Disclaimer: Mwahaha. Now I get to trample all over this idea… again.

Save the Date

By: athrunzala

Chapter 9: Countdown

The big day dawned and woke up the sleeping masses. Jaune and Ruby had been forcibly kept in Ozpin's office, all to prevent them from sneaking in to their significant others. Which worked marvelously as Glynda had disabled the elevator once they were up there. As they sat up, still groggy from the consumption of alcohol, they noticed that they weren't in their room, and Ren was sleeping by the door, as he had been selected to stand guard by the rest of the attendees at their party.

The blonde cautiously moved across the spacious room, his bare feet echoing as they padded across the tiled surface. As he neared his friend, he reached out a hand. He was certain that one of two things would happen: The first was that Ren would wake and kill him. The second was that Ren was already awake, and would merely greet him. Much to his surprise, the martial artist simply raised his head and slowly opened his eyes.

"Good morning, Jaune. Sleep well?"

"You… you could say that. Just wish that I had been a little warmer."

Ren looked across the room and was suddenly reminded that Ruby had her seemingly ever-present red cape. She had used it as a blanket during the night, while Jaune had been left with basically a summer blanket. Even though it was nearing the warmest time of the year, a slight chill hung in the air due to the altitude of the office. The martial artist had been slightly cold during the nocturnal period as well, but he had shrugged it off as sharing a bed with Nora had taught him that she was a blanket hog.

Across the room, Ruby was stretching. She had been curled into a ball all night, missing the warmth that came from her fiancé's body. She had thought about cuddling up next to Jaune, but she hadn't wanted to lead to any potentially embarrassing or compromising positions. So, in her mind, she had made the decision to stay away from her friend, despite knowing how sharing body warmth can help in cold climates.

Down in the dorms, Blake's scroll began to ring. As the female Faunus rolled over and fumbled about with her hand, looking less than graceful, it continued to sound, slowly drawing the attention of the other occupants. Once she managed to get her hand on the thin, device, she answered it somewhat groggily.

"'morning…"

"Good morning, Blake."

"Ren, do you know what time it is?"

"'Yes. Yes I do. And I'm sorry for waking you up so early, but can you have Sun bring the two suits up from the other room? I don't want to risk having them meet.'"

"Sure thing. See you later today then."

"'Yes. See you then.'"

As she hung up, she stretched and looked around. Weiss was cuddled up next to Zwei, who had arrived the previous day, pre-packed in his postage tube. As much as she didn't trust dogs, Blake had to admit that she was comfortable with the Corgi. Yang was stretching in her bed, as Neptune snored away. How she could sleep next to him was a miracle to her until she remembered that blonde woman snored like a thundering herd of buffalo as well. She smiled slightly as she stood up to go and get her fiancé from the balcony where he was stretching.

Back in the sleeping area, Yang was slowly opening her eyes. She knew that Blake had gotten a phone call, which could only have meant that Jaune and Ruby were awake. Which meant that she would have to move Weiss to the next dorm to help get the heiress ready for the day. Even though it looked as though Weiss would have killed her if she woke her up from her dream.

The only thing that saved her from wrath was the fact that it was Zwei's face-licking wake-up call that brought the shorter woman into consciousness.

"Mmmm… Zwei… Stop…"

As Weiss's eyes opened, she saw that Yang was sitting up and watching the whole thing, a smile on her face.

"What is so funny?"

"Weiss, it's time to get started."

"Yang Xiao Long, I'm not sure what Ruby has told you, but I do not take more than 45 minutes to get ready."

"Today, you do. Just let us help you this time. Okay?"

The white-haired woman looked at her soon-to-be-sister-in-law. She sighed and relinquished her control over her appearance to the taller woman.

"Fine. But if you mess this up, you are going to be in so much trouble."

She then reluctantly left the warmth of the bed and headed over to the next dorm, where Nora and Pyrrha were already getting ready.

Across the campus, Sun had gained a slight escort as he had bumped in to Nero. The two were now marching towards the building that contained the other half of the wedding party. There was no stopping it. As they drew closer, they slowed as they heard a shout.

"Hey! Wait up!"

Neptune came into view quickly, panting slightly as he slowed to a stop. He had noticed that Sun was already gone when he woke up, so the blue-haired human had rushed out of the room to make sure that he was in the right place. He had only wished that he could have given Yang a kiss before doing so, however, the blonde woman was already over with the two brides, and he didn't want to risk knowing anything that could spoil the surprise for Ruby and Jaune. He knew what Weiss' dress was, which was only by accident, and he had almost mentioned it the previous night before Yang had shoved her hand over his mouth.

So he was still a little tired, but he was waking up rapidly in the cool, morning air.

"Why didn't you get me up?"

"Easy, dude. I'm just delivering. That's all."

Nero looked over at the younger Huntsman.

"We managed to bump into each other on the way here, so I offered to help."

"Oh. Okay. Wasn't sure, so I brought both suits."

It was now that Sun noticed that his friend had carted both of their suits with him during his "marathon". The blonde Faunus stretched out his hand.

"Thanks, dude."

"No problem."

They then turned back towards the building in question and entered, heading over to the elevator, which Ren had re-activated by means of a card key. They moved into the small car, squeezing in to ensure that they didn't destroy the suits, and Nero hit the button for the top floor. The elevator started with a lurch, and began the ascent to the office where the group was preparing.

