Fox watched- or "watched"- as Cerise's aura exited the beach house, followed closely by Sage's. A pit had formed in his stomach during the conversation about what to do next and only gotten weightier and weightier with every passing second. By the time his friend had left, Fox was feeling miserable… especially given the inevitable argument that was about to happen.

"I… need some air," Fox declared before turning toward the general direction of the door out to the deck. "Feel free to get started without me, but I just… I want to collect my thoughts and make sure I'm making sense before I weigh in. You guys all have a lot more say in this than me, anyway."

Without another word, Fox slowly and carefully made his way for the exit, feeling about for the edge of the kitchen countertop and using it to guide himself toward the sliding door. He did a quick test to make sure that he had indeed opened it before stepping through and into the cool night air. The sound of ocean waves greeted him immediately and he let out a sigh of frustration loud enough to cover the set of footsteps approaching behind him.

"…you should tell her."

Fox jumped in surprise, having failed to "scan" the immediate area with his Semblance upon arriving out on the deck. He didn't bother to turn or project his aura and "see" who it was that had decided to join him- the voice was already recognizable. Whether or not the other boy was welcome was still up in the air… but Fox didn't immediately hate the idea.

"I would if I could without feeling guilty," Fox lamented as he walked across the deck and leaned on the railing. He heard the sliding door close somewhere behind him and let his head hang. "But… I won't do that to you guys. I can't just go behind your backs because she's my friend."

"…I wasn't talking about the Relics, or Those Above All, or Salem, or… any of that," Taiyang said softly as he moved to join Fox at the railing. "You should tell her how you feel."

Fox stiffened, though he didn't bother to pantomime looking at Taiyang. Somehow, he knew the boy was aware that he was listening.

"…it's that obvious?"

"My Semblance lets me read, and makes me feel the emotions of others, when they're strong enough," Taiyang clarified. "I can literally feel the love radiating off of you."

"Right, right…" Fox said, his voice full of unease. "But… it's not that simple. Nothing is ever simple with Cerise, and given the fact that she just admitted she's sleeping with Roman in front of everyone…"

"Was sleeping with Roman," Taiyang reminded. "Sounded like a one-night stand to me. 'Pity-fucking' him isn't exactly confidence-inspiring, and that was… also a pretty messed up thing to say to his face. Besides- Roman's with Kali full-time now, probably because of Cerise."

"She does have a way of playing matchmaker…" Fox considered before letting out another sigh. "But it's not like that between us."

"…you know, I've been hearing this kind of thing a lot lately," Taiyang mused as he mimicked Fox's stance, the ocean breeze tossing his hair about. "Roman and Kali. Qrow and Winter. Myself and Raven. All thinking it's not meant to be, and so far, we're two for three on successes. I can tell you really care about Cerise, and you're taking this whole thing extremely personally."

"How can I not?" Fox asked. "I walked through that portal. I fucked it all up. All of this is on me, and it looks like it may well ruin all of our lives. I just sent the first domino tumbling, and the line isn't slowing down. I feel sick…"

"What if the collapsing dominoes lead to something good?" Taiyang asked. "You're already going to be spending more time with us, so there's one positive."

"…eh," Fox said, only to realize how that sounded. "I mean, I like you guys and all, I just… the tradeoff there for knowledge of Salem and now being responsible for… whatever we're assigned over it… I don't know if I'd knowingly make that trade. I don't know how to put what I'm feeling into words… to you, or to Cerise."

"Well… you could always give it a shot with me, first," Taiyang suggested. "See how it feels to say aloud. Figure out if you want to, or even could say it to her. I'm willing to be your off-team wingman."

"That's kind of you, but…" Fox began before perking up slightly. "…Summer and Ghira are coming back. We should head back inside."

"Or we could just greet them from up here, tell them we're busy, and you could stop dodging the issue," Taiyang suggested before waving into the darkness. "Hey!"

"They're… still some distance away," Fox informed. "Far enough that they probably won't see you just yet or hear you over the waves."

"…oh," was all Taiyang said before clearing his throat. "In that case, why don't y-"

"I'm blind, Taiyang," Fox said abruptly as he leaned forward to rest his chin atop his crossed forearms. "Completely. I can 'see' things using my aura, but I don't even know what 'seeing' is, or what I'm missing compared to the actual sense. I have no idea what Cerise looks like beyond an approximation, or what that even means. I know her by the feel of her aura, by scent, by her voice… but that isn't good enough for someone like her. She can do so much better than me, and she deserves better than me. I would never even think about burdening her like that, especially when there are so many basic things I have trouble doing on my own. I'm not good enough."

Taiyang's face fell as he stared at Fox, who remained totally motionless. The sound of two individuals walking up the deck stairs caused him a momentary panic, and he turned to face the new arrivals.

"We're home," Summer announced as she arrived on the deck and offered Taiyang a smile. "We miss anything?"

