AN: Hey everyone!

So... random update out of nowhere after a little over two years on this one. Honestly, real life got busy to the point I didn't have time to think about fan fiction and I had to put down writing altogether. I pretty much gave up all hope of ever coming back to this or any other story. Then... well, I'm sure you all more or less know what happened. I've been going crazy with self-quarantine and just had to do something. I can only watch so many movies and play so many games before I felt like I need something more stimulating. So I was inevitably drawn back to this.

I was going to start something completely new, but that involved having to plan and brainstorm something. Whereas I was just able to pick this back up and start right away, since all the groundwork for it is already done. I wonder how many of my old readers are still here? Probably not many of you and I'm not really expecting much in the way of reviews since it's been two years.

Gotta be straight up too, I haven't watched RWBY since after Volume 5. I got a vague idea of what's happened story-wise and know most of the spoilery things thanks to friends and the internet in general, but I haven't personally watched it in forever. Which is why I was initially going to start something new, since it felt kind of wrong to be writing for a fandom I'm barely even a part of anymore. But on the other hand, this story wasn't ever going to take those later season things into account to begin with so whatever.

I just needed an excuse to write something and sense I'm writing again I might as well post it. That's all. Who knows? Maybe I'll even make it to the end this time. Can only hope. So to anyone that used to read this, welcome back! To all new readers, welcome! Just a short chapter this time as I get back in the groove and the start of the second day.


Twin's Game

The Second Day (Part I)

Morning Coffee


Waking up, generally speaking, can be broken into two phases: Before coffee. And after coffee.

Of course, the very notion of waking up in the morning had become somewhat of an unfamiliar experience for me. I suppose that's to be expected when I spend two nights out of every three without ever getting a wink of sleep.

This particular time, I didn't even realize right away what had happened. I almost thought someone had struck me in the back of the head, the idea of falling asleep by natural causes infinitely more absurd sounding than the alternative. The events of yesterday were locked in a thick fog and it wasn't until a rather sudden jolt sparked my memory and filled in all the blanks did I realize what had happened.

That jolt coming in the form of my brother's morning wood pressing against my abdomen. His soft snores tickled my forehead and tousled my hair, and his strong arms held me tight against him. It was all I could do not to fall back asleep and just allow my brother to hold me a little while longer. One of us had to get up, however, and there was no way it was going to be him. And I wouldn't exactly have the strength if I didn't get some coffee in me.

Why did I even have to wake up? Wouldn't it just be more simple to continue to lay here like this, unperturbed in my brother's arms. After all, it wasn't often I got to experience bliss such as this. Completely enveloped in his smell. The pungent odor brought with it more than just feelings of content, but also memories.

And it was with those memories I knew that I couldn't remain in this position, no matter how desperately it was I wished for it. That was for the simple fact that we weren't in some isolated village anymore, but the two of us were now at Beacon Academy. A whole continent away from the last place I slept, and surrounded by Huntsmen and Huntresses in training.

The odds of someone getting passed the lock and barging in on the two of us was negligible… but it certainly wasn't impossible. Especially knowing Ruby as I did. Which to be fair, wasn't actually all that well. It was enough to not be confident our current position wouldn't be exposed, however.

So with great reluctance I wiggled myself free from my brother, careful to cause him the least amount of disturbance possible. As I sat up, the chill of the morning room creeped through Jaune's onesie, the material slightly too big against my petite frame. I would like to change, but there were several things keeping me from doing so right now.

First and foremost, I needed coffee. It was after that I could take a shower and then change… not into the hoodie my brother was sleeping in, but Beacon's uniform. Much as I detested the fact, I was a student now and it was a Tuesday, which meant we had class today. So the hoodie would have to wait, at least until the weekend. But first, that coffee.

My dull blue eyes gazed groggily at the door and as I began to rub the sleep away I was faced with another disturbing realization. The kitchen area was shared between the students in the dorm. Which meant there was a very real possibility I was going to run into others if I went out there.

...What the Hell was I saying?

Of course I was going to have to face everyone else eventually. We had freaking class together. I must have been more groggy than I thought to be having such useless thoughts. There was just the one very unique problem Jaune and I were going to have to navigate around once we finally did make contact with everyone again. That being the unusual and sudden retreat the two of us had pulled last night after my brother's outburst. Then again, it was going to have to be him that fumbled over words while trying to explain himself. I could just continue to give everyone the silent treatment and it would just be business as usual on my end.

