"How many is she eating?!"
Ren doesn't even have to move his eyes off the table to provide Yang with the answer she desperately seeks.
"Eighteen."
It's no surprise he would know, because his hands were the ones that had to make every last piece on the pancake stack. Nora has been enjoying them like clockwork each morning for several months now, but it still never fails to surprise the other six friends of his every time she ventures forth on her crusade against the fluffiest of breakfasts.
️
"I will never understand how you manage it every morning…"
"Trust me Weiss, it gets easier with practice. Especially if you've had as much time to do it as I have…"
"Mmm-hmmph! Mho un elph man ffake ehh metter!" Weiss can only look away in a slight annoyance as Nora cheers him on, mouth filled to the brim with half-chewed slices of greatness. She doesn't even bother to empty her food out before going in for another forkful.
While Yang continues to stare on in amazement, the true surprise of today is brought up to the forefront.
️
"So… isn't that new teacher supposed to start today?" Jaune is the first one to remember it.
"New teacher? Where?"
One Ruby Rose is already up out of her seat, hand all but glued to her forehead to stake out this 'new teacher' that had just been brought to her attention. Yang has to gently push her down from her roaming stance while holding in a laugh.
"Oh yeah, he is supposed to be starting today, isn't he? Thank the gods, hopefully he'll be better than Port filling in as a sub…"
️
…Not that being more entertaining than the oh-so-dry Professor Port is a high bar to clear. Anyone would be a welcome change for the Dust class, especially after suffering through an extra helping of white-haired bologna at the start of the day for the past month. But, finally, Ozpin has found a replacement for the former teacher of Dust, Krystal Chimera, who'd unfortunately dropped out of the staff to care for a sick family member.
It couldn't have just been any random person off the street, though. Educating the next generation to fight the unending hordes of Grimm is a task that only people with both experience and wisdom could accomplish well. There's not too many dozen of those characters on Remnant to go around… and the choice will be revealed to his students right after the very first bell.
Everyone has their own ideas on who will take root at the front of the room, some minds grappling with the frenetic, some with a personality cooler than a cucumber, some with a quiet, yet firm command persona to be submissive under…
️
"He better be a-mazing!~"
"He better actually teach us properly."
"He better be someone good-looking."
"He better be someone I can fall asleep to at least!"
️
Ruby watches with a smile as Weiss dramatically recoils away at that last one.
"Wha- you would just sleep through something as important as the inner workings of Dust?"
"Hey! Don't attack her! Port trying to teach is the best nap I've had in weeks!" Nora has even set down her fork to gush about how boring the class has become.
"See! I'm not the only one!"
Yang can't hold it in anymore. Laughs echo through the breakfast hall as the conversation spirals beyond recognition, tales of how good a pillow a Grimm plushie can be completely obliterating any sense of professionalism to be had. The rest of them either smile and follow along or find an enticing bit of crumbs to chase after. Even though it can border on the insane every once in a while, none of RWBY or JNPR would have it any other way.
️
️
The ending bell rings five minutes later to cut off the river of conversation, all eight now psyched up to see who will be leading class this morning, whether they want to admit it or not. To nobody's surprise, Nora is the most excited of all on this front…
"He's gotta have Dust crystals on his back! Wouldn't it be so cool if he could just hold one in his hand and make it activate?! Or maybe he'll have a magic wand! Then he can make water out of nowhere! And there'll be a little Wind Dust and he'll let us all surf on some waves! Ohhh, what if he could turn into a dragon?! He's gotta let us ride on his back and take us everywhere! Then we can find all the crystals and make a special…"
If there's one thing about Nora Valkyrie that shines through more than anything (well, besides an infatuation with pancakes) it is her never-ending imagination. The endless ideas pushing forth out of her mind have led her body all the way to the open classroom door, and two more steps inside brings her face to face with the new instructor standing tall next to the front-left desk.
️
Her mouth warps into confusion upon seeing him, a bell ringing loud in her mind as neuron after neuron try to figure out a name for this familiar character. His face is what drags her in the most, as this guy really looks a lot like Yang.
Almost a spitting image, actually, …other than a more chiseled jawline and less colorful hair. Those muscles, though…! He is ab-so-lutely smoking hot. Not to say that Ren isn't a handsome man himself or anything, but… by the gods above, this guy is the whole package. Perfect muscles, skin baked into a pleasing tan… oh, maybe abut six-foot-three inches tall or so, long, toned legs, and that sleeveless shirt he's wearing… oh-ho-ho… especially with that collar peeled back. Those abs just barely hidden by—
️
"DAD?!️?!️?!️?!️?!"
️
Yang rudely interrupts Nora's dive into him with that massive outburst. That's her dad, huh? It makes sense. Hopefully he'll be as cool as he seems on the outside!
️
"Yep, that's me, sun dragon! Surprised, aren't ya?"
"NO! -uh, I mean yeah, of course I didn't expect you here!"
"Oh come on, don't be like that! I won't call you out too much, alright? I promise I'll be cool enough for you."
️
"A…️…️ Ugggggh!" Utterly defeated, the once-thought to be unflappable blonde huntress casts her lilac eyes to the floor and sits down without another word. It can't just be her who noticed that, right? How easy it was to make her squirm? This class is sure to be interesting, that much is unquestioned...
