Team CFVY all flopped onto the Bullhead as it took off into the air, the remaining Grimm all too dead to hinder its liftoff.

"Next time," Fox spoke aloud, "I vote for escort duty…"

"I don't blame you, I wasn't expecting quite so many Grimm to be hanging around this place…" Coco took off her beret and used it to fan herself; her team had volunteered to help deal with a nest of Grimm that had popped up near a settlement not too far from Vale, the situation escalating more quickly than they were expecting. It had gotten bad enough that Team RWBY had been called in to assist. "If I weren't as awesome as I am, I think I could probably sleep the whole day away tomorrow."

"You have," Yatsuhashi pointed out, Velvet panting next to him, "multiple times."

"Can confirm," confirmed Fox, "…did you know that when you snore, every so often there's a little snort?"

"…if I weren't so attached to this hat, I'd nail you between the eyes with it."

"You couldn't nail me even if you tried.~"

"I didn't think she'd even want to nail you, bro."

"Wait…why is Coco nailing Fox again?"

Coco briefly pulled her shades down, letting her friends see the glare she was sending them. "…I hate all of you right now."

"Look alive back there, people!" the pilot called back to them, "We're gonna set down and grab your friends before we head back to Beacon, so be ready in case there are any Grimm left in the area."

"Alright! …well, look alive, jerks; get ready to provide some covering fire for Team RWBY."

_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/

Thankfully, team RWBY had managed to deal with their end of the mission without too much trouble, leaving only a few stray Grimm that needed to be mopped up once the Bullhead landed. Barely ten minutes later both teams were on the craft and it was in the air again, now making a beeline towards Beacon Academy.

Once it set down on the Academy landing pad, both teams fell onto the tarmac (even Weiss).

"Wake me up when we graduate…," Yang declared.

Coco absently gave her a wack on the arm. "Suck it up, Blondie; this is practically a cakewalk for people like us.~"

"Is that why Blake just fell asleep?" Ruby asked. She cocked her head to the side where the resident cat Faunus was sprawled on the ground, her eyes closed and her breathing light and even.

"But for real," Weiss spoke up, "is this what you guys have to deal with all the time?"

"No, it's not this exhausting most of the time," Velvet answered, "This one just turned out bigger than expected."

"Good, cause I feel like I could sleep for a week!"

"We know, Yang…"

"…should we wake Blake up?"

"Probably; a lot of Bullheads land here," Yatsu pointed out. The implications were left unsaid but easily understood.

"Alright, leave it to me." Yang pulled herself to her feet, making noises as she did so that might cause some people to blush (which Velvet did, turning away from Yang for a moment) as she stretched. Then she pulled out her Scroll and stepped over to her assigned partner. "Wakey-wakey, Blakey!~ There's s tuna sandwich with your name on it…~"

Blake groaned and cured up a bit tighter.

At this point, Yang turned on the camera app and aimed her device at Blake. She nudged her with the toe of her boot. "Come on, Blake-o; up and at 'em!"

She groaned again, but this time she stretched back out, crawling to her knees before arcing her legs akimbo as she let out a satisfied groan, pushing herself back to her feet.

It was only after a minute (when she was massaging her back) that she noticed everyone else staring at her.

"…what?"

_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/

"Did you see that shit?"

"Yes, Coco, we did. We were there too, remember?" It was later in the day, their debriefing with Ozpin thankfully short and sweet. Now Team CFVY was sitting in Beacon's cafeteria eating their dinner. "You've been mentioning how flexible Blake is all afternoon."

Velvet was trying (the operative word here) to be patient with her team leader about her latest obsession, but by now it was starting to actively impact her enjoyment of her meal.

"I think we got the idea the first time you brought it up."

First twenty times, even, Fox added through their team telepathy. You can stop now.

"I can't help it!" the fashionable young woman admitted, "I've seen some flexible girls in my time- and I mean really flexible- but that pose was just…!" She made an unintelligible noise accompanied by a nebulous hand gesture. "…you know?"

"…I think we get the picture, Coco. And I agree, what Blake did was an incredible physical feat. …maybe even a little bit sexy."

