A/N
So, these two are the last oneshots that I had written in advance. Seeing as that I am going to keep posting these until Part 3 comes out, I'll have to write some new ones for next week; if anything, this will be good incentive for me to drive my ass into gear. I already have seven chapters done for Part 3, once I have ten done I'll start posting - that's the plan at least.
Before we begin, the second oneshot today, "Inferno", takes places during Chapter Twenty-Nine in Part 1.
Guilty Pleasures…
Pyrrha opened the door to Team JNPR's dorm room very slowly, peering through the widening crack to catch a glimpse of its interior. This wasn't the first time she had done something like this and the last thing she wanted was for it to become gossip.
The champion craned her ears carefully as she stealthily observed her own dorm. She knew Jaune was in the cafeteria, so there was no chance of him being present. Ren was probably out in the gardens somewhere- his favorite place to meditate.
And Nora… well… nothing appeared to be on fire, a clear sign that she wasn't present.
Pyrrha straightened her back and stood up, flinging the door open with her hand and entering the room. She only had a few minutes to do this, she could no longer fight off the overpowering urge.
Three long strides was all it took for the champion to reach her partner's bed. The object she desired was laying haphazardly atop the messy covers and Pyrrha quickly snatched her prize.
The visage of a smiling Pumpkin Pete stared back at her as she observed Jaune's favorite hoodie. Pyrrha had seen him leave it on the bed that morning as the team left in their student uniforms; he wouldn't recognize that it had been moved if she put it backwhere she had found it.
There was no time to waste… Pyrrha held up the collar of the sweatshirt and inhaled, closing her eyes as she experienced Jaune's familiar and comforting scent. Until the blonde actually took a hint and asked her out… this was what she had to settle for…
Pyrrha wasn't complaining of course… this was already incredible…
Jaune's scent was a little bit hard to describe… there was a sweet tone to it, also a slight hint of sour… and the smell of the shampoo that he always used. The first time Pyrrha had picked up his hoodie and sniffed it it was because she didn't know if the laundry service had done a fresh load or not… that little whiff had opened up Pandora's box… a rabbit hole for Pyrrha to spiral into.
Pyrrha inhaled again, sighing and holding the fabric close to her mouth.
"Hello Pyrrha..." Spoke a femenine voice.
Pyrrha spun around in shock, dropping Jaune's hoodie and already preparing an excuse. She did not meet the blue eyes of her teammate, instead finding the piercing amber eyes of Mauve Tempesta.
The faunus girl was leaning in the doorway with a small smirk on her face. Her arms were crossed over her chest and her legs rubbing together. She was dressed in a black long-sleeve hoodie that was a bit too big for her, Pyrrha instantly recognized it as one that belonged to the lynx girl's partner.
"Pyrrha?" Mauve asked gently, raising an eyebrow in confusion. "You okay?"
Pyrrha realised that her mouth was hanging open and quickly snapped it shut. The redhead cleared her throat, she had to play this off. "Hello Mauve! I didn't see you there!"
"Yeah," Mauve chuckled, her lynx ears gently twitching. "I noticed that the door to your dorm was open, I was worried someone had broken in. You seemed pretty absorbed there… I feel a little bad for interrupting…"
"I- I was just seeing if the laundry had been done or not…" Pyrrha coughed into her hand, internally smacking herself for her inability to lie.
"Alright, don't lie to my face," Mauve laughed, unfolding her arms and holding up her hands in a peaceful gesture. "You and I both know exactly what you were doing…"
Pyrrha's face turned a shade similar to her hair.
"What does Jaune smell like?" Mauve asked, a genuine tone of curiosity in her voice.
"N- nice?" Pyrrha stuttered out, still horrifically embarrassed. "I like the smell of the shampoo he uses…"
Mauve viewed Pyrrha critically for a moment and then got off the doorframe. She stepped into the dorm and shut the door very gently, ensuring the two girls some privacy.
Once she was done the lynx girl twirled around and hoisted up the collar of Asher's sweater to her nose and inhaled deeply. "Do you know what Asher smells like?" The silver and purple haired girl said with an elated sigh, her ears twitching.
"I don't know…" Pyrrha shifted in her spot.