Nora's eyes are still gently resting on her new favorite teacher as he finally moves from the desk, pushing forward with seemingly unstoppable confidence toward the board at the front, hands out to make final preparations for the start of class.
*tap*
"Are you gonna sit down or what?'
️
Nora spins around on a dime toward Jaune Arc, who almost manages to hide a smile as he squeaks by her toward the seats beyond. Almost. Only with a look into the crowd in front of her does she realize how long she had been standing there staring. In fact, she's now the last one to not be sitting in her seat, the lone empty desk right next to Ren sticking out like a sore thumb in the field of patiently waiting students. It's a miracle that nobody else has noticed her odd behavior yet…
Before Taiyang can look over and take notice, she quickly steps toward her seat, sitting down and trying her hardest to look as normal as humanly possible. Ren's eyes shift over for a flash as she sits, but other than that brief acknowledgment, no one else pays any mind. The bell to start class finally rings, mercifully taking the fear of being called out off her shoulders. She doesn't even get a single second to enjoy the weightlessness, as Taiyang's surprisingly booming voice rushes throughout the room, completely silencing any other traces of conversation.
️
"So, as my little sun dragon helpfully blurted out, I am her and Ruby Rose's father, Taiyang Xiao Long. I'm the guy whose going to be taking over this class for the rest of the year. Does anyone have any questions before we all get started here?"
Twenty hands fly into the air. A look of surprise crosses his face for a moment, before seeing the fingers of one Ruby Rose fluttering about in the air.
"What is it, Rubes?" His question is almost run over by his favorite Rose Petal.
"Weren't you supposed to be staying at Signal?!"
"Well, yes, I was teaching at Signal, but I couldn't resist coming up here to fill in for you guys. Especially not after I learned that both of you were going to be in the room…"
His face relaxes at the thought of being able to teach his daughters for one small moment before he remembers that there were still more waving arms to satisfy.
️
"Anyone else?"
More hands fly into the air. Someone with bunny ears is the lucky student his eyes land upon next.
"How about you… Miss…" One of the many things he had skipped over in haste is fully studying the name list, connecting names to faces before all the eager hunters and huntresses had arrived. Tai walks over and grabs the important paper with the poise of a man twenty year more experienced, quickly scanning down before catching the unmistakable ears that give Velvet Scarlatina her trademark look.
"...Velvet." He keeps his gentle gaze as she slowly breaks through the shyness to ask her question.
"Are you going to be teaching us the rest of the year?"
"Yes, I'll be here all the way through the Festival. And maybe even afterward if Ozpin likes my performance… that would be a great idea for him to keep me here permanently, wouldn't it?"
️
A few cheers, unsurprisingly lead by Ruby Rose, sail through the room. The one person that he was aiming his words for, though, is not one of them. Not even close. Yang hasn't moved her head away from her scroll since he started talking, and despite crystal clear, emboldened words angled out to get a hopeful cheer or even a classy groan of annoyance, she's content to continue staring holes into her social feed. Her sizzling hair is the only indication that she heard him at all, flaring up for a few moments before calming down to merely hot.
"Uhhh… Thank you…" Velvet returns her hands onto the desk as the commotion dies down.
"You're welcome, Velvet. I'm sure that I won't be too much of a burden to any of you."
Another set of hands rise without the question needing to be vocalized. Tai's eyes jump from finger to finger, his vision eventually spotting someone with bright orange hair, mouth slightly open in raw eagerness to speak what's on her mind. Luckily, he can easily think up whose name matches her lively expression in no time flat.
"What about you, Nora?"
"Do you like pancakes?!️!"
️
…
The two seconds of silence are all that is needed to see just how much that question made him stumble.
To his credit, after stealing a glance at his desk, he recomposes himself and satisfies her… eccentric… curiosity.
"Yes, I do like pancakes, actually."
He's about to take another hand out of the sea of waiting students, but the hammer-wielder intervenes.
️
"What flavor?!"
"Uhh… Blueberry."
️
A gasp that could flutter to the moon is all that is uttered on Nora's end.
"Oh, is that your favorite flavor?"
"Yes!"
"That's something nice to hear, I suppose. Anyone else have any more fun questions like that one?"
️
Tai's face is adorned with a small smile, but that is peanuts compared to the spectacular grin on Nora's face… Anyone who isn't in the know in regards to Nora's antics can only sit confused, while most of her friends are facing everywhere but at the front of the room, trying their best to hold in laughter. But really, what's so funny about it? It was an honest question! And she couldn't just leave that hanging there, especially after noticing the plate with bits of syrup lying there unattended! It would be a crime to just let that go without an answer!
Whether funny or serious, regardless another hand does eventually lift into his view, that being the hand of Jaune Arc, still holding a smile while trying to get the thoughts of the previous question out of his head.
"Do we still have to learn about all of the Dust ratios?"
That question doesn't really rise to the level of 'fun', but it is answered all the same.
"Yes, but I'll try my best to make it interesting. I know it can be hard to just memorize. Next one up?"
