Chapter 28: Another Time

"The rain outside reminds me of your voice, like everything I hear since you're not there..."

"I got it," Ruby said, rose petals swirling around her as she sat cross-legged on her bed. She stared at him—no, through him. Like she was stuck somewhere else. "I just need to use more aura. Like this..."

Ruby's eyes narrowed. Her body flickered, seemingly caught between the physical world and a red-stained, incorporeal realm, fraught with pools bubbling with shadows and leaves painted with crimson.

Sulphur. Blood.

Nex blinked. What?

The mirage fizzled.

Gone.

The sheets exploded. Pillows and blankets spun around their room, followed by a swarm of red petals. The silver-eyed girl flinched, her body flashing.

Solidifying back into its opaque state.

Nex frowned, jumping off his bed and landing cross-legged on the floor. "What happened?"

"Ugh," Blake said, brushing a stray petal from her book. She sat against the en-suite—the ghost-ninja's favourite reading position. She glared at the rosy mess. "I'm not cleaning that up."

Weiss stopped writing at their desk, spinning in her seat. "What was that?"

"I think," Ruby said, grinning as she smoothed her pyjamas. "I just saw the past."

Nex placed a hand on his chin. Nothing about that made sense—that split-second mirage even less so. Maybe that one was just a figment of his imagination. And maybe she was simply seeing things slower than them. If so, then she was technically seeing the past. Their past. Her present. Well, if that one made sense. But both eventually converged into the future when she stopped using her semblance.

"You did it then?" Nex said, quirking an eyebrow. "You saw things slower, right? Did we move faster?"

Ruby sighed, rubbing her forehead. "I don't know. Maybe. Everything was so blurry."

A shame. Perhaps they needed a more scientific way of testing her semblance. His brain spat out a few ideas—ideas that involved a lot of clocks. A metric fuckton of them even, judging from the number of times she exploded due to her semblance.

"How about you take a break?" Weiss said, pointing her pen at them. The metal one that had a little dust knife hidden in it. Being heiress of the SDC had its occupational hazards, apparently. "We have essays on History, General Herbology, and Dust Theory. I don't think either of you wrote anything yet."

Weiss had a point. But still, she was wrong on one front. He was definitely a little more motivated since their team-building exercise yesterday. Where motivated meant the non-grade homework was put aside for the graded ones. Cinder Fall and Roman Torchwick could wait a little while longer. Not like Roman gave him deadlines to meet or anything. That would have been, in his fellow thief's words, too much like school.

Nex smirked, placing a v under his chin. "Check again, Weiss. Second drawer to your left."

And there she would strike gold. Well, metaphorical ones.

Weiss pulled out the drawer, arching an eyebrow. Definitely at the fat stack of papers. "This is yours. You're already finished with everything?"

Writing under his blanket was difficult, admittedly, as the linens shifted if he was careless. But still, night vision coupled with an irregular sleep schedule did wonders to a person's productivity. He only needed to find his way to a regular sleep schedule, then everything would be perfect.

"This is literally perfect," Weiss said, smiling as she leafed through the sheets. The stack of papers was now on the desk. "Down to the handwriting as well. If I didn't know any better, I'd say that you've been replaced by aliens."

Naturally, she would know if her boyfriend had been replaced by aliens. Aliens probably tasted a little differently. Maybe even smelled different. Doubtful strawberries or even cologne existed in space, after all. Not that anyone actually knew for sure, since no one managed to do a successful space launch yet—a shame that one.

Ruby tapped his shoulder, rose petals crunching under her slippers. Huh. "Hey, team leader. Can I copy your work?"

Then again, being capable of churning out perfect papers with Pareidolia had a couple of downsides. One of them was definitely the glare his girlfriend shot the silver-eyed girl.

Well, at least it was a half-win. Right?

"You won't," Weiss said, frowning as she placed his homework back into the drawer. It closed with a thud. "That will defeat the purpose of the assignment. You'll end up not understanding the lesson."

