Chapter Twenty-Three: It Hurt to Hear
Ren could still see the faint flickers of green, encircling the metal of the door, wafting slowly in the air like small petals caught in a steady stream of air, occasionally rising, occasionally falling. Whatever he'd detected before seemed particularly concentrated around Oscar's door… no doubt because it was emanating from him, or from Ozpin; either way, he was determined to know more, and to know why Nora had-
He paused shortly after he lifted his hand to knock. He could still sense Aura even through the metal… seeing it like brief flickers of light in the gray: like lightning bolts striking from dozens of miles away. It took him a moment to decipher -to correctly identify the color when washed out and briefly flashed- but he was eventually able to discern the sources: the pink of Nora's and the faint hazel of Oscar's.
They were exerting themselves, repeatedly striking. Their Auras were clashing… battle, perhaps?
Ren moved his head closer to the door frame to listen. He heard faint sounds… sounds he'd never once known, but… still found himself able to recognize.
Oscar and Nora were-
He drew away from the metal so he would not hear them any longer. He did as he could not to concentrate his Semblance, to not be burdened by the sight of familiar colors: just a calming, empty gray.
He hadn't necessarily expected to find answers when he followed after her. But he certainly wasn't anticipating so many new questions.
Ren returned to his dorm without offering a word of explanation. If Jaune was curious, he refrained from inquiring. Just leaving Ren to his thoughts.
He didn't yet know if the unfamiliar green energy was from Ozpin or Oscar. He would return to that subject at a better time when his friends were not so… occupied. He was confident, however, that Nora would not be doing such things if her partner were the wizard, rather than the boy he'd taken as his vessel.
But then, he'd also been confident that Nora and Oscar hadn't actually ever- that they'd get to a stage like this…
His emotions had been out of balance ever since the revelation Oscar and Team RWBY laid out for him. He didn't do well with the long stretches away from missions, away from the fight, when he had time to think about the futility of their struggle and Salem's inevitable rise.
He used to enjoy isolation and quiet reflection. Now he only longed to train or be dispatched to the field to quiet uncomfortable thoughts.
Only more uncomfortable after yet another revelation from Oscar…
Nora had never been there before: Oscar discovered that almost immediately when he felt her resistance going in. She was very tight, very clenched… the muscles in her thighs squeezing him with every motion. Oscar had to take a deep breath every time their hips met, and given how fast he'd started to move, his breathing was becoming very rapid.
He'd missed this feeling. Not since the first time with Yang could he recall such anticipation fueling him. Maybe because he'd always been wary of Blake or because he knew she was in love with Yang and not with him, but this… he'd missed just being alone with a woman, thinking of nothing and no one else in the world but the space they'd shared and the moment they had for each other.
Nora's face was always red, but she was so flushed now her cheeks were more pink than pale. Her eyelids had narrowed slightly, half-lidded but focused upwards to Oscar as he moved on top of her, her arms reaching once more to wrap around the back of his neck and hold him close at hand: so close each of his rapid breaths moved down and caught her nose. If anything, that only seemed to make her more interested in keeping him there.
Oscar's hands trailed down to those strong thighs of hers', reaching under her legs and pushing them upwards, resting under his chest and his shoulders when they moved, letting him thrust ever so slightly deeper, ever so slightly faster now that he didn't have quite as far to travel. He tried to keep his attention on Nora's face, to focus on the blue of her eyes… though he couldn't completely stop himself from gazing downwards to watch her chest rise and fall, to watch her breasts undulate with every rocking of her body… it was mesmerizing; intoxicating.
The more he did this, the shorter his time would be. The more he let himself go, the faster he'd fade away.
He reminded himself that his perspective was unique: most people didn't believe themselves -and certainly didn't expect to be- immortal. They all thought their lives would be short and -in the case of Hunters like his friends- shorter still than most everyone else. And if living longer meant foregoing moments like this...
Oscar leaned his head down to kiss Nora again, pausing on her lips only very briefly before he had to draw breath again. That tiny affection -that brief pause- allowed, he descended to her chest, pressing his head between either breast and tickling the soft flesh with the spiky hairs Nora had left for him… hairs Nora tightly gripped in her left hand as he pressed himself towards her heart. Her grip on him was so firm, and every loud cry she uttered in her breaths only encouraged him to go faster.
