Ruby lowered Crescent Rose's scope, slotting it back into place on her weapon on the cafeteria bench next to her and adjusting the fasteners. "I mean, maybe they're not in trouble?"
Goodwitch, with Blake and Weiss in tow, had already disappeared around the corner of the gym, rendering the trio unobservable from the floor to ceiling cafeteria windows. Inside, everyone had more or less returned to their meals and conversations, save for RWBY and JNPR, and possibly team CRDL.
"Oh Goodwitch is definitely either telling them off big time, or giving them a huge pat on the back for a job well done," Yang said with complete certainty, somewhat regretting not stepping in to deck Cardin herself. She wasn't about to impede Weiss's righteous fury though.
"Those are... completely opposite options," Pyrrha's light teasing tone garnered a smile from the brawler.
"Yeah well, she's hard to get a read on."
"While standing up to bullies is commendable, I cannot condone the waste of food." Ren's expression was almost pained as he methodically twirled spaghetti around his fork.
Nora motioned with her own utensil, rolling her eyes as she spoke around at least one entire meatball, "It's not like they can't still eat it."
"So you guys want to watch a movie or something?" Jaune interjected before Nora could get any closer to suggesting they make Cardin and his gang eat food off the cafeteria floor. He grimaced a little, rubbing the back of his neck, "Or... I guess going to town's not really an option right now."
Pyrrha pushed aside her half-eaten plate of spaghetti. When she'd offered to find and hold a table for the group, she hadn't expected the literal mountain of food Nora brought back for her from the cafeteria line. "I second the movie night proposal," she spoke to the table at large.
Yang side-eyed Pyrrha with a squint, her foolproof expression for conducting serious business deals. "With snacks?"
"Of course."
Since Ruby had just taken an enormous bite of spaghetti, Yang asked on her behalf, "And cookies?"
"I just made a batch of kale cookies earlier today," Ren offered on Pyrrha's behalf. Seemingly expecting the table's horrified looks of disgust, he added with an air of defiance, "chocolate chip kale cookies."
Yang shared a baffled glance with her sister, then looked Ren dead in the eyes, accepting his challenge. "Bring it on."
Weiss glanced at Blake as the two stayed in step behind Goodwitch on the brick walkway. There was a chill in the early evening air, and Beacon Tower cast a long shadow across the grounds. A slight breeze sent dead leaves skittering across their path. Weiss waited a moment before clearing her throat and asking, "Professor?"
The Professor's attention seemed to be elsewhere, her sharp green eyes slowly scanning their surroundings, stopping for a few full seconds on each passing student before finally settling on Weiss and Blake again. Blake's ears were pinned back, prompting Goodwitch to attempt a softer expression as she loosely folded her arms. "It is... not my place to tell you how to deal with harassment." If anything, it felt like a failure on her part that her Faunus students even had to deal with something so unnecessary in the first place. "But, if you could kindly refrain from inciting another food fight right in front of me," she directed the latter half of her statement at Weiss.
"Professor, she was just trying to-"
Goodwitch held a hand up to silence Blake. "I will speak to Ozpin about CRDL. This is not the first time those boys have been brought to my attention," she frowned, displeased that even her most tortuous detentions had apparently only taught them to act in secret. "But that is not why I came looking for you two."
Weiss continued to follow her professor, brow furrowed as she led them down the walk towards the academic buildings that contained the staff offices. "Is this about last night?"
"I'd rather not discuss it here," Goodwitch answered, having gone back to tracking each student they passed.
Blake shared a look with Weiss, the paranoia slowly crawling up her spine creeping into her expression as a crisp breeze swept a circle of leaves around them.
Something told her it was bad news.
She was wrong though. It wasn't bad news - it was the worst news.
The second they'd made it into Goodwitch's office, the professor ripped off the band-aid and dropped the information on them without warning. Neo had escaped. Not only that, but she apparently had an accomplice - someone who looked enough like Goodwitch to trick the guard in charge of Neo's holding cell.
Blake focused on the feeling of Weiss's hand in her own as they slowly trekked back through the halls from the Professor's wing.
