Oh snap... I'm going to be so late!

The normally hot and stagnant summer air on this day is rather free and cool. A slight breeze kicks up, but not as a result of the wind.

Sun blazes by running along the sidewalk in Vale's commercial district. He's coming all the way from Beacon Academy, where Haven Academy exchange students are staying for the duration of the Vytal Festival. Although a long ways away from his home kingdom of Atlas, he still has integrated classes with the Beacon students. Today is his day off, however.

Normally Sun would be able to sleep in a little longer today. A typical day off goes a little something like this: Wake up just before lunch, meet up with Sage, Scarlet and Neptune, and go to their usual eatery-slash-hangout. The team would swap funny stories while they scarf down some grub, and go back out looking for trouble. They stay out late depending on what trouble they find, or if trouble finds them. After, they find a 24/7 restaurant, preferably one that serves breakfast at all hours of the day, and stay out even later. Sometime around midnight-ish, they return to dorm, bellies full, bravado buffed, minds rested, muscles relaxed and ready to give it their all for the trials of tomorrow. Pretty standard for team SSSN.

But a promise is a promise, something he can't let slide today, even though his teammates might not hold him to it as strictly.

Sun screeches to a halt at the intersection. Go figure traffic is clogged up, and idle pedestrians stand around blocking his path not sure where to go next with their window shopping. An unintentional consequence of the relaxed weather.

Left, no right? Ah forget this...

No one is allowed to engage their aura within city limits unless they have good reason, and jumping across a busy intersection is generally not one of them.

Trying to save time, Sun triggers his aura. No ceremonious bursts of light, or gusts of wind- quiet, same as always. The only difference now is that others around him will be able to feel a gentle warmth emanating from his being. Some people turn in his direction as it is activated.

Using a bit of aura to power his jump, Sun careens across the busy intersection to the opposite corner. Who has time to press buttons and wait for cars to go when it is their turn? Then the lights take forever to change color anyways, right?

Although everyone around Sun knows the rules just as well as he does, they don't seem to mind that he's technically breaking the law.

Sun lands in a crouching position to absorb the momentum of the jump.

A young lady standing at the corner looks at Sun, her eyes fixated on him since his aura registered on her radar. It may be because he made it look effortless as he jumped thirty or so feet into the air. It may because he's wearing his trademark white shirt, popped collar and all. Or it may be those washboard abs of his.

Sun hears a gentle, almost shy "Hello!"

He looks up to see the young lady waving at him. Petite stature, shoulder-length auburn hair, a cute smile, and a bushy tail. Faunus!

"Hey there!" Sun gives a genuine smile and waves back almost as if to say 'sorry.' He continues to run down the street.

If this occurred back in the day, absolutely, but Sun has made a promise: a promise to a special someone.

The pedestrians pay no mind to where Sun would like to go and absentmindedly block his path. And to make matters worse...

"You! Keep your aura off young man!"

Sun glances across the street to see two uniformed cops pointing and hollering in his direction.

Yeeeeeeeup... that's about right.

"And slow down while you're at it!" The cops decide to give chase.

Wait... those aren't the same... from the other day.. really?!

"You're that stowaway from the boat! Get back here kid!"

REALLY?!

Sun will need to deactivate his aura if he is to lose them, but to relax his aura means losing his ability to run faster and jump farther. Flying down the sidewalk, Sun attempts to navigate the maze of window shoppers hampering his progress. The fuzz close in hot on his tail, quite literally.

Sun ducks out of the way and runs down a back alley, but the cops are able to keep up. If Sun is to escape them while keeping his aura on, this will be his chance.

Giving a quick look behind him as he runs, Sun chuckles to himself. Aura powering his next jump, Sun keeps his momentum going as he lands on top of a trash dumpster. Correctly assuming it would give him just enough additional height, Sun leaps again to reach out for the fire escape directly at arm's-length above him. Pulling himself up, he runs to the end of the catwalk, and longjumps across another alley. Grabbing the next-floor's fire escape, he continues to climb until he reaches the top catwalk. Adrenaline still buzzing, Sun jumps high into the air with more than enough leeway to allow for a clean landing on the roof. He quickly turns around, looking every which way, expecting his pursuers to be somewhere in the vicinity.