Leave it to Yatsu to play the diplomat. With any luck, this would sufficiently placate Coco about this.

"I mean right? Gawd, what I wouldn't give to be able to do that…!"

"Maybe with practice. For now, we should focus on the exam coming up; Ms. Goodwitch did say she wanted to see us get nothing lower than our usual marks."

"Alright, I get the message. Serious Mode starts now…right after I check my socials."

Velvet rolled her eyes but didn't comment. She was also fairly active on her social media, but unlike Coco she didn't feel the compulsive need to check it every few minutes. It was a harmless quirk, in any ca-

"WHAT?!"

…or, she'd have an outburst like that which caused everyone else in the room to stare directly at their team.

Velvet almost choked on the bite of food she just took.

"…ow," Fox said, "That was loud on both fronts."

"How the hell does this have over two hundred reblogs already?"

"I'm probably going to definitely regret asking," Velvet sighed, "but what's the post?"

"Look!" Coco practically shoved her Scroll into her Faunus friend's face. Once Velvet was able to back up a smidge she saw what had elicited such a visceral reaction: user "Fireballin17" had posted a short video of Blake doing her stretch from earlier, with the caption "Up & at em, Blake-o". Just like Coco had shouted, the post had considerably over two hundred reblogs on it, actually getting close to 250.

The number of comments it had was also substantial, hovering around 50 or so.

"…and?"

"Wh- …what do you mean 'and', Velv? Don't you see what this means?"

"...that people enjoy seeing other people in provocative poses?"

That they're a bunch of pervs ogling some girl online? Fox.

"You're going to blow this completely out of proportion?" Yatsuhashi.

"It means that I'm not going to be the envy of chicks everywhere anymore!" she revealed. "I've spent a considerable amount of effort to get to where I am today, and I'm not about to let it all go to waste because some upstart decided to be double-jointed!"

"Not really something you can just decide."

"Whatever!" Coco abruptly stood up, her mostly untouched food now completely forgotten. "I need to rectify this issue before it becomes permanently unsalvageable." She then yanked Fox to his feet ("Ack!") next to her. "Obviously the first order of business is to dress for success, so follow me back to the room and help me pick out an outfit. Unless you two have something better to do tonight?"

"Wait, don't I get a say in this?" Fox bemoaned.

"Nope!~" And with that Coco strutted off, dragging Fox behind her.

Yatsu sighed. "We should make sure she doesn't use him as a dress up dummy again, right?"

"Mhmm." Velvet gathered the other plates as she stood up. "I don't think I was going to finish any of this, anyway."

_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/

By the time Velvet and Yatsu reached their dorm room, Coco had already emptied half her wardrobe onto poor Fox.

Only his face was left uncovered for health reasons. (Breathing and general staying alive.)

"…maybe this one-? Nah; too gouache." Toss. "This one? …not gouache enough." Toss. "Maybe something with white in ithahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha! Wow, couldn't even say that one with a straight face…~"

More clothes get added to the Fox pile.

"Coco, what are you doing?"

"Exactly what it looks like, Bun-Bun," Coco said, holding up two identical versions of the same outfit for inspection, "Now be honest with me: which of these makes me look sexier?"

Yatsu was about to actually answer the question, but Velvet thankfully held up a hand before he could accidentally enable his team leader. "Coco, why is this so important to you? So what if Blake is getting Grimmstagram famous? That doesn't make you any less special."

"I know that, but that doesn't change the fact that I'm this school's 'lesbicon', and I refuse to give up that title to anyone!"

"And what do clothes have to do with-" Fox started to ask, only for the question to instantly die when the fashionista shot him a "…really?" look over her shades.

It was the kind of glare that even a blind person could tell was happening.

"Right, forgot who I was talking to for a second…"

"There's no way we're going to talk you out of this, is there?" Velvet remarked. Less as a genuine question than a statement of fact. "*sigh*…alright, what look are you trying to go for?" Better to help her get it out of her system, after all.

"Something that makes my butt 'pop'. Any pointers on how to do that?"

This was going to be a long night…

…so can I get out of these clothes now?