But he wanted more than just this. He wanted to experience something else, something he coveted from long before, and still dreamt of…
Oscar dialed back, pulling himself away from her. At Nora's surprised expression, he quickly adjusted their positions, sliding back underneath her and falling onto the mattress himself, springboarding Nora up to sit atop him, still connected, still feeling his face buried into her chest… with Oscar's hips now rising up to meet hers', rocking her body upon his frame with every motion.
Nora acclimated slowly, but started to meet his motions with her own, grinding her hips on his waist and bobbing her body up and down upon him, feeling him plunge deeper with every thrust, eventually coordinating their motions well enough that she would fall upon him whenever he thrusted upwards. Oscar's hands lifted from her thighs to grasp and roughly fondle her chest, bringing his head back to eye level with her… to finally be taller than someone else in the throes of passion, now that most of Nora's legs were curled up on his own, and when she fell upon him he could see the top of her head, and see how matted her hair had become when she lay underneath him and took all he had to offer…
No, not all. There was one more thing he had for her.
She was the first one he ever cast a suggestion to. She had always been someone he longed for, even if he hadn't understood the feeling when it first arose. He wanted her to know just how eagerly he'd anticipated this, how he'd prepared himself, envisioned the moment again and again.
But he'd wait just a while longer. Just long enough for Nora to enjoy herself too, for all the friction to give her the same satisfaction he would know… the intensity of the first time and the brief, unknowable moment of ascension… of feeling truly alive.
Oscar knew he didn't have long. He waited to hear a greater intensity in her cries, something that would alert him to her being close enough that she could finish…
Just as he meant to, only not quite where he was…
His grip tightened on her chest. Nora threw her head back. Oscar desperately moved his hips when Nora lifted her body, giving himself the opening to pull out from within her, to let her fall back onto the bedspread just low enough for him to find his target, just as he'd meant to when he put the thought in her head… to recreate the vision they'd shared, to make fantasy reality in a single, perfect-
His right hand raced down to catch himself and coax it out. He thought of nothing more than aiming for her chest and letting nature take its course.
Nora watched in her haze as he found release. Oscar thought the sight of her observing him finish only made things that much more enticing, made him all the faster in his push.
He wanted to burn this moment into his memory, for however long he could savor it. He dwelled on not only the feeling, but the sight of her heaving chest and her intense blue eyes, the sound of his frantic motions and both their ragged breathing…
Short or not, this was what they lived for. This was what mattered in the face of a futile struggle. There was no reason to fear it when it led to a moment where he could-
Oscar finished moving his hand, still watching Nora taken in the warm release coating her chest -and splattered on her neck and under her chin- as she slowly returned to the present just as he had. He imagined the memory would be every bit as intense for her as it had been for him.
...but then, he didn't have to imagine. His wild melange of emotions would flow to her thoughts too. His pleasure would be something Nora felt as he took every labored breath.
He didn't bother thinking more than that. He just listened to her breathe and watched her chest rise and fall.
The cold wasn't so bad. Weiss could at least concentrate on how she was learning to regulate her Aura, and how to better measure it when out in the field. More advanced lessons she'd expected to learn during her later years training at Beacon… not when she became a full-fledged Huntress two years ahead of schedule. It wasn't too far a cry from watching Aura levels on her Scroll in combat class, but the prospect of real danger -from the elements as well as the Grimm- gave her a very different perspective on matters.
She almost wished there had been Grimm to engage, rather than another quiet patrol to undertake. She was happy to help securing the Amity site and keeping the location safe from any further underground Grimm incursion, but it still meant six hours of her day out in the frozen waste outside the kingdom border, waiting for an attack or staving off boredom… all while looking after one of her father's old mining locations, constantly walking past the company logo and being eternally reminded of her name and what he'd done with it.
Ruby seemed in better spirits. Even a dull patrol routine in freezing weather couldn't dampen her optimism. But why wouldn't she be pleased? She was exactly where she wanted to be in life: a Huntress keeping a kingdom safe and fighting for a cause bigger than herself. And for someone who ran as fast as Ruby, two years ahead of schedule was exactly how her combat education started: it only made sense it would be completed at the same pace.
