Author's Note: Hello all, here is the next chapter, and I do hope that it amuses. Special thanks to reader 'Jaberwocky' for the prompt that inspired the second section of this chapter, by the way – the rest kinda worked itself out. As always, I hope that you enjoy, and I do appreciate Favs, follows, and reviews.
"Blake Belladonna!"
For the past half hour or so since she'd been released from Miss Goodwitch's office – hopefully for the final time – Blake had done what she always did on afternoons when she didn't have much in the way of homework to do: read. Today's selection was a lovely little novella called 'Humility & Equanimity' penned by a foreign author some hundred fifty years ago. A bit of a feel-good read perhaps, but Blake felt that she deserved the indulgence after two weeks of reading poorly written essays. In truth, Blake had probably read it a hundred times, and she had been about to get to the best part until a certain Heiress stormed through the door in an angry huff.
"Yes Weiss?" Blake closed her book slowly, scanning recent memory for anything that might have put the Heiress in a foul mood earlier in the day.
"What did you do?"
"Huh?" Blake cocked her head in puzzlement, "What do you mean 'what did I do?'"
"Don't 'what do you mean' me! I was walking back to the dorm just now, and who do I bump into? Mina! In tears! Last I checked, she was with you in Miss Goodwitch's office!"
Blake was on her feet in a heartbeat, "What? She was fine when I left – the Professor just said that she had some extra questions for her- I didn't-!"
Weiss crossed her arms over her chest and shot Blake a dubious look, "You didn't do anything? Really? Then explain to me why she was whimpering 'I'm sorry Blake,' over and over and over!?" Weiss demanded.
"W-what?" Blake stammered, wracking her brain now – had she done something to upset Mina?
"I tried to ask her what was wrong," Weiss continued, but she was so broken up about whatever it was that she just shook her head and ran off!" Weiss' stern voice and expression softened now, "I'm just… worried… I guess… I mean, you know how she is better than anyone… and I know I certainly haven't forgotten what happened the last time that she thought she'd disappointed you…"
Blake winced; she did too, "Alright… Do you remember where she went?"
"I think she went in the same direction that Pyrrha takes Jaune for their extra training sessions… although what she would want on the roof is a… mystery…" Weiss trailed off as her eyes widened, "Oh God no…"
Heart hammering in her chest, Blake bolted from their dorm and made for the rooftop. She'd made the same connection as Weiss, but what terrified her all the more was that she had no idea why Mina would be going to such extremes. Whatever the reasoning though, Blake wasn't even going to entertain the thought of Mina going through with it.
Cardin Winchester was very confused, and not the Dust Application class kind of confused either. Normally, when a hot chick showed up at your door, the fewer questions asked, the better, right? Now, Cardin wasn't one to look a gift horse – or in this case bat – in the mouth – sure, she was a Faunus, but she was hot, right? That was the second line of thought that crossed his mind when he answered the door to find Mina Carfax on the other side, waiting outside his dorm. The first scenario involved him getting his ass kicked again, so he preferred not to dwell on that particular possibility. Needless to say, when he actually looked at her face and found it streaked with tears, her eyes red from sobbing, scenarios one and two went out the window, and he didn't have anything else.
"Uh… Carfax?" He asked dumbly.
She sniffled, "G-good afternoon Mr. Winchester…"
"Did you uh… want something…?"
"Are… are the rest of your teammates present?" Mina asked gingerly.
"It's just me and Russell right now… What's it to you?"
"Good…" Mina nodded, hiccupping slightly and ignoring Cardin's barbed question entirely, "Because I need to call in that favor you owe me…"
Cardin had blinked a few times at that, before begrudgingly stepping aside, "Alright then… come on in I guess?" he turned to call over to Russell, voice dripping with sarcasm now, although he couldn't quite decide if it was aimed at Russell or their guest, "Yo Thrush, look alive; we've got a lady present,"
"Wha-? Carfax! What?" It was actually pretty funny to see Russell abruptly launch himself from his bunk and scramble to clean up areas of particular untidiness.
"Relax Russell; she's blind, remember? No need to pretty the place up or hide your porn," Cardin joked with a smirk.
"Not cool man! I do not have-,"
"Yeah, yeah, save it," Cardin dismissed Russell's objections with a wave of the hand before turning back to their unexpected guest, "Have a seat anywhere; Dove and Sky won't be back till their remedial classes are done in an hour, so what's this about? No offense I guess, but you look like Hell…"
"Well…" Mina stared down as she seated herself on the nearest bed, which clearly hadn't been made recently, "You could say that I've been disabused of certain notions…"
"Huh?" Cardin stared blankly. Would this Carfax chick ever just talk straight? Was that against the psycho-lesbo code or something?
