AYangThang: Hey all, I'm back with the first "official" chapter. I know it's just set-up and a little taste of fluff, but I hope you'll like it. On average I think the chapter length will range from about 3k to 5k. I think that's a healthy range. Thanks to those who've supported the first chapter with follows, faves, kudos, and bookmarks. cross posted with the same rating/content on the AO3

This Chapter: Team RWBY

Beacon Academy wasn't an average school, and so, it came as no surprise to anyone that the students weren't very average either. Decorum was often abandoned, and modesty cast aside. It seemed that today would be no different as a loud boom shattered the otherwise peaceful afternoon. The dull roar of angry students followed soon after. As most looked up to view the riot that was breaking out in the courtyard, Blake completely ignored it.

Instead, she heaved a heavy sigh. It resonated bone deep as she sat around the cafeteria table with her friends.

The large room was emptier than usual. Their third year at Beacon had officially ended. Most of the students had gone home to visit their families. Others waited for their transport to arrive. Soon, team RWBY would be parting ways to do the same. The Faunus looked down at her scroll, guiltily rubbing her forehead. The message couldn't be right, but it didn't matter how often she refreshed the page. The message was still the same.

She thought she had more time, but, her flight plans had been made. She'd be leaving in less than two days.

"You okay there, Blakey?" Yang asked as she noticed her partner tense up.

The Faunus only grunted softly in reply. Amber eyes bore deeply into the scroll, a few choice words were muffled under her breath. Dark cat ears folded down flatly against her head. No, everything was not alright, and no, she was not okay. "I'm fine." She growled, the complete antithesis of her claim.

"Ya know, growling at your scroll like that probably won't make it any better." Yang said with a shrug as she toyed with the straw sitting in her empty soda glass. "You know what would make it better?"

"What?" She deadpanned.

"Telling us what's wrong." Yang shot back. "Maybe we can help."

"There's nothing you can help with." Blake said as she continued to stare blankly at her open text messages. "It's inevitable."

She knew she had to reply, she just didn't want to. She forced her thumb to pad across the glass, carefully tapping at the letters. Once she was satisfied, she sent the message to her father. Today just hadn't gone her way. First the lunch line had somehow managed to be void of any and all canned tuna. That was bad enough, but then Nora began screeching in an entirely new decibel during Professor Port's final exam. Then again, Blake knew she had little room to judge.

She had barely held back an undignified hiss when a Grimm shaped suspiciously like a greyhound from hell came charging at her. She'd be having nightmares for weeks thanks to that. Port's lecture hall would never be the same, and she doubted even Professor Goodwitch would be able to repair all of the damages.

Blake sighed again, visibly deflating. Her dad's text had only been the unfortunate end to an already terrible day. "Stupid pomp and circumstance..."

"Blake, you promised to always be honest with us…" Weiss said softly, her blue eyes demanding to know what exactly was wrong.

Blake looked up from her scroll. The scowl on her face died instantly. As soon as she saw that icy expression, her shoulders sagged once more, her faunus ears doing the same. "It's a faunus thing."

"What sort of Faunus thing?" Ruby asked around a bite of cookie.

"It's a White Fang sort of Faunus thing." Blake said, feeling her whole summer slip away from between her fingers. "Dad's sending me to Atlas."

"Hold on. Now wait just a second and clarify." Weiss glared as if Blake had grown a second head. "Why would your dad just randomly send you to Atlas during summer break?"

"Don't they hate Faunus up there?" Ruby asked, quite unhelpfully.

"It's not random, Weiss." Blake replied before she turned to Ruby, her words turning gentle. "And, yes, you could say humans are less fond of Faunus in Atlas."

"Then why would you go there?" Ruby asked, curiously.

"Well, it's almost time for the seasonal ceremonies to begin." Blake said with a shrug. "Lots of bonded pairs have decided to officiate their couplings this year." She was sitting in a group of humans who never had any contact with the organization. They never had a reason to. Realizing this, she smiled a little. "You have to understand, marriages are different to Faunus. We both enact, and perceive them differently. This year, we have a few high ranking members in the White Fang having these ceremonies, and they've asked for a representative from each kingdom to attend. Someone's got to represent Vale, so that's why I'm being sent there."

"What about your mom?" Yang asked then. "Can't she go?"

"She could, but dad doesn't think it's a good idea. It's a very spiritual thing." Blake said. "Faunus that have been together as long as my parents, well, they should go to ceremonies together. Besides, dad needs to preside over the ceremonies going on here. He can't leave."

"Oh…" Yang said slowly. "Uh, why?"

