Kept my promise, guys! Now enjoy the chapter made by me, edited by YARN.

Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY, only my Original Characters.

6: Feelings of Two Dunces

Daniel woke up from a fitful nap with a large yawn. "That's weird," Daniel thought. "Pillows aren't usually this comfy." He shrugged slightly, "Ah well."

He was about to fall asleep again when he heard a throat clear, "Ahem," the voice called out from right in front of him.

Daniel slightly opened his eyes to see Yang in front of him, eyes red with a deadly stare. Daniel then realized he felt a weight on his shoulder and looked at it.

At first, he could only see a mess of dark-brown hair, so he leaned his head forward. Ruby's head was resting on Daniel's shoulder, eyes closed, lips parted slightly as she snored adorably. Daniel smiled at the sight and ruffled her hair with his arm that wasn't around her waist. Ruby smiled and sighed as she wrapped her arms around Daniel's torso. It took about two more seconds to realize the severity of the situation and his chances of survival. Daniel looked back at Yang and gulped, "Oh no."

Before Yang could rip Daniel away from her baby sister, Ruby woke up. "Achoo," she sneezed. With her eyes slowly blinking open, she took her arms off of Daniel's waist and stretched them forward. She looked around in the bleachers she was waking up in. Ruby saw her sister glowering at something and waved. "Hey, Yang," she greeted drowsily.

Ruby then felt the presence of something around her waist and on her head. She looked beside her and saw Daniel with a beet-red face, an arm around her waist and on her head. His expression clearly said, "Please don't kill me. I can explain."

Ruby reacted on instinct and jumped away, putting her hood up and letting out an "Eep" in surprise and embarrassment. Her face turned a bright red like her namesake. Once she was at least three feet away, she calmed down enough to think straight while her face's color refused to agree with her emotions.

Yang continued to glare at Daniel. "So," she started, "Mind telling me what happened here?" She emphasized her point by cracking her knuckles, making Daniel's previously red face quickly turn as pale as a ghost.

Daniel shrunk back, shielding his face with his arms. He quickly rushed out his explanation, "After you left, I came back up here to the bleachers and talked to your teammates. Then, I fell asleep. That's all I know." Yang pulled her fist back, and Daniel sank lower into his seat. "Please, no! Anywhere but the face!"

Ruby quickly got up and wrapped her arms around Yang's own. "Yang, no!" she exclaimed. When she got Yang to calm down enough to not immediately punch Daniel in the face, Ruby sat back down, still a foot away from Daniel. "Where's Blake and Weiss?" she wondered.

Yang turned to her sister. "Class ended a minute ago. They left while you two were busy napping." Daniel and Ruby blushed again. "They came out, giggling their butts off, which they never do, so I figured something must've happened here. Looking at this." Yang leaned forward into Daniel's personal space menacingly, "Something. Clearly. Did."

Daniel turned to Ruby, afraid for his life. "What did we- sorry, I do when I was asleep?" He asked, desperate for an answer that wouldn't get him killed by Yang's wrath.

Ruby pulled her legs to her chest and curled into a ball, poking her index fingers together in a timid fashion. Even through the hood, Yang and Daniel could tell she was blushing madly. "Not a good sign," Daniel thought.

"Well," Ruby began, "you didn't do anything that would send you to jail at least. It was just… embarrassing."

Yang's eyes widened and then quickly narrowed them to look at Daniel. Daniel scooted away from the fiery blonde, "Um, Ruby," he sputtered, "M-mind if you elaborate. Please?"

Ruby continued to poke her fingers together. "Right. Um, where was I? Oh, you told me to wake you up when class ended and fell asleep. But," Ruby's voice lowered to almost a whisper, "you kinda fell asleep on my lap."

Daniel groaned and put his head in his hands. "Can I at least have an hour to compose my tombstone epitaph?" he mumbled.

Ruby kept going, "Weiss and Blake saw it, and Blake took pictures while they both teased me. So, I tried to push Daniel off me, but that didn't work out. He leaned back over and put his head on mine and wrapped his arm around me, saying, 'Warm'."

Daniel looked up to see Ruby somehow managing to blush even more as Yang got… well, pissed. "Sorry," Daniel apologized timidly. "I can't sleep unless I'm comfortable, and I guess I'm comfortable around you." Ruby curled her arms around her legs, giggling in amusement and out of pure, undiluted embarrassment.

"That came out wrong," thought Daniel.

Yang showed a hint of a smile. "Aww," she fawned over the two red-faced teens. "You two would be so cute." Her smiled turned into a cold stare at Daniel. "If it weren't for who you were cute with."

