Chapter 42: JUST [REDACTED] ALREADY!

Character Change: Viralious - Kairi-Tsugumi Basil

Location: Atlas Academy: Hallway

Basil sighed as she walked the dimly lit halls of Atlas. Today hadn't really been the best, sure all of the first years made it back from their missions unscathed. Well, mostly unscathed. Team VIEW was definitely getting a counseling session from her after she read the report on what they found.

But that wasn't the reason she wasn't having a great day. No, that was the fact that Makoto and Cinnamon seemed to be avoiding her today. She had wanted to see if they wanted to go to Mantle this weekend for a shopping trip but the minute the squirrel faunus saw the mouse faunus she turned around before she could even get a word in.

Did I do something wrong… is she not interested? Did Ironwood say something…

Her thoughts are suddenly interrupted by a light tapping on her shoulder, turning around, she sees the turquoise hair of Professor Lute standing there. She looks at the odd professor for a moment before speaking, "L-lute I-I'm sor-sorry I didn't no-notice you."

"It's alright Basil, I was just wondering if you could do me a favor." Lute says in a calm demeanor.

Basil gives a whimpering sigh as she knows the types of favors Lute and Murt ask for normally, "I-I g-guess…Wh-what d-do y-you need?"

Lute smiles, "I left some of my lesson plans in the staff room. Do you mind getting them before a student grabs them?"

Basil looks at him confused before stating the obvious, "W-what s-st-student is g-going in-into the staff r-room?"

Lute eyes her like she's stupid, "Basil… you've met some of our students. Do you really need to ask that question?"

Instead of responding, Basil just looks down at her shoes.

Lute picks up on this and pats her on the back, "Thanks Basil, I'm sure you'll feel better after this is over." he then walks away.

Basil looks back to her fellow professor in confusion before sighing and making her way towards the staff room.

Character Change: Kairi-Tsugumi Basil - Makoto Cinnamon

Location: Atlas Academy: Staff room.

"Makoto stop pacing, you're going to leave an imprint on the carpet." Cinnamon says to her other half pacing in circles in the staff room.

The hyperactive squirrel faunus looks at her other half in disgust, "CINNI! HOW CAN I STOP PACING! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH."

Cinnamon looks at her other half before sighing, "Koto… I'm freaking out about it too but there's no need to wear out the carpet."

Makoto stops again and glares at Cinnamon, "CINNI THIS IS MORE THAN JUST FREAKING OUT! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH."

Just then, Kaine steps in and sends the hyperactive squirrel faunus a look before raising an eyebrow in question toward Cinnamon.

"Personal problems; ignore her." Cinnamon answers.

"Oh I see, same reason you're sewing a dress?" Kaine responds pointing to the bundle of cloth in Cinnamons lap.

"I PACE, CINNI SEWS. IT'S HOW WE COPE WITH STRESS!" Makoto yells again.

"I see… Do you mind if I ask why?" Kaine states.

"IT'S-" Makoto starts before Cinnamon interrupts.

"It's not your place but thanks for the concern."

Kaine sighs and rolls her eyes, "So it's about asking out Basil isn't it."

Both Makoto and Cinnamon give the pink haired professor a look like she had just shot them. Cinnamon is surprisingly the first to beg, "Please don't tell her, please don't tell her."

Makoto quickly joins in getting on her hands and knees repeating the same thing.

Kaine gives a short laugh, "Relax, I'm not going to tell her." This gets both squirrel faunus to give a sigh of relief, "I have to ask though… why haven't you asked her yet?"

Makoto and Cinnamon look at each other before sighing, "Cinni, you can explain this better than me." Makoto responds dejectedly.

Kaine looks with worry before Cinnamon looks her in the eye, "Me and Makoto… we can be a lot to handle for most people." she bundles a bit of the cloth in her hands, "It doesn't help that while we're technically the same person… we're really not."

Makoto stops pacing and looks at her other half before continuing, "We might be able to know what the other is thinking but we're not the same… I am pretty active and love putting myself out there… Cinni she's quite reserved and hates jumping in without a plan."

Cinnamon sighs, "This makes it hard to date… especially since we tend to fall hard…"

"I don't see why that would be a problem." Kaine states.

"The issue is we're two different people sharing one body… or can split in two for a short distance." Both Makoto and Cinnamon speak in unison.