️
While a few more daring students get their questions satisfied, Nora is using the free time to take a few more glances at the cluttered set of tables that make up Tai's desk. Of course, the star of the show is the plate of what was once some blueberry pancakes, but that is nowhere near the only thing that hooks her attention. A bottle of syrup is also standing tall out in the open, branding too far away to be made out, but the amount not, as almost half the bottle is filled with air. The refrigerator inside is almost certainly stocked up with some kind of topping, whether that means butter, whipped cream, or some other variety of fruit is a question that her imagination can run with for ages.
Even so, a man as towering as Taiyang having pancakes as his premier choice of breakfast, out of all things? Not a one of her friends comes even close to having the level of desire for those delectable stacks. Whether he does have the insatiable lust that Nora does for them is something she might never know, but just the fact that it's even a question…
Before long her eyes are wandering back to the man himself, mind running wild with all the conversations that the two could have. There's no doubt that he's more than nice enough to see eye-to-eye, blow-for-blow with her if he's capable. And the way he's been talking for the past ten minutes now… he might just be able to keep up. She's smiling brighter than a megawatt lightbulb, lips curved upward with boundless glee as she slowly tracks his arm stretch to point out other students.
Those muscles… as outlandish as it is, she can't totally keep her gaze away from them. It's just something about them, a little whisper of a thought tickling her brain, the idea of being carried around, totally at the mercy of his brute strength is latching on and not letting her go. It's not the kind of thing she's thought about too much before, but now with time to wander and bulging sacs of protein ripe to be gawked over… it's giving the attraction to pancakes a run for their money. And quite a good race at that.
️
️
Fifteen minutes of instructional time have been thrown in the weeds of eager questioning, but by now Tai has had his fill of divulging himself, and he's ready to move on and start classes. A Fire Dust crystal almost magnetizes into his hand, and he carefully places it on the desk, all ready to start his very first round of lecturing.
"Alright, I think that'll be enough questions. I've gotta keep some things a secret from you all… but now let's move on to some Dust. I know you guys know about what this is, so I'm not gonna waste your time telling you about it. But, what I am going to do is a little bit of an experiment…"
His left hand reaches down into a case, fiddling with the lock and easily opening it, grabbing an Ice crystal out from its slot and setting it next to its polar opposite.
️
"There's some properties of Dust that can take a while to figure out. One of those cool things about Dust in its crystallized form is that you can play around with it a lot more freely than a powder."
A pitcher of water is shifted to the sink with one hand, the cold water quickly turned on to full blast as he continues to set the materials in place.
"...And since we don't have to worry nearly as much about things exploding on us… I can demonstrate something that you might not have seen before. It'll be quick, so don't miss it!"
He keeps quiet for a moment while the water flows, the final act in the circus, a steel press, quickly located and held in his right hand. Some of the students are already taking notes, but many are still glued to the action up front. Nora's book has not been touched once, and the way her face is all but running on a swivel at Tai's level, it might never get the chance. He pours the water out into a container, crystals laid down dead center as they slowly become submerged.
"Alright, here it goes!"
️
Both arms force the steel plate into the crystals, the water that surrounds them nearly boiling on the spot and morphing into large clouds of steam. It doesn't take long to clear out, and the surprise hiding behind the vapor is a merged crystal; the Fire and Ice joined together with an obvious orange line circling the middle. A few hums and small gasps of surprise flow throughout the room as Tai prepares his next words, waiting patiently for everyone to get their look before grabbing a marker and starting off.
"You need to have the water around it to keep the crystals stable while under pressure. Different crystals require different amount of water to make this work, and some of them don't even stick together. Wind Dust really does not like to be stuck to anything, as no matter how much…—"
Even he can't make learning about Dust fun forever. Though it is fun to watch the Dust wreak havoc in battle, the actual creation and proper usage of these powdered fireworks all boil down to math. Lots and lots of math. More and more eyes fall toward their scrolls with every equation and variable that graces the board, and despite his best efforts to make it flow freely, the class is still a mild bore.
️
Nora's narrowing eyes show more than anything that she is, unsurprisingly, one of the pupils who can not quite keep up with all the formulas. The paper is still as virgin as ever, no hope of being graced with graphite as time begins to slow like a stream of molasses. This whole "Dust Ratio" thing just isn't pushing though her skull. Sleep is already starting to creep on her halfway through, and she is moments from succumbing to yet more realms of fantasy when a piece of paper gently rubs against her right arm, Tai's hands quickly retreating before she can open her eyes.
️
A quiz? Already?
It's only five questions, but on the first day? Who does that?
One look at the first question reveals everything she needs to know.
️
Which crystal is the easiest to merge Fire Dust with?
️
Yeah, like there's a chance in hell she remembers the answer to that. Boring!
All the answer choices look correct… and that's about where she makes her decision. Pick whatever.
Five letters are circled without a care, and the rest of the test time is spent where she'd much rather be in the first place, off thinking about Grimm being hammered away into pancakes, or really any combination of the millions of possible ideas that could be strung together faster than lightning.
As Tai comes back around to collect everyone's work, the devilishly-hot orange hair sticks out like a sore thumb in the mess of blondes and browns gelled up in wait. While most others are staring into a wall or finding comfort in fiddling with a pencil, Nora is out like a light, the smile on her face making it all too clear that she's in some sort of dream.
