Chapter 8

Hey everyone, I know this is kind of late but I'd like to say a few words. I didn't know much about Monty's work, hell I didn't even know he was the one who did all that CGI stuff for RvB. The only time I had ever heard his name was when I first started watching RWBY, but even then I didn't think twice about it. It was only after I started watching other Rooster Teeth stuff and reading a bunch of RWBY fics that I kept hearing his name over and over. So I finally looked him up and I was glad to see a friendly guy that loved what he did. By that time I finally watched more things than just RvB and RWBY. I really got into the Rooster Teeth experience. Then he died. I can't tell you how bad that had made me feel. I then looked up his other work. I had never heard of Haloid or Dead Fantasy so when I finally looked them up I realized just what the world lost. It lost a talented man that had died way too soon. There is nothing more I can say about that other than my prayers are with his family and may God watch over him.

Disclaimer: RWBY will now and forever be owned by Monty Oum.

"Oh God what was I thinking?!"

Velvet was beyond freaking out, she was borderline hysteric! Why had she agreed to go on a date with Cardin?! Why does she keep calling it a date, it's a thank you dinner! At least she hopes it's just a thank you dinner. Part of her can't help but feel a little disappointed at the thought. That disappointment was immediately shot in the face and dropped into the ocean as Velvet shook her head. Why would she even want to go on a date with Cardin? It's not like he's been kinder to her, stopped bullying her (or anyone for that matter), and is admittedly rather handso- Damn It Thoughts!

Her thoughts weren't the only thing mortifying. In all the embarrassment from earlier she forgot to ask if she should dress formal or not. She had opted to her wear her favorite pink over coat and brown jeans. It was perfect casual wear, absolutely dreadful if they went anywhere nice. Alright, she had a black dress back in her room, if she left now and ran the whole way she might just make it-

"H-Hey Velvet." So much for that plan.

"Hey Cardin," she said while turning to him. Her breath caught in her throat. The taller boy was wearing a black blazer showing off his broad shoulders, black pants, and a brown undershirt that accentuated his chest. It was the perfect mix of casual and dress. And holy God his chest. A deep blush formed on Velvet's face as she stared at that chest.

"So . . ." Cardin's apprehensive voice jolted Velvet's attention from that chest. "You ready to go?" he asked nervously. The Faunus girl shook away her thoughts on that which will not be mentioned again lest she get a nosebleed and nodded to the boy. With that the two students turned and boarded the airship that would take them to Vale.

-0-

The trip was . . . awkward, to say the least. Half an hour had passed and neither of them had said a word. Cardin pulled at his collar, his hands clammy with sweat and nerves.

Come on you idiot, say something, anything! "So . . ." Oh come on it can't be that hard! Just ask something simple. "How did you get a weapon like that?" Velvet looked over at him and grinned slightly. Unbeknownst to Cardin, she was just as glad as he was for the sudden break in the silence.

"My brother helped me with it." Cardin sat straighter, now very curious.

"Oh, he good with weapons?"

"The best," Velvet said with pride. "He built his first crossbow when he was three. By the time he was twelve he was forging blades stronger than some hunter's weapons. He helped to build mine and all our siblings weapons."

"How many siblings do you have?"

"I'm the third oldest of seven. You?"

"Only child. So your brother helped you with your weapon."

"Oh right. Marcus, that's my brother's name, was very protective of us. He always made sure that we had the perfect blade or gun for us. Since I'm more of a healer than an actual fighter he made sure that I had a way to keep myself from getting. Truth be told I thought he went over board at first." Cardin chuckled.

"I don't doubt that."

-0-

They hadn't noticed when the ship docked until they were told by one of the attendants. Even now as they walked the streets of Vale, the buildings and people were barely registered in favor of their talking.

"I'm just saying strength isn't everything. You don't need to have much armor if your enemy can't hit you."

"But you can't avoid them forever and there are bound to be Grimm faster than you, hell we've already seen that. I'd rather take a hit then just delay the inevitable."

"Touché Cardin," Velvet smirked. "But then again I'm not the one who got beat by a single girl." Cardin scoffed and kept walking. "Oh come on," she said while trying to stop her laughter. "It wasn't that bad, the four of you lasted longer than I thought you would."

"Gee thanks."

-0-

"He did not!"

"He did," Cardin said between laughs. "The whole room! The look on the professor's face was priceless!"

They had arrived at the restaurant half an hour ago. They were talking so much they had almost missed it. It was a small place Velvet had never heard, hell it didn't even look like it had a name. But it was a cozy little place, the carpets were a soft red and the walls a rich brown. It had no more than a dozen tables, but almost all of them had either a couple or a family seated there.

"How did you get out of that?" She said between fits of laughter.

"Russ escaped through the ventilation shaft," he spoke while suppressing his sniggering. "Dove and I took the fall, man the professor was mad. His face was as read as his cloak."

