A thin, grey line of smoke rose from the remains of the charred wood. A glint of yellow-orange could be seen underneath the ashes until it disappeared with a light brush of the wind.

Yoona lifted her gaze from the dead fire to the girl sitting beside her, who was taking sparing bites from a rice ball. She had pictured their reunion repeatedly in her head all those months ago, both in daydreams and in nightmares. She couldn’t tell which one of those this moment was. And she continued to ask herself that while waiting for Sunny to finish eating.

None of them had anything to say. Not since Yuri suggested hours ago that they should set up camp while waiting for Sunny to regain consciousness. Jessica and Yoona were too tired to object.

“This isn’t half bad,” Sunny said after swallowing another bite.

Yoona let out half a smile, more concerned about Sunny finally speaking than what she thought of the rice ball. “You can have more if you want. I think I packed enough.”

A slight laugh escaped Sunny as she covered with the back of her hand while the other held what was left of the rice ball. “You don’t usually share your food. You sure have changed, Yoona.”

Hearing Sunny say her name so casually made Yoona’s heart jump and for a second she felt that they were just having another normal conversation like old times. But then the silence set in again and she remembered that what they had now was far from the friendship she cherished. She turned to Yuri and Jessica who had been staring at the ground this whole time and she knew that they felt the awkwardness too. They usually took charge of things so that she wouldn’t have to worry about much else, but they didn’t look up for it now. They were tired from the fight with Sunny and the dragon, and even more so from the emotional roller coaster that their team had been on until now. She had to do something about it.

“Sunny unnie, the four of us have to talk,” she said, hoping that that didn’t sound as ominous as she felt it would be.

“No, we don’t, Yoona,” Sunny replied, now finished eating. “If anything, I think all of you should leave now while you still can. It’s best for everyone that way—”

“How dare you say that?!”

Yuri quickly grabbed hold of Jessica’s arm and held her back before she could lunge at Sunny in rage. She felt Jessica trembling in her grip and she understood why. She rarely saw Jessica this emotional but whenever she was, it was because she cared about something far too much. Despite the fight earlier, she knew that Jessica still cherished Sunny the way they used to. That won’t ever go away. Even in her case, despite saying that she wanted to end Sunny’s life, she couldn’t actually do it. She had a clear shot but she hesitated. Even if Yoona hadn’t gotten in the way, she knew that she couldn’t have struck that final blow. This was their weakness as a team and she wondered if it would mean their downfall.

“Sica, listen to reason,” Sunny started to say after Yuri pulled Jessica back down into a seated position. “At the end of all of this, everything will be okay. No one will die. I’ve made sure of that since the beginning. I’m not a murderer. I’m not a crook or a power-hungry dictator. I’m just a girl with a wish, like every other person who can’t get what she wants and has to work for it. I understand that you’re mad because I left without saying anything. You’re mad because I got involved with the White Fang and this guy that can somehow control Grimm. I understand all of that! But if you can just look past that and see the bigger picture, you’ll see that I’m so close to achieving what world leaders have promised to attain for Remnantbut always fail to accomplish. Imagine a world where people are judged by their actions and not by race or species. Imagine a world where people can just be who they are, faunus or not. How no one can ever start wars over who has a tail or an extra set of ears. How no one is inferior. Consider that and tell me I’m wrong for wanting this for Remnant no matter the means. Look at me and tell me that I’m the bad guy! That’s what you think, isn’t it?!”

“If that’s what you think I want to say to you then you don’t know me at all!” Jessica couldn’t help the rise in her tone. She was so tired from having to hold herself back when everything she felt threatened to burst out of her. “You have no idea how much people have suffered just so you can get what you want! People lost their homes! They were scared for their lives! Right now, they’re back in the four kingdoms thinking everything is okay because the Grimm are gone, not knowing that any day now they’ll be forced to accept what you think is right! You may not have killed anyone, Sunny, but you stole hundreds of thousands of lives when you let the Grimm go on a rampage that lasted more than a year! You kept people from going home to their families because there was no way to travel safely. You made them think they were going to die in refugee camps, not even knowing why they were in danger in the first place. You got greedy because you have the power to make these extraordinary changes. You say that there’s a bigger picture. You’re right. Maybe there is and it sounds nice. But what about the consequences, huh? Discrimination goes away but at the price of what? Unconditional submission? Sounds like a dictatorship to me. Deny it all you want but I’m not going to just stand by and let you force the entire population to agree with what you think is right. And I’m sure as hell not going to let you use the Grimm to punish them when they disagree.”

