Sun's head was spinning. Somehow, he felt worse than the night before, to the point that stumbling to the bathroom was a harrowing event. He had braced his hands against the wall several times as he tried to make his way into the adjoining room, his breathing unsteady. Sun's stomach churned and his vision was fuzzy. Flicking on the lights proved to be a massive mistake- his stomach lurched, and black dots wriggled before him as he braced himself against the sink. He knew he was going to vomit and had to consciously fight back the urge as he stared down into the porcelain basin. It was only a few feet over to the toilet and would make much less of a mess. Sun took one last deep breath and made the final push, more or less falling to his knees as he lifted up the seat and let loose.

Predictably, all that came up was the foul, bitter taste of bile and a stream of oddly colored liquid. Sun couldn't even remember the last time he had eaten, and the thought of breakfast, lunch, or whatever meal he was due for only made him feel sicker. He could feel stinging acid all along his esophagus and up into the back of his mouth, and it took a conscious effort for him to remain awake and focused. Simply leaning forward and passing out into the toilet bowl seemed inevitable as he let forth another weak offering of bile… until he felt a cold hand upon his back.

"I'm here," Blake said softly as she knelt down next to Sun on the tile floor. "Let it all out, and you'll start to feel better. I hope…"

Sun retched again, though nothing came out as he arched his back and clenched his stomach. The faunus simply spit into the tainted water and closed his eyes while focusing on his breathing… and more importantly, Blake's touch. Somehow, it was a little easier to stay upright with her there. Sun knew he would pull through… he had just needed that little reminder.

"Aura's back…" Sun said weakly. "Faint… but it's there…"

"Thank the gods," Blake said as she rubbed Sun's back in slow circles. "It's got to be stress, right? You've been doing so much…"

Sun closed his eyes even tighter as his breathing slowed. He knew that wasn't the answer- they had all been through unfathomable stress, and he was the only one physically breaking down. Something else was wrong- something he had never experienced before… but he wasn't about to let it slow the group down. The last thing he wanted was to end up in a hospital, delaying the trip to Vacuo. There was a simple solution- one that could save time and make everyone's lives easier.

All he had to do was lie to Blake. One simple, little lie that he agreed it was just stress and he was overwhelmed. An agreement to rest on the ride to Vacuo, and then he could feign surprise and see a professional after they landed… even though Sun knew deep down that he didn't need to. If he got sicker on the way, he would simply deal with it. He'd been through worse, and Blake would suspect nothing. It would be much easier to lie to Blake about multiple things that had happened in the past 24 hours than to admit what he was thinking and open several cans of worms. Sun made up his mind almost immediately. He knew exactly what he had to do.

"…no," Sun denied as he opened his eyes and reached up to pull the flush handle. He watched the water swirl away, carrying the unpleasant mess to parts unknown. "Blake, I… I don't think it's stress. I've got a bad feeling about this. Something's wrong. Something specific to me, and… I also don't think it's a medical thing. I think something's happening."

"…what do you mean something's happening?" Blake asked, her voice full of trepidation. "Has this been going on longer than the plane ride?"

"No, it hasn't," Sun admitted as he slowly leaned back to sit cross-legged. "And that's… part of me wonders if that's a clue. A stomach bug doesn't take down aura, Blake…"

"I know that. What are you thinking?" the girl asked as she gingerly placed her hands upon Sun's shoulders.

"…I'm thinking it's Ozpin."

Neither of them said anything for a good, long while, giving Sun time to recover. He was the first to speak again, though he was totally unable to guess what Blake was thinking. She had stopped rubbing his shoulders, her hands instead just resting atop the flesh.

"I can't explain it, Blake, I can just feel… it's like something's trying to worm its way in," Sun tried. "It comes and goes in waves, and all of this only started after we lost Oscar. I think… I think he might be trying to use me as his next host. I hope I'm wrong, but I just can't shake the feeling…"

"If that's really what's going on," Blake began, her tone as frigid as her hands, "then it changes nothing between you and me. I'll support you all the way, and I don't care what he thinks about us… or what he sees us doing. I love you too much to let him get in the way of us. We'll get through it together."

"Yeah," Sun agreed as he slowly turned around to face Blake. He offered her a tired smile as he took her hands, his own sweaty and pale. "And if he dares to try to live in my head… he's in for a world of hurt. I'll fight and try to pry into his secrets and make his life a living hell. You're not losing me to him."

"You're too strong to let him have his way," Blake reassured with a nod. "I'm glad you told me, even if it's not set in stone. Lean on me, Sun. I've been leaning on you for ages, now…"

"We'll lean on each other," Sun insisted. "That's the only way to get through something like this."

A knock came at the bathroom door, and Blake looked at the knob before flicking her eyes back to Sun. He simply nodded, totally uncaring who saw him in such a disheveled state.

"Come in?" Blake said, sounding unsure.

