XXIV - Bud

I'm nervous about how well this chapter went, pls be kind?

~~~(XXIV)~~~

Oxon was walking back and forth at the bullhead pads. He had texted Weiss that he was waiting for their team there. That was about twenty minutes ago. The warehouse they were in had been in the process of bugging out. With all the commotion that Roman and team RWBY caused, they had to change locations.

Thankfully his clothes were undisturbed in the back room he used to change. He changed clothes in a panic and made his way to the landing pad that was bound for Beacon. Hopefully this was the last time he would be asked to put on a disguise and fight with the terrorists.

He was brought out of his thoughts at his name being called. He looked towards the entrance to see team RWBY walking towards him. They were dirty and tired, their hair and outfits disheveled, but they were smiling.

"You missed the party, Ox!" Yang was in high spirits, probably from destroying the paladin earlier. He didn't pay attention earlier, but the four were wearing new outfits.

"When it comes to your team, I don't know if I want to attend any party of yours. Things tend to explode."

"Awww, that hurts, and after Weiss was kind enough to ask you personally." He rolled his eyes at that. The others were busy either driving or jumping car to car, and Ruby didn't have his. "Besides, we're in charge of the dance, remember?"

Honestly? He didn't, but it's not like them planning it was important. He was just glad the girls didn't question why he didn't help them.

"Not all of us are fans of your style of 'party', some of us have refined taste." Weiss had a few scorch marks in her outfit. She gave him a polite nod as the five of them boarded the transport back to the campus. He noticed that the other two males were not with them.

"So, where's the other two? Didn't Neptune and Sun come down to Vale with y'all?"

"They got knocked out of the fight early, apparently they went to get food instead of trying to rejoin." Both Weiss and Blake seemed annoyed at that. "And you didn't show up either, we could have used some backup, especially someone with more of a defensive specialty."

"Sorry about that, I was at the armorer testing out the modifications I ordered. I'd have helped if I'd known it was so dangerous." He wasn't sure what they would have expected, he couldn't go toe to toe with Torchwick normally, forget about the mech. "I am just glad to see you're not hurt, who else would tutor me?"

He was being honest there. He might have followed orders by helping Torchwick in the fight, but he would have felt awful if they'd gotten hurt or worse m because of him. If his life wasn't under threat from Cinder, he would gladly abandon Roman and the White Fang.

A bit of red dusted her cheeks before she coughed into her hand. "Yes, well, it's the thought that counts. I am happy to know we can count on your help."

Behind her, Yang gave Oxon a thumbs up and Ruby giggled at the interaction.

"So I heard a little about what happened from Weiss and on the news, what happened?" Playing clueless to the night's events was important. It let him know what he could and could not talk about. It was also important to tell Cinder and Torchwick just how much they knew.

The four recounted their night, Yang boasting about how she knocked Torchwick out of his toy. She also had gone to The Club in order to get information on the thief and the terrorists. He hoped Junior did not sell him out.

By the time they were about to land, they talked about the new help that Torchwick had tonight. His heart skipped a beat when they brought that up. He knew his disguise held, since he wasn't attacked on sight, but he was curious at their thoughts.

"Who were they?"

Blake was nose him her scroll looking at news reports. Though she did finally say something. "Both were new, a short girl with colorful hair and a parasol, and a guy with a shield."

"Yeah, I almost had that jerk when they intervened. The guy used some sort of hard-light shield to block a blast. Then just holstered his weapon like he was too good to fight or something." Yang seemed upset at how the fight ended… It's not like he was trying to insult her, he was way too terrified to tussle with someone who destroyed top of the line Atlesian battle tech in two hits. Her semblance was bullshit.

"Then the girl did some kind of teleportation with the others. Yang was super close to getting them when they suddenly appeared in a bullhead and flew off." Ruby seemed down at the fact they couldn't get the dastardly trio. "I'm, like, zero for three when it comes to catching Roman Torchwick. Each time we fight, he always flies off in the end!"

"Agreed, it is rather frustrating that we haven't actually been able to stop him."

"I can imagine…"

"Enough about those lame criminals, Ox, what are your plans for this Sunday?" He was caught off guard by the question from Yang. Was she..?

"Uh, I don't think I have anything going on that day. Why do you ask?" He didn't think she was asking him out, but he wasn't exactly known for picking up on social clues.

"Awesome!" The girl fist pumped and threw an arm around him and Weiss, his face flushed at the sudden embrace. "Cause we're celebrating weiss' birthday on the fifteenth! Aaand, since you said you didn't celebrate your own, we can have a double birthday party!"

Ah, a party. He felt dumb for thinking the girl was flirting, Oxon knew he wasn't much of a catch. Still, he'd have to get something for the girl in white for her birthday.

"Of course, I'd be honored to attend. Is there anything I should bring?"

"Nah, just show up around eight, we'll have the common room set up for it."

The group descended the ramp off the passenger craft and were finally back on Beacon property. Oxon and Weiss were still struggling to escape from Yang's iron grip. The group paused when they saw a rather irate Goodwitch. Seeing her violently bending her crop, self preservation kicked in. He used the surprise at the disciplinarian waiting for them to break free.

"It was all them, I was just shopping!" He stepped to the side and pointed at the stunned girls. There was no way he was going to take any blame tonight.

"Oxon, you coward!"