_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/

The next day Coco had finally chosen the perfect outfit: the infamous "Virgin Killer" sweater that was making rounds on the internet a supple of years back.

"Ok, is everybody set? Velv?"

Velvet let out a heavy sigh. "…the camera's all set whenever you give the word."

"Perfect. …Fox?"

"Why am I in charge of lighting again?" he asked, gesturing to his eyes with one hand while keeping a light diffuser steady with the other. "I'm blind."

"Really? I hadn't noticed. Yatsu, you ready?"

"…"

"…Yatsu?"

"Are you absolutely sure that's the outfit you want to wear for this?"

"For the millionth time, yes! If Blake's picture could get such a big response while she was fully clothed, how much of one do you think I'll get showing a little skin, hmm?~" She sashayed over to the center of the room where a little set was constructed, her hips jutting from side to side with each step she took.

Velvet thought the slight hint of blush on Yatsu's face as he tried not to stare at his team leader too much was adorable.

"Alright, people; it's showtime!" She got down on the floor, laying out over the mark she'd put there. The back of her bra and the waistband of her panties were clearly visible through the open back of the "shirt". "Roll the camera, Velvet!"

Velvet did so, her ears drooping slightly. Then, robotically, she said "Up and at 'em, Blake-o."

Coco grimaced for a second, but it disappeared just as quickly as she began to spread her legs out, lifting her back end off the floor while keeping her chest glued to it. To her credit, she was actually pulling it off just like Blake had.

…before there was a loud "Crack!" echoed through the room, Coco freezing in place with gritted teeth.

"Coco…is everything OK?"

Coco's head creeeeeeaked over to her Faunus teammate.

"…could one of you help me up?" she hissed, "I think I just threw my back out…"

_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/

"So that plan didn't work out like I expected," Coco said as Yatsu wheeled her out of the infirmary, "but you know what I always say: failure is only the first step on the road to success!"

You never say that, Fox correctly pointed out. You usually just say not to screw up.

"Same difference! That doesn't mean it doesn't have-!" She winced. "…shut up."

I haven't said a thing, Boss.~

She proceeded to make a very rude gesture in Fox's direction.

"Coco…!" Velvet admonished. "Anyway, I hope this shows you how ridiculous you're being over some silly video."

"Oh completely. I mean…it's not like we were both there to witness it firsthand other anything…"

"And you're insatiable! Look, it's been a day already, everyone's probably forgotten about Blake's video by now."

"…you're sure about that?"

"Absolutely! Here, just give me a second…" She took out her Scroll and opened up her social media.

"…"

"…"

"…"

"…Velvet?" Yatsu spoke up.

"…it's trending…"

"Come again?"

In lieu of a verbal answer, Velvet turned her Scroll around to show the others what had her speechless; on the sidebar of currently trending hashtags, among the usual current event-related ones, close to the top of the list, was "blakeochallenge". She tapped it, and a bunch of posts loaded in of people doing pretty much what Coco had, though more successful.

These posts were also getting a good reception.

Coco's eyebrow started to twitch.

_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/

Surprisingly, Coco didn't actually make a big deal of the "Blake-o challenge" going viral while she spend the next couple of days recuperating from her own attempt at it. In fact, she outright brushed it off the next day when the others confronted her about continuing.

"Please, what's the point of standing out if you're just copying what everyone else does? Fashion 101, sweetie.~"

I'll leave it up to your imagination to whom the "sweetie~" was directed.

In any case, once Coco was deemed fit enough to take part in physical activities again Velvet had assumed things were now back to normal.

…until she entered her team's room after spending some time discussing weapons with Ruby Rose.

"Mind the stuffed animal display, Bun-Bun," the fashionista called over from her desk, "it took me an hour to get everything to balance right."

Velvet blinked.

Then she rubbed her eyes, but nothing changed. Their room, once decorated in a fairly conservative manner, was now awash in pastel sheets and RGB lighting (set to various shades of violet), along with a frankly obscene amount of stuffed animals. Coco's desk had been turned into some kind of command center, with a pair of extra hologram screens on either side of her Scroll, which now had a few new wires connected to it: two went to the extra screens, one went to a keyboard, and the last one ran behind the desk, most likely plugged into the wall outlet.