"He smells sweet..." Mauve spoke, a smile gracing her pretty face. "Like sugar, or molasses… his scent becomes even stronger after he comes back from volunteering in the kitchens."
"That's nice…" Pyrrha smiled, beginning to feel a little more relaxed.
"Yeah," Mauve nodded, still smiling lightly. "He has so many wonderful qualities that I admire… but the fact that he smells good is an added bonus, right?"
Pyrrha nodded in agreement.
Mauve was silent for a moment, chewing her bottom lip in thought. "Do you want to hear a secret?"
"I've never been much of a gossip…"
"Oh hush… this one is about me…"
"Alright…"
"Before Asher and I started dating," Mauve shifted in her spot a little, tugging on the fabric of her boyfriend's hoodie. "I used to smell his hoodies when he wasn't around…"
"Really?" Pyrrha answered, her eyes widening in genuine surprise. Mauve had always seemed rather serious… this revelation was unlike her. "You used to sniff his clothes?"
"I loved the scent," Mauve affirmed with a nod. "It was and still is my guilty pleasure… and it seems like you're in the same situation I'm in," Mauve turned away from Pyrrha to grasp the door handle with her pale hand. "Can I offer you a bit of advice?"
"Go ahead…"
"I'm not saying you should outright confess to Jaune," Mauve muttered, her back still turned. "Because if I did… well, I would be a bit of a hypocrite, because I was too scared to do that with Asher. That being said, don't let him slip through your fingers…"
"I've tried!" Pyrrha flung her hands up in frustration. "After the dance I thought… maybe… but nothing has happened since!"
"He stopped pining after Weiss," Mauve shrugged, turning her head to observe Pyrrha with one eye. "That's an improvement…"
"I suppose…"
"Another word of advice," Mauve chuckled. "Don't send him mixed signals…"
"What does that mean?"
"I don't really know…" Mauve shrugged, pulling open the door and stepping out of the room. "Guys seem to really complain about it though… I think they like it when girls are more direct…"
"Thanks for the advice?" Pyrrha spoke softly, watching as the lynx girl slowly closed the door.
"Food for thought," Mauve shrugged as she shut the door and disappeared from view.
Inferno…
Asher was nervous as hell…
Was his left arm sleeve rolled up the same way as his right arm sleeve? Or perhaps he looked too casual and needed to roll them back down?
What about his jeans? Were they clean enough and good-looking enough for a coffee meeting with his girlfriend's father? Mauve would be there too; but Asher knew that she wouldn't appreciate him being sloppily dressed.
The grey eyed boy let out a rattling breath. He turned and willingly collapsed onto the folded covers of his bed. Asher's stomach felt like it was twisting around in knots - like one big pretzel…
Asher moved his hand down and fished around in the pocket of his jeans. He removed his scroll and unfolded the device to check the time.
He would need to leave soon…
Mauve had made a secret request to him that she wanted him to be purposefully late - with a suitable excuse to back himself up. Asher couldn't blame her, it had been months since she had properly sat down with her father.
Asher wasn't exactly sure how he felt about Argent yet...
The silvery haired man seemed to hold all the tropes of the father who was far too invested in his daughter's love life. Their first interaction had been Argent grilling Asher over a scroll call about his intentions - it was a predictable but still wildly uncomfortable affair.
Still, a very, very small part of Asher was jealous with longing… he wasn't on speaking terms with his own parents…
But he wouldn't fold on his beliefs…
"Damnit," Asher muttered to himself, dispelling his parents from his thoughts. He turned his head and peered off at Rust and Sage's beds. Neither of his fellow male teammates were in the room with him to help calm him down. They too had girlfriends now, which explained their absence.
Asher sat back up.
The grey eyed boy turned his attention back to his shirt sleeves. He was wearing a blue button up shirt; he had rolled the sleeves up to just past his elbows. Asher took another moment to make sure the rolls were neat.
He couldn't screw up today… he couldn't embarrass both himself and Mauve in front of her father. He would be cool, collected, funny, polite, and-
Asher sniffed the air and his train of thought came to a screeching halt.
'Is that…'
"Smoke?" Asher audibly finished. He sniffed at the air again to confirm his suspicions.