Weiss was a part of that same cause, driven by the same goal… only tempered in the need to distance herself from her predecessor and restore honor to her family's name through service without the restrictions of her kingdom, her company, or any mission but one of her own choosing. She'd been far happier being inexperienced and fighting on behalf of Beacon and the kingdom of Vale, rather than having to be so close to home and constantly be reminded of how little difference her flight had made.
She hadn't attended Atlas academy and joined the military, but was now answering to General Ironwood just the same. She had her own accomplishments to point to distinct from her father's, but now that he sought a council seat and constantly put himself in public spotlight, she couldn't help but compare herself to him.
Weiss would prefer to battle the Grimm. It'd be quite nice to not dwell on all the things troubling her, however briefly.
She tried to take comfort in having Ruby for company. She tried to be grateful that answering to General Ironwood still left her with a degree of autonomy and even as a graduated Huntress she could still go on missions with her partner and the rest of her team. It gave her the opportunity to… confide.
Only… she hadn't. She hadn't spent much time at all telling the others what had been troubling her. In fact, the only person she'd spoken to about it had been-
Maybe it was because she'd related to him, albeit from a distance. Maybe she was more inclined to be forgiving of someone who'd gone along with an older, more learned man's instructions before realizing how he'd been deceived. Or maybe something in him had made it easier to open up… something earnest like Ruby, but without the same tumult. Maybe she'd simply warmed to him quicker than she had with her teammates, possibly because she'd had their unconditional support ever since she found them again, and was more willing to believe someone wanted to be her friend for reasons other than her skill, her utility, or her family name.
Oscar had suggested she speak out, if her father's actions had so troubled her. But speak out to whom? And tell them what?
It wasn't something she wanted to talk to Ruby about, even to kill time on their patrol. But it was something she wanted to discuss with Oscar… to talk to him again about…
About…
Not only her father. Not only her struggle to extricate himself from his shadow. She wanted to tell him more than just what she wished for, but also to ask him about… him. To understand if his ability to decipher her loneliness -even when surrounded by her friends- was something she should read more into…
Weiss shook her head and drew a breath in the freezing air. What a strange notion…
No, it wasn't strange. It wasn't strange to feel some empathy for her friend, even if that feeling was unique to this friend and not others she'd known longer and been closer to. There wasn't anything unusual about offering compassion to him just because he was almost five years younger than her and still not-
Still not…
Weiss drew another breath. That… that had been a strange notion that passed her thoughts, however briefly. That had been a… curiosity. An idle musing that she would quickly file away and try not to dwell on.
It had happened before, too. A brief inkling, a passing fancy… it'd happened for Ren, Neptune, even for Jaune… and she'd just as quickly set it aside. This was not any different just because Oscar Pine happened to be… younger than the others she could think of, not that she was trying to think of-
One more deep breath. Composure now. She prided herself on her composure. Ruby might notice and point out if she spotted something uncharacteristic… then the entire trip would be about that one conversation, and that at least Weiss would try to avoid. She'd save confiding in her partner for a more pleasant place to make a memory.
And as for Oscar, there was time to dwell on him later. If such uncharacteristic thoughts should… recur.
They spent a while lying in Oscar's bunk, holding each other, catching their breaths… staving off the inevitable as long as they possibly could. Time would find them eventually -it had to- but neither was in any hurry for what followed. In the heat of the moment, things had been simple. They hadn't had to deal with complicated issues like trying to make sense of what happened or what it meant for them now.
Eventually, Nora found the ability to speak again, prefacing her words with a gentle grip on the back of Oscar's sweaty head, still running her fingers through the short spikes. "So, um…"
It was as far as she got. Whatever she'd intended to say faded from her thoughts after the second syllable. Oscar turned his gaze to meet hers', only for her to immediately avert her eyes, shyly looking away.
Oscar could empathize with her: he'd once been in her same position, uncertain how to act or what to say once the deed was done. How odd he should be the more experienced one in a relationship for a change…
"How are you feeling?" Oscar inquired, trying to break the ice without being too inquisitive; trying to put her at ease and slowly bring her back into a conversation when he knew she was having trouble navigating the waters herself.