~~~(XXIV)~~~

After a major chewing out from Professor Goodwitch, the four girls made their way back to their dorm. They had detention for the next week as punishment. At least it started on Monday, so they were free to celebrate Weiss turning eighteen on Sunday.

Yang had told them that they should invite JNPR, SSSN, and Ox since he apparently missed his own birthday last month. Ruby was happy to be able to celebrate with more people.

Ooooo, I can't wait! It will be a double birthday bash!

Hopefully they could all relax after the hectic Friday. And maybe they could get closer with their sister team and the other transfers. And then they have the dance the following weekend!

"Oh girls, I forgot to mention, after Nep and I questioned Junior, we had a strange run in with two of his gang members. They had some odd things to say."

"Oh? Any information on Torchwick and his plans?"

"Sorry Blake, but they were all useless, the only thing we got from them is info on one of their henchmen. All we know for sure is that he works with the White Fang and Torchwick."

"So all you got was that? Why would we care about one henchman?" Honestly, Ruby wondered the same thing. Maybe he was willing to snitch on his boss?

"Most of the info they gave was about this guy's personality and that he may or may not be willing to sabotage his employer. They also wanted us to go easy on the guy if we ever saw him, because apparently he's a "good guy"." That sounded nice. Maybe he could help bring down their evil plots.

"And how do we get in touch with this nice-guy terrorist? Is there a way to find him?"

"Not sure, the ones who gave us this information didn't have a way either, a fat lot of good they were. But one of them said something that has been on my mind." Yang crossed her arms in thought, whatever it was most had unnerved her.

"About Torchwick or his finicky minion?" Blake seemed interested in whatever information they could get. They knew about the southeast White fang operation, but that was still pretty vague. If they wanted to stop them, then they needed more information.

"The minion, the girl said something about him being: "closer than you think", whatever that means." The three of them let that sink in a bit. That was an unnerving statement, how close was close?

"Well, we'll just have to keep an eye out for anyone suspicious." That was easier said than done. How were they supposed to know just how "close" this person was? Could it be a student? One of the transfers?

"Should we tell team JNPR? I mean, we already brought in team SSSN and told Ox about everything on the way here. The more people are aware, the better I think." Her sister made a good point. As they reached their room, a thought came to the young leader.

"Hey, you don't think that guy with the shield is the same one you were told about?" It would make sense, if this was a recent hire by the thief, then that would make sense why they never ran into him before. But then again, the same was said for the teleporter girl.

The others thought about that for a moment. All they saw tonight was that he saved Torchwick, seemed to be upset at the thief, and didn't seem willing to fight them.

"It's plausible, perhaps if we run into him again we can confirm it. And if he is, then we can determine the truth of his uncertain loyalty. And if not, we can simply defeat him and question him about what his allies are up to."

