Blake sat almost perfectly still, her muscles as tense and as they had ever been and her feline ears held back against her skull as Sun ran his fingers gently along her scalp. The entire sides and back of her hair had been shaved down to a buzz cut, allowing her partner to stroke directly at the skin beneath. Atop her head was a small arrangement of two-inch spikes combed forward in a drastic alteration to her normal style. The lack of the weighty sensation of hair upon the back of her neck made Blake feel almost naked… as did the two pairs of eyes looking her over as if they had never seen her before.
"Holy shit, Blake…" Sun said in disbelief as he drew his hand back. After but a moment, he smiled wide and Blake feared the worst until he spoke again. "You look super cute…"
"Really?" Blake asked, the tension not quite dissolving yet as she looked over to Yang. "I-I mean, I like it, but…"
"He's not lying," Yang confirmed, looking amused with her hand on her hip. "It's very… I don't know what to call it. Trendy? Modern? You did this because of how fucking adorable Ilia looks with her shorter hair, didn't you?"
"Not entirely," Blake replied, running a hand through her shortened locks. "That was part of it, yeah, but I just wanted… change. And to not be bogged down by a ton of dark hair out in the desert. This should make it a little easier not to overheat. Maybe you should consider something similar."
"No," Yang denied without a second thought. "I'm never cutting my hair until it becomes a literal problem. Any of it."
"…let's see those armpits," Sun joked as he sat down on the mattress next to Blake.
Yang rolled her eyes and shook her head.
"…fine. I shave my pits and legs. That's it."
Sun's mind immediately brought forward a question that he knew he shouldn't ask. Given how Blake was looking at him sideways, she was thinking much the same thing before a subtle buzz from Sun's pocket caught her attention.
"Scroll."
"Got it," Sun announced as he took out the small device and checked the screen. His smile grew wider as he read the familiar name on display. "Well, well, it's about time, now that we have a moment all to ourselves…"
Neptune sat on the edge of the hospital bed, bouncing his leg impatiently as he waited for the call to connect. He had absolutely no idea how long he'd slept, but it hadn't seemed to do him much good at all. His stomach was churning, his head hurt, and he still felt incredibly heavy with the knowledge of everything going on down in Mantle, up in Atlas, over in Argus, and wherever else his friends had been scattered to. The knowledge that Sun was safe from the faunus' earlier text message caused Neptune to delay calling him and check in on Ilia instead. There had been no answer, and the lack of communication had filled his chest with dread as he tried Sun. The line rang for longer than he would've liked, only for a popup to request a video call instead.
"Weird…" Neptune said softly as he pressed the button, causing a pair of faunus to pop up onscreen with Yang sitting behind them on a bed. "Hey! Who… Blake?"
"Salem had a lawnmower grimm, and I got tangled up in it," Blake explained quickly. "Sun barely pulled me out in time."
"Well, that grimm has taste," Neptune praised as he ran a hand through his own hair. "Looks almost like mine, just a bit shorter."
Neptune watched as Yang happily clapped her hands together from behind the couple and Blake's face fell in realization.
"It does look like his!" Yang announced. "I knew I'd seen it somewhere before, and you totally look like Neptune, just less… bro-y."
"I don't look like Neptune!" Blake cried, putting her face in her hands. "The top is way shorter!"
"I dunno, Blake, you know what they say about imitation…" Neptune said happily as he got up off the bed and strode toward the door of the hospital room, taking the scroll with him. "Really, though, it looks good on you. Either way, it's good to see you again. I… kinda miss hanging out with you."
Blake finally dropped her hands to her thighs and let out a sigh, giving Neptune a nod.
"Me too. We'll get back there again someday, I'm sure of it. Just make us the godparents of the tons of kids you plan on having with Amaya."
"…tell me about this Amaya," Sun added as he looked at Neptune expectantly. "Who's that?"
It was Neptune's turn to feel embarrassed as he poked his head out into the hall. He found the space entirely bare in stark contrast to how the day had begun. No one was rushing back and forth toward an emergency, which was nice… but he also had no idea where the others were, or what his supposed role in Atlas was to become.
"She's… Black Claw," Neptune said slowly as he looked back to the screen, unable to fight off his goofy smile. "Little bit older, little bit more… intense than I am. We kinda hit it off back in Kuo Kuana, did some training and hunts together, and she's… dude, she's gorgeous. Doesn't mince words, either. Keeps me in line."
"What kind of gorgeous?" Yang asked, leaning forward between Sun and Blake. "Spill. Got any pics to send us?"
"Uh…" Neptune started with a nervous laugh, scratching the back of his head. "You know, she's… kinda goth? Blood-control Semblance."
"Holy shit, tell me she has huge tits," Yang said excitedly.
"They're pretty big," Blake confirmed. "I look flat by comparison."
"You're not flat," Sun reassured. "Not that there's anything wrong with being flat, but… you know, I love your boobs."
"Sun!" Blake balked, swatting the other faunus on his shoulder.
"What? We're all friends here! And yeah, dude, you've got to send us some pics," Sun demanded.
"I will, I will!" Neptune relented. "But really guys, I… don't know if it's gonna work out. We have no idea when we'll see each other again, and I'm not sure if she was just… kinda leading me on for fun while I was in Kuo Kuana? She's way, way out of my league…"
"Dude, don't say that," Sun offered with complete sincerity as he leaned closer to the holographic screen. "You're one of the kindest, most loyal, supportive people I know, and you've got the looks. As far as being out of your league, you had Weiss gunning for you for quite a while… and that honestly might've worked out if this whole war hadn't taken off and you'd been separated."