Paranoia, exhaustion, and a furious desire to keep Weiss safe all churned in Blake's chest, but a small silver lining kept her spirits in tact. Namely, Goodwitch expressing confidence in Weiss's training - so much so that she saw no need to assign Velvet to them again. Still, the Professor had also urged them to keep vigilant and stick together, advice which Blake had every intention of keeping. To that effect, Blake pulled herself out of her own thoughts and glanced at Weiss, trying to gauge how she was faring.
It was difficult to tell because the slow trek turned abruptly into a Blake-getting-dragged down the hall as Weiss picked up her pace, so for a moment Blake's view was mostly from behind.
Weiss's jaw was set. Of course Neo was loose. They'd been kidding themselves if they thought 'jailbreak' meant anything else. And now that it was confirmed (after a delay that was somehow the fault of General Ironwood, apparently) there was nothing to do except be ready. She was not going to be an easy target this time.
Blake picked up her pace to match Weiss's, casting her a curious glance. "Where are we going?"
"The locker room," Weiss saw the cautious curiosity in Blake's eyes and realized that in her determination she was gripping her hand harder than necessary. She let up on the pressure. "I'm going to get Myrtenaster, and then I think we should kiss because it's been practically an entire day and as soon as we get back to dinner and everyone asks us about this we're not going to have any time to ourselves for at least the next few days, assuming that menace isn't arrested again."
Blake lit up with a smile. Of course Weiss was already whisking them away to the exact destination she was about to suggest - Weiss wasn't the type to sit around and fret in the face of a threat. She gave Weiss's hand a light squeeze. "Then, I'll get Gambol Shroud. That way we can both destroy anyone who tries to interrupt us."
Flustered and mistakenly taking the squeeze as a request for release, Weiss let go, almost storming straight past the entrance hall and down the opposite corridor. She stormed across the flagstones back to Blake, stopping a foot away and lifting her chin. "Minor revision. We kiss. Then we go get our equipment. Then dinner." Going redder by the second because she had basically just dragged Blake down the hall and demanded that they kiss, she added, "If you don't mind."
Faunus ears standing at attention, Blake regarded Weiss with curiosity. "I don't if you don't." They were out in the open, and normally Weiss wasn't the biggest fan of public displays of affection, but Blake wasn't about to question a request for a kiss.
Weiss glanced to the side. The entrance hall was empty. Beacon's high ceilings and pillars added grandeur to what otherwise would simply be a set of classrooms and offices. Her words seemed to carry in the wide space even as she hesitated, hands balled into nervous fists at her side. "Well, I don't mind."
A smile pulled at Blake's lips, and she reached for those balled up fists, gently trying to weave her fingers with Weiss's.
Weiss instinctively closed her fists harder for a split second before relaxing and allowing Blake to gather both her hands. She looked away, face burning red as Blake twined her fingers with hers, but it didn't take long for her to master her embarrassment enough to tilt her head and reach up to give Blake a short kiss right at the edge of her jaw.
Sporting a light blush of her own, Blake returned the gesture, pressing her lips to Weiss's slightly longer than would be considered chaste, pulling back only when her Faunus ears picked up the faint sound of footsteps far in the distance.
Weiss caught the tilt of her ears and drew the logical conclusion.
"Locker room?" She suggested, her voice low.
"Locker room," Blake agreed.
The locker room at dinner on a Sunday night was quite possibly one of the most deserted places on campus. The automatic lights had flickered on all the same, though, revealing the rows of grimy but well kept lockers. Weiss's had even been returned to its place. It's frame was mostly straight even, though you could still see a slight dent at the bottom corner if you knew where to look.
"So, I think we should tell the others," Weiss said, Myrtenaster on her belt and both arms around Blake's neck. She kissed her again, heedless of the general state of the locker room, where literally hundreds of sweaty, teenage Beacon students over the years had dumped their gear after training. "So someone can be up while we're asleep."
Blake hummed in acknowledgement, content to ignore the mild discomfort of Gambol Shroud pressing into her back in favor of savoring the feeling of Weiss pressing her against her own locker. "When you say the others," she managed a few words when Weiss let her up for air, leaving a trail of light kisses along her jawline to give herself a chance to catch her breath, "do you mean JNPR as well?"
