"So, what's on the to do list today?"
Emerald rolled her neck as she closed the door to their dorm behind her, glancing at her scroll, "Well, for some ungodly reason Cinder is still keeping you on RWBY duty. As for me, I have to go find that famous second year team. CFVY if I remember right."
"You sound a little annoyed Em," Mercury commented with an arched brow, "I never would have thought this before, but I think you're starting to miss me."
She glared in response, replying flatly, "Oh no. You guessed it. What will I ever do with your unending comedy?"
Mercury snorted, "Whatever. You want me."
Emerald merely retorted by slapping his arm with a scowl while glancing at her scroll yet again, lowering her voice, "Neo's heading back to Torchwick's place for a small job, so no crazy ice cream lady to pester us today."
"Hm. Ruby might be disappointed," Mercury mused, seeing Emerald's incredulous look, "For a quirky little huntress and a deranged psychopath with a sweet side they get along rather well."
His mint haired partner rolled her eyes at that, scanning the students loitering around campus, "How do you even tolerate her for more than a couple minutes at a time?"
A small spark of annoyance rose up in his chest, but he brushed it away, shrugging, "She's a smart girl. Interesting to talk to."
"...Really."
He didn't need to look to see the astonished face she was making at the moment. He kept his grey eyes pinned to the environment in front of him, his boots clunking on the ground as he walked.
"So...how exactly did the talk with the bimbo go?" Emerald tried, waiting for some sort of response. He glanced at her flatly.
"Well I could tell she wanted to punch my face in but Ruby stemmed her anger...though I can tell Yang still doesn't trust me."
"And this is why I always do the talking," Emerald sighed, "Knowing you, you probably just cracked jokes and managed to piss off most of the girl's team."
"I'm doing well so far, aren't I?" Mercury shot back, "Found all their semblances as well as some of their friends, and they trusted me enough to go on that investigation about Torchwick."
"That doesn't mean anything," Emerald stated stubbornly, "Like Cinder said, we could have easily discovered their semblances when observing them in the combat arena."
Mercury was a little surprised at how aggressively Emerald was cutting down his exploits with Team RWBY, a quizzical expression on his face. Could it be possible…? Ooh, he was so going to tease her on this.
"Is Emerald upset that Cinder isn't giving her more attention since she's too busy praising me?" Mercury mused to himself, tapping a finger to his chin in thought as Emerald growled, "You know Emmy, that really isn't healthy of you."
"Shut up," Emerald hissed, balling her hands into fists, "I just don't get why she didn't ask the more sociable of us to investigate them."
"Maybe because I was the one that actually helped Ruby when we first met while you were too busy examining your nails at the front door worrying that you'll miss Cinder's arrival."
"And what's with the first names?" Emerald ignored Mercury's accusation, crossing her arms, "I mean, you never adapted to names easily."
"What are you talking about?" Mercury scowled, "I can remember names just fine… and also, I kind of need to use their names when I'm talking to them."
"Obviously when undercover you do," Emerald rolled her eyes, "But even when you first met me, whenever it was just Cinder, you, and I around, you would refer to me as 'green haired chick'. And do I even have to mention you calling Ruby 'gem'?"
Mercury held back a grimace when Emerald mentioned that detail, but he merely tutted, "I see more jealousy bubbling up…"
Emerald narrowed her eyes as she grit her teeth, shoulders going rigid before she stomped off, "Get lost, Mercury."
"Aw, don't worry Em. No one can replace you! Though, Ruby fits better with the nickname gem, so…"
As Emerald threw an unkind gesture behind her toward him, Mercury chuckled before going the opposite direction, towards the building that Team RWBY's dorm was located. Before he and Emerald had left, Cinder had already assured him that she would talk personally with Slate once she was informed that not only he had been slacking on Torchwick's jobs for him, but was interfering with Mercury's. He didn't envy Slate, that's for sure, but a part of him just wanted Cinder to fry him and get rid of him for good.
But despite that headache removed, he felt a new one rising. Emerald was getting nosy when it came to Ruby and her friends, and he could sense her suspicion concerning the length of time that he would be absent with them. Normally he wouldn't care what she thought, but there was the very likely scenario that Emerald would tattle to Cinder about how he became so buddy-buddy with the enemy… well, became buddy-buddy with the enemy and was starting to actually enjoy their friendship. Especially since he carelessly threw out his little pet name for Ruby in front of his partner.