But the fuzz gave up some time ago. They stand in the middle of the alleyway; one has his arms crossed, and another taps his foot on the ground. Their aviator sunglasses disguise their anguished faces.

Sun notices them down below, and smiles.

"Awww, you guys give up already?"

"We know what you look like kid! We'll find you again!"

Sun waves back with bravado and swagger. "Yeah, good luck with that!" He turns around and dips out.

You'd think that cops would get the same aura-training as Huntsman.

Sun freeruns his way from rooftop to rooftop. A flock of small nimbus clouds glide across the sky in tandem with a constant breeze. A golden light pours down from the vast blue sky, but it's no hotter than seventy degrees F out here. The cool wind invigorates his spirit. Although he is hauling it out running as fast as he can, this is almost relaxing like a form of physical therapy. Before he knows it, he has arrived in the western part of the commercial district.

Peering down from the nameless building he stands on and scanning the roads below, Sun finds the rendezvous. Going for the drainpipe attached to the gutter, Sun grabs on to it. He slides down five or so stories before realizing he probably should've checked to see if the pipe could hold his weight. Sure enough, a grinding metal-on-concrete noise is heard and Sun realizes his error. Reacting on instinct, Sun breaks his descent and kicks off of the wall with all of his might. Reaching out to grab the ledge of a window sill across the way, his aura absorbs the brunt of the impact to keep him from losing grip.

Sun hangs for a couple of seconds as he looks around. It's not much farther down, actually.

He turns around as he releases one hand, which puts his back towards the wall. Five more stories down? He's got this.

Releasing his hold and letting gravity do the rest, Sun keeps his composure as he drops towards the ground. And just like how he did it when he jumped over traffic, Sun lands in a crouching position. Any higher and he might've had to give himself forward momentum by pushing off the wall so he could effectively roll. But then he probably would've ended up smashing into the wall opposite, and he can't dirty himself like that. Not now.

Sun looks at the drain pipe that runs down from the roof to the ground. A giant dent can be seen jutting it out from the wall. Still intact, but not nearly as uniform as it once was. "Eh heh... whoopsies..."

Sun relaxes his aura and grabs a breather. Walking out along the sidewalk, he comes to a stop in front of an antique corner store, "The Cat's Meow." The round clock in the window signals the next hour, showing Sun he arrived literally just in time. The ever persistent wind picks up, and as if on cue he looks up the road.

She walks over in her trademark attire, each step taken with elegant grace. Her long black hair flows in the wind, and the coattails of her vest along with it. Always a Huntress at-the-ready, she did bring her weapon Gambol Shroud, but she made sure to leave out an important detail of her ensemble.

The bow that normally sits atop her head to hide her Faunus heritage has been left out. Sun kept telling himself that he wouldn't stare, but that was a long time ago... yesterday, specifically.

In a casual best-friend attitude, "Hey Blake."

"Hey, Sun." Blake gives a cute little smile.

"Something on your mind?"

"...You were almost late weren't you?" Blake asks quietly.

Sun, a little surprised, "UHH, no, of course not! I was totally here waiting-"

Black quietly cuts him off facetiously, "So whose aura was that coming in this direction just a minute ago?"

"-Ahhhhh... well... alright, you got me."

Blake covers her mouth and laughs quietly to herself. "Sun I'm just messing with you. It's totally okay. I don't mind."

A bit surprised and a bit skeptical, Sun has no words. Blake... not acting serious?! Did I miss something?

"Well, alright then. Ha..."

Sun and Blake begin to walk down the sidewalk once again. Sun has an idea of where he would like to take her, but he hasn't told her yet. It's a bit of a walk anyways. A minute or so of total silence goes by before Sun breaks it, realizing Blake has gone back to her quiet self. He starts conversation and touches on a whole bunch of happenings at school: lessons, exhibition matches, ships, their upcoming post-dance missions... and sure enough, Blake seems full of short closed-ended answers.

