They realized that they were going off to war after just one more day. No one would probably care about broken benches and brick paths in the courtyard by then. Each of them felt a wrenching pain in their chest at the thought of not coming back to Beacon Academy but they shook it off a moment later. They had to. Then the training resumed in the courtyard until everyone had a chance to fight everyone else. They only broke one bench.

“So how was your walk?” Yoona asked Yuri and Jessica who has already sat down on one of the surviving benches to rest.

The two looked at each other and shrugged, knowing that what happened earlier by the lake should be between them and them alone. “Oh nothing much,” Jessica said. “We just talked. And we dealt with things that we should’ve dealt with weeks ago.”

Yoona opened to comment but decided that she would keep her thoughts to herself. It would’ve been inappropriate for her to say that one of the things that her teammates didn’t deal with long before was their drive. Still, she couldn’t help but smirk knowingly at them, which caught Yuri’s attention.

“You and Seohyun were out there too! What were you two doing, hm?” Yuri asked, slightly proud of herself for diverting everyone’s attention to her dongsaengs.

“We go there frequently, actually,” Seohyun answered. “Mostly just to play around.”

Yuri’s eyes widened, thinking to herself that Seohyun could have meant ‘play around’ as something more… mature. Maybe because she and Jessica were also ‘playing around’ at the same spot earlier.

Jessica noticed that something had distracted Yuri. She had idea about what it could be but she kept it to herself, worried that she might say something incriminating. “Strange. I thought you and Yoona just spent all of your time in your dorm room,” she said instead.

“Not really,” Seohyun answered. “If we were there all the time, that would mean having Taeyeon unnie watch our every move. We need our alone time too, you know?” She turned to Taeyeon with a wide smile. “No offense, unnie.”

“The offense would be being forced to watch you two make out on the bed just across from mine,” Taeyeon replied. Then she stuck her tongue out, faking disgust. “So thank you for not doing those things in the same room where I sleep.”

Yoona released a breath that she was holding. She started to worry when Seohyun revealed that they were frequenting the lakefront but it actually went better than she expected.

“Okay, hold up!” Krystal raised a hand and then pointed at Yuri and Jessica. “Don’t think that you two can get away with having secret walks and not telling us. I think we deserve to know.”

“Yeah!” Tiffany chimed in. “I wanna see the fruits of my labor!”

“Your what?” Jessica asked with a raised eyebrow.

Tiffany saw the others staring at her, waiting for an explanation. “Uh, nothing. That was nothing. I just wanted to see if there’s a chance that Yuwree will choose me over Jessi. You know, after all of my efforts to get close to her… and stuff.”

Sooyoung and Hyoyeon each did a facepalm, concerned that Yuri and Jessica would see right through Tiffany’s pathetic excuse for an explanation.

“Well, just so you can sleep better at night, Tiff,” Jessica started to say, “Yuri and I are already dating. So feel free to stop flirting with her. Scratch that. Just stop flirting with her.” Jessica clung to Yuri’s arm and pulled her close with the intention of rubbing their relationship in Tiffany’s face to get back at her.

“That’s just dating,” Tiffany replied. “It doesn’t mean that you guys are or exclusive or whatever. Yuwree can still change her mind, right?” She threw a wink at Yuri and an eye-smile to tease.

Yuri felt Jessica’s hold on her arm tighten and she was amused by how jealous Jessica could get.

“Sheesh, Tippany!” Taeyeon pressed a palm to her forehead and sighed. “They said they’re already dating and you’re still trying to get in between them?”

“I think Fany has a point,” Sooyoung said with a raised finger. “If these two are just dating then it’s totally fair for Fany to keep flirting with Yul, right Hyo?”

Hyoyeon nodded. She and Sooyoung hid snickers when they saw Yuri grimace. They didn’t mean to add fuel to the fire. They just wanted to push the new couple to admit their real relationship status because they learned from experience – a whole lot of it – that Yuri and Jessica could be pretty damn stubborn about admitting things.

“Oh fine,” Jessica said with a roll of her eyes. “We made it official this morning. Happy now?”

Sooyoung and Hyoyeon did a high-five and cheered.

“Very,” Sooyoung said while Hyoyeon gave Yuri and Jessica a thumbs-up.