He could get mad, forcefully push her out of her nap and berate her for taking the class so un-seriously, but that's not Taiyang Xiao Long. It wouldn't be fun to have everyone act like mindless robots, all dutifully taking their notebooks out and remaining perfectly still while he lectures onward for an hour. Variety is the spice of life, and she's already becoming one of his favorite spices. The energy shines out everywhere even while she is asleep, and it would be a shame to force her awake when he doesn't absolutely have to.
Those fingers are as careful as they come, two of them gripping the edge of the paper and ever-so-slowly freeing the exam from the weight of Nora's right arm. He looks back one last time to check on her sleeping form, and the smile that remains is almost enough to make him abandon his plans of revealing the final grades today. Almost.
️
Figuring out everyone's score is easy since there's only five questions to sort through, and in ten minutes he's already written them all down in the first column of a wide grading sheet. Surprisingly, there are lots of 5/5's despite the short notice, a few 4's and 3's here and there, but the lowest score of them all is 1/5, shared by three underachieving students… and Nora Valkyrie is the headliner of the group. Thankfully, Ozpin did let him have the luxury of office hours after all the classes were done, time that's sure to be used to the fullest explaining and re-explaining.
There's not too many other students in the later periods, so the workload shouldn't be too much of a hassle… especially if this trio is the only group needing some extra curriculars. And that's assuming they show after class… it's not detention. If they want to get better grades, they'll show up after classes. If they don't, they don't. Now's not the time for hypotheticals, though, as the end of class is coming up fast. Tai makes his way to the front two minutes before the bell, eyes glazing over one more time at the hammer-wielding huntress before he completely shatters the peace.
️
"Okay everyone, I have your quizzes graded… most of you did great! I know nobody likes a pop quiz, but I gotta figure out how to teach you guys somehow. I'll leave them up here. Some of you didn't do so hot, but that's not a big deal. I'll be here at the end of the day for some office hours if you want to catch up on things."
The final bell rings just in time to end his sentence, everyone rushing to pack and grabbing their paper on the way to the next class. Ruby is the first one out, a happy squeal rising into the air once she finds the perfect 5/5 waiting on the top of the pile. Jaune's next with a 4/5, Yang's reluctantly joining him with her 4, Ren, Weiss, Blake and Pyrrha share their perfect scores, and at the very bottom is the paper with the 1/5 marked in red pen, now held tightly in Nora's small hands.
️
"One out of five? Were you dreaming of pancakes the whole time?"
"Of course not! I was just too sleepy to remember it all!"
"Uh-huh." A small laugh escapes the blonde. "And I'm not Ruby's sister."
Ren buts in before the two can fire any more volleys, hands out to make sure their attention is grabbed.
"Relax, it's not a big issue. She'll be coming over to his office hours after dinner, won't you?"
"Well, u- uhhhhhh…"
"He isn't that slow of a teacher. It probably won't even be an hour."
️
Having to sit in a classroom and study is about the farthest thing from fun that she can think of, but Ren is right, it won't be that long… and it is Taiyang, pancake extraordinaire… Once her mind gets a chance to think about the whole song and dance… it's not too big of a thing, is it?
He might even find a way to make it sound as lovely as a zoo of sloths, breathing new life into the equations on display, his fingers being there to guide her pencil along, nudging her hands to the right track whenever something is written down incorrectly. Almost like a zookeeper, keeping watch over his willing pupil and making sure that she stays penned in, mind and body entirely focused on whatever task he decides to hand her…
The smile that slowly stretches across her face as another sinful tendril burrows inside her mind puts Yang's jokester grins to shame. Her hands eventually stop moving entirely as thoughts of anything else start to drown, face just beginning to flush red before rationality forces the dream into storage at the last possible moment.
️
"Nora?"
Even Ren, the most neutral person the Academy has to offer can't avoid the questioning tone from creeping into his voice, but the speed at which she returns to Remnant rids him of the thought.
️
"Yeah I'll do it! It'll be quick and easy!"
"Alright. Glad that's over with…"
And really, there is no better feeling in the world for him than to be all caught up with his partner's endless mental escapades.
️
️
The next few classes flow by like a breeze for Tai, barely any stragglers to be seen in the last few sets of students. They are second, third, and fourth-years, so the change was to be expected, but having almost everyone gel perfectly with his teaching style without having to lift a finger? That's the kind of feeling that is already making this job seem like the best thing that's ever happened to him. Well, third-best, anyway. Nothing would ever displace those two on the totem pole.
With the last class finally whisked away to dinnertime, he's got some minutes to reflect. It's about as good of a first day as he could hope for, most everybody seems to at least tolerate if not straight up enjoy his class, and the preparation he undertook in the two months before starting the semester seems to have paid dividends. These few months are going to be an absolute joyride if today is anything to go by.
It might be a little early to tell with only an hour spent with them all, but the battle for the coveted spot of 'favorite student' is already filled to the brim with potential contenders. Jaune Arc isn't too bad, he might not be quite perfect in class, but nowhere else is the drive to learn more evident than that armored blond. Velvet Scarlatina is as shy as they come, but with some of the insight she is holding inside that mind of hers… she could climb mountain that even he himself could only dream of scaling.