Daniel paled as he quickly got up. "Well, it's been nice knowing you, but I have a date with either death or class. And in all honesty, the second one's a tad more preferable. I'll just see you guys later." He ran to the exit, yelling "Bye" behind him.

Yang was about to run after him, but Ruby stopped her by putting a hand on her shoulder, shaking her head. Yang turned back to her sister. "Why don't you want me to punch the creep that just hit on you?"

Ruby glared at Yang slightly. "Yang Xiao Long, you will not hit Daniel!" She quietly yelled. "He didn't hit on me, he just accidentally did something that embarrassed both of us."

Yang sighed, but her aura of malice still stood. "Fine," she breathed. "I guess he can live another day."

The two got up and walked to their next class. When they got there in their Beacon attire (Ruby still kept her cloak), they found Blake and Weiss still giggling as they scrolled through Blake's scroll. Yang whistled, "Wow, haven't heard you guys laugh this hard since... well, ever." Yang sat next to them. "Whatcha got there?"

Blake's eyes widened at Yang's voice. "Umm," she stuttered as she looked at Ruby. If her look was asking for permission or out of fear, Ruby wasn't sure.

Ruby sighed as she plopped down in her seat next to Weiss. "She already knows."

Blake regained her composure as she showed the pictures to Yang, expecting to see some hatred. What she didn't expect was for Yang's expression to brighten as she let out a long "Aww".

Ruby leaned back to look at Yang's smirk. "How can you go from wanting to murder Daniel to 'Look how cute these two are' in a minute?" She asked with a bewildered face.

Yang looked at Ruby deviously, "Because now," she held up the picture to Ruby, "I have more blackmail," she ended in a singsong voice.

Weiss and Blake looked at Yang, confused. "Wait, more?" Weiss asked. "This already happened?"

Yang laughed. "Oh man, I forgot to show you guys their first interaction." Yang pulled her own scroll out to show the pictures she took of Ruby and Daniel under the tree.

Ruby banged her head on the desk as Weiss, Blake, and Yang fawned over the cute 'couple'. "Please," Ruby begged. "End this. Please, end it now." She groaned as Blake continued to nudge her with her elbow teasingly.

When lunch came around, Team RWBY found themselves longing for a decent meal. As they walked into the cafeteria, they saw Daniel, in his uniform and hood, already sitting with Team JNPR. They got their lunches and sat in the same spots as last time. This time, though, Ruby and Daniel made at least a foot of space in between themselves.

Weiss was the first to jump at the opportunity. "So, Daniel," she started with a smirk. "How was your nap?" Blake held back a snicker as Yang glared at Daniel.

Daniel looked at Weiss and then at Blake. He said, "I hate you," to the two and continued to eat his meal.

Team JNPR looked at the situation, completely baffled. "Did we miss something?" Jaune asked.

Weiss looked at them for a second before snapping her fingers. "Ah, you weren't there, weren't you?" Jaune shook his head. Her face contorted into a huge, shit eating grin. "Blake. The photos?"

Blake continued to snicker into her hand. "Gladly," she said in between laughs as she pulled out her scroll.

Ruby glared at the two. "Weiss, Blake, if you show the photos, I will make Zwei sleep with Blake for the rest of the week." She threatened.

Weiss gasped as Blake's face whitened. "You wouldn't," Weiss said, shocked.

Ruby stood up and leaned forward on her hands. "Try me." She said menacingly.

Daniel looked at Yang, slightly afraid. "Who's Zwei?" He asked. "Should I be worried your sister's making her friend sleep with someone?"

Yang laughed. "Zwei's our dog."

Daniel's expression lightened. "Ah," he said.

Weiss steeled herself. "It's a risk I'm willing to take," she said in a strained voice, but the corners of her mouth twitched in amusement. Blake nodded and started to find the pictures.

Ruby pounded her fist on the table. "Traitor!" She exclaimed. "This is mutiny!"

At this point, a few of the other tables were looking at the two teams and the loner in wonder and confusion. Most of them shrugged it off since it was Team RWBY and JNPR. They've done worse.

Daniel cupped his hand over his mouth like he was thinking. "Ruby, stop. Others are staring. Besides, you can't really pull it off."

Ruby turned to glare at Daniel. "Pull what off?" She questioned.

The corners of Daniel's mouth curled into a smile. "You can't really do the whole 'menacing glare' thing. It's too adorable. It's like a bunny throwing down a carrot in disgust."

Ruby's face slowly started to heat up. Abruptly, she sat back down and pulled her hood over her head in comfort, blushing madly. Daniel groaned yet again and slammed his head into the table's wooden surface. "I just said that, didn't I?"