“Unnies~! Finally!” Yoona pumped a fist in the air and almost did a cartwheel. “So that’s what you did on your – quote and quote – walk.” She saw Jessica roll her eyes again but it was followed by a smile that Yuri matched.

“Congratulations, unnies,” Seohyun added with a smile. She slipped her fingers in between Yoona’s to make sure Yonna would stay put. She knew how excited her girlfriend could get about these things.

“I am totally okay with you being my sister-in-law, Yuri unnie,” Krystal said with a nudge. “Just don’t be in a rush to make me an aunt, okay?”

Yuri nudged Krystal back and quickly whispered into her ear: “Only if you keep that promise of yours.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Krystal replied, unaware that Jessica was listening/

“Well, there you have it, Tippany,” Taeyeon said with a pat on Tiffany’s back. “They’re officially a couple. Now will you stop flirting with Yuri?”

“Awww… It’s too bad that Jessi got to Yuwree first.” Tiffany watched the couple snuggle up to each other and exaggerated a pout, purposely ignoring what Taeyeon said, causing the latter to leave the conversation without a word.

Sensing trouble brewing as it usually does when Tiffany teases Jessica about Yuri like this, the others discreetly transferred to the other benches to prevent themselves from becoming collateral damage.

“Told you she has a legit crush on you,” Jessica whispered into Yuri’s ear even though she knew that Tiffany was still watching.

“Don’t worry. I’m all yours,” Yuri whispered back with a hand covering the side of and part of Jessica’s cheek. She pressed a quick kiss to it, meriting a tiny giggle from Jessica.

“Just you wait, Jessi!” Tiffany said as she scooted over and hooked a leg onto Yuri’s. “Once you make a wrong move, I’ll snatch Yuwree away from you. For sure, this time! And Yuwree~ You’re more than welcome to come to me when Jessi’s being a bad girl.”

“Yeah, yeah. We’ll keep that in mind, Tiff. Can you please just get off of Yuri now?” Jessica pushed Tiffany’s leg off of Yuri’s and poked Tiffany’s arm which somehow made its way around Yuri’s neck when she wasn’t looking.

Tiffany threw Jessica a wink before leaving the bench altogether. “Geez. You’re such a killjoy. Anyway… so how was it?”

Yuri didn’t understand where the conversation had jumped to. “Huh?”

“Oh you know!” Tiffany insisted.

“’It’ could mean a lot of things,” Jessica said. “Out with it!”

“Gosh~ Either you two are playing innocent or you’re just really clueless. ‘It’ means se—”

“NO!” went the immediate – and synchronized – answer from Yuri and Jessica.

“Right. Sure…”

“We may have been making out and all but we haven’t done it!”

Tiffany raised an eyebrow at Jessica who was amusingly unaware that she was already turning red. “You haven’t done it… Yet.”

“Yet,” Yuri mimicked. She wiggled her eyebrows at Jessica then winked.

“We haven’t done it! Period!” Jessica told the two. She let it slide when Yuri laughed at her reaction but when Tiffany did it, she asked a question of her own: “Why are you so concerned about it anyway? You haven’t done it with anyone, huh?”

“Oh. What makes you think that I haven’t?” Tiffany asked back.

“Just because you want to hear about it so badly,” Jessica answered with a shrug. She wasn’t expecting this go anywhere until Tiffany said something that piqued her interest.

“And what if I have done it with someone?”

Jessica’s brows came together into a frown. “Huh? With who?!” She saw Tiffany’s lips stretch into a teasing smile while her eyes shifted slightly to the right. When Jessica followed them, she found— “Kim Taeyeon?!”

“Me?! What?” Taeyeon turned around when she heard Jessica scream her name. She thought something serious had come up but she only saw Jessica, Yuri and Tiffany talking so she didn’t bother to approach them, especially since there was a good chance that the conversation was still about Tiffany fawning over Yuri.

Jessica turned back to Tiffany with what seemed like a permanent scowl. “You’re not serious, are you?”

Tiffany shrugged. “Wanna trade Yuri for the answer?”

“Never! Like I wanna know about who you’ve done it with.”

Tiffany giggled to herself as she watched Jessica leave for the other bench where Krystal was.