"I'm… alright," Nora eventually allowed herself to say. "I wasn't… I didn't see my day going like this at all, you know? I didn't think we'd…"
Kiss. Cuddle. Make love.
She'd imagined doing all those things with him, but she never expected to act on the feeling. She never expected to be so compelled as to try and make those thoughts a reality. Oscar could sympathize with that: only a few weeks earlier, he'd never expected to be with any of the girls he desired, even after he first discovered his powers.
"I know," Oscar interjected, moving them along. "But I also knew you liked me… maybe not exactly like - like this, but in a way that didn't ever…"
Stop this? Prevent them?
He did all he could not to think about Ren. No doubt now that they were finished, he's where Nora's thoughts would race whether she wanted to or not. He didn't want to add to it or compound her confusion with guilt.
Though he'd never truly gotten much better at talking about this. Blake and Yang hadn't wanted him to, and Oscar hadn't seen reason to learn when there was no chance of their relationship progressing to anything more complex. He briefly wondered what they might think if they knew about this…
But he shifted his thoughts back to Nora quickly enough. She would want something more than just physical release. She'd want to strengthen the bond, to build upon the relationship she already had with Oscar… or at least, that was what he believed to be the case.
Or she could be looking for an exit so she could get back to Ren…
"I mean, all this? We both must've felt something," Oscar continued. "Something… more than we expected, but still something real, you know?"
He fought the urge to suggest it to her. He wanted to think that her affections for him had always been there, just suppressed by a much older, much stronger bond.
No one knew how that bond had weathered. No one but her. No one would ever believe that she and Ren were anything but inseparable, constant companions. No one would doubt that her love was every bit as strong as it was the day she knew what to call the feeling.
Not so different from how she'd become attached to Oscar, really… she just hadn't had time to talk herself out of taking action before. She'd been caught up by her emotions and allowed herself to act this time, and the result had been… life-changing, if she wanted it to be.
"We did," Nora confirmed. "And I… Oscar, I didn't think this was how I felt…"
It wasn't like her to be timid. But when faced with something she'd never done before, even Nora Valkyrie paused for breath.
Oscar slid his arm under her shoulder, placing it between her skin and the mattress in his cot. He pressed his fingernails ever so slightly against her shoulder blade, just reminding her where he was… and where her eyes could turn, when she was brave enough to do so.
"I always thought that I wouldn't do something like this until… some special day, some major event," Nora continued. "Today was so… ordinary."
Oscar thought quickly on how to counter that. "Not to me. Today's the day you let me join your team."
An unsubtle reminder. And hopefully, the sort of sincerity that had endeared Oscar to her in the first place.
Nora finally lifted her head to meet his gaze again. She slid her hand from the back of his head to his cheek, running her fingers just below his ear, trailing over the boyish freckles… a reminder of his youth, but also a reminder of something about him she had loved to see…
Oscar lifted his free hand to take hold of her hand. He put a stop to any new words: he hadn't been able to savor a feeling quite so intimate since they left Mistral. Yang occasionally reminded him of better times… with Nora he could make entirely new ones. He didn't have to spent quite so much time recapturing the past… and neither did she.
And that thought he could not resist. That he hoped to convey to her, to stop waiting for the thing she expected to come to her… and be grateful for life's surprises.
"I want my teammates to know," Nora told him. "Right away: I never want to hide things from them."
No hesitation. No shame.
Oscar had coveted this. It was everything he'd hoped Yang would find the courage to do…
"Do you want me to go with you?" Oscar asked her.
This gave Nora pause. For Jaune, perhaps, she'd appreciate the visual aid. For Ren…
Ren…
"I'll tell Ren myself," Nora decided. "I've known him a long time, and I think… I think we'll have a lot to talk about."
Oscar hadn't even compelled her to. Nora wanted the responsibility for herself. He was certainly willing to avoid that conversation. He squeezed her shoulder again: "Alright."
Supportive, encouraging, affectionate… the things Nora had been seeking but been unable to find in the man she'd been in love with before. Oscar again succumbed to the temptation to let her think the very same, to see Oscar as the answer she hadn't realized she'd been going without.