One Nora Valkyrie is also high up on that list. She was asleep for at least half of the period, but that's no trouble for him. What really makes her stand out from most every other student is the sheer amount of happiness that follows her every waking moment. He's long been used to the many bored faces and apathetic looks just from today, never mind the tens of thousands surrounding him back at Signal. Her smile stands alone as a tall flower in a field of grass, and Ruby's the only other person to come even close.
And there's just something… different about her too. Her getting riled up on something as outlandish as a plate of pancakes is a bit that he's never seen, and it makes him feel.. well… refreshed, if he had to put a word on it. There's not one thing out of her mental reach, and even though she did just come through with the lowest score in the class, it's definitely not because she doesn't have the skill to get something higher. It'll be a dream to get her to apply herself, that much is for sure, but having her around even just once in a while to break him free from the usual unending river of time will lift his spirits up to the heavens.
️
Maybe it's how she enjoys breakfast food sort of like he does biasing him a bit… if it is, he doesn't pay any mind to that fact while he opens up the mini-fridge below his desk, pulling out some water and the other half of a stack of blueberry pancakes. One disturbance that will not impinge on him for the rest of the day is hunger. He's got the second-to-last bite on his fork, the lesson plan for tomorrow already bulleted out when the door swings wide open.
Just the way it crashes into the wall behind it already gives him a clue on who this disturbance is, but a quick angling of his head puts him face-to-face with the girl he'd been thinking about not five minutes before, pink dress and all. As she walks up to him brimming with energy, a greeting just inches away from her tongue, his thoughts stumble, words not quite coming to him as they need to.
Why is she here again?
The last few classes have forced a lot to the side, and whatever brought her here this late was one of the things that has escaped his memory.
"Hey Taiyang! I'm here for the after-school stuff?"
What after-school stuff is she ta- Oh yeah, the office hours…
️
Truthfully, he wasn't expecting a single person to arrive this late, but, he did offer it up to everyone, so now he's gotta whip up something fast. First thing on the chopping block is to bring up the results from the morning prior, the red tones of hurried corrections bringing out only the slightest hints of disappointment as the printer chugs along to commit them on another sheet of paper.
One look at Nora's smile dashes them all, explanations rising to the forefront as he snaps the paper out of the metal jaws, setting it down between them on a set of two touching chairs.
A last look at the door leaves his eyes with only wood grain staring back at them. It's been going on twenty minutes since the official classes ended, and if nobody else had taken advantage of his offering by now, there's no realistic chance that another will come through. Sky blues follow him the entire way as he stretches out a small curtain just behind the looking window, a tint of red obstructing the view and marking his room as closed to any potential prying eyes.
He can barely sit down before Nora launches into another question.
️
"Do you eat pancakes for every meal?"
Her eyes are gazing over towards the plate he had left, fork still weighed down by the syrup-covered fluffiness. Tai is stunned for just a single second before recovering.
"No, not every meal. It's something quick that I cooked up when I arrived, before classes started."
"Really? Where'd you make them?!"
"I can't say where. Only the staff is allowed to use the ovens around here."
"Awww…" A part of her was hoping to find a new cooking station to use, but whether it's because she wanted another place for Ren to cook or because she was going to try experimenting herself is a question that only the gods could truly know. A stray thought to pressure him into revealing this location is forgotten as he grabs the exam with both hands.
️
"Alright… the second question was the one you got right… Number Three, though, not so much. Do you know what this one is, off the top of your head?"
She scans the question, trying to recall those few fragments of lecturing that she did not borderline-sleep through, but they won't fit together like they should. Nora's eyes move off the problem entirely, a shake of the head and a simple "Nope." all he gets in reply.
"Well, it's not too hard to figure out. The powdered form of dust is around twice as dense as the crystallized form, so all you need to do is divide that number by two during the packing problem. The box could fir ten Dust crystals, so for the powder it is…"
"Twenty, right?"
"Yep. Twenty."
"Oh yeah, so you just use the twenty and count up how much of the box was used! Then it'll be.. twelve! Yeah!"
She nearly launches out of her seat due to elation alone, Tai's hand grabbing her shoulder just for a moment to bring her back down in the chair.
️
"You can't just jump out of here like that.."
"I know but it was just so easy! All these numbers are usually too complicated."
"They won't be when you know what to do with them. Once you're out in battle you won't have to think about it as much, but while you're here you have to know it so you can eyeball it well, in case you need to make your own ammo in a pinch."
Nora hums in contentment as she takes in his voice. It was more than loud when he had to talk all the way to the back of the room, but now with just her to receive it, the gentler words ring like music to her ears. Everything about him right now, from the voice to the way he moves his arm to the quiet backdrop around the two is putting her at ease.
And when she's at ease… the whispers of her deep fantasies are all too alluring. She's had the thought of him having his way with her roil through her twice since lunch alone, and now the heat is coming back with the strength of a raging inferno.
️
It's just the two of them.
️
"…Next one up… that answer was actually close to being right. You wouldn't want to mix Fire and Wind dust together like that, though. It could easily set you or someone else on fire. Instead it would be better to just mix Earth Dust."
"Earth Dust?"