With a plan forming the team seemed more confident in their criminal investigation. And after what they learned tonight, they all agreed on one thing. They could not let the dark forces in Vale continue unimpeded.

~~~(XXIV)~~~

Saturday had been a mess for Oxon. Cinder was pissed that he and Roman were unable to defeat the four girls, especially since they had a paladin. And she was livid that they lost the precious machine. Torchwick and Oxon had agreed not to tell Cinder that the team may or may not know about whatever was happening in the southeast. Self preservation was pretty powerful, he just hoped it didn't bite him in the ass.

Nothing he said seemed to calm her down, and he'd been given another fire coated hit to his stomach. He'd been prepared this time, and his aura prevented another scar.

Mercury and Emerald were as infuriating as always. Though blessedly, it seemed like most of their insults were focused or Roman. He did get creamed by four first year students after all. He had to get out of that room before he threw one of the two senior minions out a window.

Oxon was punished for not getting enough useful information on both their plans as well as their combat abilities. He was partially blamed for the loss of the expensive hardware. It was made clear that he had to get even closer to them since they have proven to be actively moving against her goals.

Oxon was in the school's forge when he got a message from Yang. She was checking in on him to make sure he remembered the get together they were throwing tomorrow. He remembered, that was why he was at the forge instead of training or hanging out with them.

Since this party was set on Weiss' birthday, he needed to make something to give her. He didn't quite know what it is that someone like her would appreciate. Back home he made furniture, tools, or special carvings for those he was close to. He didn't think the daughter of the richest man in remnant needed any farming equipment and he was pretty sure she didn't need a desk or chair. His last option was a carving, but would she want some dinky wooden figure? Everything she owned was probably worth more than his entire existence.

While he could do some simple metalwork, the materials on hand were combat or protection focused. Titanium, steel, and other alloys. He wasn't a metalsmith, anything he made would not be reliable enough for armor. His only thought was some simple jewelry, except none of those metals were suited for jewelry for the heiress. If he had some bronze, or silver, then he could make something that had a decent look to it.

His hand thumbed the silver necklace he wore on his neck. The eight spoke wheel worked as a calming sensation under his fingers. The shining amulet gave him an idea for a simple gift. The lack of precious metals was expected yet annoying.

Well, if he polished any of the available metals enough, it should be passable, he hoped. He looked over the various metals and chose titanium. The metal was known for its durability, so it would hopefully survive being near a huntress.

It took a few hours to sketch out a design that he felt was right. The girl it was meant for was from a well known family with a well known crest. It was hard to figure out how to put such a complicated emblem on a small surface, but he was determined to get something right this month.

Using the tools available, he cut out multiple disks of the material. The disks were larger than his own necklace. After that, he procured a small cutting tool to engrave the desired shape on each disk. It of course took multiple tries to get the desired shape. With the first side completed he cut the back side in the icon of the Prism Guard, their eight spoked war wheel.

Once each half was completed, he cut a slightly smaller disk out of a blued steel alloy. He sandwiched the two carved titanium disks on each side of the blue metal and welded it together. After rounding the edges, he attached a simple hoop to the top so he could run some material through later. With that done, the final step was polishing and cleaning.

The project had taken the entirety of his afternoon, but he felt good. It was definitely not the best piece he'd ever made but with the time limit and the materials on hand, it was definitely something he could be happy with. He only hoped the girl would like it as well, and if not, he could always try something else. The last thing he needed was what to attach it to, but he could worry about that tomorrow.

~~~(XXIV)~~~

Dinner was a lively event that night. Team RWBY was boasting to team JNPR about their adventure the previous night. As expected, Nora was not happy about missing a fight against a robot.

"Are you kidding me! I'd give up Jaunes left arm to fight a robot!"

"Can I object to the loss of my arm?"

Ruby chuckled good naturedly at the two. "It probably would have gone smoother if we had you guys. Though to be fair, we weren't exactly expecting something like that to be there."

"It would have gone better if the male duo didn't get immediately thrown out. I mean come on, Sun and Neptune didn't do anything other than collide mid air!" Honestly, Oxon didn't know why the mech had a spin function at first, but it sure did come in handy by reducing their numbers.

"Now Yang, I'm sure Sun and Neptune did their best." Pyrrha was polite as usual, though Oxon wondered how long Roman would have lasted against her. Even with the suit, he didn't think it would take the champion long to destroy it.

"I'm glad the six of you came out ok, it could have gone wrong at any moment." Ren seemed like the most logical of the bunch, the guy rarely spoke, but when he did, the rest paid attention. "You could have come to us as well."