The old Sun might have had feelings of defeat creep at the back of his mind, but the new Sun knows this is Blake's style through and through. Nothing will top tag-teaming Roman in battle and stopping his little operation at the docks so long ago, or the good times they had at the school dance recently. He knows the chemistry is there, he just has to coax it out...

"So Blake, have you heard?"

"Hmm?"

"There's a rumor floating around school... about this so-called 'afterparty'?"

"Yang mentioned something about it the other day."

"Oh, you know about it then?"

"I have no clue. I was trying to read."

"...Oh. Well its supposed to be a party held after the Vytal Festival... you know... without any teachers around?"

Blake quirks up, "Is that allowed?"

"Sort of. As long as we're not too noisy. Or we don't destroy things. Or get the cops called on us. ...No. No it's not."

"Ooookay. Well I'm not really up for anything that might get me expelled..."

"You won't get expelled. Coco says its been a student tradition of sorts. The teachers don't know about it. Besides, didn't you like, have a giant food fight once and your headmaster caught you?"

Quick to come up with an excuse, "We were playing with food... we weren't breaking the law." Sun furrows his brow in a playful manner. Blake smiles a bit. "So what do you guys do?"

"Well, Coco and other reliable sources say there's live music. One year The Dust Brothers played, another year Daft Pink, and somehow last year they got Sex Bob-omb... Oh! And we order out for food."

"Everyone gets to order what they want? Would I be able to get tuna?"

"That's my understanding of it, so I'm pretty sure you could. And after we eat, that's when the music takes the stage, and we dance, and some of us-" Sun pauses for a moment. That's definitely a law-breaker.

"...?"

"Well, what else do Hunters do? We have exhibition matches. Coco says tradition is to have the Vytal Festival's champions be the judges for the opening matches, and as a 'best for last' the judges get free reign to challenge anyone they want at the end. Coco says one year the winners picked one fighter each from a different team, and mashed them all together on one. The judges designated them team 'FLCL' and hilarity ensued when they won! The judges got demolished. I wish I was there for that-"

"Hey Sun, who pays for all of this?"

"Ehh- You know, now that I think about it... I'm not so sure."

"Strange, if no students pay for it, how does it take place? But it does sound like fun... I will consider it."

"Okay, cool."

Sun feels a little more comfortable; only a couple of more blocks to go before they arrive at their destination.

Sun has it all planned out. They will walk into the movie theater like any other couple out on a date. Obviously Sun is going to pay for everything, but when they grab tickets, Sun is going to give Blake no chance to speak up as to what she wants to watch... and this is key. He will have bought tickets for the latest macho action flick. As he 'ignores' her protests, he'll casually guide her into the wrong theater on "total accident." This way, either she realizes he is messing with her, or for some reason she actually believes he made a mistake picking out the 'wrong' theater so his male ego would remain intact. Sun is no stump; Blake would probably walk out on the new Spruce Willis movie, but she'll probably like the romance flick that's playing, "A Pirate's Quest for Love"? Sun knows from a very secret and reliable source that Blake reads "Ninjas of Love," so it should work out, right? And speaking of books...

Sun eyes the display stands in the window of the passing bookstore. He laughs to himself.

Blake looks up at him inquisitively with a bit of a smirk, "Everything all right?"

"Yeah... I was just remembering... Neptune and I made a bet which I kinda sorta lost, so he made me read this book..."

"What was it called?"

"Oh dear gods what was the name of it? 'The Swooning Samurai'?'"

"*GASP*! ThefirstlightnovelofthenewseriespennedbythesameauthorofNinjasOfLove?!"

"Uhhh... sure?"

"I've been counting the days until it came out! But I didn't have lien to pre-order, and now that it's actually out, it's too hard to find anywhere..."

"Well, the bookstore we just passed seemed to have copies of them right in the window."

"REALLY!?" Blake's face lights up in sheer happiness as she fangirls all-out.

Blake grabs an unprepared Sun by the arm and bolts for the door of "Green Tea Grimoire."

She calmly opens the wooden door. Immediately her head starts perking in all directions when she enters, as if a million laser pointers intermittently shine on and off to distract her. Books of all kinds line the shelves, and there's a quiet corner for people to read. On the other side of the bookstore a small cafe offers a sanctuary of sorts, with a wide variety of teas and various cakes to choose from.