Pyrrha giggled. "It appears you did," she said as she held Weiss's scroll. The entirety of Team JNPR saw the photos Weiss took, and they were having a blast. Nora was slowly choking on her pancakes and laughter. Pyrrha covered her mouth with a hand, trying to contain her giggles. Jaune put his face in his palm, chuckling at the two red-hooded warriors. Even Ren had a smile on his normally neutral face, shaking his head and slightly laughing.

Ruby and Daniel groaned together. They had the exact same body language. Hoods up, head resting on their crossed arms, and everything else pointed to the fact that the two did not ever want to discuss this ever again.

The entire table laughed at the two, even Ruby and Daniel albeit embarrassingly. "Look at them," Blake said through laughs. "They're like two peas in a pod." The two lifted their heads and looked at each other in sync. Then, they both blushed and slammed their heads into the backs of their arms again. Team JNPR and the remaining members of Team RWBY were having a field day with the two socially awkward teens.

Daniel felt his hood being ripped away from his body. He looked up and behind him to see Cardin Winchester, holding his hood like it was a dirty rag. "Give it back," Daniel growled.

Cardin scoffed. "Why? You want to keep hiding those wings?" Team JNPR looked at Daniel's new limbs in shock. "Can't blame you," Cardin continued, "I would hide the fact that I was an animal as well." Cardin's teammates flanked him as they all stood, trying to intimidate the Faunus.

Daniel snorted. "Knock it off. If Finnick was here, he'd be pissing himself, laughing." Daniel held up his hands, shaking them like he was scared. "Oh no! Whatever will I do? It's a four versus nine!" He turned back to his friends. "We're screwed, guys! They're huntsman in training!" His table started bursting out in laughter.

Cardin reeled back, not expecting that response. He quickly regained his composure. "Yeah, Finnick's not here right? Didn't your team get killed? You know why? Because your friends were weak."

Low blow. Daniel froze as the blood in him chilled. Team RWBY got up and glared at Cardin, murder clear in their eyes. Daniel held his hand up. "Hold on, guys," he said in a surprisingly calm voice. He looked up at them with a fire in his eyes. "I got this." The way he said it, with no emotion whatsoever, was more menacing than if he put in an evil cackle.

Daniel turned around as Cardin showed fear in his eyes but quickly suppressed it. "Yeah, freak? What are you gonna do? Run away like you did from your friends? That's how you survived, right? Let your friends die so you could live?"

Daniel ignored the jabs and grinned evilly. He put a hand on Cardin's shoulder like they were pals. Cardin tried to pry it off, but Daniel had a grip of steel. "Say, this is a family set of armor, right?"

Cardin looked at Daniel smugly. "That's right. An unbreakable sheet of steel right here." He banged his fist against his chest plate. "Shame you don't have anything to show for."

Daniel's grin widened. "You remember my Semblance, don't you?" Cardin's eyes grew in shock as he tried to wrench his shoulder away from the vice-like grip. Daniel put a finger to Cardin's forehead, and he froze. "Now, let's see." The hand on Cardin's head glowed in a dark black aura. "Do I take your cells and put them on your armor, or do I melt your armor down into your skull?"

Cardin panicked. "Let go of me, freak," he shouted as he tried to tear Daniel's arm off of his shoulder.

Daniel made a "tut" in disapproval. "But I'm trying to show you that I'm not a coward, and that's a coward's move." The metal slowly melted from Cardin's armor and made a thin layer on his forehead.

Daniel suddenly felt a body impact him from behind and arms wrap around his neck. Thinking the person was tackling him, he tried to swing his body around, only to realize it was Ruby straddling his back. "Stop, Daniel" she pleaded, "This isn't you. What would your team think?"

Daniel froze before letting his grip go from Cardin's shoulder. Cardin backed up quickly and made a break for it, his teammates rushing to follow their leader. Daniel looked around to see all of the cafeteria looking at the frightening situation. Most were horrified of what Daniel almost did, some had looks of disgust, and a few had looks of approval. Daniel waved meekly at them, chuckling weakly. Most students turned to their friends, no doubt spreading rumors seconds after a fight.

Daniel sat back down in his seat, glumly looking down at the wood. "Ruby," he said. Ruby leaned her head to the side to look at Daniel's face. He had a smirk on. "You can get off now."

Ruby realized she was still on his back, and hopped off, red-faced but still worried. "What was that all about," Jaune questioned. Team JNPR looked at their friend, slightly scared.

Yang answered for Daniel. "Bad story. Long story short, Daniel's teammates died in the Breach, and Cardin really struck home with those comments."

Team JNPR nodded and all wore a look of disgust. "What a cruel human being," Pyrrha stated. "How could Cardin pull such a low punch just to discriminate a Faunus?"