"Awww, thanks Ren!"

"Yeah." Here was his chance to become a part of their plans. "You guys got lucky this time, and the docks as well from what I hear. There's no reason to risk yourselves when there are others you can rely on. I can't speak for the rest of my team, but if you had told us earlier, we would have supported you."

Blake seemed uncomfortable with the thought of their involvement. "Sun and Neptune joined us because they overhead us, but I still think putting more people in danger is the wrong idea."

"But you think it's ok for you to risk your teammates lives? Was it their idea to track down terrorists while in their first year at school?" The girl flinched at the accusation.

"I didn't want them involved the first time, but it's clear they would get involved anyways. This time we had a plan, as a team, and we learned some important things!" The table was looking between him and the cat-eared girl. Oxon stood up and slammed his hands on the table. Their plan had been shit, sneaking into a terrorist den should not have made it into the final draft.

"I don't care what your plan was, but fighting a criminal inside a mech on a congested road couldn't be part of it. How many people got hurt when you led Torchwick onto that highway?" They might not be happy with his words, but he hoped he could make them understand why they needed help. And if they let him join, then he could hopefully lead them away from Cinders plot. "If my family was hurt or killed because you saw their car as an escape route, I sure wouldn't thank you for what you did! Especially since you never even caught the bastard!"

The table was silent while Blake and Oxon stared at each other. She seemed stunned by what he had said. The joyful air that had permeated the air was gone, replaced by a tense mood. He realized he may have gone a bit far in his rant and made to apologize.

"Ah, shoot, I'm sorry. I didn't mean-"

"No." He stopped talking when said girl raised her and up to silence him. She glanced guiltily at her teammates, they had taken a beating when they fought against Torchwick. "You made some valid points. I can understand your concern."

More like thirty percent concern and seventy percent orders. Keeping innocent people out of harm's way while also not getting punished by a fire slinging megalomaniac? That would be ideal.

"If we find something more, I promise we'll try to work together, as a group." She seemed sincere, her yellow eyes set in a resolute stare. All he could do was nod in acceptance in her decision and have hope she would have trust in him.

Even though she really shouldn't…

"That all I ask, I'm sure team JNPR feels the same?" With attention moved to RWBY's sister team, he sat down and hoped he could be ignored for the rest of the night. The two Beacon teams began to chat among themselves while he tried to only speak when he needed to.

Eventually, the conversation went back to more light hearted topics. The party on Sunday, the dance coming up, and the excitement for their first missions were something they were all looking forward to.

