Disclaimer: All characters belong to Rooster Teeth Prductions

Co-Authored with ToxicExotic

Small announcement in end notes.

"Very good, Miss Rose." Professor Mulberry said as he placed Ruby's test on the desk. "Your grades are certainly improving. Finally stopped being content with being top of mechanics and focusing on other areas, I like it."

"Thank you, Sir." The reaper replied happily.

As the man walked to Yang, Blake leaned over and glanced at her girlfriend's paper. Though the score was still probably the lowest on the team, Ruby's score had definitely improved. She normally scored in the mid thirties out of fifty on most of her tests, but Blake was happy to see the redhead smiling proudly at the big, red forty-one. Feeling the urge to reward her, Blake gave the girl a quick kiss on the cheek that made her blush.

"Not bad for someone pushed ahead two years." She grinned as the teacher put her test on the desk. She didn't need to look to know she had scored forty-five.

"Thanks."

Ruby turned and lightly pressed their lips together. While Blake would have really liked it to last longer, Mulberry gave a disapproving cough.

"In your own time please, girls." He said and turned to Weiss. "Knocked out of first place for the first time, Miss Schnee."

"What!"

Her voice was shrill as she reached out and snatched the paper before it even touched their desk. With a quick glance over the heiress' shoulder, she saw the number forty-eight stamped at the top. It wasn't uncommon for the snow-haired girl to miss a few marks on her Dust papers due to Professor Mulberry's tendency to throw in some extremely difficult questions, but Blake had only counted five such questions. Even after reading them multiple times, Blake had no idea what they were asking of her, so the fact that Weiss had got three of them correct was still very impressive.

"Who?"

"Mr Coal." The man said happily as he held up the paper to the class. Weiss' eyes practically burned with rage. "Not quite perfect, only forty-nine I'm afraid; but good to finally have someone in the class who can give Miss Schnee here a challenge."

"Thanks, Prof." He said nonchalantly and leaned back on his chair a little. "Nice curveball on thirty-one. Almost got me."

Another quick glance over Weiss' shoulder to the increasingly crumpled paper showed that thirty-one was one to the questions her teammate had got wrong. Before Blake could even say anything though, the girl shot Flynt a filthy look and pulled a heavy book from her bag to begin going over the paper again. Knowing nothing more would be said from her for a while, Blake gave a small shrug and leaned back to talk to her own partner.

"So how'd you do?"

"Eh," Yang shrugged and shoved the paper into her bag. "Forty-six, no biggie."

"Figured you'd be fine with that question on fire Dust."

"Coz I'm super hot?"

Blake shook her head at the smirk on her partner's face. It still surprised her how good of a student Yang was. Though she certainly didn't act like it, the girl was always getting high marks in Dust, History, and General Studies; and though she always shook them off as just being naturally good grades, Blake knew Yang put a lot of effort into her work. She was also sure Velvet was helping her study too. Nevertheless, Blake finally looked at her own paper to see a solid forty-five.

She smiled to herself as she heard the bell, her hand automatically slipping into her girlfriend's as they both rose from the desk. It had already become second nature for her to reach out whenever they began to walk, and it always made her feel just that little bit more comfortable.

"You coming, Weiss?" Ruby asked when they saw the heiress had not followed them. However, the girl simply waved them away with her head in the book. "Ooookay."

"Cheer up, Weissicle." Yang grinned and leaned against the desk. "It's just one te…"

The girl was cut off as a black glyph appeared between her lips. With eyes colder than the tundra of Solitas, Weiss glared up at the blonde. "Shut up!" She growled. "Before I remove those lips that your girlfriends love so much."

The glyph was removed, and Yang stepped back. Though they all knew Weiss would never actually do such a thing, the threat was enough to let them know she was serious. So with a smile still on her face, Yang gave Weiss a swift pat on the head and walked out of the room. With a quick glance back at the girl, Ruby and Blake left too.

"So what're you two doing today?"

"Library with Coco." Ruby replied. "She's finally gonna talk me through a few strategies she uses."