"Yeah, I guess…" Neptune said, not quite sounding convinced. "But I… listen, can we table that for a second? I can't get through to Ilia. Is she okay?"
"Last I heard, she's fine," Sun answered. "Making her way to… somewhere or other. She found Winter and Robyn, and she has everything under control. We should probably both keep trying though, just to make sure."
"Got it," Neptune said with a sigh of relief. "I really miss her, honestly. We didn't know each other long, but she was a lot of f-"
A sudden knock on the doorframe caused Neptune to jump a bit and whirl in place. Coco Adel stood waiting, looking exhausted with her head down. She wore only her rumpled designer shirt and black pants, her accessories and sunglasses completely absent. Not a word was said as she waited for Neptune to end the call.
"…I gotta run," Neptune said apologetically. "Things are happening. I'll keep you posted."
"We'll call again tomorrow, and try Ilia next," Blake reassured. "We love you, Neptune. Don't forget that."
"We do," Sun echoed. "Take care, man."
"…I love you guys, too," Neptune replied before ending the call. With a sigh, he looked over to Coco, feeling a bit tense. "You okay?"
"I'm really, really not," Coco said flatly, not bothering to look up. "Spent a long time with Taiyang, talking about Ruby. Went from there to Cardin to keep him distracted through some minor surgery. Stopped in to see Fox, and… nothing. Just, nothing. Ironwood found me there. I wish I could say I came here because I give a fuck and I just wanted to see how you're doing, but I'm really here to deliver news. You, me, Taiyang, Raven, Cardin, the Aces, Cinnamon, and Daisuke are meeting with Ironwood tomorrow morning. He wants to map out a path forward and decide what to do with the population of Mantle… and the lamp."
"…I still barely know about the lamp," Neptune admitted as he took a seat on the edge of the hospital bed. "All of this is so overwhelming…"
"I didn't even know about Salem until… days ago," Coco considered as she looked up. "A week? Maybe not even, or a little more? I'm losing track of everything. It's all spiraling out of control, and I'm starting to feel like in the grand scheme of things, what I do doesn't matter. This feels… I feel like I did in year one, before 'CFVY' was a team of minor celebrities. Shit got bad, Neptune, and we were just good at hiding it. After becoming more vulnerable, I don't think I can hide it this time. I… I need help."
Neptune watched Coco's posture slouch, as though the admission was physically painful for her. Slowly, the younger hunter rose and closed the distance before offering Coco a hug, which she practically fell into.
"Hey, it's cool," Neptune tried as he gave the slightly older huntress a squeeze. "We've all got our breaking points, and if… I dunno, if Sun fell into a coma, or Ilia, or Sage, I'd be a total wreck, too. I think, once we've got a solid plan hashed out with Ironwood tomorrow, this'll all get a little easier. You'll feel like you have a place again, and so will I."
"Will we?" Coco asked as she took a step back and adjusted her hair. "I've been thinking, and… you, me, Cardin? We're Academy students. Second and third year, not even on a functional team, among actual celebrity hunters who earned their titles. Neptune, we're dead weight. There's a good chance we're not going to be given shit to do, and excuses as to why we should shut up and stay put."
Neptune shivered at the suggestion, his expression turning quite serious.
"…we're not letting that happen. I'm not letting that happen. Sun wanted me here for a reason. He said I have a… big heart and level head, I think? It was a little weird, but when he said it, I believed it. I'll take care of us, Coco. All of us."
Coco heaved a sigh, not looking particularly convinced as she began to pace.
"I appreciate the sentiment, but what's the play if Ironwood tells us to fuck off? Or worse? We can be as optimistic and believe in our abilities as much as we want, but if he says 'no', we're pretty much hosed."
"No, we're not," Neptune protested. "If that happens, we… Qrow went to Sanus, right? To be Raven's anchor? We have her send us to Beacon and make ourselves useful there. Hell, maybe we should do that anyway. You said Sanus is a warzone now, isn't it?"
Coco abruptly came to a stop, staring straight at Neptune as though she was seeing him for the first time. Suddenly, she seemed much more awake despite the bags under her eyes and her slouchy posture.
"It is, but I'll do you one better- we volunteer to make ourselves useful to not just Ironwood… but Qrow. Sun. Whoever needs us, whenever. We become a portal-based strike team, getting deployed around Remnant as extra muscle as needed. Someone's running an op in Sanus? We're available. Need an area cleared of grimm in Vacuo? We're on it. If Ironwood might take us off the board… we take ourselves off the board first, get the hell out of his way, and do our own thing. How's that sound?"
"That sounds… great, actually," Neptune praised. "Really, really great. Would also allow you to see Yatsuhashi and Velvet again and get back on your feet. I could pop in on Sun from time to time… I think this is the winning move. Coco, you're a genius."
"And I haven't even had coffee all damned day," she said bitterly. "Think I'm gonna go fix that now, actually. Care to come with? Get to know each other a little better?"
"Hell yeah," Neptune agreed as the pair headed for the door. "And hey- when Fox wakes up?"
"…yeah?" Coco asked as they made their way into the hall.
"Team CNAC," Neptune declared. "You know, like… 'knack.' Because we're so naturally skilled and we'll pick this up without breaking a sweat."
Coco couldn't help but roll her eyes… and crack a slight smile for the first time in hours.
"…you're ridiculous…"
Author's Note:
Since I've been asked directly multiple times, in terms of Smut You Stole- yes, Sun/Blake's first time will be a chapter. You can expect it to come along with WYS 300 in a few months, as the "milestone" for that.
-RD