Weiss crossed her arms and scowled. "He should not be considered human, that atrocious, vile sack of-."

Daniel covered Ruby's ears, who was holding a cookie in between her mouth and hand. "Language," Daniel scolded playfully. "There's kids here."

As he took off his hands off of Ruby's head, Yang smirked a giant shit eating grin. "Oh, Daniel," she said mischievously. "I didn't know you were into that kind of thing." Team JNPR, Weiss, and Blake snickered.

Daniel started to lift his glass of water to his mouth. "Into wha-?" He set his glass down with a thud. "You've gotta be kidding me," Daniel said with a sigh. He slammed his forehead into the table yet again. "I'm not into her! Not like that at least." He shouted through the wood.

Ruby looked confused. "Wait, what?" She asked, her eyebrows scrunched together. Blake leaned forward, over the table, and whispered into Ruby's ear, explaining it so it wasn't too mature. Ruby's face heated up. She stood and slapped Yang across the face, but she was still too busy laughing to care. Just like that, the mood had been restored, and the dark was put behind them.

Lunch ended soon after that, and the nine separated to go to their next classes. The rest of the day was uneventful. Unless you count the endless teasing Daniel and Ruby had to endure, the glares and smirks Yang sent at Daniel, mixing his emotions and thoughts, and Ruby dominating yet again during the Weapon Mechanics class.

After classes were over, Blake left to the library. She went to find a quiet place, away from her teammates, to study and read. As she was picking a few materials off the shelves, a finger tapped on her shoulder. She turned around to find Daniel sheepishly waving at her. "Hello, Daniel," she politely greeted. "What do you need?"

Daniel rubbed the back of his neck. "I was wondering if you could tell me something Ruby would like to do. You know, like leisure activities outside of school?"

Blake donned an impish smirk. "Oh," she exclaimed playfully. "So you want to take Ruby on a date now?"

Daniel shook his head furiously. "No!" He denied quickly. "I wanted to repay her. She helped me get over my team, so I want to give her something back.

Blake continued to have a Cheshire grin, but she still nodded in understanding. She collected the books she needed in her arms and walked towards the librarian's desk. "Well, Ruby doesn't really have a social life, but she does have a few interests. She likes anything sweet, she enjoys killing Grimm a little too much."

Daniel waved his hand in a "keep going" motion. Blake sighed. "He's dedicated, I'll give him that." Blake thought for a few moments as the librarian checked out her books. When she turned around with her materials in hand, Blake left the library, Daniel trailing closely behind her. "Ruby enjoys music," Blake continued, "and she is a genius when it comes to anything mechanical." Blake turned around to look at Daniel. "Any ideas, lover boy?"

Daniel nodded. "One: don't call me that. Two: yeah, I got an idea. Thanks!" He turned to go find Ruby, but then he froze. Daniel turned back to Blake, chuckling meekly. "Do you know where I can find Ruby," he asked Blake.

Blake sighed. "Might as well lead you back to our dorm." She continued walking away. "Come on, you guys need to get prepared for your date." You could almost feel the smugness radiating off of her.

Daniel ran after her. "Not a date," he mumbled to himself.

Blake's bow twitched in amusement. "Sure," she drawled, "tell that to Yang."

Daniel caught up with her. "Shoot, Yang. On a scale from one to ten, what are my chances of survival?"

Blake tilted her head back in thought. "Honestly," she replied. "I'm not quite sure. She's an enigma even to me about this subject, and that's saying something."

Daniel groaned. "I was hoping that, since you're teammates, you would know about Yang's attitude about Ruby going out with someone."

Blake's smirk returned. "So you admit it's a date?"

Daniel facepalmed himself. "I can't win this conversation, can I?"

"Nope, afraid not."

Daniel threw his arms up into the air. "Yang's rubbed off on you a bit too much."

Blake let out her first hearty laugh in quite some time. The two eventually found themselves in front of Team RWBY's dorm. Blake scanned her scroll, knocked on the door, and let herself in. Daniel was about to follow, but Blake held him back with one arm, the other carrying the stack of books. "One of the girls might be changing," Blake reasoned.

Daniel's skin paled. "I'll just… wait out here," he said, shuffling his feet.

Blake closed the door as she turned around to face her team's room. Yang was sitting on her bunk, reading a magazine, Ruby laid on her bed, notes spread everywhere on her mattress. "Where's Weiss," Blake asked as she unloaded her stack onto the desk next to her bed.

Yang flipped a page. "She's in the bathroom. Who were you talking to outside the door? Sun?"

