A Leaf Turned

Chapter 4
Settling In

The bed that the bull Faunus slept on was very soft, very comfortable and the covers were freshly washed. It was by all intents and purposes a perfect place for a student to sleep comfortably and securely in their new dorm so that they could adjust to their surroundings and teammates. And after the naming of the teams and such things, the newly dubbed team RWBY had quickly fallen asleep after claiming their beds.

Adam was decidedly miserable. Just miserable.

To his left was the Schnee, sleeping in her expensive nightgown that was, in the pale moon's light, almost entirely see through and it only served to highlight her figure in some unnatural glow due to the sheer paleness of her skin and hair. The glow, while beautiful to some, only served to be a miniature flashbang to his Faunus eyes and so she served as a sort of semi-night light. He hated the light.

And to his right was the loud and boisterous partner that was Yang Xiao Long, whose own sleeping pattern seemed to be a mixture of rolling over, causing his senses to fly into a frenzy that "strangers" were nearby and it made him instantly alert. But since she wasn't a danger it only served to keep him awake all the longer into the night! It didn't help this would probably be his plight with all of them for the next few days until his body accepted their presence.

Until then he was stuck in some listless state of "drowsy" and "borderline psychotic sleep rage".

In short, Adam's first night at Beacon and as part of RWBY was going bad enough he didn't even have it in him to damn Blake with a thought.

That said he was also learning an invaluable amount of little details on his new team by just listening to them sleep. Creepy as that is, he had nothing else to do while his body tried to adjust itself to their presences.

For instance, the damnable Schnee had a small habit of curling her toes in her sleep just before she would shift to get comfortable again, it was a subtle shifting of the blanket covering her but he was certain she was curling them. Was such a detail important? Dust no. But it was something of note.

Yang also had a tell that was more amusing than interesting. She would snore whenever she slept on her back, it wasn't an obnoxiously loud snoring, but it was noticeable if you, like Adam, listened in the dead of night without sleep.

He couldn't see Ruby since she was blocked by Weiss, but from the sounds of it the girl spoke in her sleep. Mostly incoherent mumbles and sounds, but Adam pieced a few words together that sounded an awful lot like mom, cookies and he wasn't sure if she said "Twinkies" or "Twerk". But Adam didn't know what either was so he shoved it from his mind.

It was about three in the morning and not catching a wink of sleep did Adam finally find himself snapping and just sitting up in the bed with the quietest of growls. He glanced left, the Schnee was facing her back to him. To his right, Yang was snoring on her back.

He couldn't sleep like this so he'd do something about it. He moved towards the bathroom, and quiet as a mouse, he slid into it and closed the door behind himself.

All was silent from then on.

Yang Xiao Long was the first up, by her accounts anyway! And when she awoke at some six something in the morning, she was greeted to the sight of her partner's empty bed and when she saw his scroll still on said bed she grew curious.

She rose from her bed, pulling the covers back and scanning the room. No sign of him, but she did see the bathroom door closed and the light was off. It was past curfew as well, so she doubted he was off exploring at the hour.

Muffling a yawn she stood and moved over, glancing at her sleeping younger sister, whom was the leader of this fine team. Yang couldn't be more proud and excited for her. It would only help her break out of her anti-social shell all the faster! With a smile, she turned and continued towards the bathroom.

She took the knob and slowly and very carefully opened it to peer inside.

Adam was in the bathtub, one leg pulled to his chest, his arms crossed atop his knee and forehead resting on said arms like a makeshift pillow. His shoulders fell and dropped slowly, he was sound asleep and Yang couldn't help but feel it was almost sad how he couldn't sleep in his bed for some reason she couldn't fathom.

She'd need to ask about it when he was awake but for now decided it was best to leave him alone and let him get his rest for another few minutes.

She decided to grab some spare clothing for her morning shower, humming a tune while she did so. Turning to her briefcase, she opened it and reached inside and retrieved her clothes. Satisfied, she stood and turned to go wake Adam.

She met with him staring down at her with those red eyes, glowing in the lowly lit morning light as the sun hadn't yet begun to peak out to show it's light. His expression was blank, his brows were furrowed and the way his eyes glowed slightly in the dark, casting an eerie red glow and way his horns stood out among his red locks.