As if he was in a trance, Asher stood up and walked to the door of his dorm room. He opened the door and stuck his head into the hallway.
The smell of smoke still lingered around in the air. It was not the smell of fresh campfire smoke or burning food, but rather the acrid scent of fabric and plastic that had been set alight.
Asher continued his trance like walking down the hallway. He stuck his nose in the air and continuously sniffed the trail - hoping to find its source.
The grey eyed boy came to an abrupt halt in front of Team JNPR's dorm room. Asher pressed himself up close to the door. He took a deep inhale of the air near the door and instantly sputtered a little.
"Hello?" Asher called towards the door. He gingerly placed his hand on the door knob and felt it to be slightly warm, but not hot. "Anyone home?"
"It's open!" Called a male voice from inside the dorm.
Asher cautiously turned the door knob - authenticating that it was indeed unlocked - and swung the door open. He was greeted by the sight of Lie Ren battling a raging inferno. The dark haired boy was using a pillowcase to desperately bat down the orange flames that were consuming his dorm. The dorm room's window had been cracked open to vent out the clouds of billowing smoke.
"Hey…" Ren spun around to observe Asher with his magenta eyes. "Asher…"
"Hey, Ren," Asher clicked his tongue as Lie Ren turned back to battling the flames. "Is uh… everything alright?"
"More or less," Ren shrugged nonchalantly. The pillowcase he was using to bat down the flames caught fire and he dropped it to the floor to stomp it out. Asher watched as Ren turned to one of the beds that had not yet been consumed to shuck off a new pillowcase for himself.
"Could I ask what happened?" Asher droned, leaning further into the room to look around.
"Nora…"
"Oh…?"
"She's in time-out right now, so don't feel hurt if she hasn't said anything to you," Ren huffed and wiped his sweaty forehead.
Asher peered around in confusion until he turned his head and looked to the corner of the room that was hidden behind the door. Nora was seated on a milk stool and her body was turned so that she was staring at the wall. A large pointed cap had been settled atop her head.
"DUNCE," was what it read.
"Do you… need any help with this?" Asher gestured to the raging fire.
"Oh no, I'll be alright," Ren struggled to beat out the flames. "I just need to put this out and then put the room back in order before my other teammates arrive."
As if on cue, the flames jumped from the furthest bed and set the drapes alight...
Ren's right eye twitched - an almost imperceptible motion. "Scratch what I said…"
Without another moment's hesitation Asher rushed into the room and grabbed a pillowcase off one of the beds. He joined Ren where he was standing on the frontlines of the legendary battle. The two boys slowly pushed the flames back to the bathroom, where they seemed to be originating from.
"I can't stay long!" Asher yelped and jumped out of the way of a jet of flame.
"No?"
"I'm supposed to be meeting Mauve and her father in Vale, for coffee!"
"I'm sorry for keeping you!"
"S'alright," Asher wiped his forehead and continued to smack down the flames. "Better to be slightly late then come back to a burned down dorm building!"
After what felt like hours of exertion, the two boys patted out the last of the flames in the burned out bathroom. The room was blackened and singed beyond any hope of repair.
"That was something," Asher gasped and wiped off his sweaty face. He peered into the bathtub where the worst of the flames had been concentrated. Sitting in the tub was what looked suspiciously like several burned out canisters.
"Drat," Ren panted as he gazed at the contents of the tub. "I told her it was a bad idea…"
"What was?"
"For some time now Nora has considered herself a chemist," Ren explained. "Flammable syrup-"
"I don't want to know anymore!" Asher begged. He reached into the pocket of his singed jeans and withdrew his scroll to check the time.
He was late… very late… past the point of fashionably late.
"I gotta go," Asher huffed and gestured to the door. "You can handle the rest of this, right?"
"Yes," Ren leaned against a blackened wall and nodded. "I'll clean up before my teammates arrive."
"How…?" Asher peered around the charred room in confusion. "Nevermind... can you do me a favour?"
"Don't tell anyone about this," Lie Ren finished with a nod of understanding. "Yes, I wo-"
"The opposite, actually," Asher grinned nervously and gingerly made his way to the door. "If Mauve asks then tell her everything."