Weiss gave a noncommittal hum, halfway tucking her head into the crook of Blake's neck to give her better reach if she wanted to continue that trail.
No doubt they would be severely lacking in time alone together once they made the situation known to anyone else, so Blake took the invitation for all it was worth, kissing a slow trail from the base of Weiss's ear down to the pulse point at the base of her neck. She paused when another possibility crossed her mind. "What about CFVY?"
"I'm sure they'll figure it out." Weiss mumbled into Blake's collar. Ruby and Yang might not exactly broadcast the situation to everyone in the school, but JNPR was a given and word tended to spread fast. Her sleeves brushed the cold metal behind Blake, and she pulled back. "You keep your locker clean, right?"
Blake blinked, glancing back at her locker. One of her Faunus ears half-flattened. "I keep it... organized?"
"I mean the front," Weiss shifted in Blake's arms a bit, "You're always the one leaning against the wall, which I appreciate," because it was easier to kiss her properly- or at least in a way that felt proper- if they had sort of an anchor point. She didn't want to be using Blake as a barrier between herself and their less than pristine surroundings, though. Weiss flushed, "That is, if you wanted to switch, that would be fine."
Blake matched Weiss's flush shade for shade, unable to look away from the alluring blue eyes currently locked on her as a flashbang of thoughts scattered through her head. If you wanted to switch... She hadn't realized, but she really did always end up being the one pressed against the wall. Did she want to switch? What did she want? Actually that was a simple one - to shower Weiss with affection. But what did Weiss want? Blake's heart skipped a beat as another possibility caught her off guard, Nora and Yang's advice storming through her thoughts like twin bulls in a china shop. Was this Weiss's way of trying to discreetly ask to be pinned to a locker? Asking her to take more initiative?
In the three second span that Blake's mind sprinted through all of that, her grip on Weiss tightened a fraction. Everything else aside, she saw no harm in giving it a try while they still had the chance. Keeping a close hold on Weiss, Blake reversed their positions, gingerly pressing her against the locker. Her face felt like it was going to burst into flames any minute now. "...Like this?"
Weiss bristled halfway in confusion as she suddenly had to process several things. One, was the front of Blake's locker clean? Her sweater was in full contact with the metal so it wasn't worth bringing up, but still. Two, Blake seemed somehow much taller than her like this, and with her arms around her... she found herself slightly dodging Blake's amber gaze and stammering, "Yes, well, I suppose- I'm not an expert, so."
"Me neither," Blake leaned in close, pressing her face against Weiss's neck, partly to hide her furious blush and partly to give Weiss a chance to adjust.
Weiss opened her mouth and shut it again. She didn't mean to imply that Blake was doing anything wrong, but also she didn't know how to feel about this exactly, so she just stood rigid with Blake pressing her to the locker in the deserted locker room, her heartbeat going a mile a minute as she tried to sort things out.
Several things occurred to her in the span of the following handful of seconds. Firstly, that she was an idiot for offering to swap places because she felt bad for getting Blake's shirt dirty. This was clearly more involved than that. It wasn't exactly a passive role, being the person against the wall, but it didn't feel the same as the other way around either. Weiss was getting more red with embarrassment by the second. Also Blake was hiding her face. Dust. Weiss tried to relax but only partially succeeded, shifting in Blake's arms from her pinned position. "So, this is different."
That got a small laugh out of Blake. She raised her head from her hiding spot just enough to nuzzle Weiss's cheek with her own, hoping it might help her relax. Still beet red herself, Blake dared to seek out Weiss's gaze. A curious half smile crept across her face upon seeing Weiss was blushing just as badly, but it worried her how stiff she felt in her arms. "Is it... a good different?"
Was it? Weiss tensed back up, uncertain.
"I do feel a little cornered," she said, hastening to add, "Not in a bad way." Dust, was there any other way to feel cornered? It was the only word coming to mind and it was too late to take it back now. She tried again to relax, her arms still around Blake's neck, her fists finding some purchase in Blake's shirt so she'd know not to pull away, "You're just unreasonably tall."
