Sun let out a wistful sigh and closed his eyes, basking in the feeling of his namesake as he sat alone on the roof of the Branwen summer home. There was a gentle, intermittent breeze that carried errant sounds from the city below and brought gusts of warm air all around him. It was a pleasant feeling against his exposed skin as he sat there shirtless, totally uncaring what anyone who might be able to see him from the streets might think. While he had initially climbed the house to keep an eye out for Yang making her way back, Sun had eventually given up on that pursuit and taken to trying to meditate once again. The process was more difficult than he remembered while alone… especially when it was interrupted by an odd scrabbling sound from just beneath the roof.

Upon opening his eyes, Sun saw a pair of hands curled around the edge of the rooftop, near where the balcony he had used to climb up would be. Though he couldn't tell who was coming to visit him at first, Sun quickly figured it out as he watched the figure struggle to pull himself up and over the edge. The faunus quickly got to his feet and walked toward the edge of the roof in an awkward crouch, offering a hand as he looked on in worry.

"You sure you can make it up here…?"

"I'll… manage…" Corsac answered as he seized Sun's forearm and used it to hoist himself over the edge. The man was breathing hard and looked to be in a bit of pain as he made it up onto the roof, his bandaged chest heaving with far more effort than would usually be expected. Corsac more or less collapsed onto all fours as he pulled his dangling leg over the edge and paused for a moment to catch his breath. "My thanks…"

"Really hope you didn't just reopen any wounds coming up here," Sun considered as he moved to sit back in his original position. "You could've just sent a text…"

"Perhaps… but I wanted to speak to you alone, out of earshot of the others," Corsac explained as he got to his feet. Slowly and carefully, the man moved to sit beside Sun and look out at the midday sky. "There is much that has gone unsaid for too long between us."

Sun blinked twice before looking over at the man with a bit of confusion.

"Oh yeah…?"

"First and foremost… I do not believe I ever properly thanked you for pulling me out of the ocean," Corsac began as he returned Sun's look with a calm one of his own. "You quite literally saved my life. Seeing you as I have the past few months, I firmly believe that you would have dived into freezing water to save almost anyone… but you had every right to simply throw me back overboard once you realized who I was. The fact that you didn't says much about your character. I owe you a great deal, in a way that I do not believe I've acknowledged outright."

"None of us owes each other anything," Sun said dismissively as he waved a hand. "As far as I'm concerned, we're basically a weird little family at this point. I'm not interested in keeping track of favors or putting debts on people, whether it's you, or Neo, or even Emerald. What matters is that we're all in this for the right reasons and fighting on the same side. Besides- even if we were playing that game, you've more than made up for the past, man."

"Have I?" Corsac asked. "I would like to think so, but in truth… that potential debt hasn't been on my mind for quite some time, now. Everything around us has been moving so quickly that my focus has been entirely on what is in front of me and what lies ahead, with little room for the past. It is… freeing, but also feels somewhat irresponsible. That is part of what prompted me to seek you out- that feeling of needing to make sure that the past is indeed settled. Even if I cannot make up for my time with the White Fang in the eyes of some, I needed you to know that I appreciate being saved, and that you have my loyalty to the end. You are a far better leader than Adam ever was."

"And I appreciate that, more than I can say," Sun acknowledged with a smile. "You're a great ally to have around, Corsac. You've got valuable insight, you're good in a fight, and you're, uh… really thoughtful, in ways that I wasn't expecting at all. On that note, thanks for the… you know. Condoms. Blake figured it out immediately, despite our best efforts to hide the box…"

"I had a feeling that she might," Corsac replied as he laid back and folded his arms behind his head to look up at the sky. "Is she alright? I expected her to be up here with you."

"Yeah, she just… wanted to take a nap and try to recharge," Sun explained as his tail flicked behind him. "I knew I wouldn't be able to get any sleep, so I came up here. How'd you find me, by the way?"

"Neo saw you climb up," Corsac answered. "She's in the back yard, training. I went and asked her after spending some time alone with Jaune."

"And how is he?" Sun asked. "I figured you would follow him and check in, after everything we saw."

"And so I did," Corsac confirmed. "He is… surprisingly stable and grounded, at the moment. Enough so that we spent more time enjoying each other's company than discussing the vision."

"Enjoying each other's company meaning like…" Sun started, unsure what he was trying to ask or even why. His mind told him to back off immediately, but he knew it was too late. "…you know…"

"Physically," Corsac confirmed. "It would seem that the two of us and Yang are formally entering into a three-way relationship. Not something I would have seen coming or even thought of mere weeks ago, but… it feels strangely… comforting."

"Then hey. That's all that matters," Sun reassured. "I'm happy for you guys, and you shouldn't feel the need to explain yourselves to anyone, including me. Do what makes sense for you and helps you get through all of this."