Coco herself had traded in her usual outfit for a much more casual one: a baggy T-shirt that hung tastefully off one shoulder, yoga pants, and fuzzy socks completed the ensemble. She still had her shades on, of course.

It was just like one of those civilian social media influencers' accounts.

"So…I have a couple questions-"

"I'm doing a Q&A stream!" the fashion-conscious woman announced, gesturing grandly to her somewhat loud surroundings. "I like to think of myself as a fairly worldly person-"

"So you tell us."

"-so," she continued, heedless of the interruption, "it dawned on me that I've been pretty selfish just hoarding all my sage knowledge to myself. Therefore people can tune in to my broadcast and ask me whatever they want. You don't become the Lesbicon I have without picking up a few pointers along the way."

Velvet regarded her friend for a moment, then glanced around the room, then back at Coco. "…what'd you do with all our things?" she asked in a no-nonsense tone.

"In the closet," she said, jerking her thumb behind her, "I'll put everything back when I'm done, don't worry about it."

"…ok then. I'll just go do…something or other until you're done. Where are guys, by the way?"

Coco shrugged. "Beats me. Oh, gotta start things up now; be gentle with the door on your way out!" Velvet just rolled her eyes as she turned to leave, Coco starting up her camera. She adjusted a ring light set up behind her Scroll, making sure it was just the right level of warmth before sitting back down and waving to the camera.

"Hey there, sexy ladies!~ It's Coco, Remnant's resident source of knowledge on what's hot, and what's not.~ Anyway, I won't keep you waiting, my lovelies; let's get to those questions I know you all left for me in the two days since I announced this." She took a moment to check her viewer count (which was already over 50. Hells yeah!). "Alright, the first question is from 'totallynotafrog'- interesting choice of name there- and they ask 'what's the best way to seduce a lesbian?'. Forward, aren't we? Well, being female is usually a good start, not to mention having the right loadout, if you know what I mean.~" She winked at the camera. "Other than that it's a case-by-case basis thing."

So far, things were going well.

"Let's see…'bigredbird' asks 'how big are your boobs?". She narrowed her eyes. "This isn't that kind of livestream, ass. But, since I said that I'd answer any question you guys had…" She turned away from the camera for a moment, seeming to reach for something out of sight. Before too long she turned back, holding a pair of plush birds that had blue, webbed feet in her hands. "They're this big." Then she tossed them aside. "And that's all you get of that."

Coco had a sneaking suspicion who "bigredbird" actually was, but she wasn't about to let one a-hole ruin her stream.

"You know, I think we'll go over one more pre-sent question, and then I'll see how you all in the chat are doing, ok?" She took a moment to filter out certain types of questions, eventually landing on one asking her what was up with her shades.

Then she opened up the chat window.

"Show us your tits!"

"R u a reel gril?"

"Wen premium stream starting?"

"80085 lmao"

"Wen get nekkid?"

"Lesbians rr hawt lolololololol"

She immediately closed the chat window.

"And we're done here! Thanks to everyone for showing up." And with those parting words, she ended the stream, unplugging everything from her Scroll.

"Balls…"

It was at that precise moment that the closet decided to burst open and spew her team's possessions all over the room.

_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/

"I have no idea what went wrong!" bemoaned Coco as she set the room in order again, under the watchful eyes (and ears) of Velvet, Fox, and Yatsuhashi. "I was explicitly clear in my announcement that the stream was meant to cater to those of the sapphic persuasion!"

"You sure it didn't have anything to do with the fact that you put 'girls girls girls' all over the post?" Velvet pointed out, holding her Scroll out for Coco to see. "The picture of you in nothing but a tartan skirt with your arm over your chest also probably contributed."

"It did look like a bit much," Fox "observed".

"…I'm flipping you off again," Coco narrated. "But I needed something to catch people's attention! You know, give 'em a little something to get their imaginations flowing."

"And you never thought that- …actually, no, why would you?" Yatsu was about to rebuke. "By the way, my bed was a little more to the right."