Nora slid her hand from his cheek and moved along his mattress, climbing up onto the floor. Oscar took a moment to appreciate the sight of her as she walked towards the bathroom, still bare. To think that this was only the beginning… that Nora would acknowledge him so readily…
Sneaking around with Yang had been thrilling to be sure, but he'd always feared she had just been pushing back the time to tell the rest of their friends in the hopes she'd never have to. More than once, he'd been tempted to forget and just enjoy it while it lasted. More than once, that'd been his motivation in spending time with Yang, far more than getting to know her, sharing in experiences, or even holding a conversation. With Nora… there could be more than just moments like these. For however long he'd still be Oscar Pine and able to enjoy that time as his own person.
But Yang… how would she take this? There was no way Nora -or Jaune- would be able to keep this secret from Team RWBY for long. Then what happened with Blake and Yang…?
If he and Nora committed to each other like a couple, he'd have to devote his attention to her. Not that he didn't want to do that, but-
He had to tell Blake and Yang the truth about Ozpin anyway; he'd promised that he would. When they thought the wizard was watching them, they'd end things. At least he wouldn't be alone when Blake and Yang finally moved on from him.
He told himself not to feel guilty. Yang had never wanted to acknowledge what they had anyway: when they were over they'd be over, and he and Nora could try something new together.
After she spoke to Ren, after she overcame the hurdle of the past… the future would look all the brighter for both of them.
Ren had devoted time to meditate after their training session. Jaune went to eat before he headed back down to Mantle to provide a crossing guard for the kids when they got out of school. Nora and Oscar still remained in the dorm next door, allowing the quiet and solitude Ren had sought.
But his soul was restless. He couldn't focus his Semblance and find tranquility: his emotion was distorted by memory.
He'd wished he could've been present to see the wonders Ruby described to them. More than once he'd activated his Semblance to calm himself upon being reminded of how Ozpin had misled them.
The Grimm had taken everything from him. To know that their master had once been Ozpin's lover and that he could not ever defeat her, never be able to ensure no other children lost their parents to random, senseless violence…
He'd been able to set that animosity aside and focus on the mission. Giving himself a task greater than his own feelings of guilt and pain made the sensations that much easier to ignore. But he'd also had his friends to turn to, to remind him that the endless struggle had brought him a new family to protect.
And now the person he valued most -the person who'd saved him from despair time and again- had fallen for the vessel of the man who unwittingly unleashed these terrors on the world. It was… an oversimplification, perhaps, but it was a hard thought for him to ignore.
He knew he'd taken her for granted at times. He'd never been good at acknowledging how much he appreciated her. More than once he'd brushed off her affections, her compliments, her unwavering support… and now, without her around, and without the mission to focus his energies, when he was left idle and alone, he found no tranquility. Time simply crawled, while memory played out in the cold, empty gray room.
He slew the Nuckelavee, and gained some sense of closure. He'd fought alongside his friends at Haven and -even though at times outmatched by Salem's lieutenants- he'd been at their side to share in the spoils of victory. He'd turned to Nora and been grateful for her presence in his life.
Then they'd heard secondhand about how futile it all was… and anytime Ren had to dwell on that, the good times seemed all the more distant. When he had a task to devote his energy to instead, he may have been aloof, but he wasn't bothered by memory.
Leaving him to be either despondent… or ambivalent. Those were the fates awaiting him.
He heard the door open and saw Nora step inside out of the corner of his eye. Ren lifted his arms from his knees and rose to stand and address her, knowing already she'd have something to say… and he'd had time to think on how he'd reply, depending on what she needed to tell him.
But Nora was slow to strike up a conversation: very uncharacteristic. Though given all that had happened already that day…
Being patient with her was nothing new to him. And just because she hadn't opened her mouth yet didn't preclude her from having thoughts she wished to share. Nora bit her tongue far more than any of their other friends would ever know.
Maybe Oscar would find that out now…
She was always a furious tumult of emotions. She could be bubbly around friends or focused and composed in combat, but in private moments far from the sight of anyone who might change their perspective of her… only then was she truly free to speak her thoughts.
Was that why she hesitated? Because she worried Ren might think differently of her now?
