Summary: The rest of the night does not go as expected. Doctor Oobleck may need his thermos after all…

"Would you like another drink my dear?"

Your eyes brighten as you watch the servers bring out trays from the large doors that presumably led to the kitchen. "Yes, that would be nice… and it looks like the dessert is out too!"

"I will bring us both then! You can just relax." Bart touched your hand before getting up and making his way towards the food tables all the way on the other side of the ballroom.

"Alright…"

You entertain yourself by admiring the fresh flowers on the table and the hall's architecture. Beautiful… but surely a bit wasteful, if you think of where these funds came from…

"Y/N... was it?" You snapped out of your entrancement and recognized the almost sky-blue hair of the man standing before you from the museum. He was looking at you with charcoal eyes and a wry smile.

"Oh! Doctor… Cerulean… I didn't expect to see anyone I knew here", you stammer, not quite sure what to do with this situation. Crap! I let Bartholomew leave me alone…. I'm an idiot.

"Just Malcolm is fine. The McCoy's are my extended family so I get invited to a lot of these things." He came closer to you but didn't sit.

"I assume you are here with Bartholomew yes? Though it seems he is absent at the moment… Could I perhaps ask you for a dance?" He extends his hand towards you.

Uh oh. "Umm thank you… really. But Bartholomew is bringing us some drinks right now… and I'm a bit tired from all the dancing I did earlier" you answer truthfully. Bart would've been able to spot you on the dancefloor if you chose to leave your table, but you really didn't want to put yourself through the psychological labor of dancing with a stranger. Especially with the vibes this guy gives me.

"Ahhh, what a shame."

Malcolm places his hand on the post of your chair and leans in so he is uncomfortably close to your ear and practically towering over your sitting form. He whispers in a fake innocent voice, "What's wrong doll? Does Barty not like it when other people touch his things? He's always been like that… Now me on the other hand… I can show you a good time-"

Shocked, you stare at him, fight or flight instincts jumbling until you abruptly stood up, allowing the now empty chair to act as a barrier between you."I'm leaving now." You say curtly, turning to walk away.

I need to get away from here…

You felt a tug on your wrist.

Good gods this creep DIDN'T just touch me… I'm about to cause a scene… I have to calm down.

"Oh Y/N, what has my old colleague told you about me, hmm? I suppose nothing good. Or are you really just that well trained…?"

You snapped to face Cerulean, fire burning in your eyes. He didn't seem to notice or care, as he looked you over with a smug expression.

"You've made enough of an impression yourself, you misogynistic pig." You spat, keeping your voice low, as to not draw attention. "I'm only going to say this once. I am a huntress and you're about to get burned. Now. Let. Go. Of. Me."

He only raised an eyebrow and tightened his grip in response, and you began to panic at the familiarity of what was going on. He began to say something else but you weren't paying attention.

The runes on your hand flared to life, deep amber on your skin.

Fear. Let go. Burn.

BURN.

You were free again as Malcolm cradled his injured hand. "AARGGH! You little-"

"What exactly is going on here!?" A man in a green suit and a cane pushed his way through the staring group that had begun to form around you and your distasteful acquaintance. An blonde woman in a purple dress followed him

Ozpin. Glynda.

You crossed your arms to hide your hand, relieved that you were no longer in danger. But what if I ruined the plan? He is related to the McCoy family after all…

You heard a clink of plates making contact with a table and a with a gust of wind Bart had his arm wrapped around you. "Y/N are you alright!?" You only gave him an exasperated look, still reeling from what was going on.

Someone else began to speak before you could, "Headmaster Ozpin, look what your huntress did to me. What kind of people do you hire at your school?" The dark eyed man scowls and indignantly holds out his still-burned palm (oh yes that was another feature of your dust semblance).

Bart puts the pieces together and his expression turned quickly to one you rarely see, rage. You see his hand instinctively go towards his thermos and his grip on you with the other tightens.

Ozpin also takes in the situation and walked over to Malcolm, practically slamming his cane on the ground. "I believe you would be one of the only people to assault a lady and still claim you are the victim, Doctor Cerulean."

Glynda stomped over to the man as well. "Or would you like to explain exactly what was happening before Y/N felt the need to defend herself? Specifically, all of the warnings you surely ignored?" She put her hands on her hips in clearly pissed-off headmistress mode. "And yes, she is our colleague, so we know if something like this happened it had to be because she was in danger. Most people have the decency to not cross that line, especially at a party."

Malcolm's eyes widened and he opened his mouth just to close it and grind his teeth. He looked around and grimaced slightly when he made eye contact with Bart. "Bartholomew, surely you would understa-"

"It's Doctor! Doctor Oobleck! You have no idea how angry and disappointed I am with you Malcolm! And at risk of losing my temper… don't let me catch you in my sight again. Or there will be consequences." He led you away from the scene, leaving Ozpin and Glynda to handle the mess.