Any other time she'd might've said he was devilishly handsome.

Right now? He was terrifying.

So terrifying in fact that Yang Xiao Long gasped and punched him in the face.

Adam had been awoken from his dreamless slumber by the softest of hinge creaks as the door to the bathroom opened, slow as it had been it was enough for his Faunus hearing pick it up and alert him enough that his senses kicked into overdrive to determine if the sound was a one off thing or a real attempt at infiltration. When the door opened enough to let the closed air of the bathroom out and mix with the warmer air of the other room, the sudden temperature rise was enough to rouse the bull fully.

He opened his eyes and turned his head, seeing the door click closed as whoever had peered in at him decided to leave him be. He listened to the footfalls, muffled as they were against the room's rug, he could make a guess that it was too heavy to be Ruby, the Schnee also seemed a bit on the bony side so it likely wasn't her.

That left Yang. If his boisterous partner was awake, he decided he should be as well. A brief yawn and he rose soundlessly from the bathtub, he rolled his shoulders and after a brief moment to ensure the soreness of his odd sleeping position wouldn't linger he opened the door, still quiet as a mouse on a mission, to see Yang shuffling through her briefcase.

She was probably going to use the shower, if Adam had to guess.

He approached moved along, towards his own briefcase to her back on his bed. He should be ready to start showering too if she was because, while he wasn't sexist, he knew hairs like hers probably took awhile to care for.

Not sexist at all.

He was about to reach his own case when he felt her turning, and he automatically turned to face her because having someone at his back wasn't an entirely comfortable experience since they were all still strangers to him.

Waking crimson met startled lilac and silence reigned for a heartbeat.

Yang gasped and her fist was suddenly coming up to knock him a new eye. Adam's own instincts quickly reacted and his own hands became a blur of motion. One batted her fist away, the other reached over, grasping the yellow tank-top she wore at the strap and when the batting hand's fingers curled around her offending wrist, he dug his feet in and with a grunt of effort lifted the woman up and over.

He brought her down onto his bed and briefcase. Adam, try to remember the basics of CQC. Blake's voice reminded him with some age old wisdom like tone.

"What is going on?!" Weiss suddenly yelled from her bed, sitting up and giving the pair a narrowed eyed and sleepy glare. Before blinking at seeing the position they were.

Adam too became aware of this must have looked. Yang on his bed, one hand pinned above her, her tank top hiked upwards because of his throw and him hovering over her while holding said tank top and pinning said hand.

It didn't help that Yang gasped.

"What're you doing to her!?" Weiss demanded, face red from either anger or embarrassment Adam didn't know nor care. "You two aren't rutting animals for Dust sakes!" She added, huffing derisively at Adam and he could almost hear the "one of you, anyway".

The bull Faunus merely glared, before he released Yang and stepped back. "I startled Yang, she threw a punch." He explained as Ruby rose up from her own bed, looking less distressed and more like she was just now roused from sleep by the Schnees' loud as Grimm voice. "So I threw Yang." Adam finished explaining.

Weiss didn't look like she bought a lick of it. But then Adam didn't care, nor did he particularly care if she viewed him as less than favorable. Yang on the other hand sat up, blinking before giving Weiss a frown. "Hey! It's true, he got the jump on me,"

"Helpful," Adam deadpanned at her choice of wording.

Yang continued anyways. "And I tried to punch him, then he threw me onto bed. Nice throw, by the way." She gave him a thumbs up, apparently completely over the fact he'd thrown her at all.

"…You're not angry?" Adam himself would have been furious, in fact he was a little angry right now over the fact she'd tried to punch him. It was understandable, sure. But understandable doesn't mean he'd allow it.

"Why would I be? You didn't hurt me, and I threw the first punch…" She tapped her chin. "The only punch, actually," A shrug before she fixed her tank top and stood from his bed and punched him in the shoulder, enough to make him move but not enough to actually be threatening. "Just a word of warning, if you ripped my favorite sleeping shirt, I will ruin you." She winked and grabbed her clothes. "First shower is mine!"

"Yang no!" Ruby, who had been only just waking up, was suddenly wide awake and diving for her sister, who laughed and slammed the door just as Ruby slammed into it. A groan and a comical sound of flesh sliding against glass before she flopped onto the floor with despair. "She's going to be in there for an hour!" She whined.