"Ohmygod I love it! And they have a little cafe too! Sun is this where you wanted to take me?!"

"Uh-"

"AAH! There it is!"

Blake bolts over to the bookstand by the window with many minted copies of the newest "The Swooning Samurai." Sun stands by himself for a second in total disbelief before clasping his hands together, looking up at the ceiling, and mouthing the words, "Thank you."

Blake picks up a copy and starts sifting through the pages, and comes across the interspersed full-color pictures. Like a kid in a candy store.

"Sun, Neptune made you read this?"

"Well, yeah..."

"What did you think of it?"

"Weeeeeell, not bad for a romance novel... I liked how it opened with an action sequence-"

Blake cuts him off and points a stern finger. "NO SPOILERS."

"Whoa! Easy there Blake, point taken!" Sun puts his hands up in defense. "Like I said, it was alright... it had good action... and it never got too wishy-washy."

Blake frowns a little sarcastically. "Wishy-washy?"

Sun misses the hint, and returns a haphazard excuse. "Hey! I don't read romance on my days off you know... I lost a bet! And I swear, I think I was cheated, but it's too late now..."

Gah, what was Neptune's proposal again? "Let's flip a coin, heads I win, tails you lose" or something like that?

Blake quietly laughs to herself again, "Sun it's funny getting a rise out of you."

Sun's jaw drops slightly as if he's about to say something else before suggesting, "Whyyyy don't we grab some tea."

Yeah... skipping the movie theater for sure.

Blake walks over and grabs a small table for two. Sun casually sits down.

Blake's ears seem to almost twitch at the sound of the calming music playing over the speakers.

"Wow... Sun, they're playing 'The Poem for Everyone's Souls.' I love this song."

Sun smiles. Not since the dance has Blake seemed this radiant and full of energy. It's almost like she's found a second home of sorts.

Time seems to melt off the clock as people come and go, but Sun and Blake eat, drink and converse in their steady little center of the universe. Turns out Sun reads more often than he says he does but makes it a point that romance is "practically nonexistent." Blake likes a lot of deep-thinking, existential novels that often try to address the question of "why are we here." Sun seems to think there is a deeper reason as to why she likes romance too...

"Wow, Sun, how long have we been here? Shop is closing in five minutes."

"You're kidding right? It's that late already?"

"Sadly."

Sun pays the pair's tab, and he tips generously.

"Hey Blake, I was totally going to buy 'The Swooning Samurai,' but I ran out of money. Can I let you borrow Neptune's?"

Blake is smitten with joy. "Oh, of course! Thank you."

"For sure!"

Sun holds the door open for her as they exit. A spectrum of red, orange and gold beams keep the final minutes of daylight alive before the falling of night. Sun gets an idea.

"Hey Blake, while we have a few minutes before night time... whaddya say to a race back to Beacon?"

She chuckles a little. "That's kinda... random."

"Well, when I run along the rooftops, it feels... liberating. Care to join me?"

"So that's how you made it here on time." Sun smiles mischievously as a response.

Blake locks eyes with him and smiles back. Jabbing at Sun's ego with a bit of feminine swagger, "Sure Sun... you're on. I'll break the law with you."

Sun turns and bolts. Blake follows quickly behind. Returning to the alley he used to get here, Sun triggers his aura and jumps from catwalk to catwalk before landing on the rooftop. The familiar shot of Gambol Shroud breaks the silence and digs its way into the concrete edge of the roof with help from Blake's aura. Retracting the ribbon as she runs up the side of the building, she side-hops from the wall to the guardrail of a catwalk. Freeing the embedded weapon from the concrete, Blake powers her aura into a jump and makes a graceful frontflip to join Sun on the building's summit.

Sun leads the way for now, but a source of warm energy gradually makes its way next to him. Blake winks at Sun, and as if she's been holding back until now, takes off. Not to be outdone, Sun taps into his aura like Blake in order to keep up. Moving at a pace that would leave all human sprinters in the dust, the Faunus pair fly along the rooftops. A fading golden light illuminates the way.