A silent breath.

Sunny held the rest in. She didn’t want to argue with Jessica about this. She didn’t want to argue with anyone anymore.She knew it would be futile. When she nearly died earlier by Yuri’s hand it was because she made the mistake of thinking that they would understand her if she explained her side. That clearly wasn’t the case. “It doesn’t matter right now whether we agree with each or not. Another person does agree with me and he’ll see this through no matter what.”

“Not if I have anything to say about it,” went a strained voice.

“Yuri…” Jessica reached for Yuri’s hand as Yuri stood up and started gathering their things.

“I’m okay, Sica,” Yuri said. She gave Jessica’s hand a squeeze then released it so she could finish preparing. She turned to Yoona who stared at her with a moist pair of eyes, probably biting back tears over this whole mess. “We’re leaving. We have to stop that guy, whoever he is. I’m trusting you to keep an eye on Sunny throughout the trip, okay? You promised you’d take responsibility for her.”

Yoona nodded. She already had Sunny’s buckler strapped to her back, leaving Sunny with nothing but her semblance to use in case she thinks of fighting back.

“Yuri, we have to tell the others,” said Jessica with her scroll already in hand.

“Yeah, we should. Send them our coordinates and tell them to send us a message once they get here. We’ll update them as we go.”

“But unnie,” Yoona said, her voice a bit hoarse, “how are we gonna find this guy?”

Yuri pursed her lips. She felt Sunny’s eyes on her and she approached, not daring to look away no matter how much these eyes reminded her of the friendship that they were losing to this war… if it wasn’t already lost. “I doubt that you’re going to tell us where he is but if you value justice so much, you’ll give us a chance to fight him for what we believe in.”

Sunny shook her head, not even bothering to give the question a second thought. “I told you that it’ll be better if all of you just leave. That way no one else will get hurt more than they already have. Don’t make this hard for yourself, Yuri.”

“This will always be hard, Sunny-ah. You should know that by now.”

There was no reply.

Yuri turned to Jessica and Yoona who were waiting for her to say something. She had no brilliant ideas but she didn’t want to just sit here and wait to be attacked again. “Tell the others to keep going south from here. We’ll figure something out somehow.”

Jessica sent a follow-up message to their friends just as Yuri requested. Her thumb hovered above BoA’s name on her screen, caught between telling her their plan as a precaution and not sending a message at all to refrain from being a burden. She watched as Yuri and Yoona started getting ready to leave with Sunny in between them like a guarded prisoner, and she felt the weight of the situation. They weren’t venturing out as a team on a school-mandated mission anymore. They were soldiers with a hostage, taking on the slim odds of ever finding the source of all this madness.

She sent BoA the message and followed the other three southward.

+

The lack of encounters ironically kept them on their toes.

It just meant that there was a constant threat of being attacked when they least expected it so they made sure to expect it at all times, doing double-takes whenever they scanned a new area. Jessica was at the front with Yoona and Sunny following close behind. Yuri covered the rear, her eyes never leaving Yoona and Sunny except to quickly check on whether Jessica was already getting tired because she knew that Jessica could pass out without warning. It hadn’t happened yet, much to her relief. She focused her attention back on Yoona and Sunny who were walking side by side.

“Yoong?” Sunny mumbled with her head down, unwilling to meet Yoona’s eyes.

“Is something wrong?” Yoona asked. She lifted her arm and was about to put it around Sunny’s shoulders like she used to but a pang of worry shot through her and she let her arm fall to her side. Something didn’t seem right.

“Thanks,” Sunny said in another mumble. She let out a sigh before continuing: “For standing up for me back there. You didn’t have to. I probably deserved it.”

“You don’t deserve to die, unnie,” Yoona said without a second thought. “Don’t say things like that. Geez.”

Sunny kept a smile to herself. Yoona might have changed somewhat but she was glad that her dongsaeng kept this compassionate side of hers. “I missed this.” The words came out of without her realizing it. It wasn’t a lie but at this point in her relationship with her former teammates, it probably wasn’t the most appropriate thing to say. She hoped that Yoona didn’t catch it.

“I missed this too, unnie.”