Nex ruffled the silver-eyed girl's hair, eliciting a pout. "Come on, Weiss. Let her have some fun. It's not like she's going to copy it verbatim. She's going to paraphrase. Right?"

Paraphrasing meant she understood his work. Ergo, solving two problems with one metaphorical stone. It solved the plagiarism part, as well as the not learning anything part. Well, it was probably shifty. But desperate times called for desperate measures. Besides, no would really be harmed if Ruby Rose paraphrased his work.

In fact, it would even help her. Right?

Ruby smiled, holding up her thumb. "Right, team leader. I really need to slow down my time. Yang's been worried sick about me dying young."

The ghost-ninja looked up from her book.

"What?" Blake said, frowning as her book snapped shut. "You're not sick, are you?"

Weiss heaved a sigh, her pen lying on the table. "No. Ruby isn't sick. It's just a side-effect of her semblance. According to Nex, using it causes her to age faster."

"Yep. But don't worry about it, Blake," Ruby said, giving the ghost-ninja a tall nod. "I'm figuring out how to do the opposite."

Blake shot him a glance, her face as blank as usual. "I see. How do you know, Nex?"

Nex picked up a rose petal. It was rough on his index. Lifelike. Almost as if they came straight from that one park in Atlas. Real ones, then.

That opened another can of worms—worms that caused Pareidolia to spin at the implications.

It went against Polendina's widely accepted theory on aura and semblances. Aura was incapable of manifesting physical objects from thin air. Ruby Rose was pulling the petals from somewhere. The only question was where. Or maybe even when. The second, if true, violated a whole slew of other physical concepts. But still, he really had to stop thinking before he went further and deeper than he really should into the dark rabbit hole.

Blake was waiting for an answer.

"My semblance. According to Weiss, it allows me to see the future," Nex said, nodding as he rubbed the rose petal more. The red flaked over his fingers, black dew stretching between his index and his thumb. "She's not far off, though I can't really do that one. It confirmed my hypothesis that Ruby's semblance isn't superspeed. It's time manipulation."

Blake lowered her book, her mouth forming a small o. "She can time travel?"

Nex sighed, even as her mouth snapped shut. "Nope. I'm going to put a pin on that one, though. For now, think of it as Ruby speeding up her relative time so she appears to be moving faster than us. Thus, it results into superspeed without physically moving faster."

Blake nodded, her amber eyes fixed on Ruby.

The silver-eyed girl smiled, which the ghost-ninja returned. Well, good to see they were getting along better after weeks of team-building exercises—the non-couple kind.

Well.

Probably.

"What do you mean put a pin on it?" Weiss said, quirking an eyebrow. "You're not saying that Ruby can actually time travel, are you?"

Nex flicked the rose petal at the silver-eyed girl's forehead. "See that? Solid flowers. Ever read Polendina?"

Weiss huffed, glaring at the rose petals scattered around their room. "Polendina's Treatise on Aura and Semblances states that aura can't create physical matter. Not without interaction with dust or other elements, like in the case of my glyphs."

"Or my clones," Blake said, nodding.

Nex shrugged, swiping at another rose petal. "Exactly. She's taking the roses from somewhere. Or maybe even somewhen."

Ruby gasped, her eyes snapping towards him. "I can really time travel?"

"Judging by the mess in our room," Blake said, flicking another rose petal off her shoulder. "I think time travel is the least of your concerns."

Nex chuckled, nodding at the ghost-ninja. "I have to agree with the quiet B. Clean up, Rubes. You can look at my essays later."

The R of Team SSBR moved to do as he said.

Ah.

The glorious perks of being a team leader.

Ordering his team to do house-keeping around their dorm was definitely making his laziness pop out. Well, more than usual.

But of course, leadership did not come without its downsides. And one of those would probably come about right now.

"Nexus Shade. It's not right that you're condoning her behaviour," Weiss said, shooting him a pointed look. Yep. Of course. That one. Same old Weiss. "As team leader, you should encourage her to do homework by herself."