Coco groaned but made the adjustment to her teammate's bed.

"How much farther are you going to take this, Coco? Actually, more to the point, is it really so important that you soothe your ego?" Velvet let out a tired sigh. "Look, I get that you might have felt belittled when you saw that post about Blake getting so popular, but it's not like it was a directed attack against you or anything. Is your pride so important that you risk your health…or messing with the rest of our stuff?" She sent a particularly pointed look at her team leader with that last part."

"Alright, alright, I'll admit I might've gone a tiny bit overboard this time…next time I want to do something like this, you have my permission to slap me. How about that?"

We'll hold you to that.

"Don't think we won't," seconded Velvet.

"I know; I just asked you to."

Yatsu then cleared his throat. "Anyway, we got a message from Ms. Goodwitch while you were doing your stream; she wants us to help out with some of the booths during the Vytal Festival. Apparently, some of the vendors have a bad case of food poisoning."

"I think we could handle that, not like we have anything else going on right now. What booths?"

_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/

"…you're gonna give yourself a concussion if you keep bashing your head on the side of the Kissing Booth like that, Velv."

Velvet paid her no heed, continuing to bash a shallow crater into the wood. "I know, that's the point…"

"Seems a little unhealthy to me…"

"Why did you volunteer us for the kissing booth?" the bunny Faunus moaned, taking a moment to face Coco directly (her forehead was looking a little raw now), "Yatsu and Fox got to pick where they got to work."

"Because this is obviously a two-person job," Coco explained. "There's going to be all kinds of people coming here in want of a little smooch, so we have to be able to properly cater to the customer's wishes." She gestured between the two of them, "You for the guys, and me to send all the lovely ladies to paradise.~"

"…I'd be more offended by how you worded that if I weren't as mad at you for roping me into this."

"Hey, you could enjoy this, you don't know!" She then pointed to the sign on the front of the stall, "It's 50 Lien for a kiss on the lips, and Ms. Goodwitch said that we could deal with people who try to get hands as we see fit. Besides, just about all the people I've seen walking around the Festival are reasonably attractive, and the money from this booth goes right to Grimm relief efforts."

As much as she didn't want to admit it, Coco was doing a decent job of bringing her on board with this. 50 Lien was the most expensive option available at the booth, which, while affordable, wasn't an impulse purchase for most people. (Unless with were a Schnee, that is.) Plus, the rules were clearly displayed next to the pricing, which were explicitly clear about what people were and were not allowed to do to the kissers…? Kissees? What was the proper term for the position they were-

Focus! Velvet wasn't happy about doing this job, but until their shift ended she was at least going to do be professional about this.

"What is the worse that can happen?" Coco assured her.

"Oh gawd, I really wish you hadn't said that…"

Throughout the day there were actually surprisingly few people that came by the girls' booth, and most of them were of the male persuasion. And, as Coco had said earlier, most of them were reasonably attractive folks. Except for one man who had a mind of rugged look to him; Velvet would never admit it, but that kiss left her with a little bit of the vapors.

"You know you can glow a little less, right?" Coco grumbled next to her.

"It's involuntary," Velv shrugged. She couldn't help but feel a little bad for her team leader; this had been Coco's idea, and yet only two or three girls had bothered paying for a kiss from her, and they'd all only paid for a cheek kiss. "I'm sure it's just a matter of time before the women start lining up to sample your lips…?"

She had to fight to not wince when she said that.

"Easy for you to say…" Coco let her head fall to the counter. "Maybe I should just give up on this; if there's anything I can take from all this, it's that I don't have whatever mojo I used to."

"Oh, don't say that! You're just…having a slump right now. The Coco I know wouldn't let a little thing like that get her down, she'd stand up, grit her teeth, and do something bold to show people that she's still got it!"

Coco glanced up at her friend. "…your motivational speeches need work, Bun-Bun, but I appreciate the attempt." She smirked.

Velvet smirked back, shrugging. "You were always the speaker of our group."

"Yeah, but you were always the-"

"*ahem*."

Both girls looked up to see another customer waiting for their turn.