"My dad is the High Leader of Vale's sect, for one." Blake said. "Secondly, bonded pairs rarely split up for ceremonies. It would look weird if my mom went to Atlas without my dad." Then Blake shrugged, fingers tapping idly on the table in thought. "When I get older, I'm going to become the High Leader in Vale. If I want to do that, I have to go to the other kingdoms. I need to show them how capable I am."

"I thought you weren't going to lead for a long while yet." Yang said, leaning heavily on the table, her chin resting in one hand A cold slice of pizza cradled in her other palm before she bit into it. "Like, way after graduation..."

"I have to start somewhere." Blake said, reaching over to brush some cookie crumbs off of Ruby's cheek. "Sending representatives is pretty common. It cultivates unity among the different sects. It happens every year, I've just never acted as a representative before. I've never been old enough."

"You're not going to be stuck up there, are you?" Ruby asked, as she clung onto Blake's shirt, her gunmetal eyes boring into molten amber.

"I'll be back after the ceremonies, Ruby." Blake said, patting her team leader on the head as she dislodged her arm from the vicelike grip. Ruby Rose was too strong for her own good, and unlike her sister, she had no concept of her own strength. She then wrapped her arm loosely around Ruby's waist, pulling her closer. "It's just until the end of summer."

"Better be, Blakey." Yang said with a grin that spoke of trouble. "I think Nora and the rest of JNPR are gearing up for a final hurrah. Was kind of thinking of joining them, and I'd love to have my partner around for that."

"Oh god…" Weiss murmured. "Promise me you will not, under any circumstances, cause damage to the school. I won't be coming back to team detention like I did last year."

"No promises, princess." Yang said with a smirk. "It'll be our last year here. We've got to live it up while we can."

Ruby just kept looking at Blake, her head cocked to the side as she frowned. "Are you sure you won't be back earlier? I was kind of hoping you'd come with me this this summer while I shadowed a hunter."

"Only one person can go on that mission." Blake told her. "I wouldn't be allowed to follow you anyway."

"Uncle Qrow would have just taken you with us. He's cool like that." Ruby said. "I wanted you to go with me, since we're girlfriends and all. I figured that would be a good time to tell him, but the White Fang is important, so I understand."

"You can find a different time to tell him, Rubes." Yang said. "That way dad can be there too. Though if it were me, I'd just call and tell him."

"Yang Xiao Long, that is an infinitely terrible idea." Weiss told Yang disapprovingly. "Not to mention wildly inappropriate."

"Weiss is right. My intentions towards Ruby are not to be taken lightly." Blake protested as her cheeks tinged pink. "I'd like to tell your family in person. It's the respectful thing to do."

Weiss could only rub the bridge of her nose as Yang shrugged helplessly. She didn't have the sanity to deal with Yang's boorish outlook on romance. "More importantly, Ruby, don't tell me you're really going on a training mission with your drunkard of an uncle?" Weiss asked only to see Ruby nod happily. Her sadness seemed momentarily forgotten.

"Well, yeah." Ruby said with a smile. Her eyes lighting up at the thought of adventure. "It's kind of our thing."

"Ever since you were old enough to toddle after him." Yang laughed. "Besides, I won't besmirch the extra credit. It's saved all our asses more than once."

"Oh, big word Yang." Ruby teased only to have Yang stick her tongue out at her in response.

"As much as I hate to admit it, I've learned to grow a fondness for Ruby's "hard C's". At least I know she's trying. You could learn to be a little more studious, Yang." Weiss said, starting daggers into her blonde friend. "We will have to return next year prepared to study harder. These last round of exams were nothing to scoff at."

Yang cast Weiss a sidelong look. "Still angry that you landed an eighty percent, aren't you?"

Her slim fist hit the table. "That's entirely besides that point!"

"Yep, still pissed." Yang said from under her breath. Then she dropped the matter. "You guys are so lucky. Ruby's going on a mission, Blake's going to the White Fang stuff, and Weiss you're going to see your sister like always, right?" She said, watching Weiss nod. "Meanwhile I'm stuck babysitting my part-time job around here."

"It isn't as if I'm going for fun, Yang." Weiss said earnestly. "I'm going to be shadowing Winter while we run tests on a newly discovered dust sample. It's work, even though I do enjoy spending time with my sister in the process." A thought came to the heiress, and she pursed her lips in thought. "You know, if you'd like, you could always attend the trip with me. It might be a little unorthodox, and the tests must be done carefully, but I am fairly certain Winter wouldn't mind if you came. If money for a ticket is an issue, you know it shouldn't be."

Yang just smirked. "Aw, look at you being all worried about me." Her expression gentled then, though it was no less sincere. "I'll be fine. Besides, you see Winter like what, twice a year? If that? I don't want to get in the middle of you two."