Perfect.

That settled, I gave one last shaking breath to steal my nerves and set for the door. Even just twisting the lock set my nerves on edge and if I had been more awake the dull ka-thunk it made would have caused me to jump. Instead I just pulled the door open the smallest of fractions and peaked out into the deserted hallway.

The curtains in our room had been drawn so it was hard to really tell but now I knew for sure the sun hadn't come up yet by looking at the window at the end of the hall. Still, dawn couldn't have been far off. Sure, I could have found the time out by looking at my scroll but I wasn't subjecting myself to that ungodly screen-light being beamed directly into my eyeballs after just waking up.

Anyways, this was probably perfect. Odds are no one was up yet. Which meant it should be easy for me to get to the kitchen, brew my coffee and then retreat back to this room before coming into contact with anyone. Even if I could just ignore them if I did, it was better to not see them at all.

I slid out the door, having only cracked it open wide enough for me to get out and then gently pulled it back closed. If anyone was up and watching, I probably looked quite comical, practically dragging myself down the hall, one arm constantly on the wall for support. It wasn't because of my ankle that had been injured yesterday, that wound had already healed after a good night's rest and Aura. It's just how I am in the mornings. Or after any kind of sleep at all, not limited just to mornings.

Despite the absolute snail-paced advancement, I managed to make it to the shared kitchen area without incident. Which was as far as I got. I had been so focused on moving forward and getting to that sweet, delicious coffee I had failed to notice the shuffling about coming from around the corner until I rounded it myself.

The moment I did and my whole body froze as if the person in front of me could only perceive movement. Nevermind the fact her yellow eyes were locked in an unblinking stalemate with my dull blue the second I had appeared. Her exposed cat ears twitched slightly, no doubt the enhanced hearing having been what gave me away before I had even arrived.

Blake was alone in the kitchen, that being the only Godsend I could be grateful for in this situation in which I had to meet someone at all. Now it was the next move she made that was going to determine if this was the worst possible outcome or not. She had appeared to be the most subdued among the four girls of team RWBY and Lord knew any of them were better than running into someone from PRDS.

The faunus girl stood unmoving in front of an island counter, a small steaming cup in front of her. To my disappointment, it appeared to be tea and not coffee filling the ceramic cup. In what seemed like an eternity later (but was more likely only a second), she blinked first and the tension seemed to melt entirely as she lifted her cup to take a sip.

"Tea?" She asked, the cup not making it to her lips, but instead being offered out to me as if a peace offering. I don't know why it surprised me. If anything, this was actually the more natural reaction. Regardless of what happened last night, the person in front of me would have to be completely devoid of tact or working brain cells to jump straight to that topic first thing in the morning.

I didn't have the wherewithal to be more suspicious than that, my goal only just in front of me now and the threat seemingly minimal at the moment. Still refusing to speak to just about anyone, I only gave a sullen shake of the head, that action alone making me feel slightly delirious.

"I see." Blake's brow wrinkled, not out of any kind of perceived disappointment, but what looked more like careful deliberation. "Well, you must have come here for something so… coffee?" My eyes must have lit up, because she gave a satisfied smirk not a moment later. "Coffee it is." She stated with conviction, already turning around to grab a pot on the counter opposite me.

"Weiss usually wakes up not too long after me," She began to explain. "So I brew her coffee while making my own tea. Your timing is impeccable. It just finished." As she poured the beautiful dark liquid into a white mug, the sweetest most wonderful aroma wafted out and filled my nostrils.

Tears of unbridled joy filled my eyes and threatened to spill over, making the scenery in front of me blur out of focus. It could have been this unclear vision, or maybe still my sleep-addled brain creating the delusion, but in that moment I swear pure and Holy wings, white as Heaven itself burst from Blake's back and coated the room in raining feathers like snow. "A Goddess…"

"What was that?" The illusion was gone as quickly as it came, Blake now giving me a concerned look as she set the coffee mug down on the island counter closest to me. Apparently I just said that out loud, but either too quietly for her to properly hear or the sure outlandishness of it having been enough for her to be convinced she heard wrong.

I quickly shook my head, blinking away the unfallen tears and crossing the distance to the island counter as fast as humanly possible while trying not to look threatening. My hands slipped around the white mug, the warmth of it spreading to my whole body and I couldn't help but give a content sigh. "Thanks." I mumbled, meeting Blake's eyes once again before lifting the mug. "That's all I said."