"I hate to interrupt your conversation," he said, holding up a Lien card, "but I was wondering if I could get a kiss?"

"All yours, Bun-Bun." Coco gave Velvet a pat on the shoulder as she stood up. "I'm gonna go get myself a snack, I'll be back in ten." As she exited the booth she called back "Don't kiss anyone I wouldn't!~"

Velvet rolled her eyes before giving the man her full attention. "Ignore her. Anyway, which option would you like to purchase, sit? You can only pick one."

_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/

Cotton Candy, one of life's greatest pleasures. Coco wasn't a hardcore foodie like some of her friends were, but she still enjoyed the sugary, melt-on-your-tongue fair treat as much as anyone else did.

She'd said ten minutes, but she just happened to catch the vendor during a lull in business, so she'd actually gotten her food in three. She then decided to use the extra time to stretch her legs a bit and walk around the Festival, possibly checking in with Yatsu and Fox if she came across one of their booths.

But before she actually came across one of them she noticed another booth that caught her interest.

It was a "Guess my weight" booth with a bunch of plushies of various sizes displayed behind a counter. Seated on a stool in front, looking as petulant as Velvet had at the start of the day, was one of the students from Haven Academy, specifically the dark-skinned girl with chopsticks in her hair.

Three guesses why there didn't seem to be much business happening there.

Welp, time to change that! she thought, tossing her half-eaten junk food in a nearby trash can before approaching the girl.

"Yo!" she waved, "Coco Adel, Beacon Academy. What's your name?" She had to stop herself from also asking what this girl's sign was.

Said girl finally glanced up. "Arslan Atlan, I'm from Haven. Are you here to guess my weight too?"

"Well, that does seem to be the purpose of this particular stall… How much to guess?"

"20 Lien gets you three guesses, and you get better prizes the fewer guesses it takes to get it correct. There's a consolation prize if you can't guess."

Bastion of charisma, this one…

"I bet I could get it in one guess," Coco bragged, giving one of her signature cocky smirks. "Wanna up the stakes?~"

"20 Lien." The Mistrali girl held a hand out.

Coco begrudgingly dug around in her pockets and handed over the money.

"Thank you." The blonde-haired girl dropped the money down a slot in a box next to her. "Go ahead and make your guesses."

"Alright. I'm gonna say…" She flashed up her fingers in succession, the unspoken "girl code" for guessing each other's weight. She wasn't about to break that now, even for a festival game.

"Wrong," Arslan informed her. "You have two guesses left."

Dang it! It may have been a little on the cautious side, but it shouldn't have been too far off, right? This girl looked like she worked out more than Blondie or that crazy Nora chick, Coco was sure she'd taken that into account.

She lowered her shades, this time properly looking the Mistrali girl over and taking all her physical features in. She flashed another series of fingers up.

"Still wrong," Arslan said, completely nonplussed. "You have one guess left."

Balls! She really was off her game today.

Well, it appeared to be time to break out the big guns now; there was one sure-fire method Coco had for giving her information about a person, and it hadn't failed her yet.

"Can I just say- before I take my guess- that I just love the look you've got going on right now? Kind of a 'Vacuan warrior Princess' thing."

"I- …thank you," she said, looking slightly taken aback; she probably wasn't used to receiving compliments.

"No sweat! Mind if I get a better look at it?" She gestured for Arslan to do a little spin on the ground in front of her.

She still looked unsure, but Arslan hopped down from her stool and did a slow, awkward turn.

And that was when Coco made her move, her hand shooting out and grabbing firmly onto Arlsan's butt.

Yay for fringe benefits!~

"I see now!" she declared, "Your actual weight is-!"

_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/

The trappings of Beacon's infirmary were becoming disturbingly familiar, for all of CFVY.

"This is the second time in a week you've ended up here," Yatsuhashi pointed out. "Once was an unfortunate anomaly, but twice is a sign."

"What the hell were you doing, anyway?" It wasn't often that Velvet swore, but when she did it meant she was done being patient. "You weren't even gone ten minutes like you said!"

"…I broke the Girl Code," she explained, resigned. "I don't really want to talk about it."