Ren didn't want to force the issue. She'd need to find the strength to speak up to him; if she didn't believe in herself around the person who'd known her the longest she'd never be able to share her thoughts with the others. But he could not simply offer her the reassurance that she was looking for - not yet. She needed to start their conversation in order for Ren to know which of his planned responses he should use. Initiating conversation… he'd still had trouble mastering that art.
"Oscar and I had an important talk," Nora began. "And, um… one thing led to another…"
He already knew. He still saw the traces of green energy. He could still faintly detect the wisps of Oscar's hazel Aura where it intersected Nora's pink layer.
"And… is that what you were hoping for?" Ren suggested.
He didn't want her to doubt. He didn't think she should have any reason to.
"Not at the time, but… well, I really like him and when we talked we talked for a long time about him trying to find his place in the world, and I've- I've been there, you know?" Nora elaborated. "I don't think any of us really know what he was going through with Ozpin but I do remember what it was like to be alone and lost, and I didn't want that for him… and we… talked about some other things too…"
He was glad to hear that she and Oscar had forged such a strong bond. He was happy that she wanted to spare others the same trauma she'd endured, and that the two had a common starting point to build their relationship from.
And it hurt to hear her say it all, because Ren hadn't had to suffer alone. The day he lost everything was the very same day he met Nora, and prevented him from ever having to be alone. Nora had already spared someone that fate, and had continued to do so for many years… and all he ever did was take it for granted.
Nora hadn't been explicit in describing it: she'd always shut herself down when it came to talking about things like this around him. She always stopped short of acknowledging what she felt for him… because for so long, he hadn't seen her the same way. He hadn't allowed himself to realize that she'd grown up. And apparently, so had Oscar.
"I'm glad to hear it," Ren told her. "I… I think you'll be good for him. And I hope he'll make you happy too."
Nora's eyes widened before she reached over to pull Ren into a tight embrace. He returned her strong hug as he was able: she tended to pin his arms whenever she latched on. Even that small effort would be a great reward to her.
Ren tried to assure himself that this didn't actually change anything: that Nora was still his closest friend, and that just because she had others in her life she cared for, others she would know deeper than even him… that didn't mean he would be alone and unsupported. She'd just get to live her own life without always being attached to him.
He knew that wasn't the truth. He'd allowed uncharacteristic optimism -hope- to replace what he thought to be the case; substituting likelihood with belief.
It made her happy to hear it. And while Nora may have been able to recognize that Ren hadn't been completely sincere, he had told her something she wanted to believe. Perhaps that would be enough.
Changes had already affected their lives. There were likely many more to come in their service to the kingdom of Atlas and the fight against Salem… including his best friend falling in love and starting a new chapter of her life.
He was supposed to be happy for her. So he'd try to be.
Oscar was starting to get used to taking multiple showers a day. But he'd only brought so many outfits to Atlas, and only had one set of combat gear. A shower took only a few minutes… laundry was eating up so much of his day that he'd really have to get better at planning these things out, or at least remember to kick his clothes off his mattress before things got hot and heavy.
His sheets probably still had some trace of Nora's scent. Would Yang or Blake notice when they came over? Would they wonder about-
Right. Yang and Blake.
Now that he and Nora were a thing, maybe he shouldn't have-
No, that wasn't what he meant. After he told them about Ozpin this would all be moot anyway. They'd be together, and he'd be with Nora, and they'd all be content with what they had. They wouldn't need to complicate each others' lives ever again.
But tonight, before he told them, he could…
He had to stop thinking that, and quickly. He didn't know exactly what Nora would expect of him now that they'd started up a relationship -of sorts- but at a minimum, he should've expected them to-
But he didn't. He hadn't planned for it at all. He'd just acted, and let himself get carried away. Because he already expected things to be over with Blake and Yang he'd allowed himself to seek out someone else and just… not be bothered by that loss anymore.
Oscar didn't need them to warm his bed. He had someone who actually liked him, more than-
But if he told them later, he could have just one more night…
Oscar turned his attention to the bathroom mirror once again, running his hand over the accrued fog obscuring his reflection. He waited for several moments, watching water dribble off his chin while he waited for some sign of Ozpin.