"Oh…" She cocked an unconvinced eyebrow, but I already wasn't paying attention, taking a small sip from the mug to sample the wondrous, life-giving nectar before me. It wasn't quite as good as the cup Ozpin had offered me yesterday, but one couldn't expect students to be able to secure such d'elegance as that in the first place, so it was hardly a cause for complaint. "So you do talk." Blake said before taking a small sip of her own tea. "I thought Ruby might have been making that up and interpreting for you on her own accord." That comment gave me a small snort and I shook my head.

"It's certainly easier to let her do the talking for me." This already made more words I'd spoken to Blake than I think I had to Ruby. Who knew I was such a cheap girl? All it took was a single cup of coffee to get me to open up. If I was trying to make excuses, I would also say Blake not seeming like much the talkative type herself made it easier for me to feel like I could speak around her. Being just the two of us helped too.

Blake gave a small giggle, raising a hand to cover her mouth. "That's a feeling I can understand. Although sometimes I wish she would think before deciding to speak for all of us." I could only imagine how exhausting it must be to have someone like that as a leader. Still, I was kind of surprised to find that there wasn't any kind of envious undertones I could detect in her voice either.

One would normally think that making the youngest girl on the team their leader would cause friction. When thinking about back to yesterday, however, even the Schnee heiress seemed perfectly content with their current arrangement and I would have thought her of all people would have desired leadership, considering her lineage and all. I supposed it could be chalked up to Ruby's seemingly natural charisma, as even someone like me who hated nearly everyone couldn't bring myself to detest her.

"Your brother still asleep then?" Blake's next question caused me to grimace. I could only see how a conversation about him could lead into asking about what happened last night. So all I did was simply nod in response, once again reverting to my usual defense. "As I thought, he's more like my partner, Yang." But she defied my expectations, instead finding humor in the current topic than disgust like I had imagined. "I would say it's a blonde thing, but you're up early."

"Hmm…" I grunted noncommittally. Sure, I could tell her about my sleeping problems, but that would take far more words than I cared to use, even if I had opened up a little. It wasn't exactly something you just brought up on your first conversation with someone. I also wasn't exactly socially deft enough to just change conversations in a way one would consider natural.

Not that my silence seemed to bother Blake, the faunus girl now sipping at her tea in what I could only describe as silent content. Apparently my first impression of her had been right and she wasn't much the talkative type either and instead was perfectly fine letting the conversation end right then and there.

Truly someone I could actually get along with.

"What are you wearing?" Which was probably more than could be said for the exasperated voice that came from behind me. The Schnee Heiress stared in a mix of horror and disgust at the overly large bunny onesie I honestly forgot I had been wearing. Blake hadn't so much as even glanced at it oddly, but Weiss looked ready to puke after only just arriving.

Not that I could say I blamed her. Being perfectly honest, I wasn't overly fond of the design myself. But my brother loved it, which was actually the other half of the problem here. It was way too big for me. Of course, when you combined this with the mental image of me in the hoodie from yesterday and most people would naturally reach the conclusion I liked large clothes. After all, the truth would be far more strange.

"Here, your coffee." Blake set a second mug down, already filled with the same drink as mine. "Don't pay her any mind." She then addressed me. "Weiss is always cranky before her morning brew." A feeling I all too easily understood. I think I had just found another comrade, Weiss practically stomping over to the island counter. Her nose wrinkled as she stood next to me, no doubt taking in the combined scent of my brother and my's intertwining body odors. She didn't say anything more, however, despite looking like she wanted to. Instead, she simply brought the cup to her nose, inhaling that before taking a sip.

The content sigh she gave after lowering the mug was the same as the one I had made not ten minutes ago. Truly a fellow coffee warrior. This was going to be good information to save for later when I inevitably had to try and get along with her. For now, I just stored it silently for later use. I had already opened up to Blake today, asking me to do the same to a second person in the same setting, let alone the same twenty-four hours was asking for the impossible.

Instead, I continued to enjoy my own coffee and now it was the three of us that drank in absolute silence. Maybe Beacon wasn't going to be so bad, after all? I had to try not to laugh as such naive thoughts filled my brain. I really was helpless while enjoying coffee. And just because I was getting along (if silence could be called getting along) with these two now, didn't mean it was going to continue once we were all more awake and the day rolled on.

That's right, my second day at Beacon was only just beginning.

So I had best be on my guard.