Yuri narrowed her eyes at Tiffany and grinned. “So… you like the shorty, huh?”

“What—No. No, I don’t. Definitely not.”

“Wow. That was not convincing. At all!”

“Anyway, don’t change the topic! It’s not about me. It’s about you guys. And from what I can see, you can’t wait for Jessi to put out!”

“Really? Me?” Yuri pointed to herself and laughed. “I was just teasing her a little. But you know, if it happens then it happens. If it doesn’t then it doesn’t. If she wants it to happen then we’ll make it happen. I’m all hers anyway. Everything’s gonna fall into place somehow as long as we love each other.”

“Oh Yuwree~” Tiffany brought her hands together on her chest and hummed. “No wonder Jessi’s so whipped. You’re so romantic. She’s pretty lucky.”

“I’m the one who’s lucky,” Yuri said as she glanced at Jessica talking to Krystal before turning back to Tiffany. “Maybe that’s something you can think about, Fany-ah. Before you decide to do it with whoever you’re thinking of doing it with.” Yuri waited for Tiffany to answer and when she didn’t, she called Taeyeon over: “Taeng! Get over here!”

“Wait! Don’t—”

“What is it?” Taeyeon asked as she approached, rendering Tiffany’s protest useless.

“Oh nothing. You just looked so cute over there, trying to save the bench we broke and all. Isn’t she cute, Fany?”

“I, uh… Wait.”

“Cat got your tongue, Tiff?” Jessica came over the moment she saw the interesting development. She found it amusing that Yuri actually managed to make Tiffany stutter.

Taeyeon let out an audible sigh then pointed at Yuri and Jessica. “You guys are just getting back at us for making fun of you before, huh? Well, sorry—not sorry ‘cause you two were dense as and it was pretty hilarious.”

“And ahjumma Taeng saves the day!” Yuri clapped her hands with exaggerated slowness. “You’re pretty fast too when it comes to Fany, huh?”

“Yah!”

Taeyeon threw a dagger at Yuri’s shoulder, which Yuri avoided only to be attacked from behind where the dagger landed. Yuri felt the hilt of the dagger land hard on the bone below her nape and she stumbled forward with only enough time to trip Taeyeon with a wave of force.

“Yuri-yah!”

“TaeTae!”

Taeyeon almost landed on her arm but she managed to curl her body and rolled off instead. Expecting another attack from Yuri, she zipped past and went to where Seohyun and Yoona were.

Jessica helped Yuri up and asked if she was okay. Yuri laughed in response as she turned to Tiffany.

“What?”

“You said ‘TaeTae.’ Was that a nickname?”

“Awww…” Jessica broke into a wide smile. “Tiff gave Taeng a nickname!”

“It sounds like a pet’s name, though,” Yuri said, scratching her head.

Jessica poked Yuri’s cheek with a slight frown. “Oh shush. At least she calls Taeng something. I’m the one who doesn’t have a nickname for you.”

“You can call me anything you want, Sica baby~”

“Hm… I’ll think about it later, baby.”

Tiffany rolled her eyes at the two. “God. I get it! You guys are a couple now! And you’re doing couple things! Fine!”

“You know that you can go be with your TaeTae over there any time now, right?”

Yuri laughed out loud at the mention of the nickname despite how casually Jessica said it. “TaeTae. TaeTae. I just… I cannot!” Yuri bent over forward, still laughing while clutching her knees.

Tiffany raised her chin and scoffed. “’TaeTae’ is cute!”

“Did you just say that shorty ahjumma Taeng is cute??”

“She means ‘TaeTae,’” Jessica chirped.

“Ugh! I cannot with you two!”

Yuri and Jessica watched Tiffany leave and they kept the smiles to themselves when they saw that she did go to where Taeyeon was.

+

Krystal was taking pictures with her scroll, particularly of Seohyun feeding Yoona on the other bench. She laughed to herself when she managed to take one of Sooyoung sneaking up behind them to grab a cupcake from the lunch box.

“Yah! Sooyoung unnie, get your own!” Yoona had no qualms about pushing Sooyoung down to the ground. Not  even after the latter sat up and turned to Seohyun for recourse.

“Poor Sooyoung unnie. I’ll give you one piece, okay?” Seohyun crouched down to where Sooyoung was and fed her half a cupcake then went on to give the other half after Sooyoung finished chewing.