The figure that entered the bathroom made Sun's heart skip a beat and his eyes widen. Neopolitan came in carrying two cups of tea, with several shopping bags looped around her arm. Their eyes met for a brief moment before she set the cups upon the countertop and pointed to Blake.

"…me?" the faunus questioned, looking confused. Upon receiving a nod, Neopolitan gestured back toward the main room. "Yeah, sure. Thanks for bringing the tea. Sun, will you be okay for a few minutes?"

Sun looked up to Neopolitan, who seemed incredibly guilty. As much as he wanted to intervene for everyone's sake, something about her expression caused him to hold off.

"…yeah. I think so."

"See you soon," Blake reassured before planting a peck on Sun's cheek.

The action did little to bring him any sort of peace as the bathroom door closed. With a sigh, he gripped the edge of the counter and pulled himself up to standing. Sun didn't last long on his feet before closing the toilet seat and depositing himself atop it. Once again, he was out of breath- it was an odd, troubling sensation given how in shape he was, but he also wasn't at all surprised with how much he was struggling. With a shaky hand, he grabbed one of the tea mugs and brought it closer to himself before blowing across the top of the liquid. He paused, straining to try to hear anything he could through the bathroom door and trying to determine whether Neopolitan was talking about the previous night's events with Blake.

A sudden, quite loud "What the fuck?" from the other room answered that question almost immediately.

Fighting the urge to get up and stumble into the other room, Sun blew across the tea once again before taking a sip. It was only then that he noticed just how gross he felt physically and eyed the shower. Tempting though it was, he chose to remain seated lest he pass out and do even more damage to himself beneath the hot water. Besides- the sight had hit him with sudden inspiration, if Blake took the news well. Sun committed to just sitting and listening for the duration of her talk with Neopolitan, and though he could hear muffled talking, there was a distinct lack of sounds of violence or yelling.

A good 15 minutes passed as Sun simply sat and finished his tea. He was beginning to feel a bit better just remaining in one place and indulging in hot liquid. Sun's stomach had settled, and despite the precarious situation in the other room, he found that he wasn't as worried as he thought he should be. Blake was reasonable and committed to him, and they were all prone to making mistakes and overstepping boundaries, especially while under pressure. The situation would resolve itself and he could clear up any misconceptions that arose. None of them wanted unnecessary drama, and despite everything, he trusted Neopolitan to be honest and forthcoming.

Sun's conviction was momentarily shaken as Blake reentered the bathroom and closed the door, looking a bit frazzled. Her jaw was clenched and she seemed tense, though her anger, thankfully, wasn't aimed at him.

"…she told me," was all Blake said before striding to the counter and seizing her mug of tea. She took a sip before pulling a face and setting it back down. "Ugh. Cold…"

"Sorry," Sun offered as he set his empty mug next to Blake's. "About both of those things."

"You've got nothing to apologize for," Blake said with a sigh. "She's the one that tried to make a move on you. To an extent, I get it, but… still. What a shitty thing to do, especially right now and after you and I have been separated for so long. She told me she didn't know about that part of it, and I believe her, but… it's gonna take a while before I feel like I can trust her at all. We were already shaky, too."

"That's totally fair," Sun agreed. "I wouldn't blame you if you just don't interact with her at all… and if you want me t-"

"Sun, no," Blake denied as she leaned against the wall opposite him, next to the towel rack. She folded her arms with another heavy sigh, shaking her head. "We need everyone we can get, and… I'll get over it, in time. Her grabbing your junk isn't as damning as her being involved with the attack on Beacon anyway, and I was willing to try to set that aside for everyone's sake. Neo's just gonna be on thin ice for a while."

"Yeah. I'm not going to try to make excuses for her or anything like that," Sun replied. "She knew what she was doing, and being lonely and scared doesn't excuse that. I'd rather just focus on you and me."

"Me too," Blake nodded. "If anything, I'm glad she just went ahead and told me instead of saving this for later. No lies, no games… we all need to trust each other to survive this. If there's any silver lining, I know I can trust you against any sort of temptation."

"Hey, you're the only one that's allowed to touch me like that," Sun offered with a smirk. "Though you're still lagging way, way behind Neptune for the number of times someone's seen me naked. It's like he's got a supernatural power for walking in on people…"

"We should get to fixing that, once you're feeling better," Blake said playfully. "I don't like being in second place."

"No reason we can't get started now," Sun said as he once again got to his feet. "Dunno about you, but I could really use a shower… and someone to lean on in it."

Blake replied by beginning to unbutton her shirt while approaching.

"I think you could probably push up against me and be alright," she said in a husky voice. "And in me, if you'd like."

Sun could feel his pulse quicken as Blake pressed up against him.

"…I don't know about right now, but as soon as I feel better? I'll take you up on that offer."

Author's Note:

Shower sex is awful. Just don't.

For the week of 9/11.

-RD