So I was right. Adam thought to himself, crossing his arms and sighing. But, at the least this provided an opportunity. "Since we apparently have an hour," He didn't doubt Ruby's words, because who would know Yang better than her actual sister? "We should perhaps discuss the topic of room arrangements?"

Ruby was up and giving him a confused look. "Arrangements? Whadya mean?"

"I think he means the fact we practically brush knees when we sit in our beds." Weiss said, apparently catching his meaning. "I actually agree in this instance. We have very little leg room and we've still yet to actually unpack."

"We'd have more room if you didn't insist on bringing half your families' wardrobe and enough dust to fuel a school wide battle, Schnee" Adam couldn't stop the remark if he wanted to.

Weiss glared. "Excuse me? I'm agreeing with you and you just verbally attack me?"

"Guys!" Ruby stomped her foot, crossing her arms and doing her best to look like a crossed leader. This was ruined by the fact she was the shortest on the team and dressed in a broken heart tank top and pink pants with whole hearts dabbled across them. "No fighting! We're a team now!"

Adam grunted. "Very well."

Weiss looked like she wanted to speak more, but instead bit her lip and muttered a "fine" and threw the covers off herself. "But the point stands, we should do something about the sleeping arrangements. Now that the room is ours, we can change it how we want."

"Are you sure?" Ruby asked, hesitant.

"Yes, I read the agreement." Weiss declared proudly, crossing her arms. "Didn't you read it?"

Ruby looked sheepish and that was all the answer Weiss needed to give her a glare and groan into her hand. Mumbling about dunces and idiots and headaches for days.

Adam hadn't read it either but he wasn't about to mention it. "What can we do then?" The beds were cumbersome and with four of them, plus four dressers, the room was cramped. Quite so.

The redhooded leader tapped her chin as she considered their options. Adam too considered them, personally he'd toss the Schnee's bed out the window and that would open room up plenty, he'd think. But before he could sink deeply into this fantasy Ruby announced something he honestly would never have considered.

"We're going to make the beds into bunk beds!" She threw a fist into the air.

Adam, along with Weiss, gave Ruby looks that could only beg the question of "Are you serious?" followed no doubt by "You mustn't be serious".

When Ruby didn't receive any positive, or negative! Answers. She went on! "Good, we can have a vote on it too! Our first official mission as team RWBY!" She pumped her fist, truly excited and it would have been cute had Adam found the current topic as dumb as watching moss on a rock. "All in favor say aye! And those against say nay! Aye!"

"Nay." Weiss deadpanned.

Adam was torn. On the one hand, making bunk beds from scratch with their current beds seemed entirely dangerous and could backfire in so many ways it would be akin to planning a disaster but never specifying the trigger for said disaster. On the other, to disagree would mean agreeing with a Schnee.

What was life if you agreed with a Schnee?

"…" Adam looked at Ruby, she was so hopeful and her innocent eyes urged him to say aye. He glanced at Weiss, and her glare ordered him to say nay.

"Aye." Get bent, Schnee.

"Yes!" Ruby turned and knocked on the bathroom door. "Yang!" She called over the sound of the shower.

"Cleaning the mane, Rubes!" Yang's muffled yell came through the door.

"We're making bunk beds, you want top or bottom?!"

"Sweet! And top! I want top bunk!"

Adam wasn't sure if he should feel worried that Yang just so casually accepted the explanation of "we're making bunk beds" and even seemed to fully agree with it. He also wasn't sure if he wanted her on top. "Don't I get a say in who gets top and bottom?"

"You were already on top if what I saw meant anything," The Schnee sneered.

Adam raised a brow and gave her a look. "I fail to see what's so insulting about insinuating that I was about to have sex with someone as attractive as Yang." He deadpanned, even as Ruby's face flushed and she covered her ears while muttering "yuck!".

"It's indecent and we're sharing a room!"

"Right! Bunk bed making, now! No need to delve further into my sister's love life!" Ruby announced, pushing Adam towards he and Yang's beds with surprising strength. "Weiss! I'm going to need some nails, rope and a few spare curtains!"

"Where on Remnant would I even get rope?!"