She barely caught those last two words as she was snapped out of her daze, having to steel some willpower to focus on the question at hand instead of the wonder playing out inside her mind. The question itself is about what the best combination would be to use in a grenade, the extra details left on the paper as she rapidly throws the words through her mind to get her own answer.
"Wouldn't burning stuff be so much easier?"
"It could sometimes be easier to burn things, but the reason you can't put those two together in a grenade is because it would be impossible to control. If you exploded one too close would you rather have fire, or some pieces of rock crash into you?"
"Well… I guess the rock?"
"Yeah, you'd want the rock. I actually came close to doing just that mistake when I was here as a huntsman-in-training. Qrow got pretty pissed when I nearly spiked one into the ground…"
Even though her face suddenly jumps up after he mentions him, he realizes his oversharing, quickly cutting off that thread before she can try to drag him on an unknowably long tangent.
"So, the last one…"
He refreshes his mind, one quick gaze at the final question bringing the concepts out to play with as if they were wooden blocks.
️
If there is a need to store some reactive Dust compounds in a container, what is the best way to place them to minimize the chance of unwanted reactions?
️
This last word problem isn't that hard to break through, but the way it is structured makes it easier to use a conceptual drawing, even if basic.
"It'll be easier to understand what it's showing you about on the paper. Actually… I want to see you try to draw it out."
"Actually?"
"Yep. I do have a few colored pens if you would prefer to use some."
"Why not! Let me have some color!"
A smile reappears his face as he moves to stand, hands relaxed in wait for the cup that holds the rainbow of ink. On the way back Tai's eyes cross paths with the still not-quite-finished plate of pancakes lying out in the open beside his chair. It hasn't been away from the ice cold of the fridge for too long, but just those dozen or so minutes were enough for all the chill to leach out into the sky, even the syrup now an uncomfortable lukewarm.
He would have preferred to have them finished, but the annoyance is minor on the grand scale, his right hand throwing the plate down into the trash without much thought. Nora's eyes following them down is something merely noticed as he returns to the seat beside her.
"Why did you throw out that little bit of food? They looked so great sitting there!"
"I wasn't hungry enough to finish them off."
"I could've ate them!"
"No, you couldn't have. They'd be too warm to really enjoy."
The last bits of disappointment disappear from his mind while he pushes the cup off toward her right arm.
"So, let's see what idea you're thinking of."
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Thoughts of denial poke in and out of her mind but ultimately don't push through, gradually simmering away as the variety of pens enter her peripheral vision. Brain cells run wild with thoughts powered on jet engines, focus growing shaken as she draws the first few lines. The best way to place them is to spread them out as much as possible, right?
An initial red blotch is nestled in the corner. Blue is taken out for Ice, Dark Purple for Gravity, the tri-color running down the inside edge as she tries her best to balance the words with the fantasies of Taiyang's willpower flooding through her. The next line is started upon with barely-useful fragments of thought pushing her arm forward. She only makes it to the third dot, pens just exchanged when a completely new force snaps her focus.
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"It isn't the best way to keep them all straight in a line like that. You'd want to do it more-diagonal, kinda like this..."
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Watching his hand take control out of her grasp, effortlessly continuing her drawing with near-perfect circular dots only serves to send her heat skyward. The simplified renditions of Dust cartridges take second-fiddle, imagination more vivid than any picture could ever hope to be drawing her mind far, far away from the work under her chin. This smallest taste is validating every last stray feeling she's been letting herself fall under, not one emotion feeling out of place in the room.
He could multiply everything by a hundred right now if he wanted to, the gap between them feeling both one and a million miles away at the same time. She would never even think to give him any pause, every stone ready to be turned at his exclusive will whenever his arms decide to flip them over. Every angle she can slice it reveals more kindling underneath the fire, heat pushing up to her bare skin as he continues forth loading the paper with tiny hues.
Her body is nearly scalding hot by the time he lets go. His facial expression doesn't tell anything, but the way he keeps his hands clasped together, right hand completely enveloped by the left, betrays the truth underneath. Even so, her heartbeat doesn't calm down one beat, the sudden vacuum of pressure stranding her daydreams and nearly causing her to whine out in yearning. The weakest of possible tones underlying her every second breath almost fall off a cliff.
All she can do is watch helpless, cheeks already turning color as he gives the whole paper one last look. His mouth curls into a smile, the biggest smile she's seen yet coming out to the world as he puts it back down, green pen engaged to circle off her improvement. When he moves to stand, her legs jump up alongside before she can attempt to stop them, every muscle tensed up to the tightest strand. Body and mind never stray more than a few inches away from his side as he shuffles the paper away in the scattering on his desk.
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"Ahem... I'd say that turned out pretty helpful, didn't it? I know you'll do better if you can just put a little focus on the basics. There won't be any tests for the next few days, so just keep your head up, alright? It's the first class of the day. You won't be that tired."
Nora doesn't answer in return, but her bouncing, overexcited feet are a response enough for him to push on.
"That's all I have to tell you about for now. You'll be awake in class, right?"
"Y-y-yeah..."
"Good. You can go ahead and roll out of here. See you tomorrow, okay?"