Cinnamon sends a look to Makoto before continuing, "People tend to only fall for one of us… or find the whole thing a nuisance…"

"And you can't really date separately since you can't be that far apart…" Kaine answers.

"One hundred meters seems like a lot, until it isn't." Makoto sighs.

"It basically means we have to look for people with the downsides of polyamory in one person." Cinnamon sighs.

"And it's tough finding someone who wants that to be exclusive." Kaine answers

Cinnamon and Makoto don't answer but give a weak nod. Kaine moves over and places a reassuring hand on Makoto's shoulder, "I can't say I fully understand the issue but I can say that I know you'll find the right person."

"So Kaine, what brought you here?" Cinnamon asks with a drawn-out sigh as Kaine removes her hand from her other half's shoulder.

Kaine laughs, "Well, other than this being the staff room, I just came to see if anyone wanted a reservation for The Aegis Alcove? Regis and I were going to go tomorrow but the board want to celebrate at the Crystal Chalice our impressive quarter profits."

Cinnamon blinks; The Aegis Alcove was perhaps the highest end restaurant in Mantle… getting a reservation for anytime in the next month would only be possible if she was a Schnee!

The Aegis Alcove… I knew Kaine had expensive tastes but just offering a reservation to us is the perfect opportunity!

Before Cinnamon can even say anything, "YES WE'LL TAKE IT!" Makoto yells.

"Perfect, it's a reservation for three, so have fun with Basil!" Kaine says pressing a button on her scroll and moments later a reservation pops up on Cinnamon's scroll… It's in her name, not Regis's

"Kaine…why are these in my name?" Cinnamon asks.

"I don't know, Regis placed the reservation." Kaine lies through her teeth while winking "I've got to get going. Catch you two later." As the pink haired professor turns to exit, the door opens and steps inside is the cute silvery hair of a certain mouse professor.

Kaine looks at the incoming Basil for a moment before smiling, "Hey Basil how are you?"

The timid professor looks up before responding, "Oh h-hello K-Ka-Kaine… I'm d-doing fine… H-how a-ab-about you?"

"I'm good thanks for asking… Hey Basil, are you busy this weekend? Namely tomorrow at 7 PM?"

Cinnamon raises an eyebrow as she listens in on the conversation… 7 PM is the time that the reservation is set for.

Basil shifts nervously before responding to the Pink haired professor's question "I-I d-don't have a-any pl-plans th-this wee-weekend… se-seven w-would wo-work for me… but m-may I ask w-why?"

Kaine smiles, "Oh no reason, have a good weekend." She then walks out the door behind the timid professor.

Cinnamon and Basil make eye contact for a moment before turning away quickly. Makoto speaks before she could put her foot in her mouth, "Hey Basil… What brings you here?" Her tone is nervous and barely below her normal one.

Basil stumbles for a moment on what to say before finding the words, "Lu-Lute as-asked m-me to p-pick u-up hi-his lesson pl-plans… H-have you s-se-seen them?"

Makoto gives the mouse professor a confusing glare "Lute didn't leave his lesson plans here… He made sure to take them after getting his coffee this morning."

Basil gives an annoyed sigh… "S-so he w-was ta-taking the pi-piss o-out of m-me…"

Makoto gives an awkward shrug, "I think he's just forgetful… So how are you?"

"Oh… I'm f-fine." Basil responds awkwardly.

The three stand there for an awkward amount of time in silence before Makoto awkwardly speaks up, "Hey Cinni, don't we have that thing today?"

Cinnamon looks dejected before sighing, "I believe you're right Makoto." She then turns to the mouse professor, "It was nice seeing you… hope we can catch up later." her tone is awkward and forced.

The two squirrel professors make their way to the door and go to pull it open… when it's suddenly not budging.

Cinnamon checks the lock and notices that it's unlocked. She then pulls it again but it will not move no matter how much force she puts behind it

"I-Is every-everything al-alright?" Basil asks, turning to the confused duo pulling on the door with all their might.

Cinnamon stops for a moment before turning to Basil and getting a light blush, "The door won't open…"

Basil glances at the room awkwardly as the two squirrel faunus go back to where they were sitting and pacing. Makoto is already texting on her scroll.

Moments later Basil's scroll vibrates but before she can check it Makoto speaks up "That's me asking in the group chat what's up with the door."

Moments later Makoto's Scroll pings and she reads the message.