Blake saw Yang's eyes narrow a little at the meeting, and couldn't help wonder why.

"Probably going to spar with Xanthia." Blake shrugged and stretched her arms. "She finally had some free time and she's a katana user, so you know."

"Sooo, what I'm hearing is that you're both gonna be out of the room for a while?"

"I suppose?"

"Great." Yang dug into her pocket and pulled out her Scroll. As she picked up her pace and moved ahead of them, Blake just picked up her words as her call was answered. "Sup, Babe. Got the ro…" She blocked out the rest of whatever Yang was going to say.

The moment they entered one of Beacon's many courtyards, Yang gave a small wave and ran out of sight. Finally alone for the first time since the movie night, but she knew it wasn't for long since they both had things to do. Nevertheless, a happy feeling rushed through her as they sat down on the bench and Ruby immediately melted into her side.

"I gotta leave in five minutes." Ruby sighed.

"You can't leave in ten?" She asked cheekily and earned a slight chuckle from the leader.

"Nah, Coco is still a little annoyed about having to make Yatsu use his semblance. Don't wanna annoy her more."

"Gotcha." Blake breathed in the scent of strawberries from her girlfriend's hair and leaned back. "I guess five minutes will have to do."

Sweat still beaded down Blake's forehead as she stumbled down the hallway to her room. Training with Xanthia had been more painful than she expected. The third year was probably the most proficient katana user she'd ever met, and that included Adam. Much like Blake, she dual wielded her weapons, though had opted for a standard wakizashi and tanto, but the way she moved was almost like water. Every move flowed gracefully into the other, not that many would see her move when the flash of her weapon was blinding as it reflected off her clothes, and Blake had been in awe from the minute she first saw the girl in combat class.

It was rare to find someone so taken with Ninjutsu, so much so that she'd only ever met three others that practised it. Which was a shame. It truly was a lost art. And an art she was eager to master, so had jumped at the chance when Xanthia approached her about training together. Though, from how her muscles ached, the body was already beginning to rebel against that decision. The past two hours had been spent practising only two moves, but the sheer amount of precision those moves required had left her drained in both body and mind.

So looking forward to collapsing on her bed, she slapped her Scroll against the lock and shouldered the door open.

The very first thing she saw was Yang and Velvet laid on the couch. Though Yang was fully dressed, Velvet wore a t-shirt that clearly belonged to Yang and fell to mid thigh, but Blake considered it lucky they had any clothes on at all. She was also thankful they had opened the window.

"You look exhausted." Yang chuckled as she stroked the hair of the faunus that laid across her lap. "Xanthia really went hard on you, huh?"

"You could say that again."

"Ooo, you're training with Thia?" Velvet asked excitedly. Blake simply gave her a nod. "I remember when Fox trained with her. He quit after two sessions."

"Is she really that tough to keep up with?"

"She's near the top of the school for a reason, Yang."

"Blake's right, even I feel sluggish when I mimic her fighting style."

"Huh."

Blake stumbled her way past the couch and collapsed face-first on her bed, and her body immediately screamed in relief. Though her aura was already giving her back most of the energy she lost, it would still take an hour before she would be back to full. So to kill the time, she rolled over onto her back and glanced over at her partner, or more specifically the couch that the blonde was sitting on.

It had been in their room for the last three days, and had already caused a few arguments. With the room being small, there really wasn't much room for it and Weiss kept stubbing her toes on the corners in the morning, which would usually cause Weiss to throw what Blake could only assume were Atlesian insults, from how red they made Ruby, at the blonde. Every time Yang was told to move it back downstairs though, she would simply say she was tired from training and would do it eventually. However, from how much they all seemed to use it, she was fairly certain that was just an auto-response to placate the heiress.

Blake didn't mind it though. Sure, it got in the way, but it was also great for just hanging out with Ruby without having to cuddle on one of their beds, where expectations were sure to be felt. There was also the fact that they had both spent their first night together on it, their first night where they both acknowledged they were spending it together and hadn't just fallen asleep. And despite how little room there had actually been, even with Ruby half on top of her, Blake couldn't remember waking up more comfortable in her life. And it was something she was eager to do again.