The tournament was quickly approaching as well, he wasn't sure what Cinder was up to, but the timetable for Haven transfers being in this kingdom was limited. Spring was slowly turning to summer, and the grand celebration began in the fall. And he still had no idea what their plans were…

~~~(XXIV)~~~

For the upteenth time in his time in Vale, he didn't quite know what to make of the scene in front of him. There were decorations that were shining and glittering in a way he'd never seen before. A paper banner hung on a wall above snacks that read "We Weiss You A Happy Birthday!" With his name written under the "you".

He was a bit late to the party, it took him longer than he anticipated to make the band for the gift he'd made yesterday. The shindig was in full swing with everyone chatting and enjoying themselves. There was a TV in the corner with some kind of video game setup. Glancing back at the banner, he chuckled at the way they included him.

Well, they did say they wanted to include his own birthday in the celebration. Team RWBY were chatting with members of JNPR. Neptune and Sun were flirting with Weiss and Blake respectively. Jaune, had a guitar, and was not good at it.

He poured himself a cup of soda from the snack counter and mingled about. Sun cheered him with a cup of his own and the two "clinked" plastic cups. The blonde faunus gave him a small keychain with a rubber squirrel on it. It touched Oxon that the other teen would give him something so nice. He gave Sun an honest smile and thanks for the great present and promised a carved monkey soon.

Nora and Ren were next, the pair and Oxon traded gifts. As promised, Oxon had looked up a sloth and carved one each for the two of them. Nora was ecstatic over the twin carvings. In return, team JNPR pooled together and got him a red plaid scarf. He thanked them for the gift and stowed it in a pocket on his jacket like he did the squirrel on a chain.

He was surprised by the gifts he had gotten. He didn't think he would actually get anything and was overwhelmed by the fact the people he'd known for only a few months would get him something. He was glad he'd made something for the second person who was being celebrated.

Speaking of the girl, Weiss walked away from Neptune and approached him.

"Hello Oxon, I'm glad to see you're here. Are you enjoying yourself?" She gave him a light bow during her greeting. Oxon felt unsure about how he should respond, so he instinctively copied the girl and gave a slight bow himself.

"Yes, thank you again for sharing your celebration with me. I know I haven't known you all very long, so I'm honored that you thought of me so." The last time he celebrated was with his coworkers at The Club. Though thankfully it seemed that there was no alcohol in play tonight. "Ah, I forgot, happy birthday, Weiss."

"And a happy birthday to you as well, Oxon, late as it may be." Before he could give the girl the gift he had prepared, the girl brought out something for him instead. "I wanted to give you this."

In her hand was a small, shiny box. On further inspection, he realized it was not an ornamental box, but shiny paper that was covering something. Gingerly, Oxon unwrapped the paper to see what was underneath.

In his hand was a silver belt buckle. It was a beautiful thing, there was engraved knotwork running along the edge of the piece and a stylized squirrel resting on a branch in the center of it. He was stunned by the craftsmanship, it was far better than anything he'd held in his life.

"Weiss, this is, I don't have words to explain how amazing this is!" He turned it around in his hand to get a proper feel for it. His necklace was silver as well, but it was a small thing, this gift was easily ten times the amount at the least.

"Well, I noticed that the buckle you seem to wear on your uniform, combat gear, and casual clothes was in fairly bad shape." She was right, the one he'd brought from home was dented, rusted, and had more than a few deep scratches. Once upon a time, its bronze surface had a pair of oak leaves curled almost protectively around an acorn.

"I don't know what to say. This is nicer than anything I could have imagined. This had to have cost a fortune." He realized that perhaps what he'd made there was too cheap.

"Oh don't worry about that, the SDC has more than enough lien laying around. I'm glad to know it was the right present."

"Ayy! Oxon! You made it!" The two turned to see a wild Yang approaching them with a large grin. She raised her cup and the pair raised theirs in return.

"Of course, you did invite me after all." The three clinked their cups.

"Oh wow, Oxon, are you smiling!?" Had he? It wasn't a conscious effort, but he did realize that for the first time in a long time, he was actually happy. He hadn't realized how much he missed positive companionship. "I'm glad you're enjoying yourself, even though the other night you said that you "don't know if I want to attend any party of yours" due to us being too awesome."

He had to roll his eyes at that bold claim. "Fair enough, I guess I can trust you not to blow something up every once in a while."

"Oh yee of little faith, I'll leave you and the ice queen alone for now, but Rubes and I got you a little something as well." The blonde left the two celebrants on their own. Oxon took that as his que to give the smaller girl her gift.

"Well, I don't know if this is something on par with whatever you probably got already, especially from your family. It's definitely not as nice as what you gave me." Oxon retrieved the pendant, showed off the dual sided titanium disk, and showed off the snowflake engraving. The light blue metal underneath shines brilliantly in contrast to the polished titanium. "I made this the other day, sadly I couldn't acquire any metal worthy of someone like you, so I did what I could with what was on hand. The front side is the snowflake of your family, I searched it up on my scroll so I hope it's the right one. The back is a bit more of a tradition from back home."