But of course she did. She was walking right next to Sunny after all. It caught her off guard for a second but it didn’t take her long to embrace it as a fact. She waited for Sunny to say something next but nothing came in the following minutes. She looked over her shoulder and saw Yuri looking straight ahead, probably at Jessica. She wasn’t surprised. She would’ve done the same thing if Seohyun were here. Hyunnie… She pulled her scroll out and sent a quick message: “See you soon? I miss you.”

She knew that they had the chance to talk not too long ago but the call was brief and choppy, and it wasn’t enough to reassure her that Seohyun would be okay out here without her.

“You look so down all of a sudden.”

Yoona pocketed her scroll and turned to Sunny who finally said something after another span of silence. “It’s nothing. Don’t worry about it,” she said with a forced smile.

“Oh,” Sunny replied. It was such a tiny sound. Yoona probably didn’t care if she said anything anyway. “Okay.”

Yoona felt strange about keeping things from Sunny. She never had to do that when they were partners and even after Sunny left, she still felt like she could tell her anything. Just thinking of Sunny’s face when she hears that Yoona and Seohyun had become a couple was enough to make Yoona smile again. She thought about it for a while and decided to just come out with it. “You know, Seohyun’s my girlfriend now,” she said as if this was just another conversation in the dorm room.

Silence.

“Uh, Sunny unnie?”

A tiny grunt escaped Sunny, meriting a scowl from Yoona. “Oh god… You’re serious.”

“Yeah, so?” Yoona asked, now worried that what she said sounded stupid, or worse, unbelievable.

Sunny let out a laugh, causing Jessica to look over her shoulder to check what had happened. Sunny didn’t notice though because she was looking at Yoona with the widest smile that she had given in a year. “Oh, you’re too cute, Yoongie-poo~ I’m happy for you guys.”

Yoona returned the smile and released the breath she was holding. She looked at the girl walking beside her and finally saw the Sunny she met at Emerald Forest shine through. She really did miss this. “Thanks. We haven’t been officially together long but I can see a future with her. I hope we go the distance even after this mess.” Yoona realized what she just said a second too late. Sunny had already broken eye contact and was now staring at her feet.

Silence reigned once more.

Yoona chewed on her lip, unsure whether she should apologize for implying that Sunny was at fault for her being away from Seohyun because of this war. It was true, though, and that was where the dilemma lied.

KERO~ KERO~

“Oh.” Yoona’s scroll lit up because of an incoming call. It was Seohyun. She looked at her screen then up at Sunny whom she was supposed to be guarding. Her thumb lingered above the accept button until she felt Yuri’s hand on her shoulder, gesturing for them to switch places.

“Answer it. I’ll watch her in the meantime,” Yuri told Yoona, tilting her head slightly toward Sunny. Her dongsaeng happily agreed and answered the call with the brightest smile she had seen since they got here. It warmed her heart to see how happy Seohyun could make Yoona with the smallest of gestures. She didn’t realize that she was grinning to herself until she caught Sunny’s eye and her lips curved down into a straight line. She didn’t know how she felt about Sunny exactly but it wasn’t far from anger and gloom. She didn’t want to talk about it just yet so she looked straight ahead, partially listening to Yoona’s conversation.

“Hyunnie! You finally have decent reception!”

“Yeah. Barely. Must be because we’re walking. We’re heading to the coordinates Sica unnie sent. How about you guys?”

“We’re further south. No sign of anything yet. Are you okay? You didn’t get hurt, did you?”

“I’m fine. Honest. You’re the one I’m worried about. You know why.”

Yoona did know why. She stared at Sunny’s back as they walked on, saddened all over again because of how things were between them.If things were different, she would’ve handed the scroll over to Sunny so she could talk to Seohyun too.

“Yoong? Still there?”

“Oh. Yeah, still here. I’m okay so far. I mean, not okay-okay…” Yoona paused­, contemplating whether to tell Seohyun how Sunny ended up with them. It wasn’t the happiest of encounters and it wouldn’t be fair to Sunny if she talked about it while she was within earshot. “I wish you were here, Hyun,” she continued in a mumble, it being the only way to preserve her privacy with Seohyun at the moment. “So much has happened and I don’t know what to do with all these feelings. I could use a ton of your hugs right about now. If only those could get through your scouts...”

“Want me to try~?”

Yoona heard Seohyun laugh at her own joke. Oh, how she missed that laugh. “If you’re gonna try sending hugs, send a kiss with them too.”

“A kiss? Just one?”

“Yeah, that’ll do. Just something to keep me going for now ‘cause I miss you too much and I don’t know what to do with myself. Don’t think you’re safe from the rest though. I’ll claim them when we meet up~”

Another laugh over the line.