“Thank Seohyun~” Sooyoung sang with a satisfied grin. “Yah! Im Yoona! Don’t you think your girlfriend and I look good together?”

“You idiot!” Hyoyeon came just in time to drag Sooyoung back to where they were finalizing a battle strategy. “I look away for once second and you go running off… Jeebus!”

Yoona rolled her eyes as the two left, unaware that Krystal was standing by, taking a video of the entire thing. She pulled Seohyun back on the bench and hugged her like it was no one’s business. “Are you doing this on purpose ‘cause you’re still punishing me for earlier?” she asked, already on the verge of sobbing.

Seohyun let out a laugh. “Maybe. Or maybe I like seeing you jealous.”

“Oh, do you now?” Yoona broke into a smile and held Seohyun closer, her mood lifting almost immediately. “But me getting jealous is bad for my health. And even worse for the other person. You wouldn’t want that, right?”

“Probably not. We’ll just have to find a way to get you to make that y angry face then.”

“Oh my god!!”

Yoona and Seohyun turned toward where the voice came from and saw Krystal holding back another gasp with her scroll held up. They laughed it off and let her go, reminding themselves to ask for a copy of whatever it was that Krystal took of them.

+

Teasing Tiffany was therapeutic, Jessica thought as she walked over to where her sister was. And downright hilarious!

“Hey unnie. What’s up?”

Jessica sat beside her sister and placed an arm around her neck before pressing a small kiss to her cheek.

Krystal let out a giggle. “Awww~ what was that for?”

“For you being right. I’m glad I told Yuri how I felt.”

“I told you so! I’m always right.”

“You’re getting ahead of yourself. So, about that thing you whispered to Yuri the other day…”

“Oh, that. It’s nothing. You shouldn’t make a big deal about it.”

“Of course I’m making a big deal about it! She and I are a couple now. I have to know. And you will tell me.”

Krystal groaned, a bit miffed that this might spoil her fun. “Oh fine. I promised Yuri unnie some of your baby pictures.”

“You did what?!”

“Relax. It’s not like I’m gonna hand all of ‘em over.”

“How can I be sure that you won’t, hm?”

“Well, for one, I’m not stupid enough to give up all of my blackmail pictures. Especially the more embarrassing ones. I worked hard to get those, you know?”

“Right. Well, just know that your baby pictures are with me. And the ones of you getting your first training bra. I have the printed ones, you know? I can just throw them around campus whenever I want.”

“Ugh. Well played, sis.” Krystal took her sister’s hand and shook it as if they had finished a match. Then she grabbed a scroll from her blazer pocket. “By the way, here’s the extra scroll to replace the one you broke. You’ll need it out there. And I know you love me but you’ll love me even more once you see what I stored in it~!”

Jessica took the scroll and thanked her sister with another peck on the cheek. She unlocked it and recognized the wallpaper as one of the pictures they took after they got to Beacon. She couldn’t help but smile. When she got to the folders, she gasped upon seeing the full gallery of Yuri’s past dance videos.

“You’re welcome,” Krystal said with her chin up, all too amused by her sister’s reaction.

+

After seeing Seohyun feeding Yoona more snacks, the rest of them remembered that they hadn’t eaten yet so they left the courtyard to grab take-out from the cafeteria then walked back until they reached the first clearing in Emerald Forest. They laid the large blankets down, divided the food and started eating just as evening started to set in.

Hyoyeon set Sooyoung’s portion aside while waiting for her psrtner to catch up with them and when she did, she was carrying a picnic basket to everyone’s surprise but Yoona’s.

“Is that my—Unnie! Why?!”

Sooyoung opened the basket and dumped its contents in the middle of the blanket where everyone sat. A pile of sweets came crashing down. “I got snacks of my own. Just like you said!” Sooyoung told Yoona, puffing her chest.

Seohyun held Yoona back before the latter could lunge at Sooyoung.

“Just ask your these two to buy you some more after the war!” Sooyoung laughed and threw pieces of candy at Yuri and Jessica who frowned at her but took the candy anyway.

“Hey, don’t drag us into this!” Yuri said, waving a finger.

“Why? You’re her parents, right? Don’t you love your child anymore?”