No leaving the staff room until you get off your sorry fucking ass and ask her out. Seriously, we're tired of you pussyfooting around. JUST ASK HER! You have the perfect date night planned out already.

Normally she wouldn't have been surprised by this message from Lute or Murt but the fact that it was from General Ironwood was the shocking part. In response to this Cinnamon gives a long sigh, "We're going to be here a minute."

Basil sighs and takes a seat in at the table, "I-I gu-guess w-we c-could j-just t-talk."

Cinnamon gives a weak smile before sitting at the table, "So… are you seeing anyone?"

Basil gives a small laugh, "N-No… though I-I w-wish I w-was."

Makoto takes a seat on the table invading Basil's personal space, "So uhh… do you have any plans for this weekend?"

Basil stares at the hyper squirrel faunus for a moment before blinking, "N-No?"

Makoto jumps up quickly, "Oh gotcha…"

Cinnamon looks at her other half looking like she wants to throttle her; she doesn't catch what Basil says at first, "Oh, sorry Basil, what was that?"

"Oh… I a-asked w-what y-you had p-p-planned f-for this wee-weekend?" Basil asks nervously.

Cinnamon gives a tired sigh "Well… nothing really."

Basil gets a hopeful look in her eyes, "D-do you w-want to do s-something? I-I m-mean i-if yo-you don't w-want to… I-I c-comp-completely under-understand." she says awkwardly.

Makoto answers a bit too quickly, "Sure! How about dinner tomorrow night?"

Cinnamon and Basil look at the Squirrel faunus in shock before both the squirrel duo give an embarrassed squeeeeeee.

Basil looks at the two embarrassed squirrel faunus before getting a heartwarming smile "Y-Yes… I w-would l-love t-to go to di-dinner w-with you."

Cinnamon stops the embarrassed squeee for a moment and looks at the smiling mouse faunus, "You mean it?"

Basil gives a nod.

Makoto stops for a moment before pumping her fist upwards in triumph "YEEEEEEEEEEEES!"

This gets another small laugh to escape Basil's lips before she turns to Cinnamon and Makoto, "I-I d-didn't rea-realize th-that y-you f-felt that w-way…"

"Oh well yeah… I was just worried h-how you'd react… and well I wasn't sure if you'd be interested as well we're friends and well I know I can be a bit of a pest at times but you're someone who treats us both as our own person instead of one being a third wheel… and I don't know how to put everything to words in all honesty." Makoto quickly spills.

Cinnamon gives an awkward laugh, "It… it didn't help that you're so darn cute." She has a deep blush on her face as she speaks before burying her face in her hands.

Basil's warm smile grows even more, "I-i d-don't th-think I-I e-even h-hold a c-candle to how… cute the t-t-two o-o-of y-you a-are…" Basil says shyly and slowly also burying her blush in her hands.

"JUST FUCK ALREADY!" The voice of Murt echoes from the hallway.

Cinnamon doesn't even pay heed to her colleague's annoyed yell and moves closer to Basil, "So we've got a reservation at the Aegis Alcove at 7 PM tomorrow… how about we meet there at about 6:45?"

Basil smiles at the squirrel professor before nodding, "I'd l-love too… D-Dress n-nice I as-assume?"

Makoto pumps her fist in the air while Cinnamon nods, "It's the fanciest place in Mantle so I'd say it's business attire at least… maybe even black tie."

Basil nods, "O-Okay… w-well I-I'll s-see you t-tom-tomorrow…"

"IT'S A DATE!" Makoto enthusiastically yells, earning a chuckle from the two other faunus in the room.

"Yes Koto… it is." Cinnamon says with glee.

"A date…" Basil says getting lost in thought.

Suddenly the door to the staff room bursts open and Ironwood enters with a small smile, "It took you two long enough." He immediately goes towards the coffee maker and starts brewing a pot.

Kaine and Murt enter behind him glaring at him for ruining the moment they were spying on outside, "James, it's 6:45 you don't need another cup of coffee!" Kaine says annoyed with the half-metal general.

"Don't you have a coffee maker in your office anyway?" Murt questions.

"Yes, I do, but I need to talk to Kairi before she leaves today." Ironwood says pointing to the mouse professor with his empty mug.

Basil gulped… General Ironwood never called you by your first name unless he was going to give you the ass reaming of the century… or if he was your friend, but Basil was certainly not that.