Back in the dorms, the scene was a mess. Cans of hair spray and various other products were continually airborne between Nora and Yang, who were both prepping their friends for their big day. If anybody from the military had been there, it would have been declared a chemical warfare location, as the aerosol hung in the air in thick, white fog, obscuring the view for anybody who walked above a crouch for a while. It was only when Blake entered that they opened a window.

"Are you trying to kill them?"

"Pfft. Kill them? Naaah."

Nora was laughing, despite her watery eyes, irritated by the previously growing chemical cloud.

"Nora, I do appreciate your help, but please. Let's move on to something else before we all choke to death."

"Okie dokie."

The orange-haired hammer-wielder smiled as she opened all the windows, allowing the outside air to take the toxic cloud cover outside, where it dissipated rapidly. As she went back to the red-haired athlete, she picked up a manicure kit from the table. She wasn't sure how to do everything in it, but Weiss was watching and would be sure to correct her in the event of a mistake.

Blake had decided to sit on the floor until the two brides were done, as she was overly sensitive to the hairspray fumes in the room. She didn't want to rain on their parades. So she was slightly surprised when Weiss came over and grabbed her hand, pulling her into a chair.

"Weiss, I… I'm not sure what you are trying to do."

"Blake, please. Just let me have this. After this week, I don't know when I'll be able to visit again. So please. Humor me this once. Also, I have something for you."

The raven-haired Faunus was confused as her friend and team mate placed a box in her hand.

"Weiss…"

"Blake, I get that you don't like drawing attention to your being a Faunus. I get that. But if you are going to hide your heritage today, at least use this."

As Blake opened the box, she was surprised to find a long, black strip of fabric with her symbol on it. She had always used the one ribbon before, but this one was different. The usual material she wore was a cotton, and this was a shiny black silk.

"Thank you, Weiss. You didn't need to do this."

"Well, I… I didn't want you to feel like you had to wear the same one all the time."

Everybody, including Weiss, after realizing how humorous she sounded, laughed for a bit. The next few hours would change everything for two of them, and they wanted to enjoy the last few minutes while they could.

Over in Ozpin's office, there was a comedy of almost equal proportions going on. Jaune was trying to tie a bow tie, and continually ended up with it facing vertical, as opposed to horizontal. So it was decided that he would use the alternate tie that Ren had wisely talked him into having with it, this being a normal necktie. He had that on and ready to go immediately, with there being no issues, as a necktie had been part of their school and formal uniforms prior to graduation from Beacon.

Ruby had never tied a tie before in her life, and had managed to tie her hands together with it before she bothered to ask for help. Nero walked over to her and they sorted out the new piece of neckwear for the day, managing to only tie it wrong twice after that. Sun was hanging from a fixture on the ceiling, having climbed up to avoid Neptune attempting him to change from his usual attire. This changed when he heard a gun cock and looked down to see both Obsidian Steel and Crescent Rose pointed at him.

"Sun, please. Just for today."

"Promise?"

Ruby looked up at the Faunus and smiled.

"Yup!"

He dropped down, almost landing on Jaune.

"Alright. Still don't like those neck traps, though."

With that issue resolved, Nero and Neptune walked towards the Elevator.

"Hey! Where are you two going?"

Sun's outburst was slightly understandable. He knew that Neptune was part of the wedding party. And he didn't want any slipups either. Not to mention that if he had to be separated from his fiancé, the human should be separated from his wife for a while as well.

"Alright. I'll stay."

"I, on the other hand," Nero said, resuming his journey, "need to go get ready myself."

"You're leaving?"

"Ruby, you invited me. I wouldn't miss this for the world. Not every day two people I know get married."

"Oh."

He then headed into the elevator and descended to the ground level to head towards the teachers' lodgings, where Oobleck was waiting for him, a pressed suit all ready to go.

"Are you going to be alright?"

"Bartholomew, today, I am ready for anything. They won't have their weapons. So we shall be ready with ours."

"I'm sorry, but "we"?"

Nero motioned towards the next room, where three heads poked out around the corner.

"We'll be ready."

"You bet your ass, we will!"

"I am fully prepared for the events that could transpire to…"

Violetto was cut off when Lilly elbowed him.

"I'll be ready."

The caffeine fueled lecturer turned to his friend.

"Decided to bring your whole team in on this? Excellent."

Nero smiled.

"Well, we all taught them at one point."

They continued their conversation as they got ready. Their dressing was not as bad, as they were merely wearing attire that they would wear to a formal dance.

To be Continued…

A.n./ - Alright. I did it. I have written what I will about getting ready. I only know many of these details from having been in weddings in various capacities. Getting ready for the Groom and the Groomsmen is a very simple process. We just throw on a suit, brush our hair, and use a lint roller. I guessed based on hearing about it from others how it goes for the bride.

On another note, yes. I brought the OCs back again. I have ingrained them in the story, so I want to make use of them while I can. They are getting their own story, and it will be interesting to write that with a second author "looking over my shoulder".

With this winding down, I am thankful for those who have stuck with me through all of this. I might revisit this storyline again, but I'm not sure right now.