“Sounds like a plan. I’ll be with you soon. I love you.”

“Love you…”

Yoona waited for the line to go dead, savoring even the sound of Seohyun’s breaths over the line. She figured that Seohyun did the same thing because the call ended after a crackling sound, not the usual beep when the other person ends it on purpose. And even if that wasn’t what happened, she was happy nonetheless. At least just enough to keep her on her feet.

She tapped Yuri’s shoulder to signal that they should go back to their previous spots but instead of doing that, Yuri told her that they should stop for a bit because Jessica needed to rest.

“Okay, unnie,” Yoona said. She turned to Sunny who heard the exchange and was looking at them, seemingly waiting for an order like a prisoner would. Although that was true to some extent, she didn’t want things to be more uncomfortable between them than they already were. So she placed a hand on Sunny’s back and gently nudged her toward a pile of large rocks that they could sit on while Yuri walked over to Jessica.

“Sica, let’s rest for a bit.”

Jessica’s eyes widened immediately in reaction. “Why? Are you hurting somewhere? Did something happen?”

Yuri shook her head and reached for Jessica’s hands, slipping her fingers in between. “Calm down. I’m okay. You, on the other hand…”

“I’m fine. I can still go a bit further. We can’t waste any more time. Let’s go.” But really, Jessica could barely feel her legs and her head had started weighing twice its size. She knew she needed to gain back the sleep she gave up to take care of Yuri after their first encounter with the dragon, but she didn’t want to be a burden. She wanted to be stronger than this.

“We can afford to stop for a while. You shouldn’t push yourself.” Yuri brought Jessica’s hands to her lips and placed a kiss on each, smiling against the reddish knuckles. “Come on…”

“It’s really okay. I want to get this over with and—”

“Jessica. Rest. Now.”

Jessica could only groan at Yuri’s impression. Was that really how she sounded when she made demands? Because Yuri sounded unbelievably adorable when she did it. And maybe even a bit hot when giving orders in a certain context. Oh god no. I can’t be seriously thinking of that right now.Jessica swallowed hard, hoping Yuri didn’t notice her starting to sweat.

“You always worry about me so maybe you end up forgetting that I worry about you, too,” Yuri continued once it looked like Jessica had nothing to reply with. She noticed a trickle of sweat travel down Jessica’s cheek and it told her that she was right about Jessica being tired. She wiped it away with her thumb and fit her hand against Jessica’s cheek. “As much as possible, I don’t wanna see you hurt. And losing isn’t even an option. So please rest. Even if it’s just for a little while.”

Whatever inappropriate thoughts Jessica had about Yuri ordering her around were replaced by a stronger urge to lie down wherever and just cuddle until they couldn’t anymore, if that was even possible. She finally nodded in response. “Okay, fine. But, uh, can you… can you carry me ‘cause—”

Yuri didn’t need to hear the rest. If Jessica wanted to be carried, that’s what was going to happen. Just because. She had Jessica off of her feet in seconds then safely curled up in her arms. “It’s been a while since I did this,” she said as she started to walk to where Yoona and Sunny were with one arm underneath Jessica’s legs and another supporting her back.

“You’re right,” Jessica said in a whisper, now feeling the drowsiness wash over her. She pressed her forehead to Yuri’s neck while her lips pressed against a spot just below it as if in thanks.

“I’ll make sure to do it more often when we get home,” Yuri replied. “Even when you’re not tired.”

“What other reason could there be to carry me like this though?”

“Whenever I want to carry you to bed,” Yuri said without a hint of hesitation.

Then Jessica was out of words again. She made up for it with a kiss. On Yuri’s lips this time.

+

So many awkward periods of silence.

Out of the millions of adjectives in existence, there wasn’t another word that fit better.

Sunny sighed as she leaned back on a slightly jagged rock. She gasped when an edge poked her shoulder blade and Yoona noticed. She smiled slightly to signal that she was fine and Yoona nodded in response. This was all they communicated with ever since they sat down to rest. A smile here and there. Or a quick glance.

“Uhm…” Sunny started to say. “It sounds like Seohyun’s okay, huh?”

“Uh, yeah. She is,” Yoona replied. A short pause. “I get really worried about her, you know? I guess that’s never going to change. I’ve always cared about her a bit too much than I have to. Even before we became couple. Before all this…” She cleared . She did it again. She didn’t mean to sound like she was equating Sunny to the war. She was upset about having to fight in a war but she didn’t blame Sunny for it… did she?