Makoto and Cinnamon looked at the mouse professor with a look of compassion meaning they picked up on it as well. It's Murt who gets things rolling again, "Hey Kaine mind helping me teach these two squirrely ladies proper after care techniques… something tells me she's going to need them after tonight."

Kaine gives him an indigent look before dark black spirals of words exit her back and create a hand effortlessly picking up the coffee pot that had just finished brewing from Ironwood's hand and throwing it at the maroon haired professor.

The dark liquid spills onto Murt who is barely able to get his aura activated in time. Quickly he runs out of the room before the chair that Kaine is picking up with her semblance can fly into his head. Not wanting to be left behind, the pink haired professor gives chase.

Ironwood looks at the discarded coffee pot and sighs turning to Cinnamon, "Cinnamon, can you and Makoto please make sure we will still have a grimm studies professor after today?"

Cinnamon gives Makoto a wary look before complying with the general's orders. The two squirrel faunus give Basil a quick wave before exiting the room.

Character Change: Makoto Cinnamon- Kairi-Tsugumi Basil

Location: Atlas Academy: Staff room.

Basil looked at the general with an annoyed tone b

ut waited for the tails of her two dates to leave and be far enough away before she spoke, "So w-what a-are y-you p-planning t-to ru-ruin my d-day w-with n-now?" her tone is accusatory.

Ironwood leans down and picks up the discarded coffee pot before answering, "I'm giving you my blessing."

Basil raises an eyebrow, "Ex-Excuse me?"

He places it back under the coffee maker and loads a new filter along with a fresh set of beans, "I mean I am giving you the go ahead to tell her everything."

Basil blinks before getting a pissed off look and takes a deep breath, "Who's to say I was waiting for your permission?"

Ironwood chuckles, "I was wondering when this side of you would show." He then looks her straight in the eye, "I know you take action without my input, but still I think you and Makoto are a good fit… Cinnamon is as well, but I can't say I understand the situation on how that would work." He says while placing the mug onto the counter to pour the finishing pot of coffee.

Basil picks up the mug and throws it to the ground, smashing it into a million pieces. Ironwood looks at her while she points an accusatory finger at him, "You don't get to decide ANYTHING about my life, General! I REALLY want this to work out so I'm going to come clean to them tomorrow… now If you try to jeopardize this at all I will make sure Atlas has a new general by the next morning."

Ironwood eyes her carefully, "Is that a threat?"

Basil stares him straight in his eyes, "You've worked with me long enough to know it wasn't a threat… it's a promise of what will happen if you do anything to fuck this for me. SO don't you DARE FUCK ME OVER!" She responds in uncharacteristic anger.

General Ironwood stares at the diminutive mouse professor for a moment before sighing, "Have fun on your date, Tsugumi… we'll be busy cleaning up Meteion afterwards so enjoy it while you have time."

Basil doesn't even humor him by responding; she just walks out of the room already planning what to wear tomorrow.

Character Change: Kairi-Tsugumi Basil - Viralious

Location: Atlas Academy: Team VIEW dorm: Common area

"It was a lucky shot." Viralious sighed as he placed the ice pack up to his eye while looking at Winter who was sitting across from him.

"Still won the spar though." Winter taunts back.

"Never said you didn't… was just a cheap shot." Viralious answers.

Eckhart rolled his eyes, "What made it cheap?"

Winter turns to him, "I used a gravity glyph to pull his hat over his eyes"

"Ahh yeah that was a cheap shot." Eckhart answers

"It's a strategy."

"Yeah a damn good one but you could have ruined the hat..." Ifiral speaks up from the couch.

Winter rolls her eyes, "You guys were the ones who taught me to win by any means necessary."

"Normally yes, but it's the only thing preventing Viralious' hair from being a mess." Eckhart says pointing to Viralious who's rolling his eyes.

"So you won the spar… where do you want to go tomorrow?" He asks, placing the ice pack on the coffee table.

Winter places her hand on her chin for a moment before deciding "How about The Aegis Alcove?"

"What's that?" Viralious asks confused

"Right, you're not local." Winter says, "It's the fanciest place in Mantle… I can get a reservation easily even at this time."

"Are you sure you want us to go there? I bet the paparazzi is insane." Viralious states.

"Not really… most people don't care about the Schnee's everyday life… besides they have a special ordinance in place meaning that the paparazzi couldn't spin a story if they tried." Winter answers.

Viralious thinks for a moment, "Sure when do you want to go?"