He would never admit it out loud however.
Forcing those troubling thoughts away, he turned the corner to be met with the leader of Team JNPR, Jaune Arc, leaving his dorm room and glancing at his scroll.
Mercury cocked his head at the oblivious boy and studied him closely, seeing that his getup consisted of hastily strapped on armor garments and blue jeans. He witnessed Jaune fight against Weiss in the combat arena before, and to say it was a slaughtering by the heiress would be an understatement. The way the princess moved made it seem as if she wasn't even trying whilst Jaune was putting all his effort forth in the battle. To put it bluntly, Jaune was written off as a non-threat to Cinder's plan right off the bat, and Mercury wondered how he even got into Beacon.
He considered just walking right past the boy and going on his merry way to find one of the members of Ruby's team, but Jaune spotted him sauntering slowly down the hall and gave a friendly smile.
"Oh hey, Mercury right?" Jaune asked before continuing on, "We met in the library. I'm Jaune."
"I remember," Mercury replied, taking his hand and shaking it firmly, "Nice to see you. Hey, have you seen Ruby?"
"Not too sure… though I overheard Ruby talking about going to the library with Weiss and Yang. Want to check there?"
"Lead the way."
Jaune began walking down the hallway and Mercury followed, his hands braced behind his head. The blonde glanced back at Mercury before slowing his pace and falling in step with him.
"So, seems like you spend a lot of time with Ruby and her team."
Mercury stared indifferently at him, "Seems so. What of it?"
"Uh, nothing really," Jaune squeaked, slightly intimidated by Mercury's blunt responses, "It's just— you know...I was just curious. And Ruby's a good friend of mine."
"I already have enough threats being pelted at me by Yang, if that's what you're planning on doing," Mercury stated, shoving his hands into his pockets and looking away.
"Ooh. Yeah, she's scary," Jaune nodded quickly, sympathizing with the silver haired teen, "I had her wrath directed on me during the first semester. Not fun."
"Really? Why's that?"
"Well, since Ruby and I are team leaders, we help each other out, y'know? Give each other advice," Jaune explained, "And we were spending a lot of time together...as you can imagine, Yang got the wrong impression."
"Hm. I see," Mercury hummed, nodding slowly. He was starting to see a pattern in Yang's protective tendencies, "Guess she thought the same of you as she does me."
"Heh. Probably," Jaune shrugged, "Ruby is the kid of the group, so a lot of people are protective of her. Just uh, be careful."
Mercury was definitely following that advice already, considering he believed he was rather close to the point that Yang would attempt to smash his face in with Ember Celica. Although he supposed Yang's suspicions were more accurate than she thought...after all, his purpose here is to make Beacon fall. How they will do that however, he is still in the dark.
Not surprising considering Cinder is the most secretive person he's ever known.
"Yeah. thanks."
They turned the corner to see Ruby, Weiss, and Yang standing beside one of the bookshelves. Ruby seemed to be peering over a few stacked books to see the other side while Weiss gazed at Yang with a stern expression.
"Yang Xiao Long I never thought the day would come where I would be forced to call you a coward but the day has come!" Weiss exclaimed in a hushed voice.
Mercury and Jaune exchanged glances as Yang huffed and crossed her arms, "I'm not a coward! I'm just using logic."
"Don't try to take my job, I'm the logical one," Weiss retorted, jabbing a thumb towards herself, "And my logic is more sound than your own since you are merely nervous and doubtful."
"You know you could have easily just said she's scared of rejection," Ruby commented as she turned to face Weiss, smiling and waving when she spotted Jaune and Mercury.
"You understood either way," Weiss rolled her eyes before glancing over to where Jaune and Mercury were standing, "Are you two going to stand there or come talk to us?"
"We're more curious as to why you are all lurking behind a bookshelf," Mercury commented dryly as he and Jaune joined them.
"Oh, uh, we're just… looking for a book?" Ruby grinned innocently, and Mercury crossed his arms before staring her down. Ruby pouted, "Alright fine, we're not looking for a book."
Weiss smacked the heel of her palm to her forehead, "Ignore her. We are merely here to provide moral support for Yang," Weiss gestured to the blonde, "She has worries over asking out her prospective date to the dance."
"You make it sound so weird," Yang stated flatly.
"Oh shush, I'm trying to help!"