And yet another awkward silence.

Yoona closed her eyes for a bit in an attempt to sleep. It didn’t do her any good. Her throbbing head made sure of that. When she sat up to get some water from her knapsack, she saw Sunny staring at Yuri and Jessica who were napping side by side across from them. She wasn’t sure what it was in Sunny’s eyes that made her heart sink but if she had to guess, it was probably the same loneliness that she was feeling. Yuri and Jessica didn’t have that problem.

“It took them a while to get to this point in their relationship,” Yoona said in a hushed voice to avoid waking the two up. She scooted over closer to Sunny and offered the latter a bottle of water. Sunny accepted and took a long sip before returning it. “Even after all that teasing we did back then, they still had a hard time figuring things out,” Yoona continued, shaking her head at the thought of Yuri and Jessica ranting to her about each other.

Sunny didn’t reply. What was she supposed to say? What could she say? She wasn’t there to see Yuri and Jessica struggle with their feelings. She wasn’t there to help them through it. And worst of all, she wasn’t there to congratulate them for finally figuring things out. She turned to Yoona and asked about her relationship with Seohyun instead – just one more milestone to add to her list of missed ones and to an even longer list of regrets.

“Things weren’t so complicated between me and Hyunnie,” Yoona answered. “Unless you count Taeyeon unnie always bashing me and stuff. But that’s okay. I understand why she’s like that. Seohyun’s too good a person not to care about and sometimes I feel like I don’t deserve her. I feel that way but I don’t care. I know I love her and she says she loves me. So we stay together. Things should just be that simple for everyone. It wasn’t for Yuri unnie and Sica unnie though.”

“Does that worry you?” Sunny asked.

Yoona shook her head. “Not really. You and I both know that they’re meant to be together. Maybe it wasn’t like that from the start but they must’ve done something right somewhere along the way to become this important to each other. We don’t need to know what exactly. Just that it happened. And now they’ve already admitted it to each other.”

Sunny hummed in response, recalling all the times that Jessica asked for her thoughts on things that Yuri did and all the other times that she noticed Yuri doing things for Jessica without even realizing what they meant.

“What about you, unnie?” Yoona asked hesitantly. “Uhm, do you have someone special?”

Sunny almost laughed. When was the last time that she thought of someone romantically?

“That guy you’re with… is he—”

“Bob?! No! Gross!!”

Yoona couldn’t help but laugh at Sunny’s reaction. So much so that when her head snapped back to let it out, she thought she would break her neck. She quickly pressed her lips together afterwards when she realized that Yuri and Jessica were still sleeping. They didn’t seem to have been bothered though.

“So if it’s not him, is it a faunus dude?”

Normally, Sunny would take offense upon hearing a racial reference but she knew that Yoona only meant it as a description. “No, Yoong. There’s no dude.”

“Ah, so it’s a faunus girl!”

“What—No. There isn’t anyone.”

She heard her own voice echo the phrase in her head.

“There isn’t anyone.”

She clutched at the tunic wrapped loosely around her neck and took in a deep breath through her nose, hoping it would ease the tightening in her chest. A gasp escaped her next when she suddenly felt a hand over hers. “Yoong?”

“I’m sorry if I said something wrong. I’ll stop asking questions now. Let’s just rest while we can.”

The gentle warmth that enveloped her hand disappeared as quickly as it came. She watched Yoona distance herself, although just a little bit,to go back to her spot against another rock. She wanted to explain herself. She wanted to say that if there was anyone she found special, it would be her partner. Oh right. She’s not that anymore. The thought called back the tightening in her chest but this time she let it be and closed her eyes, thinking to herself that she deserved this bit of pain for all she had put her friends through even though that relationship no longer stood true for them.

+

When they woke, they thought they were back in their dorm room with the lights off like they usually left it before going to bed.

Jessica nuzzled Yuri’s shoulder before reaching up to Yuri’s neck to kiss it. She heard a tiny laugh and she smiled, proud of herself for finding the tickle spot once more. She would’ve rolled over to her side to curl up against Yuri’s body if it wasn’t for the realization that they were sitting on the ground with their backs pressed to a rock.

“Sica…”

“Hm?”

“I think we have to go now.”