"How about 7:30?" Winter answers, "Gives us both plenty of time to get ready."

Viralious nods, "Alright we'll get there at 7:15 then."

Winter nods before getting up, "I'll place a reservation, and don't worry about the prices. It's expensive, but as long as we don't get the chef's creative dishes we should be fine."

"Hey Viralious, Celica was looking for you earlier… think you could stop by their room while Winter gets your reservation set up?" Eckhart says, peering over his scroll.

Viralious looks at his teammate in confusion… "We've been sitting here for a few minutes, Eckhart, why didn't you mention it before?"

"It slipped my mind." He answers.

Viralious rolls his eyes as Eckhart is obviously lying, "Alright I'll see what she wants."

He makes his way to the other dorm across the hall and knocks twice quickly. Before he can even tell what's going on, a turquoise haired fox faunus has already pulled him inside.

"Congrats on the date, Viralious!" Celica says as she pushes him onto a small office chair in her room.

"Celica, what the hell?" Viralious says recovering from the shock of being dragged into the fox faunus' room.

"So, what are you planning on wearing?" Celica asks in concerning amounts of interest.

"Probably the suit I wore to the gala." Viralious answers truthfully.

"NOPE!" Celica yells pointing at him, "It's a black-tie kind of place meaning that you're going to be wearing a tux Eckhart is picking up for you."

"Why is he-"

"We're making sure you don't fuck this up Viralious." Eckhart answers entering the room.

"What makes you think I will?"

"Viralious… no offense but you're not used to the lavish rich lifestyle." Eckhart answers.

"And Celica is?" Viralious shoots back.

"No. In fact I have a feeling she would scandalize everyone there. That being said, she's the only person I trust to drive the point into that thick skull of yours." Eckhart answers truthfully

"That, and it means I get to lord it over you until you help me get the Delphi in my bed." Celica answers.

"Doesn't she already do that?" Ariel calls out from the other room.

"I'm not hearing that from you Miss Baby-Talk-at-2 AM over the phone." Celica shoots back.

"So do you know the menu?" Eckhart asks.

"Shouldn't I just figure it out there?" Viralious answers.

"Nope… you're not familiar with fancy things so planning it out early will make you not come off as picky or indecisive… that being said don't rush her to order as it will make you seem like you're uninterested. If you're offered wine make sure to pour it for her, though not too much as it could give the wrong message." Celica answers

"We're underaged." Viralious answers.

"And she's a Schnee. She could ask for the waiter to come in a jockstrap and the restaurant would do it for her." Eckhart answers.

"You're making that up." Viralious retorts.

"For once I'm not." Eckhart responds before pulling up the menu on his scroll.

"Now then we've got a long time to teach you the basics of fancy dining." Celica jokes

Suddenly, Viralious knew he wasn't getting anything else done tonight.

A/N

One year ago, I started Team VIEW and posted the first few chapters to FFnet not expecting to go as far as I have with this… I would like to thank every single one of you for sticking with this story as we've made it one year… I never thought that I would make it this far and I'm happy that people are reading the story every time a new chapter is posted… so I'd like to share a few statistics about this story

As of this chapter going live, there are 10 reviews, 40 followers and 37 favorites as well as 11,205 views… all for just passing the 250K word mark.

Again, I cannot thank you all enough for this. Every time I see a new favorite or follow it makes me happy knowing someone is enjoying something that I put so much time into! This wouldn't be possible without you guys so here's to the future of Team VIEW and the multiple other projects that are working in the background.

I also couldn't have made it this far without my editor, AmoebaHewdraw! He's the reason that these chapters aren't riddled with quite as many grammar and spelling mistakes as my normal writing so please give him a round of applause.

AmoebaHewdraw's Note: I even look over the author's notes, else you'd get a sense of my work. Also, since it's been a year of doing this, you're paying next time we go to a bar! /s

Now, as for the content of this chapter, it just ended up working out this way that the two major relationships in this story were going to start dating as we made it to one year… No, I actually didn't plan this, it just happened this way so we can look forward to the next chapter!

Again, I cannot thank you guys enough for your support and can't wait to tell the future adventures of Team VIEW! Though I have to say there might be a short break next week as I've been very busy with work and Armored Core VI, so I haven't really been able to work on this story as much as I would have liked… I did want to make sure that this chapter made it out on time though since it's the big 1-year anniversary.

So, until next time, Xcom OUT!