Jaune glanced between the three girls, confusion written clearly on his face, "Prospective date? Who is it?"
"It's the new guy, Neptune!" Ruby chirped, "Remember when you two met him in the library a couple days ago?"
"Hm," Mercury frowned a little at the golden haired beauty, "Gotta say Yang, I'm surprised."
Yang raised a brow, "And why is that so surprising?"
"Well, I'm not surprised you're aiming to ask someone," Mercury explained, a slight smirk on his face, "I just never expected you to be afraid of asking someone out."
"I'm not afraid!" Yang cried in indignation, "Shut up!"
"Amazing comeback," Mercury remarked dryly.
"But...I thought you liked him, Weiss?" Jaune cut in, looking expectantly at the white haired heiress.
"While I do admit Neptune impressed me when I first was introduced to him, I don't have time to maintain a relationship while completing my studies. Besides," Weiss turned her eyes to Yang, "I haven't had the opportunity to talk to him as Yang has, and would much rather assist a fellow teammate."
Ruby stared blankly at her, "Again, Weiss, you could have just said you weren't interested in Neptune in that way."
Mercury chuckled slightly as Weiss glared half-heartedly at her partner, and he glanced at Yang yet again, "So if you're going to ask him, why are you hiding behind this bookshelf?"
"She's trying to weasel out of it because she's chicken," Ruby stated frankly while rocking back and forth on her heels, making her look like a little kid that was showing her intellect. Mercury felt his mouth quirk up in a slight smile at the thought.
"I am not!" Yang objected, placing her hands on her hips, "It's just...I've talked to him maybe a couple times. I don't know if I have a good grasp of his personality yet."
"That's why you ask him out, Yang," Weiss groaned aggravatedly, "You go out together to learn more about each other. Oh, I have an idea," Weiss raised one finger as she talked, "How about we show you a scenario on how to ask someone out! We can practice right here."
"Well Snow Angel, maybe you should—"
"No, I am not demonstrating with you," Weiss stated frankly, cutting Jaune down ruthlessly as she turned her gaze to Mercury, "Now, Mercury, Ruby is going to demonstrate-—"
"Me?!" Ruby squeaked.
"—to Yang how to ask a…" She wrinkled her nose at Mercury, "Individual like yourself out to the dance."
Mercury scowled at the Ice Queen, crossing his arms, "What was the pause for?"
"Weiss, why do I have to?!" Ruby repeated as Weiss promptly ignored Mercury, causing a flare of annoyance to run through him.
"Well you talk with him the most, don't you? It is similar with Yang and Neptune… sort of. Now go on!" Weiss snapped, "Let's just say… you just walked up to Mercury in the hallway or something."
"U-Uh… okay…" Ruby stuttered, rubbing the back of her neck before peering up at Mercury as she cleared her throat, "H-Hey Mercury. How are you today?"
The silver haired teen resisted grinning at Ruby's immediate change in demeanor. He certainly was going to enjoy this… "Hey Ruby. I'm good, how about you?"
"Oh, uh, I'm great today! I actually wanted to ask you something…" Ruby scuffed her feet on the floor, clasping her hands together, "Uhm… so the dance is this weekend, and I was wondering if…"
Mercury raised a brow, "If…?"
"If you would like to go? W-With me?" Ruby stuttered, her face now a bright crimson. Mercury smirked.
"I'd love to."
Ruby looked up at him, finally making eye contact. Her face went slack for a moment before a small smile eased across her lips, and Mercury felt his own smirk sliding into a similar one that had too much sincerity in it for his liking. He wasn't quite sure what was going on as he continued staring, and he wasn't too sure he wanted to look into the why. He blinked, dazed as a pale hand waved in between them.
"…Aaand scene," Weiss ended with a slight cough, "That was a… mediocre demonstration."
Ruby huffed and looked off to the side, pouting. Mercury frowned before turning to the white haired girl.
"I think Ruby did pretty good."
Weiss stared at him for a moment before rolling her eyes, though he saw curiosity that was directed toward him no doubt. The Ice Queen turned to Yang, "Just… try to do something akin to that, but with less stuttering. And more eye contact!"
"But I don't know if—"
"Yang!" Weiss and Ruby chorused, taking either of Yang's arms in their grasp before walking her out into the open, and promptly shoving her out of view.
"There he is. Go talk to him!" Weiss snapped.