Taking heed of Weiss's insistent grip holding her in place, Blake stayed put despite her initial instinct to draw back and give her more space. She shifted her own grip instead, letting her arms fall loosely around Weiss's waist as the beginnings of a smirk played at the edge of her lips. "I'm... the same height as I was a minute ago."
"And that makes you less unreasonably tall?" Weiss found Blake's arms at her waist steadying. Also her smirk. She loved that smirk.
Blake thought for a moment.
"Yes," she answered, simply.
Weiss gave a short, half laugh and tried to stretch up to steal a kiss.
Blake's heart nearly stopped short in anticipation. Taking more initiative was fine in theory, but truth be told, one of the reasons she liked letting herself be pinned was to better allow Weiss set the pace of things - to keep her from ever feeling pressured. Then again, Weiss had been the one to initiate these kisses and the one to suggest the switch. She was being crystal clear with her intentions, so Blake found herself wondering if maybe, just maybe, it would be fine to respond in kind.
She dipped her head to meet Weiss halfway, fully intending to give her a fairly gentle kiss, but the second their lips met, something stirred in Blake's chest, and when the hand resting on Weiss's hip brushed against the hilt of Myrtenaster's blade a rush of emotion blindsided her. In the thrill of the moment she'd almost forgotten that they had come here to arm themselves against an escaped psychopath - yet another person out for Weiss's life, along with Adam and Cerise and Torchwick and who knew how many others. The thought galvanized Blake's resolve to stay by Weiss's side. She would do everything within her power to keep her safe.
Her grip on Weiss tightened a fraction, as if it was possible to sear such a promise into their kiss.
Weiss found herself pressed back against the locker. She made a short sound into the kiss half because she was startled by the sudden intensity and half because... because...
Before she could figure it out, she found herself having to duck her head down away from the kiss to get some air.
"Wait, just- wait a second." It was like- all that occurred to her for comparison was learning to ski. The few breathless seconds at the top of a hill you weren't quite ready to descend, when you started to slide and you couldn't quite control how to slow down. She gripped Blake's shirt tight, getting her bearings.
Blake nodded, taking a second to catch her own breath as well. She leaned a little into Weiss's hold, letting slip a pleased hum as she nuzzled her temple.
Weiss inhaled the mostly-clean scent of Blake's shirt. The nuzzle and hum right in her ear sent a shiver through her, like some form of mild sensory overload, and she nuzzled back a little before taking a breath. "Okay. Let's try that again."
"Let's," Blake agreed, relieved that Weiss was still on board. She lifted a hand to cup Weiss's cheek, taking a moment to just... admire her.
Weiss's instinct was to lift her chin and turn her head to avoid having her face cupped, but she resisted the urge to pull away because it was Blake. Instead, bemused, she let her touch her face, "What are you doing?"
"Feeling incredibly lucky," Blake said softly.
Weiss had gotten her balance, so to speak, and she raised a brow, teasing, "Lucky to be kissing me in the locker room?"
"It's the least we've been interrupted in weeks," Blake teased right back, fighting back a blush.
"Maybe we should do this more often," Weiss let her gaze stray to their less than pristine surroundings, "or we could barricade the door back at the dorm."
That got a laugh out of Blake. "A solid plan," she agreed, leaning in to claim the kiss she'd inadvertently delayed for far too long.
Outside the locker room, Sun leaned back away from the door, cupping one hand to his mouth and waving the other one in a 'no go' motion as he breathed to Neptune, "Yeah, dude, I think you're going to have to wait a while."
"Aw what?" Neptune wrestled to peer past Sun, "come on man, I need my- woah." He clapped a hand to his mouth, ducking away from the door at once. "Dude," he whispered after a moment of stunned silence where he struggled to process what he had just witnessed, "...we should totally be taking notes."
"Don't be a stalker, man," Sun quickly leaned back to take another look. "They're just kissing."
"It's not stalking, it's research." Neptune crossed his arms, looking personally affronted. "Anyway how are we supposed to practice partner moves without our weapons?"