With every jump over a gap between buildings, Blake notices the blissful ignorance of the population below. No one seems to notice the pair leaping from one rooftop to the next; not even the cops patrolling the streets pay any attention.

After some time moving across the commercial district towards Beacon, nightfall is upon them. The moon is much more visible from behind the clouds; part of its broken face shines down sadly towards Remnant.

Sun moves along the front walk towards Beacon's courtyard statue. As he closes in on the finish line, he thinks he lost Blake at the last minute. Having been running this entire time, Sun comes to a halt at the statue to catch his breath. A small run like that certainly wouldn't exhaust him, but he's definitely going to sleep a little better than usual. A quiet voice floats across the darkness of night.

"You thought you won, didn't you?" Blake says as she quietly steps out from behind the statue.

"Ehhh- What?! How the-"

Must've been her shadow that I passed at the last minute...

Blake approaches Sun. His heart flutters a bit with every step that Blake takes closer. He can't help but notice that she has moved right up next to him.

"Was there a prize for this contest? What do I win?" Blake pokes her finger at Sun's arm.

Sun wasn't prepared for this. How is he supposed to keep up his 'cool' exterior now? Neptune's lessons can't even help him here. Unless...

"Your prize is... well... it's a secret." Sun shrugs nonchalantly. "You'll just have to follow me."

"It's not another race to buy time to think of something, is it?"

"Haha, Blake, you are killing me! But seriously, I do have something to show you."

Sun puts a hand on her back as if to guide her along and Blake makes no motion to reject him. She playfully goes along with it.

Aura still on, Sun jumps into the nearest tree, climbs to the top, and vaults to reach the surface of one of the many archways that decorate the Beacon courtyard. Blake follows. He walks along the narrow path leading him to the rooftop of the entrance building to Beacon. Sun's done this a million times since coming to Beacon, and so it only takes him a few minutes to reach Beacon's highest spire with Blake in tow.

The top of the spire is a wide open space of sorts, supported by columns around its circumference. In the center of the tower reside numerous light-green spheres that glow bright enough to be seen from a distance. Headmaster Ozpin's office sits directly below them, but they know he's long since retired to sleep.

"This is so high up but... I feel so free up here."

"I know right? The view up here is amazing. Step over here for a second..."

So as not to let the green hue drown out what they can see in the night sky, Sun and Blake step behind one of the many support columns.

Blake remains silent as she takes in the sights. She can view all of Vale, and even out to sea. Walking along the edge of the tower, she is able to see the gardens, the dorms and of course the courtyard statue. Walking even further they can see what lies out towards the East: the Beacon Cliffs, the Emerald Forest, and vast expanses of unknown territory.

The pair decide to give their feet a rest, and take a seat with their backs resting against one of the columns. The clouds have cleared, leaving an endless open sky populated by brightly shining stars. The broken moon is visible from this side of the tower as well.

Between the racing and the climbing, it's nice to finally grab a breather. Sun lets the silence persist; no longer does it feel awkward not to talk. Sometimes a couple are so comfortable with one another they don't need to say anything; they just need to stay close and enjoy each other's presence.

Sun glances up towards the infinite evening sky. Blake looks up too.

"What's on your mind Sun?" Blake is as perceptive as ever.

"I wonder how the moon ended up like that."

"Some say that the moon is made of dust."

"So like, pieces broke off and fell to Remnant?"

"I guess you could say that. Some argue we would not be constantly at war with each other if dust didn't exist."

"So the dust is a test of sorts. It gives us all of this power, yeah, but do we choose to marvel at our creations, wallow in our own universe and argue amongst ourselves, or do we choose to acknowledge the dangers at our doorstep and fight them off together?"

An expression of surprise flashes across Blake's face. "Sun, that was surprisingly deep for a guy like you."

"Ha, what's that supposed to mean? I'm just saying what's on my mind. You know, it kind of ties in with why I want to be a Huntsman. It kind of scares me. Why do we argue and fight over trivial rules when at any time, a flock of titan Nevermores could come by and just start raining down terror on people in the streets? Do we care at all? Is dust going to distract us, or empower us...? Why do creeps like Roman-" Sun stops mid-sentence.