"Go get 'em sis!" Ruby cheered with a hushed voice.
Yang seemed to have muttered something to her teammates only for her to be ignored, since Mercury heard her footsteps fade a moment later. Weiss and Ruby turned back to him and Jaune, proud of what they accomplished. Jaune glanced at Weiss.
"Uh, so Weiss… since you don't have a date to the dance, would you like—"
"Jaune Arc," Weiss began icily, glaring at the blonde who flinched in cowardice, "Stop asking me, and for the love of all the celestial beings looking down at us, ask Pyrrha out."
"P-Pyrrha? But she doesn't—"
Ruby buried her head in her hands, her voice muffled slightly, "Please don't finish that sentence. Don't make me lose all hope in you."
Jaune blinked, "W-What? But she doesn't...doesn't like me like that...right?"
Mercury frowned a little at this. Jaune and the Invincible Girl? That's an...interesting pair. That might be a nice tidbit of information for Cinder, depending on why she's so interested in Pyrrha. Well, beyond Pyrrha just being a slight threat to her operations that is.
Ruby sighed, glancing at Weiss as she muttered, "Denser than an iceberg in the oceans by Atlas."
Weiss scoffed, "Look who's talking."
"What does that mean?!"
Mercury smirked at the clueless little red riding hood before ruffling her hair with his hand, "Don't worry about it, little gem."
"But Mercuryyyy!" Ruby whined, pouting whilst putting on her best puppy dog eyes. Mercury quickly looked away.
"I refuse to look at you while you do that."
"…you're mean."
"I'm mean?" Mercury placed a hand on his chest as he looked back at her, a playful smile on his face, "I'm sorry, who manipulates people with her cuteness?"
Ruby pretended to think for a moment, a hand propped under her chin, "…Nyx."
"Huh. Well I have to give you that one."
"Ha!"
"That doesn't mean I'm telling you what Weiss means."
Ruby stomped her foot as Mercury grinned, and he noticed then that Jaune and Weiss were blatantly staring at them. Mercury cleared his throat, throwing a disinterested glance back at them as he rolled his shoulder, "What?"
Weiss scowled before shaking her head, "Nevermind, we were talking about Pyrrha," Weiss turned to glare at Jaune, "You have to be the densest man I have ever met if you cannot realize that Pyrrha is head over heels when it comes to you!"
"Oh, come on, that can't be true… I'm me," Jaune stressed, pointing to himself, "Just a scraggly blonde, remember?"
Ruby and Weiss both sighed in defeat, and shared a look before shaking their heads simultaneously. Mercury cocked his head at the pair, since their odd unison was bordering on downright creepy, but they were quickly jarred from the conversation yet again as Yang came back around the corner with a downcast look on her face.
"Well, how did it go?" Weiss asked expectantly, hands clasped behind her back.
"He turned me down," Yang shrugged, attempting a smile, though it turned out more as a grimace, "I guess I read into it wrong."
"He what?!" Weiss shrieked, "That's just preposterous! Why would he turn you down?"
"Well I can't exactly read minds, Weiss. That's not my semblance," Yang said bitterly as she cast her eyes to the side. She sighed a moment later, "Sorry, I know you're just trying to help."
"Don't worry about it," Weiss grabbed Yang's shoulder, "I understand."
"What did Neptune say?" Jaune cut in.
"He said the dance wasn't really his thing… though I think that was just an excuse…" Yang cast her eyes to the ground, shrugging, "I wish he was straight up with me, you know?"
Mercury frowned a little at Yang's uncharacteristically down mood. He never pegged Yang for one to be so unsure around boys, since her entire personality screamed confidence and bravado, but he supposed that just applied to her friends and not her crushes. Still, he was surprised Neptune turned her down, since when at dinner with all of RWBY as well as Sun and Neptune, Yang and Neptune seemed to enjoy each other's company immensely.
Then, he stopped himself. He wasn't feeling concern over this, was he? Why was he pondering over this? Mercury resisted growling in aggravation, wishing for Emerald to be here so he could distract himself from this line of thought. He supposed Ruby was the source of this investment in the lives of the students around him, but that justification just made it all the worse. He tried not to think any more and focused on the conversation around him.
"That makes no sense. That's it, I'm going to talk to him and straighten this out," Weiss stated with a precise nod, keeping her chin tilted high in the air.