"Weiss and Ruby not back yet I take it?" Blake said and shifted the pillow under her head.

"Nah," Yang said and changed the channel. "They've gone to Vale for something, should be back soon though."

"Damn."

"What's up? We're not good enough company for you?"

"More like not the kind I want right now."

"Aww, want Ruby to kiss you all better?"

The teasing tone made Blake roll her eyes, and even Velvet gave a small tut; though after a chuckle escaped the girl. Blake could hardly argue against the teasing without lying.

"It's great how close you two are becoming. I hear you have a date this weekend?"

"Yeah. Let's just hope it doesn't end like the last one."

"I'll say," Yang laughed. "I swear I still have that ringing in my head."

"Pretty sure that's just Weiss because you refuse to take that couch down."

"Eh, it's good to cuddle on."

Again, Blake couldn't disagree.

As the afternoon passed and Blake felt her strength slowly recover, she engaged in idle chit chat with her partner. There was always something about talking to Yang that Blake really liked. Though she did really enjoy her talks with Ruby, she was still hesitant to voice everything since she knew the girl liked to believe the best in people; but with Yang, there were no barriers. She could talk about how Professor Port was a little sleazy, how Oobleck was likely one strong coffee away from exploding, how Cardin was still a colossal asshole. Thankfully the boy tended to avoid their team, since they were more than willing to put him in his place; but every now and then, he got brave and tried something.

With Neon starting the school though, he had tried to make her his new target. As opposed to his usual tactics however, he was being a little more subtle. The occasional cat joke here, the occasional odd sound that people used to call their pets. However, he had seemingly got bored when she refused to respond and abandoned the subtly to drop a heavy book on her tail. The consequences had been immediate as Kobalt had stood from his chair and promptly thrown the boy out of a nearby window. The memory of Cardin's face just before he dropped from sight still made Blake chuckle.

After almost an hour and a half though, Blake's energy finally returned and she pushed herself off the bed and grabbed a book. With a happy sigh that she could walk again, she sat down next to Yang on the couch and settled in to read. However, it was barely five minutes before Yang started her usual antics.

"What'cha reading?"

Blake looked to her side and saw that Velvet had her eyes closed as Yang gently stroked her rabbit ears. Since she hadn't talked in almost fifteen minutes, she'd likely fallen asleep.

"Nothing you would like."

"Hmmm, try me."

An amused smirk pulled at Blake's face since she knew exactly what would happen and turned her book a little so that Yang could read it.

"What the fuck." Yang exclaimed seconds later. "What is this?"

"It's called an experimental piece." Blake chuckled. "The author wanted to make a coherent story with as many long words as he could."

"Well I think he failed."

Blake knew many would say the same, but she was actually a fan of what he had done. With the exception of a few key words, there were barely any that were below five letters long.

"It's a little convoluted, but the story is coherent."

"Coherent?" Yang scoffed and pointed to a word. "What the fuck does contempray...contemporany… That word mean?"

"Con-tem-po-ra-ne-i-ty." Blake laughed and finally turned the book away. "It means something happening at the same time. The whole book is about a race trying to understand time and how to read it so they can predict outcomes."

"That sounds… boring." Yang grinned and returned to the television.

Though Blake knew how it would have gone from the beginning, she appreciated that Yang always tried to show an interest in her hobby. Even though that interest faded very quickly. Blake was also more than happy to return the favour and usually accompanied the girl on outings when asked. although, as opposed to Yang attempts, Blake usually found herself enjoying it by the end of the night.

However, she enjoyed the quiet nights reading too, so Yang, always respectful of that, turned the HoloViewer down a little. They happily sat there for a while, Blake reading while Yang lovingly stroked her sleeping girlfriend's ears. It was nice, and relaxing. Something that she hadn't really had the chance to indulge in for a while. Unfortunately, the peace was destined to only last so long since the door burst open fifteen minutes later, causing Velvet to wake with a start.