He glances over at Blake. "Sorry. I got a little carried away."

"No, its okay... I understand. It's frustrating. Humans hold all of the cards and seem more bent on dictating the rules of who survives rather than figuring out how all of us survive. And it angers me even more that a human like Roman uses misguided Faunus simply as his plaything. They're united for all of the wrong reasons."

Blake's aura flares a little as she clenches her fist. Sun tries to cheer her up.

"Hey... remember at the docks, when we stopped his operation?"

Blake relaxes, and smiles a little. "I remember well."

"Remember when we tag-teamed him, and knocked him flat on his back?"

"Yeah... good times."

"We make a good fighting pair, you think?"

The last of Blake's anger melts away in that statement, but she doesn't answer with words. Instead, she slides her hand along and places it within Sun's.

She looks down, as does Sun. "Whoops, that's a bit... awkward."

Sun releases in order to remove his leather arm guard.

Almost hesitantly, he guides his hand to resume holding Blake's. She rests her head on his shoulder. Sun cuddles his right next to hers.

Ecstasy.

"Hey Blake?"

"Yes?"

Sun takes a moment to try and find the right words. "...I admire you because you're strong... and I want to be there in case you fall. ERRR, like, I mean... you're not weak. Not by a long shot. I just meant that, I think even the strong need help every now and then."

"I understand Sun." Blake smiles at his flustered words. "My mentor used to say only the weak need help... and it's up to us to be strong in order to fend for ourselves..."

"Well, sometimes when I take a look around, I see that the strong tend to fall a lot harder. And if you're by yourself, it's that much harder to get back up. I know you and team RWBY watch each other's backs, but just know I'll be there to catch you too... just in case."

Blake interlocks her fingers with Sun's, and holds on tight.

"Thank you."

There's no place Sun would rather be now. In the dead of night, they sit perched atop the tallest landmark for miles. The serene nightscape is undisturbed by the breeze that flows by. It might be close to midnight now, but he could care less. If only this moment could last forever...

Blake and Sun continue to hold hands as they climb down from the tower. The moonlight provides more than enough glow to show them the way to the dorm; they are Faunus, after all. As if Blake knew Sun's intentions already, she goes towards the tall tree next to the dorm rather than the front door. They climb up five stories, and sure enough, the window to RWBY's dorm is wide open.

The wind hasn't stopped blowing, so Blake and Sun stand on the sturdiest of branches. Blake has her arms around Sun's waist, and his around her shoulders. Each holds the other close. Neither wants to let go.

"I'll see you at school tomorrow; Haven students are going to have a shot at exhibition matches in Goodwitch's training class before all of us ship out for our missions."

"What happens if we get paired to fight each other?" Blake smiles amused at the idea.

"On the off chance that we do..." A wry smile creeps across Sun's face. "I'm going to give it everything I've got."

Blake pulls Sun a little closer as if to challenge his proposal. "Then I shall as well."

Their flirtatious smirks fade away as Blake looks up and her eyes meet with Sun's. Ever since they first crossed paths they've made time for each other; since their excursion at the docks, and then recently the school dance party. They lean in, and their lips meet for a passionate moment of fiery bliss. As they release, their eyes lock once more.

The wind rustles the leaves as they savor the moment in each other's arms.

"See you tomorrow?"

"See you tomorrow."

Slowly, reluctantly, the young couple let each other go. Sun watches as Blake traverses to the end of the branch, and jumps to the window. As she holds onto the frame to steady herself, she looks behind her, smiling, and delicately waves goodnight. Sun smiles, and waves back in casual 'bro' style. Blake disappears into her dorm room, and Sun turns around to go back to his.

Sun slides down the tree in a lovestruck daze. When his feet meet the ground he quietly laughs to himself as he walks away. He turns around to see RWBY's dorm light on, and he swears he hears Ruby herself scream in delight.

"AAAAAAHHHH! Ohmygodohmygodohmygodohmygodohmygod ! So, how did it go?!"