"Can we help?" Russell asked, somewhat more eagerly; what Russell saw in this chick, Cardin would never understand. Sure, she was hot, but Beacon was full of hot chicks… It was kind of odd really, now that he thought of it…
"As a matter of-," Mina sniffled again, "As a matter of fact, yes; you see, there are apparently certain… deficiencies in my education…"
"look Carfax, I know I said we owed you one, but if you need study help, we're not exactly top of the class…" Cardin raised a dubious eyebrow, but Mina was unaffected by his tone; this whole situation just kept getting weirder – if Carfax was here about her education then she'd come to the wrong place, but even setting that aside, Cardin wouldn't have pegged her as the type to get upset about a bad test score.
"It is not related to our course work…" Mina shook her head, "I would consult Blake but… I do not wish to appear foolish in her eyes or make her uncomfortable…"
"But making us uncomfortable is alright?" Cardin retorted half-jokingly eyebrow still raised.
The faintest shade of Mina's usual smirk returned, if only for a moment as she answered, "You do owe me…"
Cardin sighed, "Alright then, make it good; I wanna call this even as quick as possible,"
Mina nodded, unconscious of the dirty look that Russell shot Cardin across from her, "Very well… to business then…" She heaved a sigh of her own, "I need you to explain to me in precise detail how a baby is made…"
Cardin was utterly speechless, and Russell paled, "What."
"I had been hoping that, after we graduated from here…" Mina elaborated, misunderstanding the boys' response, "That Blake and I could get married and have children…" Mina sniffled, "Because that is what you do when you love someone, yes?"
"Um… well…"
"But today, Professor Goodwitch told me that Blake and I can't do that…" Mina concluded her explanation by returning her sightless gaze to her knees.
"Well yeah…" Cardin gulped, "neither of you has the uh… tools…"
Mina seemed to brighten at this response, "Is that the issue? That there are particular tools involved that I must needs first possess?"
You have got to be kidding me… Cardin fumed internally, all the action that chick gets… and she doesn't know this?
While Blake and Mina weren't all over each other during the school day -usually – rumors still got around; that they had recently booked an overnight stay at a hotel, for example, and there was certainly no shortage off whispered speculation as to whether or not they showered together or separately. Knowing all that about Mina, second or third hand as the knowledge might be, it was hard for Cardin to believe that she seriously didn't know this stuff. She had to be screwing with him!
"Carfax… You can't seriously expect us to believe that you don't know how to make a baby…"
Mina shook her head despondently, "If it is not indeed a matter of tools, then is there some process of assembly involved?" she pressed, a hint of desperate curiosity on her face.
This chick throws euphemisms around like darts! How does she NOT know what I'm getting at!?
The incredibly awkward subject ground to a halt however, when all three of them jumped at the sound of Blake's voice, desperate, coming through the open window of CRDL's dorm, "No! Mina, don't-!"
Cardin glanced back Mina's way after the initial shock of the moment had subsided, "You wanna explain that?"
Mina shrugged.
"Look…" Cardin heaved a sigh again, half in frustration, half in relief, "If we can here her out there like that, it means she's on the roof above us… I hate to do this to ya Carfax, but you're gonna have to hammer this one out with Belladonna…" He shook his head – he must be getting soft, "I'll owe ya two though…"
Mina's face fell, "Very well…"
Blake was panicking now. Her heart slamming in her chest and her breathing was ragged, she had bolted for the roof of the dorm as fast as she could, but now that she was here, Mina was nowhere to be found. Either Mina hadn't come here after all or…
"I…" Weiss panted as she leaned back from over the edge, "I don't see her… down there… thank God… but then…"
As immensely relieved as she was, Blake wasn't sure that she believed it, "But then-,"
"Lookin' for this?"
Blake and Weiss turned at once to see… Mina… and Cardin…
"C-Cardin?" Blake stammered in disbelief, "Why do you have Mina? I swear, if you-,"
"Relax Belladonna," Cardin put up his hands in a defensive gesture, "I don't have her at all, and I haven't done anything; She came to me and Russell lookin' for a favor…"
"What kind of 'favor' could she possibly want from you?" Weiss demanded.
"Ask her," Cardin replied as he turned to leave, "God knows this sorta thing ain't my problem…"
No one had spoken the entire walk back to RWBY's dorm, and Mina had stared at her feet the whole way. The three of them had returned to find the room still empty, as Ruby and Yang had yet to return from whatever it was that they had been doing. Neither Blake nor the Heiress could help but notice the look of dejection on Mina's face as she sat down on Blake's bed and the two of them seated themselves across from her on Weiss,' and for a while they just sat like that in the quiet. What puzzled Blake was what Mina could have wanted with Cardin of all people; he hadn't done anything particularly nasty recently, and even if he had, Mina wasn't the type to care, so it wasn't like the last time she'd sought out Cardin, but that begged the question: why?
"Dearest…"
Blake's attention was instantly on Mina in the here and now, "Yes Mina? Are you okay?"
Mina seemed to hesitate, so Weiss took it upon herself to stand and make for the door, "I'll… leave you two alone if-,"
"No," Mina shook her head, to the surprise of Faunus and Heiress alike, "I would actually appreciate your support…"
Blake wasn't sure how to take that; what would Mina need Weiss' support for when she was right here with her? Nonetheless, Mina had made her wishes clear, and Weiss sat back down, "Okay…"
"Mina, what is this about?" Blake asked as gently as she could, "Tell me…"
Mina nodded, sniffling, "Yes Dearest… but first… you have to promise not to think me foolish or laugh…"
They both nodded, vocalizing in the affirmative.