"I'M BA…"

"RUBY!"

"... ck." Ruby's voice fell, but the damage was already done. Velvet was already wide awake and Yang's eyes were red. "Oops. Sorry."

"I told you we should have knocked first." Weiss said and glanced at each of them. "I see you still haven't taken that couch back down."

"Kinda hard to do when we're using it." Yang replied grumpily as Velvet sat up. "Sorry you were woken up, babe."

"It's f...ine." The girl yawned. "I shouldn't have been sleeping anyway."

"Yeah well, you clearly needed it."

With Yang and Velvet quickly diving into conversation about how Professor Green had given the second years a mountain or coursework, Blake closed her book and walked over to her girlfriend. Thankfully, Yang's scolding hadn't stuck and she was already smiling again. In her hand was a bag that Blake immediately recognised as being from the weapon store.

"What you got there?" She asked curiously.

"Just some things for Crescent Rose." The reaper grinned and detached her weapon to place it on the desk. "As beautiful as she is, she wasn't very good against the Hellk; so I've been working through some ideas for upgrades. Figured I would get it today so that I'm all yours on Saturday."

As Blake moved in closer and wrapped her arms around the girl's waist, Ruby placed the bag next to her beloved. To many, the loud clunk that betrayed how heavy the bag was would have raised an eyebrow, but Blake was very aware of how much the sinister scythe that Ruby maneuvered so easily weighed. Still, she couldn't help but be a little curious what she had bought that could be so heavy.

"So do I get to know what this upgrade is? Or not?"

"Hmm." A wide grin stretched over Ruby's face as she reached up on tiptoes to give her a brief kiss. "Nope."

"Okay, let me rephrase. Should I be scared of this new upgrade?"

"Yes." Weiss answered for her partner, who simply gave a weak smile. "Can you name anything that she hasn't blown herself up with yet?" Blake had to admit that Weiss made a very good point. "Anyway, these are for you."

Blake took the box of dust that was passed her way and opened it to see a set of dust canisters secured firmly into place. She'd been intending to pick some up on Saturday during her trip with Ruby.

"Thanks. I was gunna buy some though."

"I had business to take care of at one of our stores anyway." Weiss shrugged her jacket off and placed it on the back of her chair as she began to rummage in her pocket. "Save your money. Speaking of. Velvet, I have something for you too."

"Huh?"

Both the faunus and Yang turned to face the heiress with confusion on their faces. As Weiss extended her arm to hold out a piece of paper, which they took and read. Very slowly, their faces turned from confusion to shock, and Velvet quickly looked up and folded her ears.

"I don't understand." She said slowly.

"It's the reward money from the Hellk mission." Weiss replied simply and turned back to fiddle with her bag. "I don't need it. Put it towards that school you want to build or something."

"What? Weiss, I can't accept this."

"Then I'll just give it to Coco, since I know she will." Weiss replied firmly.

"But…"

"Look," Weiss' annoyance at indecision seemed to have reared its head again, and she turned on the faunus. "That money will do nothing for me. I have more than enough to last my lifetime, and many more. I would rather it actually be put to some use, which I think you can do. So stop arguing, and just take it."

"I'd just take it." Yang sighed and turned away. "She won't give up until you do."

Velvet still seemed conflicted; but at Yang's word, she gave a tiny nod and pocketed the check. While Velvet went about thanking Weiss, Blake looked to her partner and saw a slight frown on her features, and was pretty sure she knew what had caused it. But she didn't seem to be in the mood to talk, so Blake simply turned back to Ruby. The reaper was the complete opposite, clearly happy to just be in her embrace, so Blake pressed a kiss against her lips before leading her to the couch.

When they sat down, Velvet stood up and turned to her girlfriend with a soft smile.

"I should head back to study."

"Got it." Her tone was cheerful again, but Blake was getting used to telling when it was a lie. "Love ya."

"Love you too." The faunus replied and leaned down to give Yang a quick goodbye kiss. "See you later, everyone."

"Bye." They all echoed.