"Excuse me," their waiter interrupted. "Your order sir." He placed a plate of food in front of Cardin before looking over at Velvet. "Apologies but there has been a slight problem with your order, it will be a little while longer before its ready." As he looked at the man standing over there table, Cardin could swear he thought he saw something in the waiter's eyes when he talked to Velvet, something unfriendly. Before he could say anything though Velvet spoke up.

"That's fine, I don't mind the wait." With that, the waiter left without another word. "Now," Velvet said while turning back to the boy across from her. "Exactly how did you manage to sneak an Ursa cub into Signal's atrium?" Cardin grinned at the memory.

"Now that is an interesting story."

-0-

"By the time the triplets were done with him, Jason thought a nevermore had nested in his hair while he was asleep!" The two of them by now had long finished their dinner. Cardin nearly choked on his pie, he was laughing so hard. That was probably the most they did in the past hour, laugh at each other's stories. Time seemed to glide past them as they talked and laughed together. Both of them threatened to burst a lung if they kept laughing.

"Excuse me," an annoyed voice cut through their mirth as they turned to see their waiter standing there with a very irritated look on his face. "Would you please try to keep the noise down, you are disturbing other customers."

Velvet blushed slightly; she had forgotten where she was for a while there. She nodded to the waiter who turned and walked away from them. Cardin was about to chuckle at the embarrassed look on her face until something caught his ear. It was quiet but he had just heard.

"Damn freak."

Cardin was up before Velvet could realize what he was doing as he grabbed the waiter by his collar.

"What did you say?!" Cardin screamed in his face. He was mad. Mad at the bigot in front of him, but mostly at himself. He called her a freak before. The guilt still ate at him. While his opinion other Faunus was questionable he would be damned if he let anyone make the same mistake he did. Velvet didn't deserve this so he would set the man straight.

"Get your hands off me!"

"You think you can say shit like that and get away with it?! Hugh?!" He said as he shook the man a little.

"Cardin, stop!" He did. He looked back at the girl who was now standing beside him. "He's not worth it Cardin," she said while placing a hand on his elbow. Cardin growled lightly before dropping him. The two left the place without looking back.

-0-

"Listen . . . I'm sorry about that. I guess I still have trouble keeping my anger in check," Cardin sighed as they continued to walk down one of the many halls of Beacon. By this time the sun was down and the stars shown in the sky, the students in their dorms doing whatever struck their fancy that night before going to bed. Velvet smiled.

"Don't worry about it. You were only trying to help."

"It's not just that," he said sadly. "It's . . . I'm just." He sighed. "I did a lot of stupid things. And . . . I just want to say I'm sorry." Velvet's smile brightened.

"I forgive you." Cardin froze.

"What?"

"I said I forgive you." Cardin couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"What like, just like that? You forgive me?"

"I can tell you mean it Cardin. And so do I. I . . . forgive you."

The hunter in training just couldn't wrap his head around it. He watched as the rabbit Faunus in front of him continued to walk down the hall. As she walked, he couldn't help but let a smile grow on his face. He followed after her until finally they reached her dorm room.

Okay Cardin, now or never.

"S-So Velvet," He stuttered out. "I was wondering . . . if you aren't doing anything . . . would you-"Everything seemed to freeze as he felt a soft pair of lips touch his cheek.

"I'd love to." The sound of the door closing shocked him out of his stupor. He couldn't get the stupid grin off his face as he walked back to his team's room.

-0-

"You two have certainly been out for a while," Blake said to her yellow and white clad teammates as they entered through the door. Ruby and Blake had gotten back from their mission early an hour early and were surprised to find their respective partners to be missing from the room. Ruby was already asleep and Blake wasn't far behind her. She looked over her teammates, taking in their exhausted postures. "Where were you two?"

"Not anywhere were we were needed," Weiss said while glaring at Yang who rubbed the back of her neck. The heiress crawled into her bed; the unconscious Ruby immediately snuggled into her chest as Weiss pulled her cloak over the two of them.

"What does she mean?" Yang's answer was merely a kiss to her girlfriend's lips as she crawled into the bed.

"Tell you about it later, for now, let's just go to bed."

Blake didn't argue as she nuzzled into Yang's generous chest and immediately fell asleep. Yang sniggered at her kitten's actions. She continued smiling as she remembered what she saw not ten minutes earlier.

Nice work Cardin, She thought to herself. You've come a long way.

Happy Valentine's Day everyone! I hope you enjoyed this, I thought it was a good chapter of fluff. If you agree or think otherwise let me know in the reviews!

Disclaimer: Yeah *nom* it makes him write faster. *nom* *nom*

What are you eating?

Disclaimer: Oh someone left me a heart box of chocolates. A little cliché but I think it's sweet. Someone is definitely into me.

Waiver: Was there a letter with those chocolates?

Disclaimer: Yeah but it flew out an open window before I could read it. Why?

Waiver: Ugh, um, oh no reason. *Damn It!* Review!