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Before he can turn around Nora jumps onto him, arms wrapping over his shoulders for a quick hug. At least, that's how it looked. Without any warning her face reaches up and presses his, lips joined together with the power of a thousand suns, seven seconds spent enjoying his feel and taking him for everything he's worth. Electricity passes between the two with zero hitch, and when she finally releases his mouth from her grasp, all that he can see is the tint on her face, cheeks shaded hot pink as she lets out breaths bathed in lust.
Tai is left speechless. His thoughts are already tangling in knots, a bit of his own desire starting to well up from the deep within. He got within seconds of them meeting that Nora was the type to play it loose with contact and closeness, but what in the same hell was that? Her sky blue eyes are almost piercing his soul, desperate for even the most remote of signals. He has to come up with something. Anything. The brain he was cursed with is spitting out countless fumes, words barely able to be formed as he tries to catch a sentence onto his tongue. It's not going well.
"Wh… uuu- care to e-explain what's going on?"
He kicks himself the instant they come out. That was not even close to professional. If there is one silver lining, it's that the orange-haired minx opposite him is also stunned. Her hands are still holding on for dear life to his upper back, but her face is locked up in a state of shock vastly more powerful than his. Small breaths are the only sounds that pass between them while she tries nearly in vain to push out a coherent word.
"Ohhhh… Oh gods… Please Tai… just… just…"
Another kiss shatters her sentence into pieces, voltage charged ever higher as her fingers start to dig, dragging his limping body over toward the desk behind him as she gently spins him around. His long legs can barely keep him upright, Tai almost stumbling to the floor as he is left to watch his body twist and turn at the whim of someone that isn't himself.
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"...haaaaaaah… just… take me…️…️"
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Even when she breaks free from his lips, Nora's face is still floating only a finger-width over his. If there wasn't a snapshot of her seared into his memory, there is one right now, her face of pure adoration shining front and center. Every happy breath tickles his skin, the electric signals stealing his focus away from trying to detach her arms. His resistance is falling further and further behind him with every tick of the clock. There hasn't been a woman lusting after him like this for so long that he'd almost forgotten how it feels, and so much passion had been poured into him from just those two needy kisses that his ability to think straight has all but drowned. Another stare into her eyes, watching the smile grow brighter as he pours over her breaks the last gate. Time slows to a crawl as he closes the space between them.
Both of his hands press into her back as he starts to move her, her body easing into his arms like a perfect puzzle piece, free to move as if it was held together by string. The buttons on the back of her skirt are unwound with the grace of a master hand, one deep, yearning breath of air all she can afford time for in response before she dives back in to savor another taste. A pair of legs fall beside his own, shaking, yet waiting patiently to be muscled upward as the frilly clothing is stolen out from under.
The shiver-cold black panels of the desk lead her to a gasp as her skin makes contact, the sudden rush of chill nearly sending her flying off, but even the smallest touch of resistance from Tai warms those thoughts into steam, rising away from her without any hint of dissatisfaction. More pressure almost sets them to fire, his right hand pressing unimpeded into her upper body while he slowly retreats his head away from the bright red lathered all over his lover's face.
She can't focus on the ceiling in the distance far beyond her eyesight no matter how hard she tries, the tiniest of hand movements cutting through like pulses of electricity as he starts to move himself down.
The jolts zap more and more control away from her overloaded mind as his fingertips tread lower, the constant pressure on her shoulder starting to lessen as he brushes the vaginal wall. A single moan echoes out of her lungs while he roots his arm to the folds, every flap of skin drenched in what almost feels like hot oil. One dexterous finger slithers around the inside, playing her like she was a childhood guitar, melodic tones of desire broken out of her throat with indescribable ease.
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"haaah… pleeeeeease… haaah…"
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️Another finger breaches into her, quick little gasps gently coaxed into deep, nigh-uncontrollable cries as two tips explore every crevice, rubbing over every last spot of sensitivity. His own breathing is starting to break down, thoughts rattled as Nora's right hand tugs his shirt, inching him closer and closer until their chests could almost touch. She's at his complete mercy in all senses of the word, muscles pinning more and more of her body down to the desk behind her. The full-throated moans that his ears are blessed with rewire his mind, more force pushed down into Nora's small form as her body starts to squirm underneath.
Her cries harden into full hyperventilating breaths, body totally pacified as pleasure starts to flood her every waking thought, pitch being lost to the raging river as her chain of thought snaps. It rushes out violently, multiple streams of cum painting his tan skin with white stripes, soaking most of his left hand. She blacks out from the sheer euphoria, the sounds she had long lost the ability to control cutting off as her entire lower body writhes around his hand.
Tai is completely frozen in shock as Nora recovers from her daze, waves of ecstasy still rippling out from her glistening entrance as her breath starts to return to her. He can see her struggle mightily to keep her eyes open, fingers left motionless to soak inside as he watches the familiar shades of pink and red fade back into her cheeks.
Once she can finally keep a solid gaze, her mind begins to yearn for his face, wresting as many shreds of focus as she can muster to find it. Her green eyes nearly drop to the floor once she takes notice of him. His gentle smile has taken on a predatory glint, his firm breathing scattering the air around her lips while his own eyes stare holes into them. She can barely hear his mutters, the low voice locking her thoughts onto him as his fingers slowly slip free of her ruined snatch.
