Cerise sat back in the computer chair in front of the security tower's monitoring equipment, her panties around one ankle and the rest of her clothing completely removed. She stared over at Sage, who was leaning against the wall with nothing on but a silver chain necklace. Both of them were covered in sweat and lingering, quite specifically concentrated globs of other fluids. Both of them were absolutely out of breath, and the tension in the air was palpable. Little did either of them know that they were both contemplating ending the momentary truce and getting right back into another frenzied, carnal entanglement.
"Gods, I've… wanted to fuck you for ages, now," Cerise admitted as she continued to look Sage over with hungry eyes. "Don't even pretend you haven't thought about it, too."
Sage hesitated a moment, trying to will himself to calm down as he drew in greedy breaths through his nose. It wasn't quite working.
"I've… tried to avoid looking at you in that way, on principle alone," the burly hunter admitted. "I've also often failed. Despite our disagreements, you are… one of the most attractive women I know."
Cerise flashed a devilish grin and pushed herself up and out of the seat to meet Sage on the other side of the room. She was quick to rest her hand upon his somewhat-deflated length before standing on her tip toes to lock him into yet another kiss while his hands traced around her waistline to grip at her ass. The lip lock lasted only a few moments before Cerise ran a finger along the underside of Sage's chin and beckoned him to follow her as she turned and walked back toward the chair.
"Take a seat, big guy. We're not done yet."
Sage cleared his throat and rubbed at the back of his neck, his mind and body thinking two entirely different things as he felt a pulse rush through his undercarriage.
"Cerise, we… we need to stop this. Fox could be here any minute…"
"I told him to call me before he came," Cerise reminded as she rested a hand atop the back of the chair.
"…on the scroll in your skirt that's on the other side of the room?" Sage asked rhetorically. "We haven't been paying any attention, and we've been at it for… a while. What if he just sent a text instead of literally calling? We need to stop this, for his sake, and probably ours."
Cerise's expression twisted into a scowl and she heaved a sigh before running a hand through her sweaty hair. With due haste, she stomped over to her skirt and fumbled for her scroll, alighting the screen and looking at it with wide eyes.
"Fox is on his w-"
The faint sound of a door closing somewhere far below echoed up the tower, and Cerise exchanged a panicked look with Sage. He was the first to leap into action, moving immediately for the space just beyond the monitoring panel and beginning to crack forward the elongated, horizontal windows. Cerise instead busied herself with getting dressed, collecting her partner's garments and tossing them toward Sage as she went.
"What are you doing?" the woman asked as she hastily pulled her skirt back on.
"It reeks of sex in here," Sage announced as he managed to get the last window open. "And it's hot, as well."
"That doesn't rally matter i-"
Cerise stiffened as the door opened. She hadn't yet managed to get her bra and top back on before Fox entered the room. Oddly enough, the boy was also covered in sweat and looking exhausted, though he didn't seem at-all bothered by the situation in the tower. Cerise bit her lower lip and looked to Sage, who stood naked and facing his teammate. He nodded to Cerise and pointed to his eyes… and the woman brought a palm up to her forehead as she realized that they were not, in fact, in any imminent danger of being caught.
"…right," Cerise said with a weary sigh. "Hey, Fox. What's the word?"
"…a lot," Fox replied, wiping his brow. "First, though, I've got some equipment and supplies to carry up here to make sleeping in the tower more comfortable, and it's… a lot, and also heavy. Can you two lend a hand?"
"I'll handle it," Sage declared as he discreetly picked up his clothing from the floor and moved past Fox to exit the room. "You two stay here and catch up about the situation at hand. I don't mind."
"Thanks, man," Fox said before clapping a hand on Sage's shoulder… only to remove it immediately with a grimace of disgust. "Dude, you're covered in sweat… and shirtless?"
Sage paused, standing only about a foot from Fox and completely nude.
"…it's hot in here. I took off my jacket."
"Yeah, I guess it is," Fox agreed as he shook out his hand with an exaggerated motion.
"You have no idea how hot," Cerise added as she slowly tried to re-button her shirt as noiselessly as possible. She watched as Sage walked out of the room and closed the door behind himself, leaving her alone with Fox. "So… how did it go, back at the house?"
"Not at all how I expected it to," Fox admitted as he walked farther into the room to stand before Cerise. "I… stepped out for a bit while the others were arguing, actually. Things just got a little overwhelming, and… Cerise, I'm sorry. This really is all my fault."
"Fox, you made a simple mistake. It could've happened to anyone," Cerise reassured as she pulled the boy into a hug, catching him off guard. "I'm not pinning this one on you, even if it seemed like I was angry with you earlier."
"Could it have happened to anyone else?" Fox questioned, slowly returning the embrace. "No one with functional sight would've stepped through that portal if the rest of their team hadn't moved."
"…don't go there," Cerise replied. "Ever since we met, you haven't let your disability define you. Don't start now. Different people make different mistakes."
"Maybe I just haven't been vocal about it," Fox offered as an alternative as a set of footsteps echoed in the stairwell beyond the door. He tried to pull away, only for Cerise's grip on him to tighten. "Don't let Sage see us doing this."
"Like I give a shit what he thinks," Cerise spat. The footsteps retreated back down the steps, fading to nothingness once again. "Multiple trips…?"
"Probably," Fox answered. "There's an air mattress, full set of sheets and a comforter, electric pump, some food…"
"…Willow must really want me to stay," Cerise said sarcastically as leaned the side of her head into Fox's chest.
"She does, yeah," Fox agreed. "That's part of why the others decided to let me tell you everything."