Silence filled the room when Velvet left, and Blake could feel the tension in the air as she and Ruby watched the program. Though Yang was staring at it, Ruby seemed to be the only one who hadn't sensed the girl's mood. Weiss clearly had however, as she was purposely sorting out what she had bought from Vale for longer than she usually did. Eventually, she let out a sigh and turned to look at the blonde.

"Should I not have done that?"

"It's fine, Weiss." Yang said dismissively, her eyes still half-focused on the holo-screen. "You want to give my girlfriend money that will send her packing quicker, that's up to you."

"Well what would you rather I do? Just not give it to her?"

"I would rather you talk to me about it first!"

"Stop arguing!" Ruby interrupted. "Yang, Weiss was trying to do something nice."

"I…" Yang's eyes, which had been tinting red, slowly turned back to violet, and she let out a sad sigh. "I'm sorry."

Weiss seemed to hesitate for a second, but she quickly relaxed. "I'm sorry too. I should have considered how that would make you feel."

"You did nothing wrong." Yang breathed and looked down at her lap. "Just me and my stupid issues. Again."

"Your issues are far from stupid, Yang." Blake replied and slipped an arm through her partner's. "We all know how tough these are for you. I'm sure Weiss will remember that in the future."

Though Blake wasn't angry at Weiss in the slightest, it was hard to deny that Weiss often forgot to think of others feelings. Her lack of indecision was great most of the time, but sometimes led to her seeming rather inconsiderate. Nevertheless, they all knew she had meant well, and with Weiss giving a firm nod, she felt Ruby beckon the girl over to sit with them again.

"I'm gonna grab the Dust books. I wanna go over the questions I got wrong." Ruby announced and stood up as her partner sat down. "Wanna show me where you put them, Blake?"

It was far from subtle, but Blake smiled and joined her in walking over to the bookcase. As they were browsing, she turned her ears backwards; and after a couple of seconds heard a low sigh followed by a whisper.

"I really am sorry I made you feel that way."

"It's fine, Weiss." Yang replied, genuinely that time. "I shouldn't have snapped either."

Having heard what she needed too, she turned back to her girlfriend and found her eyes staring at her questioningly. Knowing what the girl was after, she offered a brief smile and saw relief flash past the reaper's eyes. With everything seemingly back to normal, they both grabbed the books and made their way back to the couch, where Ruby sat next to Weiss and immediately opened her study material.

"Put on some good background noise."

"You got it, Sis."

Raalm's Notes

Hello all. So while going through this chapter just now, I realised I used the word 'though' a lot. I managed to change a few of them, but unfortunately it would just take too long to restructure a lot of them. They aren't bad, but the repetitiveness of it bugged me so I wanted to apologise.

As you can see, we are still going with Ruby's studies, but we don't want to make it seem like she is just acing everything. We just want to show that she is progressing. You can also see a little of what Blake's thing will be in this arc, while Weiss' and Yang's comes soon too. And again, as promised, the issues between Yang/Coco/Velvet are definitely not completely resolved. As we said they will be pretty prevalent for a while.

But that's really it from me. This was mostly just a fun chapter to progress some things, and show a little more of the relationships, but I hope you enjoyed anyway :)

The next chapter, a date chapter, will be uploaded on the 17th. And it's quite a bit longer :)

Small Announcement

So in two days from us uploading this, so on the 9th of May, me and Toxic will officially have been working together with editing and stories for a whole year. It's honestly been so much fun working with him, and generally just getting a friend from all of this, that we have prepared a little one-shot that will be added to the Fated Meetings series. It isn't related to the last one though.

The pairing is unique, and we have never seen anything for it, but it is not only between two people (No... it's not Pollination, sorry Alucard ;-;) It does also contain smut, so be warned. However, it was super fun to write, and partially helped me and Toxic realise that we really, really, enjoy writing rarepairs, so that's probably going to be a lot of the stuff I, or we, do in the future; even if it doesn't get as many views xD So anyway...

Skittles: An Unlikely Proposition (FM) will be uploaded on the 9th of May.

I hope those of you who choose to read it enjoy :)