"Weiss, you don't have to—"
"I want to help too," Jaune said hastily, "I mean, Neptune can't just flirt with you and then turn you down with an explanation like that."
"But—"
"Don't bother trying to convince me Yang, we are going to get this settled," Weiss said sternly, "Come on, Jaune. Let's find Neptune."
"Hey, remember we have to finish preparing for the dance later today!" Yang called desperately after the duo, only to huff in annoyance and cross her arms, "She sure can be pushy."
"It's kinda weird to have her obsessing over something besides training and tests though," Ruby mentioned, cocking her head as she watched Weiss and Jaune walk away, "At least she isn't channeling her anger towards us."
Mercury snickered at that, causing Ruby to smile timidly at him. He leant back on one foot as he stretched his arms out, sighing as he said, "Ice Queen can be persistent. But beside that, what is this about preparing the dance?"
"Oh, Weiss and I have been put in charge of the dance committee since Team CFVY's mission is taking longer than expected. We volunteered to help and they let us," Yang answered, and Mercury hid a grin. Seems like Emerald is out of a job today.
"Sounds interesting."
"Heh, yeah. Weiss and I have been really enjoying it and I think we've done well so far," Yang said proudly, "Oh, speaking of which, I should probably head over there now and get started lugging in the equipment. You two want to come with?"
Mercury glanced at Ruby with an arched brow, and she met his gaze with some surprise. In realizing he was letting her decide for the both of them, Ruby replied, "Uh… sure! Maybe we can help you set up."
"I dunno Ruby… you have some spaghetti arms," Yang grinned, grabbing one of Ruby's wrists and shaking around her arm for emphasis.
"Yaaaaang!" Ruby cried, pouting as she stole her arm back with a huff. Mercury chuckled, earning a glare from the small girl.
"I would have thought with you wielding such a large weapon as your scythe you would gain some muscle," He teased.
"Oh, shut up," Ruby huffed, turning away as they began to make their way to the building being used for the dance. Mercury sighed playfully before slinging his arm around her shoulders and pulling her close.
"Come on gem, chin up," He tapped her chin with his other hand, "You're scythe is pretty awesome."
Ruby tried to continue frowning as she glared halfheartedly up at him, but she eventually gave up and sent him a small smile, "Heh, yeah. You're still a meanie though."
"I figured that would be the case."
...
...
...
Ruby found it rather hard to keep up her elated mood as she watched the area slowly transform into a dance floor. Weiss had come in not long after them, looking rather pleased with herself, but wouldn't share anything with them. Yang and Weiss argued for a bit as Ruby and Mercury watched passively, but the argument was eventually dropped in favor of finishing the final arrangements for the dance tomorrow.
But the dance itself wasn't what kept Ruby's mood down. She worried over Blake and whether or not they would be able to convince her to go to the dance. If her entire team wasn't happy, then she wouldn't be happy, and that's that.
Currently, she was sitting at one of the few tables set up beside Mercury, who had his feet propped up on the table itself. That of course caused Weiss to send him dirty looks from time to time, but it seemed as if Mercury didn't care and was blatantly ignoring her. Ruby merely laid her arms on the table and placed her head on top of her arms, drawing a look of concern from Mercury.
"Gem? You feeling okay?"
"Hm?" Ruby tilted her head so she could see her silver haired friend, "Mm, I guess. I just wish we could find a way to get Blake to come to this dance."
"Why isn't Blake coming?" Mercury asked, only to receive an arched brow from Ruby. He blinked after a second, "She's still worried about Torchwick? There isn't much you all can do beyond what you're already doing."
"Yeah, I know, but when Blake sets her mind to something it is difficult to get her to stop and actually take care of herself," Ruby grumbled bitterly, pouting, "She isn't getting enough sleep, and she won't even eat unless one of us sets something in front of her. It's like she just...forgets everything else."
Ruby didn't have to look at Mercury to tell he was slightly uncomfortable. He didn't exactly seem like the guy that was good at reassuring people, and she wasn't asking for reassurance. She just needed to vent, she supposed. Despite this, the hand that rested itself on her back and the fingers that rubbed circles into the nape of her neck was surprising, and she felt herself blush a little as Mercury replied.
"I'm sure it'll work out, Ruby."
She turned to smile at him, "Yeah, you're probably right...thanks Merc."