"…Fox…?" Ghira asked, his attention turning to his teammate immediately as he noticed the teen's posture.

"Actually…" Taiyang began before anything else was said. "Could we… have a minute alone? Sorry, I know it's not ideal, but we were in the middle of something important."

A sudden, impassioned yell from inside of the house caught Summer and Ghira's attention, and they both turned to look in the direction of the sliding door.

"…sounds like they are, too," Summer said warily.

"You should go inside and join that conversation," Taiyang advised. "It's… a big one, and both of you should definitely have a say in what's going on."

"Then I'll leave this to you," Ghira said with a slow nod. "Best of luck…"

Ghira gave Taiyang a frown as he led the way back inside, and Taiyang returned it before turning back to his friend.

"Fox, I…"

"…don't say you get it, or that it's not a dealbreaker," he warned. "It is, for me. I've thought about this before. Yeah, I joke about my condition a lot and play it up, but when it comes to a situation like this? I hate it. All of you know her in ways that I never will. Just leave it. Let's go back inside."

"We're not doing anything of the sort," Taiyang said firmly as he gripped Fox's shoulder. "I'm not letting you talk about yourself like this."

"You barely know me," Fox protested as he brushed the hand off, only for Taiyang to put it right back and squeeze the shoulder harder.

"I know you better than you think," Taiyang said forcefully. "I know you on a level you can't possibly understand, and other people only have a vague idea of… just like how you know Cerise. Sure, sight is important- a lot of people would say it's the most important sense- but you know her aura. The feel of her actual soul, in a way that probably nobody else ever will. You could tell her things about herself that she doesn't even know and share a connection with her that's unique to you. You aren't lesser, when it comes an ability to appreciate her- you're just different… and if you love her as much as you seem to, then she must be an incredible person, given that you know her very essence."

Fox's face twisted into a pout and he shook his head as he continued facing the beach.

"Tai, I appreciate the attempt- I really do- but… I don't know if that's enough. I also don't want to screw up our friendship and jeopardize where she stands with all of BASS. It's all too risky, and getting shot down will just make me feel even worse about myself."

"Do you feel just as awful about yourself even when you're not thinking of her?" Taiyang dared to ask.

"To be honest… yeah," Fox admitted. "Yeah, I do, but I don't talk about it with anyone, including our team's therapist. I just… lie. Everyone likes having me around as the comic relief and shoulder to cry on, who constantly has their shit together and knows just what to say to lighten the mood. Now, though, I've gone and screwed everything up and botched my role in the group entirely. And on top of that, how can I let Cerise see the real me when it comes to things like this? It would change our dynamic completely."

"That might not be a bad thing," Taiyang considered as he gave Fox's shoulder a light rub before finally releasing it. "You've never talked about any of this with her before?"

"Never," Fox confirmed. "Too much at stake, and too much of a long shot. You said you can sense emotions, right?"

"I can, yeah," Taiyang answered.

"Can you tell me honestly if Cerise has feelings for Roman, then?" Fox asked as he turned around and leaned back against the railing. "It might not make a difference, but… maybe that's just the discouragement I need."

Taiyang made a noise of defeat. He wanted to lie, and Fox would have no way of knowing. A lie would have potentially helped. A lie was in order… and yet, he couldn't bring himself to do it.

"I… it doesn't work like that, and I can't say who she feels certain things about specifically when so many of us are in a room," Taiyang said carefully, "but… she did have a surge of… passion when Roman entered, not long ago. I can't tell you exactly what that means, but she's attracted to him, at the very least."

"…so if it doesn't work in groups unless someone enters or leaves, you can't pinpoint how she feels about me," Fox lamented. "Figures…"

"I can't, but I'm going to say it again- talk to her," Taiyang pleaded. "Or at the very least, talk to someone. Talk to me, and open up more about all this once we have some real privacy. Even if you choose not to go after Cerise, I don't want you feeling the way you do about yourself. You can't just repeat this pattern forever with every girl in your life, Fox. You'll end up miserable."

"I've already kinda accepted that I might," Fox admitted with a shrug. "I don't like talking about my issues with others, but when you're being this direct… I guess, maybe, I can at least try. And then if I hate it, we're getting rid of you in a few weeks anyway, and I can just put the mask back on and pretend none of this ever happened."

"…that would be a dick move, but yeah, I guess you could," Taiyang resigned as he put an arm around Fox's shoulders and walked him back toward the door. "Ready to hash this out with the others?"

"No, but I know we have to, and they're probably waiting on my input," Fox grumbled. "I just hope I don't get shouted down immediately. Cerise deserves to know something…"

"I agree," Taiyang said as he stepped inside to find the others all staring in his direction. "Sorry. Important bro-business."

"I hope so," Summer said as she rubbed the side of her neck. "I'm caught up, we've decided what to do with Cerise, and it was not a unanimous decision…"


Author's Note:

Oh boy…

-RD