*Bart led you through the hall to the balcony, his arm around you protectively the entire way. Thankfully, the outdoor space was almost completely empty. *

When he deemed you were in a private spot he placed his hands on your shoulders, peering at you anxiously. "Y/N are you alright? I-I shouldn't have left you alone… I can't believe- to think I used to call that man my friend-I"

You shivered slightly as the scene began to replay in your head. Why did it have to be Bart's old colleague…?

"-you're shaking…" He wrapped you in a tight embraced. "Did he hurt you?" the huntsman whispered before correcting himself. "No, we don't have to talk about this now… you don't have to tell me…This is supposed to be a fun night."

"I'm… okay… j-just a bit shocked."

You sighed. "He approached me after you left… wanting to dance, but I turned him down. It was so weird Bart… he starting taunting me about you… he definitely knows we're dating. I couldn't tell whether he was trying to flirt with me or slander you, or both! He grabbed me when I tried to leave… and yeah." You pulled away from the hug, still holding Bart, and looked at the faded runes on your hand. "This happened. I was angry and I freaked out when he didn't let me go."

Bart took the hand you had burned Cerulean with and leaned down to kiss the back of it. He brought it up to his mouth, kissing the middle joint on each finger before turning your hand to kiss the magnolia insignia on your wrist and looked down at you. His tenderness was making you feel better already.

"I'm so sorry… that sounds dreadful! You did the best you could in the situation." He expression held empathy and concern, "Do you want to go home to relax, darling?" He asked worriedly.

"No… I'm alright now that I'm with you." You respond honestly. "The mission might already be ruined, but if it isn't… I wouldn't want to put it in more jeopardy by leaving early."

"Look at me Y/N."

The Doctor tilts your chin up so you're gazing into his dark blue eyes, wide with sincerity. "I care about you so much… the mission doesn't matter. I would do anything to make you happy." He smiles, "and I'm glad I make you feel safe."

You look around to see if the coast is clear. Deeming it private enough, you balance up on your toes and wrap your arms around Bart's neck. He picks up on the cue and you lean in together for a long kiss. The bittersweet taste of wine hits you, and you take note that this is the first time he's tasted like anything but coffee or mint.

"Mmm I've wanted to do that all night" you croon.

"Ohh, trust me my dear, if it wasn't so frowned upon by these pompous aristocrats I would've tried to repeat what happened in my office yesterday on the dancefloor." He chuckled and you blushed at his forwardness and the memory of what happened on his desk.

"Speaking of which…" You can faintly hear the music from inside. Bartholomew offers you his hand to dance again and you accept it. Although this time your dancing is more like swaying with kisses snuck in not so intermittently. He's so great at both…

The moon is bright that night, illuminating you and your lover along with the hanging lanterns. You both drift towards the railing and when you're next to it, overlooking the gardens, you stop dancing but keep your arms wrapped around each other.

The atmosphere is vaguely reminiscent of your first date.

Bart looks you in the eyes and rests his hand on your cheek. "I love you Y/N"

You don't even have to think. "I love you too Bartholomew", you respond immediately, as warmth spreads through your chest at his confession.

This gorgeous, intelligent, amazing, gentleman of a man just said he loved me! Of course, we've been dating but sometimes I feel like its just a dream… I'm so lucky it isn't.

The two of you kissed more deeply, not caring about the state of your makeup anymore. It looks like everyone else has gone indoors… good. You nip at the huntsman's lower lip with your teeth, taking the noise he makes as a sign that he enjoyed it. You part your lips slightly and tongues swirl together in a way that makes you hum.

He begins to run his hands over the curves of your body (in a way that is erotic to both of you) before remembering where you were and settling to your waist. He switches to leaving light kisses on your jawline up to your ears as you tilt your head and moan quietly, running your hands over his pressed shirt to feel the muscles underneath.

Despite how disgusting Malcolm's objectification of you had been, you had to admit that the Doctor's words and his hands on your body gave you the feeling of being "claimed" by him… and you really liked it.

Let's just say you could tell that your lover was getting excited… After more kissing, you both simultaneously stop before things got too hot and heavy.

After a few breaths you break the comfortable silence. "You sure do know how to cheer me up darling!"

"I'm glad I could help in any way, my love." He sighed, "we should probably return soon and let the others know you are doing alright."

"Yes, that's true. You know we probably won't get invited to another one of these parties anytime soon after the scene I- I mean that jerk- caused. Did you know he is related to the McCoy's?... So, we might as well make the most of it." You tried to keep the mood light.

"Nope but that honestly doesn't surprise me. And that's the spirit! Look on the bright side, there's dessert waiting for us back inside." He winks and takes your hand.

You laugh and stroll towards the archway to the inside, "You really do know me so well!"

*3rd Person POV*

After everything that had happened that night, you both had failed to consider the possibility that a certain "crow" may be outside.

Midway through the night, one of said crows had flown from the entrance of the event hall to a tree some yards from the balcony. And at some point this crow had witnessed the full encounter between two figures that he recognized, from his perch a couple dozen feet away. After all, even in the half-darkness, green hair and a mauve dress were not the subtlest of appearances.