Blake turned a page on her now-opened book—still The Boy With Two Souls. What happened to Ninjas of Love? "My partner needs to focus on her semblance. Homework is useless if she's dead."

The ghost-ninja had a very valid point, as pragmatic as it was. At the end of it all, the goal of the academy was to teach them how to survive the dangers of Remnant. Dying was particularly detrimental to that goal.

"I hate to admit it, but you're right," Weiss said, breathing a soft sigh. "You can study our leader's work. But only until you've figured it out."

"Yes!" Ruby said, shovelling the last pile of rose petals into a garbage bag—courtesy of Beacon. She tied it close and zipped towards his partner. "You're the best teammate ever!"

Nex grinned as Ruby leapt, wrapping her arms around Weiss.

The silver-eyed girl rubbed against her chest. His girlfriend sputtered, turning red as she looked to him for help. But still, her arms clung around Ruby's shoulders, holding her close. Apparently, Weiss had a lot of practice with Winter.

"Hey. Easy on the hugs," Nex said, forcing an exaggerated sigh. "I might get a little jealous."

Blake frowned, fixing him a look. "Jealous?"

Nex grinned. "What can I say? I'm a little territorial around my girlfriend."

Dumbchester received first-hand knowledge about that little fact. The racist was definitely asking for it. Practically begged for it when he pissed off Weiss.

"What?" Ruby said, dashing away from his partner. "Weiss is your girlfriend? You're together-together?"

Ugh. Definitely Nora's influence.

Weiss nodded, smiling even as she drew a deep breath. "Yes. Nex and I are in a relationship. A serious one with mutual commitments."

She got that right. No way he would turn out to be like his father—or like her father. Not even if the world was against them. Well, not that it particularly was. Curse his overdramatic brain.

"Yep," Nex said, bobbing his head into a quick nod. He smiled. "What Weiss says is true."

"I knew it!" Ruby said, smirking at the ghost-ninja. She held out her hand. "You owe me a hundred, partner."

Blake sighed, reaching into her yukata's side-pocket, even as her eyes narrowed. "Alright. A bet's a bet."

Perhaps he should have been mad half of his team placed lien on their relationship. In fact, they were probably not the only ones in on a bet.

Definitely Yang.

Weiss did say she was convincing the school behind his back.

What was it about people and pointless gossip, anyway?

"This won't change anything in Team Snowbear, will it?" Weiss said, a smile on her lips. "We promise that we won't let our relationship get in the way of our responsibilities. Nothing will change regarding that."

Nothing would, of course. They had lives outside of the school, as well as lives inside of it. Business and pleasure, as the saying went.

Blake nodded, her eyes darting between them—like a cat suddenly cornered, her back against the wall. Her heartbeat spiked. "Alright."

"Yep. I gotta tell our friends," Ruby said, grinning as she clapped once. "They'll be so excited."

Nex rolled his eyes. Excited for the settling of bets, no doubt.

Weiss frowned, pinching her nose. "I'm not sure if I should be mad that you're wagering actual currency. But you have to finish your homework first."

Ruby pouted, fidgeting with her scroll. "Can't it wait until tomorrow? It's Saturday. Team Auburn is—"

A fist rapped on wood. And then another one. Then it turned into five.

"Open up, Team Snowbear," Nora said behind their door. "Because tonight will be the night~"

Another fist rapped on the wood.

"Yeah. We gotta start this thing," Yang said. "It's a game night."

"That," Ruby said, grinning as she rubbed the back of her head. "We're playing video games."

Admittedly, he never played those. Video games were a waste of time.

But still, Ruby Rose did. Far be it from him to stop her.

Nex shrugged, shifting on the floor. "Well, it's a Sunday tomorrow. I don't see the point in rushing her homework."

Weiss breathed a sigh, smiling at the silver-eyed girl. "Oh, very well. But only because our team leader insists. I expect the essays to be done by Monday with no complaints about them."

His partner should have raised a fuss.

Weiss smiled, shooting him a glance. A coy smile, and a look that revealed exactly what she was planning.