He smiled back, but the clicking of Weiss' heels tore Ruby's attention away from him. Weiss pushed two squares of white tablecloth towards Ruby, smiling as she asked, "I need you to pick a tablecloth."
Ruby squinted at the two white squares of cloth, confusion settling in her features, "Aren't they both the same?"
Weiss frowned, making a noise of disappointment, "I don't even know why I asked!"
As her partner walked away, Ruby sighed before settling back on the table, feeling Mercury's fingers begin to move again. She hid her grin by burying her face into the fabric of her sleeves, silently glad that he was around. She heard Yang walk in, her stomping feet moving past her before a loud slam in the ground had her flying up in the air for a moment, jarring her from her thoughts. She blinked owlishly as Yang moved to stand in front of the table, hands on her hips as she eyed the hand on Ruby's upper back.
"So, have you picked out a dress yet?" Yang asked in an attempt to start a conversation, seeing Ruby's downtrodden mood. Ruby shook her head.
"Not just yet..."
"She's upset that Blake isn't coming to the dance," Mercury informed Yang, much to Ruby's chagrin. She shot him a look to which he merely smirked, drumming his fingers on her back.
"Oh, don't worry; she's going," Yang assured, a slanted smile on her face that was quickly wiped away as she looked off to the side, "Weiss, I thought we agreed: No doilies!"
Weiss stomped up to Yang, pointing at Yang with a stern look, "If I don't get doilies, you don't get fog machines!"
"Your dance is gonna have fog machines?"
Ruby turned to the speaker to see Sun and Neptune walking in, and her eyes immediately darted to Yang. The blonde's easygoing demeanor had diminished, leaving tense muscles and a frozen smile on her face as she realized who had just came in. Ruby reached out to Yang and grabbed her hand, "Yang?"
"I'm okay, Rubes," Yang addressed her younger sister quietly, though Ruby could tell that was a lie. It wasn't often that Yang showed an interest in a guy, but when she did, things either went very well or very poor. Judging by what happened prior, Ruby had to say currently things were going poorly.
"We we're thinking about it," Weiss shrugged, walking up to Neptune and sharing a meaningful look with him. Her eyes darted to Yang, and Neptune looked almost shy at that point. Ruby frowned at this, and she nudged Mercury to gain his attention.
"What's going on with him?" She whispered, glancing between the blue haired teen and her partner.
"That sounds cool..." Neptune trailed off, and after a moment, Weiss rolled her eyes before pulling him by the arm and practically shoving him towards Yang.
"Oh, Yang, Neptune said that he wanted to talk to you!" Weiss exclaimed far too cheerily for it to be natural, "Over there. Away from us."
"Uh...Weiss?" Yang raised a brow, lilac eyes darting to Neptune from time to time, "What are you-"
"She's not wrong," Neptune managed, "Can we talk?"
Yang blinked, looking up at Neptune before glancing at Ruby, who merely shrugged. She then looked at Weiss, who raised a brow and glared, as if trying to beam Yang the message to just go.
"I guess that's what was going on," Mercury said offhandedly as he and Ruby watched the duo walk a ways away to talk. Ruby smiled a bit.
"I wonder what Weiss and Jaune talked to him about."
"Jaune and I talked to him concerning why he declined Yang's request for him to accompany her to the dance," Weiss stated factually with her sophisticated vocabulary, "And then we continued to tell him that turning a girl down because he 'doesn't know how to dance' is not a good enough reason."
"...that was seriously his reason," Ruby gaped.
"Oh yeah, Nep can't dance to save his life," Sun chuckled, all too happy to spill the beans about his friend, "I guess he was too obsessed with his dumb cool guy persona. But, eh, at least Weiss and Jaune got it settled for the most part. Anyway, you ladies all excited for dress-up?"
"Pfft, yeah right!" Ruby shook her head and rolled her eyes.
"Oh, don't be like that Ruby, dress up isn't this horrendous thing you insist it is," Weiss sighed as she crossed her arms.
"Knowing you, you'll force me into heels!"
"What's wrong with heels?"
"They are the number one reason for death of the human foot!" Ruby exclaimed, flailing her arms as she did so.
"I think you'd look cute, gem," Mercury mentioned with a grin, poking at the side of her neck.
Ruby spluttered as she turned to Mercury, her face heating up exponentially, "I-I don't dress up! I don't get why it matters if I wear heels or boots!"