"Done," Porella announced as she stood up and dusted her hands together. Before her stood a line of three tents… though one of their number was far removed from the other two on the opposite side of the fire pit. "Not bad at all."
"Yeah," Adam agreed with a nervous grin as he avoided the woman's eyes. "Really not bad getting set up. Pretty routine."
Alice rolled her eyes as she opened the flap of her tent and pulled the elastic band from her ponytail to let her violet and crème-streaked hair tumble down her back.
"Right. You kids sleep well… and no fuckin' in the tent. You're not that far away, and I get cranky when I don't sleep."
"Pff, you don't scare me," Velvet proclaimed as she put her hands on her hips. "We'll do whatever we want to."
"…we will?" Adam asked, uncertain how he felt about being caught in the crossfire between the two huntresses.
"Settle," Porella ordered. "Seriously, though, try to get some sleep? I'd like to make actual progress tomorrow, and if you two wear each other out, it might not end well for us. Be smart, alright?"
"…I'll keep her within reason," Adam tried, offering Velvet a pleading look to just give in.
"Oh will you?" Velvet asked, looking amused. "I'd like to see you try."
"…well, now they're definitely gonna spend half the night rooting," Alice declared as she threw her hands up and shook her head. "Enjoy it, I guess. Night."
Porella let out an amused snort and headed to her own tent, pausing to look at the teens as she pulled open the flaps.
"You two alright, for now?" the woman asked. "I know this wasn't in the plan, but Academy students should be pretty used to improvising and unlikely allies."
"Been through worse," Adam shrugged. "Don't worry about us."
"We're good," Velvet agreed as she grasped one of Adam's hands with her own. "Night."
Porella offered a backward wave before disappearing into her tent, leaving the two young hunters alone by the fire pit.
"…so, uh…"
"We're not fucking," Velvet declared as she moved to sit upon the floor of the cave near the fire.
"Of course not," Adam agreed as he moved to sit beside her. "That would be… listen, there's something you should know…"
"You're a virgin, wow, what a surprise," Velvet said with a roll of her eyes as she leaned her head up against Adam's shoulder. "I know, and I don't care. You need to be less of a worrywart, mate."
"…I'm sixteen."
Velvet lifted her head immediately and gave Adam a confused stare, one of her eyebrows raised.
"…I'm sorry, what?"
"You heard me," Adam insisted. "I-I mean, I think I'm almost seventeen, but… before we do anything crazy, you should at least know… I don't want you getting into some sort of trouble…"
"…and how would anyone know that to 'get me in trouble', Adam?" Velvet asked. "Sounds like you don't even know your own birthday. Why would anyone else that's in a position to judge know?"
"…I don't know," Adam admitted as he squirmed a bit. "But… it doesn't bother you? Aren't you like…"
"Nineteen," Velvet filled in for him. "You're legal in Vacuo, I like you, and I don't really care what other people think about what I do anyway. Relax, alright? Besides- we're not jumping into anything tonight as it is. Thanks for warning me, I guess."
"Yeah, sure," Adam said flatly. "I'd rather just be honest with you. Or… with each other."
"You implying that if I've got any baggage, you want to know now?" Velvet asked. "Adam, it's not that serious. You're leaving in a few weeks."
"You implying you've got baggage you're trying to hide and using that as an excuse?" Adam challenged.
Velvet narrowed her eyes for a moment before letting out a sigh and resting her head on his shoulder.
"…you're an asshole, y'know that? Fine. Doesn't affect you, but the only real 'baggage' I have is I guess… I really don't think I could get serious with a human. Hell, I don't think I could have a one-night stand with one, for that matter. It's honestly a little upsetting that you're so close with several of them. I don't like it."
Adam blinked and recoiled slightly, shifting his shoulder just enough to cause Velvet to have to raise her head to avoid falling.
"What? Why?"
"You know why," Velvet insisted. "They just don't get it. They don't get us."
"But…" Adam started.
"Sage and Fox?" Velvet asked. "Yeah, I know… but you don't see me chasing either of them, do you? I trust them both… to an extent, but there will always be a barrier there. Sure, the faunus are on top in Vacuo, but… that almost changed, on account of Atlas and their bullshit. If we ended up in another race war, you really think either of them would stick it out with Ghira and I just because we're friends?"
"A race war?" Adam asked. "I… can't see that happening again. Not after all the fallout from the last one, and the world seeing just how bad it all was."
"You can't be that naïve," Velvet chided. "I mean… honestly. You think this peace is permanent? You think with Beacon finally allowing faunus hunters, everything is just going to suddenly start changing with a ripple effect, the world over? If anything, it's just going to get worse. I fully expect something to start up in Mistral… or for things to worsen in Atlas. It's just a matter of time, Adam. All it'll take is a single spark- a single faunus to blame, and the world will turn against us again."
Adam stood up, doing his best to suppress a full-body shiver.
"…I don't want to talk about this right now."
"Adam…?" Velvet tried, getting to her feet.
"Just… try to get some sleep, alright? I'll guard the perimeter, and then I'll wake you up in a few hours and we'll switch."
Velvet flicked an ear and tilted her head.
"We never discussed setting up a rotating guard shift."
"Well, maybe we need one," Adam tried. "We'll talk in the morning."
Velvet watched as Adam walked off, beginning to stalk the edge of the camp alone. With a frustrated snort, she headed off into the remaining tent to get ready for bed.
"…what the hell was that…?"
Author's Note:
Velvet may not be the best influence. Good thing Adam's relatively stable in this timeline.
Right?
-RD