't realize he was in trouble until her soft, proud smile had morphed into a smirk as she very calmly and very politely informed him that from now on she expected nothing less from him.
Of all the adults in his life, Glynda Goodwitch by far was the one most concerned with his grades and his academic future, and she had access to all his other teachers' records. She had been willing to answer questions outside of class, recommend tutors, even pull him aside for an intervention, so if he started to underperform on purpose, she would notice… and she would be pissed .
The best route going forward would be to keep up the quality of his work but not speak up too much in class; most people weren't Glynda and wouldn't dig into his personal details that much if he didn't give them a reason.
Of course, if someone was looking for superhumans, the action hero physique and insatiable sex drive would be much more obvious giveaways, but there wasn't much he could do about that.
"Whatcha thinking about, handsome?"
Amber broke Jaune out of his thoughts with a flirty grin. He blinked, then schooled his features into a smirk.
"Oh, this and that."
She rolled her eyes, walking behind the front desk and reaching into a nearby cabinet, subtly wiggling her ass in his face. Jaune, of course, couldn't let that kind of cockteasing slide.
Smack!
Amber yelped as his hand dug into her supple rear, turning back to glare at him. Jaune grinned innocently. The brunette took a seat on the desk, leaning out in front of him.
"I heard you had a hot date last night."
"Oh?" Jaune said, poker face up. His relationship with Cinder wasn't something he had told her about. The only person who should even know was Pyrrha, and that was sloppy on his part. If their trail got too obvious-
"The boss was bitching about it last night." She said. "You and his little niece went to the movies, eh?"
Jaune relaxed. "It was with a group of friends. Rubes and I aren't like that."
Amber fluttered her eyelashes at him. "Why not? She not cute enough for you?"
Obviously Amber had never met Ruby. "She's adorable, actually." He said gruffly, watching his fuckbuddy pout.
"So why not, then?"
Jaune sighed. "We're just friends." He said slowly, trying to convince himself. " I met her when she was a toddler and I couldn't even tie my shoes. If Ruby and I ever did anything, it'd be…"
'Naughty? Sinful? Fucking incredible?' His shadow teased.
"-weird." He settled on. Yeah. Weird.
Amber chuckled. "Her loss. So…" she said, leaning in even further. "When are you going to take me out to the movies?"
"...You like movies?"
Amber scoffed. "Of course I do." She said, trailing her fingers up her arm. "Matter of fact, my roomie's out visiting her folks this weekend. Wanna come by and have a little marathon?."
Jaune's eye's darkened. "Sure." He said, voice booming. "But you and I won't be watching much."
Amber frowned and pulled away. "You could at least pretend." She said bitterly.
The truth was he had no idea what kind of movies Amber would even watch. If he and Ruby were just friends, he and Amber were just benefits. He liked her okay, but he hardly knew anything about her and didn't really feel like changing that. It was part of her appeal- even if he fucked this up royally he didn't stand to lose anything. But however much Amber approved of the 'No Strings Attached' part of their relationship, she didn't seem to appreciate having it rubbed in her face.
'Seriously, bud.' The shadow said. 'If you want a girl to act like a slut for you, then outside of very specific circumstances you do not make her look like a slut, especially in front of her friends, and you don't make her feel like a slut. It's basic stud etiquette, come on.'
' You're lecturing me on etiquette ?' Jaune thought incredulously.
He sighed, and wrapped an arm around her. Amber wriggled away, but he pulled her back in.
"Sounds fun." He said earnestly. "See you after work."
She sighed. "If you can even find the place."
He smiled, breathing into her ear. "I wi-"
He was cut off by a shy gasp. 'Of all the times to get a customer.' Jaune looked up.
'And what a customer.'
Willow Schnee was looking at the pair of them, eyes wide and cheeks flushed.
Amber jumped away from him like she'd been burned.
"S-sorry." The older woman muttered. "I didn't mean to interrupt-"
"Oh, we were just playing around at work." Jaune said disarmingly. "Slow day, you know how it gets."
Willow didn't, but she was happy to go along with it.
"So, how can I help, Willow?"
Amber looked at the stacked MILF jealously. 'First name basis, huh?' She thought angrily. She didn't know Jaune wasn't supposed to use her last- as far as she and most of the gym goers knew, Willow was just the hot new customer with nice gear and a nicer body.
"I was actually wondering if you could give me some lessons." Willow admitted. "An is great but I'd like to start on weights, and you're more of an expert there."
Jaune hummed thoughtfully. "I don't know. I've never taught before, and my routine is calibrated pretty exclusively to me. I doubt most people could follow it."
Willow slumped slightly. "Oh…" she said softly. "...I understand."
'You idiot. If you blow this-'
"But we can start with the basics, figure it out as we go, if that's okay."
Willow smiled. "That'd be great. Could we start now?"
Jaune looked at Amber meaningfully. "Well, I'm supposed to be working the front right now, but-"
Amber bit her lip. Try as she might, she couldn't refuse him anything when he looked at her like that.
"...I'll cover for you."
Jaune gave her a wide smile and a one armed hug before leaving her behind to go conquer another slut. Amber shook her head clear. 'What the fuck am I doing?' She thought helplessly.
Meanwhile, Jaune was eyeing Willow's form as she stretched in an almost empty room with a subtle gleam. There were one or two witnesses, and he wanted to ease her into her new routine.
"We'll start with squats." He said, voice dipping just a low as she bent over.
He had a MILF in the evening and a coed waiting for him later tonight.
Life was good.