Sighing to herself, Jessica slowly pushed herself off of the ground to a standing position. She watched as Yuri followed until their eyes met and Yuri pressed a kiss to her lips like it was the easiest thing in the world. It was hard to believe that not too long ago kissing was the source of all their emotional struggle.

“Do you feel better?” Yuri asked after pulling back slightly.

“After what you just did? Definitely,” Jessica replied, although the latter half came in a whisper that she meant to be against Yuri’s parted lips, which she felt curve up against hers.

“I mean after you took a nap,” Yuri said with a laugh.

“Oh.” A blush crept up Jessica’s cheeks. She felt it and cast her eyes downward. “Uh, well, sure. That too—”

“Hey lovebirds!” went Yoona’s thundering voice from just across them.

The two broke apart and felt the back of their necks, a bit embarrassed that they didn’t notice that they had an audience. Even Sunny looked like she saw the entire thing but was only pretending not to care.

“I have to go find a decent spot with reception to call the others. So we’ll be right over there, okay?” Yonna told Yuri and Jessica. “We’ll try not to peek while you continue making out. Hee~!”

“Why you little—” But before Jessica could complete the threat, Yoona already walked off with Sunny. She sighed instead. “Do you think she’ll be okay alone with Sunny like that?” she asked Yuri, her annoyance instantly morphing into concern.

“Hm… Maybe. Let’s start packing up,” Yuri answered. She flashed her usual toothy grin and while Jessica seemed to be stunned she snuck another kiss on Jessica’s lips.

“You sneaky dork!”

“Psh. You love it~!”

Jessica could only roll her eyes. “You know, the old me would never have let you get away with something like that.”

“Uh-huh. That was before. Now you can’t do anything ‘cause I’m just too Yurisistable!”

Did Yuri just make a pun and gloat about herself at the same time? Ugh. Yang and her influence. But Jessica had to admit that she could tolerate it whenever Yuri does it. It’s not like it was a lie, either. “Let’s just say that you’re not wrong, Yuri-yah.”

“’Course not! I know you love me too much to resist me, Sica baby~” Yuri lightly poked both of Jessica’s cheeks, meriting a frown that quickly softened when Jessica closed her eyes and leaned in for another kiss. They held this one longer, once again forgetting that someone might be watching. When they broke away, Yuri heard Jessica say the words herself.

“I love you, Yuri. I can’t say enough but I don’t want to say it every time. If I do, you might think I’m not taking this seriously or something.”

“That didn’t even cross my mind, Sica,” Yuri said, shaking her head. “I like saying I love you and I like hearing you say you love me. So please don’t worry about that.”

“Okay. I won’t think too much about it then.”

“Other than that, is there something else that you’re worried about? You look like you were thinking hard about something when we were walking.”

“You noticed, huh?”

“So what is it? Is there something I can do to fix it?”

“You already are,” Jessica answered. “It’s this war that we got ourselves into. I don’t think we thought it through. I mean, look at us. We’re in the middle of nowhere with a hostage, looking for a guy we don’t even know how to fight who has an infinite number of Grimm that he can control. Not to mention those damn dragons that he keeps sending our way.What are the odds of us even getting out of this place alive? What if we just can’t win? What if we do but I end up losing you because of something stupid you’re bound to do? I can’t—I don’t know how I’m going to live with that. I can’t lose you.”

“Jessica…” Yuri trailed off as Jessica’s words sank in. As much as she didn’t want to admit it, she was scared too. “Please don’t tell me you’re starting to lose hope. We can’t give up! Not now—”

“I know that. Of course I do. I just…” A deep sigh. “I’ve been feeling this way for a while now. Ever since you used your semblance on that dragon. I know it was your call to make and that if I keep worrying about your decisions I might lose track of the fight and lose you for real. But I just… I just  can’t help but worry.”

“Hey… it’s okay. Come here.” Yuri wrapped an arm around Jessica’s shoulders while the other pulled Jessica closer by the waist. “I told you that you won’t lose me as long I can still do something about it. We’re still here, aren’t we? Let’s keep moving forward just because we can. I know you’re stressed and I apologize for adding to that with my recklessness. I don’t mean to make things hard for you. I just really want this to be over as soon as possible. Wanna know why?”

Jessica already had an idea as to why but she wanted to hear it anyway. “Why?”

Yuri took a small step back so she could meet Jessica’s eyes. “Because I really, really want to spend time with my girlfriend.”