He had to tell them. He'd promised he would.
But if he waited just a few hours more…
His reflection offered no clarity. No judgment… and no encouragement.
It'd all be over after he told them. If he told them in the morning, after just one… final…
Lies of omission again. Just like-
That was why he needed to wait. So he wouldn't think about who he sounded like.
At dinner, everyone went bunched up into their team configurations. Oscar had been sitting across from Team RWBY with Jaune, Nora, and Ren ever since they arrived in Atlas, but for the first time he wasn't the outsider to a tight-knit group: he was a member of a newly rechristened Team JNPR. At long last, he felt… accepted, again.
Yet the deceptions had already begun. Nora had told Ren -she hadn't yet told anyone else. That was another secret from their friends, albeit one Nora didn't intend to last… yet another instance of them falling short of the trust they all pretended they had but never quite managed to live up to.
And Nora… on the very first night, he would betray her trust. And all Oscar could think to justify his action was that she would never know it. That maintaining the lie would be the foundation of their new… whatever it was.
He told Nora he'd see her in the morning and they'd start figuring things out. That they'd have breakfast, go to train… do the things they'd forgotten to do in their haste to get to the good parts. She reached under the table and squeezed his hand. It should have been a feeling he coveted… now it seemed so tame.
He told himself this wouldn't be the final time he spoke a lie, but would be the very last time he lived one. After one final time scratching his itch…
Oscar told the others he was going to turn in early so he could get up in time for Nora's strict training regimen. No one had reason to doubt him: though Weiss was kind enough to wish him luck and requested Nora keep him intact. Another bit of positive attention to remind him his mind might still… wander.
Just his mind, after tonight. Only memory and thought.
After tonight.
When Blake and Yang stepped inside, Oscar considered telling them right away. He at least allowed himself time to weigh the option.
He reminded himself he wasn't any good at talking. He never had been.
He didn't particularly want to be then.
Oscar focused his attention on Yang, as he always had. He started fierce; needy. The taller blonde was surprised by the strength he exerted, even after having seen it; having known it firsthand. When he turned to Blake he pushed her down onto the mattress, letting her fall beneath him.
There was so much to do. So much that he'd never do again.
Oscar didn't let himself think. He tried not to impart a suggestion or an emotion and just thought about the act.
It all passed in a blurr. He remembered holding a thick clump of Yang's hair in one hand, the curve of her hip in the other. He remembered seeing Blake beneath him, her legs wrapped around his waist and her ears curled up atop her short bob, her eyes closed and her mouth hanging open. He remembered the both of them interrupting ragged breaths to exchange a kiss during a moment when he was finally spent.
One last time, he reminded himself.
One last time.
Penny came to wake Team RWBY sooner than they'd anticipated. Weiss was the only one already awake, brushing her teeth in their dorm bathroom, while Yang actively fought off the encroaching sunlight… all of them still in the bedwear the Atlesian academy issued them, unflattering but functional sweats and uniform t-shirts…
Upon waking, Ruby instantaneously started chattering with her android friend. "Penny, Penny: so yesterday Weiss and I were like-" She started pantomiming action (with an accompanying grunt), "And they were like-" She threw her hands back and offered a faux cry of surprise, much to Penny's amusement.
Blake rolled out of her bunk and reached over to the groggy Yang, taking hold of her hand and leading her along. It was no wonder she was worn out after the night they had… Oscar had been all but possessed. It gave Blake a solid night's rest, but he had devoted far more energy to Yang, given their… history together.
Still, Yang found her footing with Blake's sustained encouragement. She headed out from their dorm -leaving the shower for Weiss or Ruby, whoever got their first- and joining Blake out in the hall for a moment's privacy before their day began in earnest. She nearly bumped into Blake on her way out when the Faunus girl stopped in the hall, directing Yang's attention towards Oscar's room… and the boy waiting outside his front door for them.
It was early; they didn't fully have their wits about. But even then, they could feel the dread mounting, just from the sight of Oscar up before them… and waiting.
They could only think of one thing important enough to keep him up at night. And they'd only made him promise them one thing.
Oscar met their gaze and nodded, before speaking the most terrifying words of all: "We need to talk."