He flipped it over to its other side to show her the wheel. "This is the symbol of the Prism Guard, our best fighters used this to symbolize their commitments to protecting others. Weiss Shnee, you are a girl who could have lived an easy life back home, but instead decided to risk your own life in the service of others. This is a symbol of strong and honorable people and it is something you have earned."

Oxon handed it to the girl, who had a stunned expression on her face. He was worried it was no good due to the lack of discernible reaction. She had her face hidden as she looked down at the piece, flipping it repeatedly, going from snowflake to wheel over and over again.

She probably hates it. Damn it, I should have asked Roman if he had any silver on hand. Hopefully I can make something else quickly.

"If it's no good, I'm sure I could make something better. I don't know what I was thinking, making it with such cheap materials…"

He was interrupted from his apologies when the petite girl wrapped her arms around his torso, burying her head in his chest. As stunned as he was, he didn't know what to do with his arms, so they were held awkwardly in the air on either side of her.

"It's perfect." That one sentence brought him out of his state of shock and back to the girl. "I wasn't expecting something like this, it's wonderful."

Awkwardly, he patted the girl gently on the back, and realized everyone was staring at them. Being the center of attention was never his strong suit. After a few more seconds, Oxon was about to try and break free when Weiss released him. Her eyes and cheeks were red with emotion. Thankfully it was the happy smile on her face that gave him a huge amount of relief.

"I was honestly expecting a simple card and maybe some wood carving like what I saw you give Ren and Nora earlier. This, the work you must have put into this must have been enormous, especially since we only told you about this on Friday night." She has probably the largest grin he'd ever seen on a person tonight.

"Well of course I had to do something special, you all have been far too kind to me these last weeks, I had to do something to repay that kindness."

"About the second half of this. Do you mean it?" She held out the side that had a memory of his home. Her face was a mix of pride and apprehension. "You think I'm someone who is worthy of your home's honors?"

"Of course!" He was confused as to why she had to get clarification. He thought he was pretty clear. "You've put aside everything in your life and decided to walk down a path of warriors."

"I was given one as well when my father found my skills passable." Oxon removed and showed the girl his smaller pendant. His silver necklace with the guard's symbol etched proudly on the shining metal. "I was given this, even though I was not part of the people who fought and bled for our people. In my mind, you deserve to wear that symbol more so than I do."

Especially since the only people I've helped since leaving home have been mobsters, thieves, and terrorists. Someone like Weiss and the others at this school are far better examples of humanity. They fight for others while I have done nothing but help myself. I'm an embarrassment to my home and training.

"Thank you." Her voice was cracking as she smiled up at him. He was afraid she was going to hug him again, thankfully she did not. "It means a lot to me that you think of me as a good person. My family has a rather dark reputation, and I try really hard to be something different, to be good."

"Well I think you are already there, Weiss." Looking between his necklace and the one he'd made yesterday, he realized he forgot the strap.

He pulled out a strip of braided leather strands and showed it to the girl. "I didn't know how you wanted to wear it, if you ever want to. Some wore it as a necklace, like I do. Though others attach it to weapons, armor, or let it hang off their belts. This is long enough for a necklace, but I could make something different if you'd prefer another way."

The girl took the offered strap gingerly. "Thank you, I'm sure I will think of somewhere for it." The girl was suddenly flanked by Yang and Nora. Each girl grabbed an arm and dragged her off to a corner of the room and began whispering furiously.

And like that he was on his own again. Oxon decided to get some snacks to distract himself. The different colas and bagged snacks overwhelmed the sheltered teen, so he decided to go with some chips on a paper plate. And like Weiss was ambushed moments ago, he too was sandwiched by both Sun and Neptune.

He was then forced into a corner of his own. His escape was blocked by the blue and blonde duo, each sporting massive grins. He was suddenly very afraid.

"Bro! What was that!" Sun was uncomfortably close to Oxon's face making the taller teen back further into the corner.

"What was what?"

He received a flat stare from the two for that. Though Sun wasn't about to give up it seemed. "Come on man, I glance at you talking to Weiss one moment, and then the next time I do, she's got her arms around you. What did you do to get her to react like that?"

"I think she was just happy about her present? I don't think her thanking me is that big of a deal. I'm sure she was just as happy with what you guys got her.

"I doubt it, Neptune got her an atlas themed snow globe." Sun got an elbow to the ribs by his partner for that. "It's true man. Anyways, all I saw was that it was something shiny, so you got her some jewelry?"