Oh well, oh well.

He was the type of guy to go with the flow anyway. And there really was no point in refusing any of her desires.

Ruby opened the door. "Hey, guys. Ready to go? I'm itching to beat Jaune."

"Yep. Time to rescue you from this library, Rubes," Yang said, grinning as she poked her head through the doorway. "The scary books didn't get you, did they?"

Blake tore her eyes away from one of said books, drilling two extra holes into the blonde's skull. "They're not scary."

"You're biased," Yang said, grinning as she glanced at the ghost-ninja's bookshelf. "Wanna come?"

"That's a brilliant idea," Weiss said, smirking at the blonde. "Blake should go with Ruby, and make sure they come back before curfew."

Curfew being ten. It was only eight something. Plenty of time to play a couple rounds of chess without the chessboard. Well, both of them probably did not play chess. But the metaphor was there.

Blake sighed, dragging herself towards the doorway, her book clutched under her stiff arm. "You only want some alone time with your boyfriend. But alright."

"What?!" Nora said, her head poking in. Just above the blonde brawler's. "You're together-together?!"

Great. Now the entire school knew. Trust Nora the Bard to spread the tale by herself, belting it out for the entire hallway to hear.

"Yep. We're together-together," Nex said, rolling his eyes. "Please. Try not to make it tomorrow's headline."

Weiss stammered, flushing as she glared at the bard and the brawler. "My boyfriend's right. Don't gossip about our relationship. Especially you. Yes. You. Yang Xiao Long."

Yang smirked, wounding an arm around her sister's head. "Fiiiiine, Weiss-cream. Come on. Let's leave the dynamic duo alone."

The door shut, leaving them alone in their room.

"That was surprisingly devious of you, Miss Schnee," Nex said, cupping his chin. He smirked at her back, still dressed in her trademark pale blue blouse. The sleeveless one. "I thought you still have homework to finish."

Weiss heaved a sigh, tapping the wood of their desk with her pen. Tap. Tap. Tap. "I'm having a bit of trouble. Care to help, Mr Shade?"

Strange. But okay. If she wanted his assistance, then he would be glad to provide it. If he was going to let Ruby paraphrase his work, then he was going to help Weiss finish hers.

Nex plopped down on the empty chair beside her, glancing at her homework. A full page. "But you're already done."

Weiss smiled as she poked his nose, placing her pen on the sheets of paper. "I just wanted to talk to you, sleepyhead."

Nex shrugged, matching her smile. "Shouldn't we go on a date then?"

He had no prior experience. But then again, couples were supposed to go on dates. Right?

"You're right," Weiss said, her smile stretching into a grin. "How does the next weekend sound? It should be right after our field trip to Forever Fall."

Nex quirked an eyebrow, raising his arms over his head. His bones popped. Ah. "We're going to Forever Fall?"

Weiss scowled, placing her homework in a separate drawer. "You weren't listening to Professor Peach, were you?"

General Herbology. Well, he was probably off wandering in neverland, since they did not share the same schedule for that particular class.

Oh well, oh well. At least now he knew.

"Thanks for telling me," Nex said, nodding. "You're a lifesaver."

Weiss smiled, shaking her head. "I can't muster the energy to be mad at my boyfriend. How do you take your coffee?"

Nex smirked, fixing his eyes on her lips—glistening pink under the lamplight. "Brown with a hint of vanilla. She also happens to taste like croissants and smell like flowers."

Weiss stilled, red dusting her cheeks. "Right now? Oh, my. This is surprisingly forward of you, Mr Shade."

"What can I say, Miss Schnee?" Nex said, chuckling as he stole her hand. The one under their desk, hovering over a rack of mugs. "I'm not the one who whispered, kiss me."

Weiss fixed him a glare, raising her chin. His bare feet slid on the floor as his girlfriend dragged him towards his bed. She pushed him into the sheets, straddling his oh so vulnerable body.

A huntress on a mission. While he was just a poor and helpless huntsman.

Well, there were certainly worse ways to kill an hour or so.