"I shall… and you have my thanks," Corsac said with a nod. "Perhaps this entanglement is not ideal for productivity, given the circumstances… but I am not about to complain, either. I, too, have my limits as to how much I can focus on the task at hand at any given time."

"Could've fooled me," Sun said with a shrug before laying back to copy Corsac's pose. "You really seem like you've got your shit together, maybe more than anyone else here. What's your secret?"

Corsac stared up at the clouds overhead, taking some time to consider the question. It wasn't something he had ever really thought about before- much like Sun, he had always attributed his approach to life toward just 'doing things' based on what felt right at the time. Upon reflection, though, he found that there was in fact more to it.

"I believe the key lies in being open to change," Corsac said slowly as he worked through the explanation in his own mind. "Change, largely by way of advice. For quite some time, I saw myself as committed to a singular path and thought that only through complete and total dedication would any progress be made. I was… a zealot, I suppose. Not merely in the White Fang, either, though that is what you are familiar with. It was my entire approach to life itself. Choose a cause. Commit. Charge forward."

"…I've been guilty of that," Sun admitted. "It usually didn't end well. Almost got me killed once or twice back in Kuo Kuana."

"More than you know," Corsac said ominously. "It is an easy path to go down… and it is just as easy to go too far down it before realizing you are lost. Since your rescue of me, I have been trying to take a step back and almost remove myself from situations until I feel I am needed, or called upon. I defer to you, Jaune, and Yang for advice and insight, and I am finding that life has been coming more easily since making that choice. There is much less stress involved."

Sun sat up again, bending his knees and resting his arms atop them as he pulled a face.

"…is this your way of telling me that I need to be more careful and start listening to you guys more when it comes to our mission?"

"…what?" Corsac asked as he slowly rose to give Sun a quizzical look. "Where did such an idea come from?"

"Lack of sleep, constant overthinking, and what I'm beginning to think might be an undiagnosed anxiety disorder," Sun said truthfully. "Back there in the vision, it just seemed so immediately obvious to you guys that I was focusing on the wrong things."

"You refer to your concern for Jinn and her situation?" Corsac asked.

"Yeah. And… the way I kept interrupting things, asking questions that went nowhere, looking for details that didn't help… and after all this, I'm finding myself stuck on thinking about the Maidens. Especially Astrid and Fiorella, their relationship… none of that matters at all, but I can't really get it over it. They're dead, Corsac. Salem didn't care about either of them at all, all she wanted was revenge. It's a waste of time and energy to try to figure out their family dynamics any further than that, but I don't know what else to focus on or look for in everything we got."

"Well, fortunately, there was something like 20 of us watching," Corsac pointed out. "So in that regard… yes, you should slow down and seek our perspective more. Though we all see you as our leader, the task of determining how we proceed does not necessarily fall squarely upon your shoulders. That is the approach that Ironwood was taking until very recently."

The point hit Sun like a brick to the head, and he physically flinched upon hearing it.

"…yeah. Yeah, it was. I was starting to worry enough about what he might do that backup plans were getting discussed about what we should do if we had to cut ties…"

"I am aware. We are here for at least the remainder of the day and tomorrow morning. Have faith that in that time, someone will have an idea to assist with the journey forward. Even if such a thing does not come to pass, we have several immediate objectives- get to Vacuo, meet with Professor Gumo, and protect the Sword of Destruction."

"You've got an interesting way of making things sound so simple," Sun pointed out as he stood up into a stretch. "Maybe… they should be. Maybe that's the way to play this. Just keep my head down and keep going, but be ready to change course and listen for advice from all of you. That's what I've been trying to do all along, though."

"And we are all still here because of it," Corsac encouraged. "My best advice at the moment would be to stop thinking you've done something wrong, Sun. While you may have approached the edge here and there, you have yet to fall off and drag any of us over the side. Be proud of your track record, rather than wary of what could have been."

"Thanks," Sun offered. "That… actually means a lot, coming from you. I'm glad to have you here with us."

"And there is nowhere else I would rather be," Corsac replied with a nod. "It is something I long thought unfamiliar, to be fighting for a righteous cause alongside friends. Though now that I have that- and more- I have even more reason to fight to defend those things."

"And I don't know about you, but… I've got a lot of fight left in me," Sun boasted. "No matter how anxious I get. We're not going down easily."

"We're not going down at all," Corsac insisted as he stood up beside Sun. "I have faith that we will find a way to end this conflict in our favor. What we have amongst our group is something that Salem was clearly lacking back then, and shows no sign of having now."

"You've got that right," Sun agreed. "She's got no idea what she's in for."

Author's Note:

About time these two had a small moment together.

-RD