An immediate smile sprawled across Jessica’s face. She knew what was coming but she didn’t expect it to feel this good when she actually heard it. “Is that so, hm?”

“Yeah! Imagine all the things we haven’t done yet! ”

Oh Jessica was imagining those all right. Their interrupted moment by the lake came to mind first and just the thought of touching Yuri that way again and then in a way that she hasn’t had the chance to was enough to make her want to sprint toward whoever the Grimm guy was and beat him up single-handedly just so she could have Yuri undernath her again, her name, begging for—

“We still have lots of fun things to try together!” went a cheer from Yuri, breaking Jessica’s train of thought.

Get it together, Jung! God!

“Just thinking about it gets me all pumped up! Aren’t you excited, Sica?”

“Of course I am,” Jessica answered, unsure whether she and Yuri were pertaining to the same thing. She shook the previous thoughts away quickly because her knees were starting to buckle. She focused on Yuri’s bright smile instead. “I’m looking forward to spending my future with you, Yuri-yah. Thanks for reminding me of that.”

Yuri nodded. “So what do you say? Let’s go fight for our future ‘cause I can’t wait to go home and start planning the rest of it with you.”

“Then that’s exactly what we’ll do.”

They sealed the agreement with a kiss. It was starting to become a habit and they both hoped it would ripen into that sometime in their future together.

+

Despite the choppy calls and the blasted reception, they managed to find each other way, down south. Or had they already made it to the edge of Remnant? It felt that way somewhat.

They felt a lot of things. Fear, mostly. A bit of shock when they saw Sunny after all this time. Then uncertainty as to where they were going to go from here. Blake and Ruby were no longer with them, having probably already reunited with Yang and Weiss to rescue the remaining refugees.

After a few short greetings, silence befell them.

Even Sooyoung and Hyoyeon couldn’t liven up their trek with their usual jokes and bickering.

Tiffany was unusually quiet as well, always walking with her cloak clutched to her chest as if in deep thought. Taeyeon pretended not to be intentionally walking close by with her own worries written on her face. The others had a feeling that something went on between them but this wasn’t the time to ask.

Krystal shamelessly stuck close to her sister, not even trying to hide the fact that she was starting to get scared of what was to come. Jessica hugged her sister to her side as they walked and whispered a few words of encouragement from time to time. Yuri understood the situation at first glance and opted to give the sisters some space. Instead, she covered the rear once more and kept an eye on Sunny while Yoona and Seohyun spent some much-needed time together a few steps behind her.

Seohyun pressed her body to Yoona’s side as they walked, both of her hands clasped around Yoona’s arm. She felt weak and it didn’t surprise her. She had three scouts scanning the area for their friends before they all met up, her priority being finding Yoona as soon as possible.

“I think you overdid it, Hyunnie,” Yoona said as she pressed a kiss to Seohyun’s temple, her walking pace slowing into a stop when Seohyun tugged on her arm. “Do you need to rest? I can tell them to—”

“Don’t. I just…”

They both leaned into the kiss and, as Yoona promised, she claimed the rest after the first one.

“I missed you,” Seohyun said against Yoona’s lips before pressing another kiss onto them. She still felt weak but now in a good way – in a weak-in-the-knees-over-the-moon-in-love kind of way.

“And I missed you,” Yoona replied, matching the answer with another kiss. She let out a slight laugh afterwards. “We should catch up to them now. They might get worried.”

“But…” Seohyun pressed herself against Yoona’s front and wrapped her arms around Yoona’s back as tightly as she could, making up for each second that she didn’t get to do just this. She felt Yoona’s arms wrap around her waist in response. “Just a while longer.”

“Just a while longer,” Yoona repeated in a whisper, wishing it would take the same amount of time for this war to be over. Just a while longer…

+

The view was stunning. He always had an eye for locations, Soonkyu used to tell him.

“Soonkyu, what are you going to do now?”

No one answered. The only sound that came was the steady flapping of the dragon’s wings. He leaned to the side a bit more and then forward, squinting in partial darkness and at the group walking just below him and the dragon he mounted. For a second he thought of sweeping down from the sky, grabbing Soonkyu by the arm and flying back to where they were supposed to be.

“Then again, precautions have to be taken.”

He jammed the heel of his boot into the dragon’s side and off they went with all thoughts about Soonkyu left swirling about in the ether.

Note: We'll be back by December! Thank you again for your patience and for following our story until now. For those of you who want to watch RWBY, Volume 4, episode is already up on YouTube. :)