Sun struck a kung fu pose, his prehensile tail curled behind him. "Unarmed practice?"
He didn't wait for a response, and started jumping around, light on his feet as he shadowboxed and generally flailed around in front of Neptune.
Neptune groaned. "That kind of defeats the purpose."
"Hey guys!" called a voice from down the hall. A flurry of red petals brought Ruby up, joining the kung-fu posing around Neptune, "Hya hoo hiyaaa!" she paused mid-pose, "What are we doing?"
"Unarmed practice, apparently," Neptune groused, throwing a slantwise glance at the locker room.
"Right outside the weapons locker room?" Ruby snorted a laugh, "You guys are so weird."
She moved to walk through the door, which she had pose-hopped her way over to.
"Woah hey-" quick as lightning Neptune threw an arm around Ruby's middle and hoisted her up and away from the door, "Probably shouldn't interrupt, unless you want us all to die horribly."
Weiss frowned in the middle of kissing Blake. She could have sworn she heard a squeak. "Did you just hear Ruby?"
Stealing at least one more kiss before the inevitable, Blake sighed through a resigned smile, lifting an arm and bracing it against the locker beside Weiss's head to hopefully block Ruby's view if she tried to look through the window. Her lips brushed Weiss's as she confirmed, "Ruby, and Neptune, and Sun."
"I suppose we should get dinner before the cafeteria closes," Weiss couldn't see past Blake's arm and didn't particularly care to. She tipped her head to get another kiss in, one which Blake happily returned for all it was worth.
They were already halfway to completely forgetting about dinner again - that is, until Blake's empty stomach made itself known with a fierce growl. Reluctance slowing her movements to a crawl, Blake pulled back, desperately trying not to look as eager to continue as she felt. "Dinner might be a good idea."
It hadn't exactly been a serious suggestion, but it had been a long time since that energy bar. Weiss masked her disappointment and unworked her arms from around Blake's neck so she could straighten her hair and clothes before braving the likes of Ruby and the boys, coloring in response to Blake's look as she cleared her throat, "Maybe we could do this again sometime? Not necessarily in the locker room."
"I think that could be arranged," Blake mirrored Weiss's formal tone, but her smile couldn't be contained as she took hold of Weiss's hand.
Neither could Weiss's, though she did try, and she gripped Blake's hand for a second before letting go to rest her hand on Myrtenaster and call towards the door, "You can come in now."
Neptune practically flew through the door, only pausing to hand Ruby off to Sun. "Thank goodness, you two nearly condemned me to unarmed sparring practice," he whined, making a beeline for his locker and punching in the code.
"Sorry, not sorry," Blake whispered to Weiss.
Weiss swatted at her, smirking.
Ruby paused on the way past the visiting students' temporary lockers, raising a brow at the tall and capable looking Neptune. "You don't like unarmed combat?"
"There is nothing my fists can do that my trident can't do better," Neptune answered simply, giving his weapon a loving pat.
Meanwhile, Sun sauntered up all suave, crossing his arms as he leaned against the lockers closer to Blake and Weiss. "So, I take it you two are doing alright?"
Blake curled her arm around Weiss's waist and threw Sun a friendly smirk... but she wasn't actually sure how to answer. Were they technically still "doing alright" with a psychopath on the loose?
"Not that it's any of your business, but yes," Weiss glanced up at Blake, still on another page entirely. She shook out her hair. "We're just about to get dinner."
Ruby paused in her mutual venting session with Neptune to listen in.
"That's cool," Sun made finger guns at Blake in a knowing way. "Guess we'll catch you guys later."
With a good-natured eye roll at Sun and a small smile and wave at Ruby, Blake let Weiss lead the way out of the lockers. Her gaze lingered for a moment on their young team leader as they rounded the door frame. It felt strange not immediately bringing everything to Ruby's attention... but she could guess Weiss's intentions.
Before any revelations, before getting bombarded with questions, before any lengthy discussions or planning sessions for any tactics or strategies, they were going to eat a solid meal.
A/N: Will they? Will they though?! Stay tuned to find out ;3
HUGS,
D