"I could see her more often if we didn't take so many training missions to keep your grades from plummeting. She does have a residence in Vale, you know. She just rarely uses it." Weiss said as she pushed her dinner try aside. The yogurt cup was left forgotten next to a woebegone salad that had seen better days. "It might be good for you, Yang."

"Nah, sisters should stick together." Yang said. "Especially you and Winter."

The youngest among them only nodded. "Yang's right. It kind of sucks though. For once I'd actually rather not go on this mission." Ruby said. "Next year might be our last as a team. It would have been awesome to have at least one summer vacation together."

Weiss, reached over, flicking Ruby in the forehead. "Don't say things like that. We have plenty of time after graduation." Weiss told her. "I know I won't be searching for a new team any time soon."

"Me either." Blake said thoughtfully. Then she turned to Ruby, smiling in apology. "It's important that I meet with my brothers and sister in the White Fang. After we graduate, we will have plenty of opportunities to spend the summers together, Ruby, I promise."

Ruby let loose a soft murmur of unhappiness as she leaned heavily on the Faunus by her side. Her lower lip quivered as she tried not to think of the team splitting up. It was always a depressing thought. Blake merely sighed gently, whispering sweet nothings into Ruby's ear. She took great care to do it, as if that might soothe away her fears. The other two members of the team watched with fondness, Weiss rolling her eyes with fake exasperation.

Yang leaned across the table then, whispering into the white haired woman's ear. "Blakey has her hands full. Her dad wants her to wait until we graduate Beacon before she makes a public statement to the White Fang. Ruby's not allowed to go to any of the gatherings until then."

Weiss only nodded, pretending to understand the nature of White Fang proceedings. As a Schnee, however, the truth was that she had no idea. She probably never would.

Two days later, and Weiss had already flown back to Atlas. Blake's flight had taken off early that morning. Soon it would be Ruby's turn to get on an aircraft and fly down to Vale's central hub. The team leader was busy making her final preparations, carefully packing away spare clips of ammunition.

"I heard that dad's already back in Vale. Are you shadowing him on his yearly trip?" Ruby asked over her shoulder as she zipped up her backpack.

"Nah." Yang said as she laid across her top bunk, a comic book in hand. "I'd probably just get in the way."

"You know he wouldn't think that."

"He might not, but, what about Peter and Bart?" Yang asked as she pushed herself up into a sitting position, setting the flimsy book aside. "They might be his friends, but they're also our teachers, Ruby. They have to deal with us all the time. I don't think they really want me following them around during their summer break. Besides, they're all grown men, it would probably be weird if I went with them."

The young leader cocked her head to the side, gazing up at Yang with a rueful little smile. "I wouldn't say clearing the paths from Vale to Vacuo is a break. Maybe a relaxing mission, but they're still working the whole time. Besides, we were on a mission with Peter just last week. You didn't think it was weird then."

"While we're in Beacon he's our teacher, and he was teaching, then."

"So?"

"Sooo, we keep the respect barrier up in school no matter what." Yang told her. "I'm talking about something completely different." Yang jumped down from the bed, ticking of her reasons on her fingers. "They're more experienced than me. They know the routes, and I don't at all. They do this every year, so they know how to cooperate as a team. Plus, like I said before, they're men."

"Yeah, uh, don't really see a big deal about that last one." Ruby shrugged.

Yang just groaned. "Sis, they're not dudes like team SSSN. They're not bros like Ren and Jaune. They're not guys like Yatsuhashi and Fox. Peter and Bart are grown men with full licenses, and they're way older than us. They'd have to watch what they say and do around me, cause at the end of the day, they're still authority figures…and you know dad hates 'huntsmen's talk' around us…what do you think they get up to on those summer missions?"

Ruby just shrugged, flinging her backpack over her shoulders. "I don't know, I've never really thought about it." Then, as if she had begun to, her nose crinkled. "Yeah, you know what? I don't think I want to know what they get up to."

"See now you're getting it." Yang said with a laugh, her eyes glancing towards the clock. "Hey, Rubabubble, if you don't hurry, you're going to miss your flight."

Ruby nodded, giving Yang a hug. "If you change your mind, you can always come with us. Uncle Qrow wouldn't care, you know that. My spare mission pack is already packed and under the bed. You could just grab it and go."

Yang took a breath, fingers toying in those soft locks of brown and red. "This is your last summer to really hone your skills as a huntress-in-training. You've got to make the most of it, and I can't get in your way. Besides, I've got my own training to focus on."

"Alright." Ruby relented, not very pleased about the prospect of leaving Yang on her own for an entire summer. "Take care of yourself, Yang."

"Yeah, you too, sis. Love ya." With a soft punch to Ruby's shoulder she grinned. "And try to keep Qrow outta the sauce."

Ruby only laughed as she headed for the door. "Now you're asking the impossible."