Translation: she did something incredibly stupid and paid the price for it.

"…it'd be flipping you off if these sedatives weren't making it so hard to move right now, Alastair."

Small miracles, I guess.~

"Coco, it's time to stop, now," Velvet said, "I don't know if this is just the universe trying to send you a message or not, but I'm telling you to stop doing…whatever you're trying to do before you end up here a third time!"

Then she did that pouty scowl she reserved for only the direst circumstances, Coco shrinking into her hospital bed under its gaze.

Coco might've been Team CFVY's de facto leader, but if you wanted to live a long life then you didn't cross and angry Velvet.

"I'm inclined to agree with her," Yatsu added, "This seems to be a losing battle that you're fighting, nor do the results seem particularly fun."

"You're being a dumbass," Fox helpfully pointed out.

Coco glanced at her friends. "…I guess I'm really not gonna win this one, am I?"

They all shook their heads in unison.

"Alright then," Coco sighed, "I know when I'm beaten. How about I treat you guys to some of the best lattes you've ever had once I get out of here?"

"Sounds good."

"I'm good with that."

Can I get a smoothie instead?

Now Coco mustered up the strength to flip her teammate off.

_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/

"…OK, I gotta know!" Yang suddenly exclaimed as Team RWBY waited for the next match of the Vytal Festival tournament to be announced. "I'm not the only one who thought Coco's been acting weird the past few days, right?"

"Weird how?" Ruby asked, "She seems normal to me." She nodded to the side where Team CFVY was standing, also staring at the screen.

Weiss sent her team leader a disbelieving look. "You're telling me that it's not the slightest bit odd that Coco suddenly ended up on the infirmary twice in as many days? Both times team CFVY has been cagey about exactly why that happened."

Ruby shrugged, "She got better."

"Wasn't it three days between visits?"

"I-" Weiss sighed. "Yes, Blake, that's more accurate…"

"And there was that livestream she tried the other day," Yang pointed out, "I tuned in just to see what that was about, and she basically ended it after only five minutes."

"Did she get cold feet?" Weiss wondered.

"Not that I could tell, she just kinda shut down after saying she was gonna look at the chat."

"Come to think of it, she was giving me some weird looks after we got back from that mission…," Blake mused. "I still can't figure out why."

"Yeah, no idea…certainly wouldn't have had anything to do with how you were arching you back at the time…~"

She narrowed her eyes and Yang. "I'm still mad about you posting that video without telling me, by the way."

"It needed to be shared,~" she shrugged.

"Guys, shut up!" Ruby bat her sister's arm as she bounced in place, the screen coming to life as two slot wheels appeared and started spinning.

"First up is…!" The wheel on the left came to an abrupt stop. "...Team RWBY!"

"Yes!" Ruby and Yang cheered together, giving each other an audible fistbump.

"They'll be facing…!"

Everyone in the room held their breath as the second wheel came to a stop.

"...Team CFVY!"

"Woo!" Coco cheered, pumping a fist in the air. "You ready to give us a good workout, ladies?"

"Only if you ladies are ready to give us one!" Yang shot back.

"...tone it back a bit, Yang," Ruby cautioned.

"Will both teams please make their way to the ready areas?" the announcer chimed.

"Don't cry too much when you lose!~" Coco called as her team made their way to the ready room, quickly looking over her shoulder and flashing a wink over her shades, directed at Blake.

"Ugh, can you believe her gall?" Weiss sighed and crossed her arms. "Honestly, we're all supposed to be friends here, so what purposed does it serve to flaunt around bravado like are you blushing, Blake?"

She was.

fin.

_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/

My glorb, I have no idea how I got this one finished, but somehow I managed it. I guess it just goes to show you that you can make anything out of the stupidest idea possible if you try hard enough. (not to mention it helped take my mind off of some IRL stuff that was getting me down before.)

But yeah, this. Not sure what my next story will be about, but if you want to be notified when I post it, drop a Follow. Drop a Fav if you enjoyed what you just read, and leave a Review to share your thoughts about what stood out to you. And, as always, stay safe and Be Excellent to each other. Chiaoabunga!