"Ugh, ignore her, she can't be saved," Weiss shook her head, turning to Sun and Mercury, "Well, what are you two wearing?"
"Uhh...this?" Sun gestured to his current apparel, that being his signature blue jeans and white collared shirt that was unbuttoned and showing his chest and abs. Mercury chuckled.
"I can respect that."
"See? Merc understands!" Sun grinned as he pointed to the silver haired teen.
"Ignore him for he knows not what he says," Neptune said quickly as he and Yang returned from their talk. Ruby was glad to see that Yang seemed a lot more relaxed than she was before when Neptune first arrived, and the glance Yang sent to Ruby told her all she needed to know.
"Hey, I may have moved to Mistral, but I grew up in Vacuo. It's not exactly a shirt-and-tie kind of place," Sun defended himself quickly.
Yang crossed her arms, raising a brow, "Yeah, we noticed."
Sun shot Yang a look before rubbing the back of his head, questioning, "Soooo... what does Blake think of all this? She still being all, y'know... Blake-y?"
"Obviously," Weiss turned and crossed her arms in clear disapproval.
Ruby lifted her head up from the table, adding with a frown, "I still can't think of a way to change her mind."
"Guys, trust me," Yang began, starting to walk to the exit, "Blake will be at the dance tomorrow."
At that, Yang walked out of the building, leaving the rest of the inhabitants to ponder over what she had planned for the cat faunus. Weiss was the first to recover, turning to Neptune quickly.
"I assume that you fixed things?"
Neptune sighed, his shoulders slumping, "Yes. Gosh, you sound like my mother."
"Well apparently I have to be, since you nearly ruined things with your idiotic reasoning! I mean really, out of all the reasons you could have had, the fact that you can't dance and didn't want to ruin your cool factor took priority?!"
Neptune tried to defend himself against Weiss' cutting assault as Sun laughed heartily at his friend's demise. Ruby leant back in her chair, turning to Mercury and seeing his raised brows.
"What is it?" Ruby asked.
"Just didn't think I'd ever see Ice Queen play matchmaker," Mercury chuckled quietly before meeting Ruby's gaze, "Gotta wonder who else she's going to match up."
Ruby blinked, seeing Mercury's mouth slowly twist into a grin. She bit her lip and quickly turned to look at the spectacle in front of her yet again, feeling her face heat up yet again.
At this rate, Ruby didn't need a matchmaker.
...
...
...
Hey there guys! Sorry I took a little longer to update...things have been a little crazy here. But hey, we're getting close to the dance! I've written so many drafts for it I can't even count at this point :D
MidnightRoyalty: Very true! Yang's puniness must be highlighted on in canon! And yay, I'm glad you don't mind seeing Seadragon! I just love the pairing so much
Locus: Oh gosh, a sad Ruby is something I do not want to deal with, but you never know...and yeah, I kinda did want to make Merc and Yang fight too, but I figured it probably wasn't a good idea since not only would Ruby be horrified, but then Ozpin and Cinder and everyone would get involved, and I am not quite ready for that craziness XD
Ultramagnus423: Haha, it's fine, I make that pun all the time. Bottom of the pun barrel we gooo~
Trase: Oh thank you, I'm glad you are enjoying it! Mercury certainly is an interesting character to get into the mind of, that's for sure :D
Grell Phantomhive: Ahh yay thank you! 3
Littlest1: Gotta agree there. So many things I want to explore with these too... all in due time :)
Guest: I wouldn't describe Mercury as lovey dovey per say, but more confused I suppose. But either way, it's your interpretation :)
The Baz: Looove Roman and Neo! I always thought of them as merely partners, but with a special bond that is stronger than family. Not necessarily romantic in any means however
HollowfiedWolf-In-The-Shadow94: Ah thank you! I love writing this so much!
ToughGirlsRuleTheWorld: One, I love your pen name, and two, I LOVE THIS SHIP TOO! And anything can happen at the dance~ :D
One last thing to update you all on; I may be a little slow in responding to private messages and the like. Things, as I've said before, are a little hectic here with applying for colleges and other personal things, but unlike my other stories, I highly doubt this one will be affected as much. I prioritize Wilted over all of my FF stories, so I will always be working on this one the most. So, if I'm slower than usual on updating, I'm really sorry! Be patient with me!
Thank you for all the support, it means a lot to me :)
Happy writing and Lonessa out!