Blake rolled her eyes. "No, and stop trying to set us up." Yang shrugged and continued reading. Blake turned to Ruby who was still writing furiously on her essay. "Ruby," Blake called, "Someone's outside, and he wants to see you."

Ruby looked up from her notes, confusion written all over her face. "Really," she questioned. Blake nodded, and Ruby got up and left the room.

As soon as the door closed, Yang turned to Blake with a dead serious expression. "Who's out there?"

When Ruby closed the door, she saw Daniel leaning against the wall next to Team JNPR's room. "Hey, Ruby," he greeted.

"Daniel?" Ruby said, confused. "What are you doing here?"

Daniel rubbed the back of his neck. "Well," he started, "you know how you helped me get over my team?" Ruby nodded. Daniel continued, "I wanted to repay you back."

Ruby blushed. "Thanks, Daniel. But there's no need; I like helping people."

Daniel smiled. "Well think of this as helping me by doing something you're good at." Ruby tilted her in wonder. "Goodwitch says I need a weapon since I can't rely on my Semblance, so, I was wondering, would you like to help me build my weapon?"

Ruby bounced on the balls of her feet, squealing. "Of course! Come on, let's build your weapon." She said enthusiastically.

She tried to drag him away, but Daniel kept his feet planted, laughing. "Ruby," he called. "You probably want to change out of your school uniform."

Ruby turned around, chuckling nervously. "Oh," was her only response.

Daniel started walking away to his own room. "I'll knock on your door in ten minutes," he called to her, "If I haven't, just come out of your room. I'll catch you later."

Ruby waved at him. "See you in ten," she called out, and then Ruby rushed into her room.

Yang and Blake watched as Ruby came back into their room as she almost ran to the closet. "So," Yang said. "Whatcha doing, sis? You going out?"

Ruby rummaged through her clothes. "Oh 'ya know," she responded offhandedly. "I'm going out with Daniel in a couple of minutes."

Yang jumped off of her bed and wrapped her sister in a bear-hug. As Ruby struggled, Yang said, "Oh, you're going out with Daniel? Yay, you two are so cute together!"

"Yang. Gah. Air, please." Ruby gagged.

Yang froze and let go of Ruby. "Wait, you're going out?" Her hair started lighting aflame. "That son of a… She's too young, damnit!"

Ruby held her sister back from the door. "Yang, I said that wrong! I'm just helping him build a weapon, that's all!"

Yang calmed down and looked at her sister. "Why are you finding clothes, then?"

Ruby gestured to her current attire. "Are you kidding? I won't get this dirty, thank you very much!"

Ruby continued to dig through her clothes as Weiss walked back into the room. She looked at Ruby, then Yang (who was now in her own bed), then at Blake, and finally back at Ruby. "What are you searching for, Ruby?" Weiss asked.

Blake let out an uncharacteristic giggle. "She's going out on a date with Daniel."

Weiss looked shocked as Ruby's face turned a crimson red. "It's not a date," she yelled, her voice muffled by the closet's confined space.

Weiss laughed. "I'm sure it isn't Ruby. So, tell me." Weiss hopped onto her bed, crossing her legs. "Where is the lucky guy taking you, hmm Ruby?"

Ruby left the closet with her new outfit as she started to change. "We're making his new weapon."

Weiss blinked a few times. "He did his research on you." Weiss clapped her hands together. "It's official: it's a date."

Ruby groaned. "Yang, stop rubbing off on them." She complained.

Yang was on her bed with a small, smug smile. "Hey," she countered, "it's not my fault I'm just this awesome. Who wouldn't want to be me?"

The other occupants of the room raised their hands. "I." They all said at the same time.

Hey guys, fireflame here. Now, I present to you, the last chapter for this July. This chapter was supposed to be longer, but I decided to trim it down by about 6000 words. Sue me. Anyways, this chapter and the following few chapters are all supposed to be more lighthearted and focus on Ruby and Daniel. Don't worry, you'll have plenty of time to hate me later. In the meantime, hope you had a good time reading this! Favorite if you want to, follow if you want your updates, and review if you have any complaints, suggestions, and or anything else. Now let's give a big round of applause to my Beta, Mr. Nobody or YARN. If you're reading any other RWBY fanfics, go check out his stuff. It's pretty good.

Alright, a few shoutouts I have to do now. Thank you TopazStarV and Mylax for the suggestions for Blake's past, you both get a virtual cookie. Mylax, that's sorta the thing I wanted to avoid. I wanted to make up as little as possible that was still canon before this events, but thanks for the suggestion. I don't really like saying things that are later proven to be false.

(: :) (: :)

For now, that's all. Talk to you guys later! Signing out, Flames of Fire.