"Oh god… oh god… Ooooohhh…️…️"
He can't think anywhere near straight, the boiling-hot memories of seeing her lose herself in pure, unbridled pleasure forever seared into his mind, crashing into his thoughts at every turn. The recesses of his brain have taken off and run with the feeling, his conscious mind all but helpless to how his body took control of her every fiber. Try as he might to keep it from being true, the air between them has forever been altered from this point on, the stunted image of Nora being just an eccentric student now fully blossomed into a woman that could send his mind spiraling with nothing more than a luring breath.
His very being is rattled with a tumultuous mix of lustfulness and shock.
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What the hell have I just done to her?
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Nora's body still hasn't moved since her mind was blown out of the water. Her breaths are slowing down, wavering closer and closer to normalcy with every second, but he's still left conflicted. One look into her eyes says what a thousand words could not: She is utterly enthralled with him. There isn't another way to describe how she reacted to every touch, how she all but crumbled like waterlogged paper under his gaze. She wanted every second, and the state of unfiltered bliss she is in is the hardest proof that one could ask for.
Another realization is taking root inside him at the same time, but these set of truths are ones that he doesn't want to face…
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He enjoyed seeing her squirm.
He enjoyed hearing her moan, he enjoyed hearing her cry out his name, even if just once, he enjoyed the way she all but bored holes into his soul when he started to please her, he enjoyed every single possible thing that could be named about their experience. That passion isn't going to fall away from his thoughts anytime soon.
All of the existential questions that lay just beyond, as looming as they are, are pushed off to the side to provide comfort to the subject of them all right now. The hand not covered in juices finally lets go, staying well within reach as an offering of help to her, should she need to take it. It hangs in the air for around twenty seconds before she takes hold of his wrist, pulling herself down off the desk and standing shakily on her feet.
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"Are you alright?"
"Yeah… I'm okay… Oh dear gods..."
Nora still hasn't fully recovered her breath, but her balance quickly reorients itself as if aligned by the forces of pure magic, and within seconds she is standing as if nothing had happened, smile all but permanently stamped on her face.
"That's… good I suppose… I mean… Well… I think we're done here now, aren't we…"
"Yep! I think we're good… phew…"
A laugh that is to reassure himself more than anything is all the response he gives as his hands grab some paper towels, a good four of five stacked into his palm as he uses one to wipe his left hand clean from some of the remnants. He throws it into the trash can, gazing on at the mess that he'll have to pick up in front of him for a moment before getting down on his knees to better reach it, and he's about to start cleaning when she cuts in with one simple word.
"Hey."
He turns around to see her walking towards him, her lips all but devouring Tai's again before he can spin up another thought. Both her hands grab his chin firm for only a second or two before she releases his head, another breath tinged with pleasure falling out of her as she backs off a couple of inches.
"Thank you."
She leaves without another word, right hand pushing the curtain back on his door while she almost skips though, it snapping back and sending a loud echo throughout the room and the hall opposite him.
Tai is only left to look at the door, the question of how to handle her after today already closing on him like the jaws of an Alpha Beowolf. All he can do is try to break his head free, and after a few too many seconds spent staring, he finally turns his watch around, hands going to work on the desk nearby as the paper towels slowly start to take on liquid.
I'm going to regret not posting this under another account, but fuck it. If Mallobaude is still around after the stuff he's creating, I'll be just fine.
This idea sprang up from a bit of talking with one "Cozzier" from a RWBY Discord server, where we talked about some weird shit and he mentioned a Tai/Nora commission. My head is all flavors of fucked up, so naturally my brain said: Why not do one for free? It'd be so worth it!
So I started to do it. And then my brain had to intervene and completely supercharge everything to Salem levels. I wish I could control even one of my stray thoughts.
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And yes, this is blatantly immoral. I would say I'm sorry or I don't mean to cause offense but honestly, I don't care, and the RWBY fandom of all places has no real place to say anything with the even raunchier shit that is showered with kudos on AO3. This is fiction. Not real life. Don't try this at home. Like come on, do I even have to say this?
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I am sorry if the lemony parts aren't the kinda thing you were looking for. My way of writing is almost allergic to dialogue, which I optimistically hope would be at least a blessing and a curse, but every time I stare at the words it feels more like another page of mistakes. The smut is the most confident in my writing style that I have ever felt, as everything seemed to fit perfectly, but whether it's true or not is something I can't reason myself into. If that was something you enjoyed, then I'm glad for it, but I'm honestly not all too convinced myself…
And to add, there was going to be a second piece for that (I'll give you one guess as to what they were gonna do) for this chapter, but as I was trying to write it I couldn't shake the feeling that the scene was bolted on, so I ultimately scrapped it. That and the syrupy food-play that was originally going to be with the two, which got canned when I realized just how serious I was taking this whole idea. That's why there was so much pancake stuff.
On a related note, this was just going to be one """little""" chapter. You know, haha, Tai/Nora, imagine that! Wouldn't that be fucking hilarious! But then my brain decided there was going to be more. So much more. As much as I thought this wasn't going to be, there's another chapter in the pipeline. The idea for it is all planned out to completion. There's another girl. Who? Not telling. You can make some guesses if you want.
Would really like to hear your thoughts if you've gotten this far. Tell me what's good and bad and whatnot. I love hearing perspectives.