“Yeah! Don’t you love me anymore?” Yoona faked a sob and clung to Seohyun for extra effect.

“Don’t overreact. Come here.” Jessica pulled Yoona into a hug and gave her a tight squeeze. “We missed you.”

Yoona wiggled slightly in Jessica’s hold, just enough to get the feeling in her arms back. “I was gone for one night, unnie. Geez.”

“Just admit that you missed us too!”

“Oh she did,” Seohyun interjected. “She kept talking about you guys last night because she couldn’t sleep. I even had to sing her a lullaby just to get her to calm down.”

“D’awww~” Yuri pinched both of Yoona’s cheeks while she was still in Jessica’s bear hug. “Hyunnie’s baby Yoongie-poo needs lullabies~”

Yoona shook her head in an attempt to ward Yuri off and ended up wriggling out of Jessica’s grip to defend herself. “Stop it! This is the face that Hyunnie loves!”

“Oh my. Poor Seohyun. She has to bear with a vain shikshin.”

“You’re no different, Miss I-talk-to-myself-when-I-check-myself-out-in-the-mirror! Poor Sica unnie!”

Jessica let out a sigh as she watched her teammates go at it. “Why am I stuck with you two?”

“’Cause you love us~!” Yoona chirped, grinning widely as if she wasn’t arguing with Yuri just moments ago.

Jessica saw Yuri mouth “I love you” in addition and she grinned at them both. “Yeah, I love you guys.”

The evening sky grew darker as they ate their meals until all they could see was a handful of stars flickering above them, small and distant.

“TaeTae, get over here.”

Taeyeon turned to the figure lying beside her while her arms were wrapped around herself, trying to keep herself from shivering. She inched closer as requested and felt an arm wrap around her shoulders together with pink fabric, easing the chill that ran through her body.

“Thanks, Tippany. I guess this thing has a purpose other than just being an eyesore.”

“I could actually let you catch a cold for saying that but I’ll let it slide ‘cause the stars are pretty tonight.”

Taeyeon nodded. She didn’t mean what she said about the cloak. She was just at a loss for words.

“You know, you’re pretty cute in pink,” said Tiffany as she pulled Taeyeon closer until the side of her head settled against Taeyeon’s. There was no response but she only thought so because she didn’t see the smile that crept along Taeyeon’s lips and the blush on Taeyeon’s cheeks that she hid from view as she held part of the cloak against them with both hands.

Not too far away, Sooyoung and Hyoyeon were observing the two.

“I think we have another thing to bet on,” Hyoyeon said in a whisper.

“I’m betting the pink pig caves in first,” Sooyoung whispered back. “It’s too obvious!”

“Heh. We’ll see.”

Time flew past just like any other school day except this time they got to spend it past the mandated curfew and without the risk of running into the Grimm the once inhabited Emerald Forest. They had one morning and one evening left. After that, they knew that they had to leave this all behind. They detested the thought of war but part of them was grateful that it wouldn’t have to take place within the four kingdoms. It wouldn’t have to be here. It was comforting to think that should they be unable to accomplish their mission, at least they got to live in a place where the Grimm did not tread. Even if it was just for a little while. That was peace enough for them.

“Have you thought of a nickname for me yet?” Yuri asked as she rolled on her side and nuzzled Jessica’s cheek, rumpling the blanket underneath them.

“Nope. Too busy thinking of our future.” Jessica’s hand found Yuri’s and she settled them on her chest, rising and falling as she breathed. “Are you in a hurry to have a nickname?”

“No.” Yuri went back to lying on her back and squinted at the evening sky. She could count the visible stars with her fingers and that was fine. They looked beautiful regardless of number. “We’ll have all the time in the world to think of nicknames after the war. We’ll make sure of it.”

Soon after, the group of friends shared laughter that echoed underneath the star-lit sky and for a second or two it was as if there was no impending war to be fought. But time passed and evening was slowly turning to dusk. Soon it was time to return to their dorm rooms and face the gravity of their decision to fight. They could only hope to return alive and well with everyone accounted for. And maybe then they would have a chance to see the other stars parade through the evening sky, sharing in the silver glow of a full moon.

Thank you again for being patient with us and for taking time to leave comments. :D