Mina nodded in return, "Well… when I was talking with Miss Goodwitch earlier… the subject of my future plans came up…"
"And what did you tell her?" Weiss asked, genuinely curious.
"I said that I wanted to marry Blake and have our own home…" Blake nodded; it was the sort of thing she'd have expected Mina to say, though it did bring a slight blush to her cheeks, which was nothing next to the crimson hue that dominated her expression as mina continued, "I may have also mentioned that I wanted children…"
Blake swallowed, and Weiss blinked a few times, trying to register what she'd just been told, "Children?"
"Five," Mina nodded, though she didn't look up from her knees.
"I uh…" Weiss searched for something sensitive to say, "I never had you pegged for the… maternal sort Mina…"
"Mina…" Blake chose her words carefully, "we can talk about adopting when the time comes… but the two of us can't actually-,"
"Yes, so I've been told…" Mina wiped a tear from her eyes with her sleeve, "the Professor told me as much, and Cardin elaborated that we apparently lack the necessary 'tools…' though apparently he wasn't speaking literally…"
Weiss turned to Blake, "Blake…?"
"I…"
"Excuse us for a moment Mina…" Weiss said as politely as she could whilst grabbing Blake by the wrist and almost physically dragging her from the dorm and a fair ways down the hall so as to be out of Mina's earshot before addressing Blake again, "Explain this!"
Blake reddened further, "I um… It never came up?"
"Like Hell!" Weiss snapped in a hushed voice, "What with how… affectionate the two of you get… You honestly expect me to believe that this just slipped your mind?"
"Actually, I was just hoping it wouldn't ever be an issue…" Blake admitted weakly, "I mean, it wasn't like it could actually happen-,"
"So what you're telling me is that the extent of her formal education in this particular area consists entirely of your smutty romance novels?" Weiss inquired flatly.
"Pretty much, yes…"
"Unbelievable!" Weiss rolled her eyes, "I mean, seriously?"
"Do you have any idea how embarrassing it is to explain to your significant other where babies come from!?" Blake retorted, growing redder as she said it.
"No," Weiss admitted, but then shot back, "And clearly neither do you, seeing as you've never made the attempt!"
"Well why don't you do it – you're her best friend!" Blake was grasping at straws.
"And you are her girlfriend!" Weiss riposted, "Honestly, what with all that smut you read – and to her, no less – one would think that this would be easy for you!"
"Fiction and reality are two different things!"
"As are reasons and excuses!" She had Blake there, "And regardless of all that, is this really the sort of thing that she should have felt she needed to go to Cardin – of all people, Cardin Winchester – with?"
"You're right… you're right…" Blake admitted defeated, "Even in the White Fang, most people didn't want anything to do with her on account of her… needs… so she got even less of a decent education than the rest of us outside of combat skills… She's always been smart… but I… I should have made sure that these… gaps… got filled…"
Weiss nodded, more understandingly now, "Mmmm… For what it's worth, I probably would have put this off in your shoes…"
"Does that mean you'll-,"
"I'll try to help," Weiss cut her off, "But I am not handling this for you,"
"Agreed," Blake nodded,
And the two of them headed back for the dorm.
Back outside the door to their dorm though, something was clearly off. There was nothing wrong with the door itself, but rather, with what could be heard behind the door. While neither Weiss nor Blake could hear precisely what was being said, it was plain that Ruby – and more loudly, Yang – had returned in their absence.
"-And that's how it's done!" Yang concluded with mischievous glee as Weiss and Blake opened the door to see Mina nodding in awed attention.
"I see…"
"Yang…" Blake asked worriedly, "What did you tell her?"
"Well," Yang turned to greet them, the smirk on her face truly massive, "Rubes and I got back a few minutes ago, and Mina told us about her little problem, so while you and the Princess were out there arguin' about whether this sorta thing is a girlfriend or a best friend job, yours truly swooped in and got the job done…"
"And I helped!" Ruby added chipperly.
"You what!?" Blake and Weiss demanded simultaneously.
"Actually, it was most informative," Mina stood, seeming less upset now, "If also very abstract…"
"I didn't think Pyrrha would be down with us borrowing Jaune for demonstration," Yang shrugged nonchalantly.
"You didn't-!"
"Chillax Princess!" Yang broke out laughing, "I wasn't actually gonna do it,"
Blake sighed exhaustedly, before walking over to give Mina a hug, "I'm sorry that I didn't make a point to teach you this stuff sooner…"
Mina returned the hug, "I suppose that in our case it is not entirely relevant…"
"Are you going to be okay?"
Mina nodded, and Blake could feel a smile form, pressed against her shoulder, "Yes…"
"Was there something else?"
Mina nodded, "They don't have to be Faunus, but I still want five…"