"Yeah, pretty much." He rubbed the back of his ears as he told the duo of what he'd given her. He didn't go into detail about the whole part about the warrior symbol on the back, he was a little embarrassed about bringing up his past to them.

"So you spent all of yesterday and most of today making something from scratch?" Neptune let out a low whistle and patted Oxon on the shoulder. "Yeah, Sun was right, your gift made the rest of ours pretty lame in comparison. Something handmade is leagues above store bought stuff."

"Sorry?"

"Nah man, it's all good."

"Really, I thought you'd be upset I upstaged you."

The other two shared a confused expression. "Why would I be upset?"

"I thought you and her, were, a thing?" The two were often together and it was easy to see the looks she gave the blue haired Mistralian. It was fairly clear to see how she felt, especially in comparison to Arc. Which is why he was caught off guard by the guy chuckling.

"We're not together man, sure I've been flirting a bit, but we haven't actually gotten together. I don't think we actually will either." Well that was… something. He was about to ask what he meant, when Ruby burst in between his captors to announce it was time for cake.

A few hours of celebration later, and the party was winding down. He'd been given a novelty ball cap from Yang that had "women want me, trees fear me" sewn on the front. The girl wasn't able to stop laughing at him after she convinced him to put it on. There was no way he'd ever put it on again.

He also received a case of hand loaded rifle and pistol rounds from Ruby. According to her and Yang, they packed a bit of a bigger punch compared to commercial brands. If that girl was saying it was a powerful load, then he trusted her.

For the majority of the party whenever he was around Weiss, things were incredibly awkward between them. She kept giving him odd, questionable looks, and there was only so much an nervous smile could do for him. It didn't help that Yang would wiggle her eyes behind the back of the heiress at him.

He was trying to keep those thoughts out of his head while he helped everyone clean up the common area. He was busy trying to make everything fit in the garbage bin so that the custodial team wouldn't get upset.

He was about to head back to the shit hole he called his dorm when he heard some footsteps stop just behind him. He turned to see Ruby looking at him with a small smile.

"What's up?"

"I just wanted to thank you for joining us tonight. I know you aren't the most social of people, but it meant a lot to us that you came. And I'm pretty sure you caught Weiss off guard earlier with what you said."

"She told you?"

"Of course, silly, I'm her partner after all." Yeah, that checked out. Not every team was like his. "What you said definitely meant a lot to her. It's not my place to tell you why, but you definitely made her night."

He was going to ask for clarification, but the object of their conversation came over to them. "Ruby, team SSSN called dibs on the leftovers, so grab what you want before they take it all. Oh, Oxon, I didn't see you there!"

He blinked twice at that, he literally dwarfed the rose themed girl by over a foot. Ruby glanced between the two of them before excusing herself to defend her cookies. For once in his life, he was actually wishing the little red reaper didn't leave him alone.

He and the girl didn't make eye contact for a few agonizing seconds. He coughed into his first in a vain attempt to dispel whatever it was that was happening with him.

"Did, uh, did you have a good time tonight?" Ugh, why was he so bad at speaking right now!?

"Without any doubt, it is perhaps the best birthday I've had since I was a child." Her blue eyes met his deep green eyes and his face felt warm for some unknown reason.

"Ah, well, I'm glad…"

The two stood in awkward silence a bit more. He had no idea what to say, and didn't know how to escape from this situation. Oxon did feel like he had to say something though.

"About the accessory, are you sure you don't want me to make something else?" He was scratching the space behind his ear something fierce. "I'm sure I could find some better material if I had a bit more time an-"

Oxon was cut off by Weiss placing her hand on his other arm. "It's perfect, there's no need to get all worried about it." He felt relief to hear her confirm again that she was happy with his work.

"I'm happy to hear that." He saw the time on the wall mounted clock. It was getting late and they did have classes tomorrow. "I should probably head out, it was fun."

Oxon gave her a smile and a nod and she returned it with one of her own. Before he had left completely, he turned to her retreating form and called out to her. She spun around quicker than he expected and looked him right in the eyes.

"Goodnight Weiss, and again, happy birthday." The smile she gave him caused his tired heart to skip a beat. It was truly weapons grade

"And a happy, if late, birthday to you as well Oxon. Goodnight." With their final goodbyes said, they each turned around to go back to their respective rooms, both in high spirits.

~~~(XXIV)~~~

Was the birthday scene good? I forgot Weiss' birthday was on the 15th when I put the date in the other chapter. So this was all spur of the moment. Seriously, I think I wrote and rewrote it like six times. I hope it is something people think is decent at least. It definitely extended this chapter a lot more than intended.

And also, how did nobody bring up how many people Roman hurt or killed when he fung cars around like they were Hot Wheels? That's a LOT of possible lethal injury that was caused by Blake and Sun decided to use them as stepping stones.

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