"Yang has some in her briefcase, just look around a bit. I'm sure she won't mind!" Ruby replied with an easy smile.

Adam and Weiss shared a look, he saw pity in her eyes as if he and Yang's apparently sordid relationship was now the most horrible thing that could happen to him. And his eyes held only the question of why on Remnant would Yang have rope and nails of all things!

But, it wasn't long after the rope, nails and hammer, Adam again didn't question he just assumed that Yang had some weird fetishes and left it at that, that team RWB set upon their task with gusto! Well, Ruby had gusto, Weiss had resigned indignation and Adam was just resigned.

One hour and thirty-seven minutes later…

Ruby, Weiss and Adam observed their work.

Ruby was smiling widely, holding her hands to her chest like her heart threatened to burst out from sheer excitement at their accomplishment as a team. Weiss' face was blank bar the eyebrow twitching on the left side of her face and the way her icy blues shone with disbelief. Adam was just blank, no twitching brows… In fact his smirk seemed quite pleased at the turn out.

On the left side of the room you had Ruby's bed hanging down via a number of ropes that went up and around large hanging nails from the ceiling and wall. Circled around it were a series of red curtains to act as a veil between the room and her "space", a personal touch of hers she claimed. It hung there, swaying sometimes and the nails would creak in just such a way that threatened ruin to any aboard and below the bed framed guillotine.

Adam would admit it was a beautiful sight.

Below that was the Schnees' bed, plain as ever bar the fact the frame's legs had been expertly remove in favor of letting it rest on the floor properly, same as Ruby's own bed, the legs had gone to his efforts to make a suitable bunk bed for he and Yang. It also helped that should Ruby actually fall, nothing would be able to protect the Schnee.

And the way her brow was twitching. She knew it too.

Adam's own efforts were rather simple, but effective. Using the newly acquired legs from the other two beds, he used them, along with some quick carpentry skills, to actually form four longer posts that would support Yang's bed above him. Some extra rope also went into forming a full two sets of curtains that he could draw back and forth to hide the rest of the room from view.

Ruby suggested it so that when she and the other girls had to change, he needn't rush away to the bathroom or leave the room when they did, and it would give him privacy at night too! Adam had agreed and taken the suggestion, then made it real.

"This… looks incredibly dangerous." Weiss said, looking at the hanging bed of Ruby.

"You mean incredibly awesome!" Ruby countered with a grin.

"It certainly saved space," Adam semi-agreed with them both. It was dangerous, for the Schnee, and that was always "awesome" and it did saved space.

The bathroom door opened and Yang stepped out in her school uniform, nice and clean and ready to face the day. "Ahh! Good shower." She paused, seeing their work. "Awesome!" She gave them a thumbs up. "I knew you three could do it! Love the hanging bed, sis."

"See? Told you it was artsy."

Art of execution, more like. Adam thought, almost chuckling at the sight of the pale Schnee flushing with annoyance. "Ruby, for this idea, you can shower next." He added, seeing the Schnee go for her clothing, likely intent to shower the stress away.

That simply couldn't be allowed.

"Really? Thanks, Adam!" Ruby smiled and grabbed her own clothing, then zipped off into the bathroom, door closing.

Weiss huffed and threw her clothes on her bed and sat down, looking ready to throw something. "Great, now I'm left with the perverts."

"Weissy! Don't be like that," Yang seemed to give him a look that said "Let me handle this". Adam just let her do as she wished. "I'm sure one day, you'll fill out enough that you'll have men willing to forsake decency and throw you into bed right there amidst your teammates too!"

The anger was real in the Schnee.

Adam fed off like fine cuisine. At the least, my new… team makes for interesting company. He thought, seeing Yang give him a thumbs up, he merely snorted and turned to his dresser to retrieve his own clothing and hide his own victorious smirk.

End of chapter 4

There it is! Chapter 4, Settled in, RWBY's shenanigans continue as Adam adapts to his strange teammates, and the fact he and Weiss share more attitude traits than anyone of the others. And the loss of sanity! WHAT SANITY?! But nah, thanks for those who reviewed, fav and followed! You're all glorious people. Honestly didn't expect this story to take off like this, I'm glad it did!

Have a good day or night and take care until the next chapter!