Chapter 43: Date Night (Ultimate)

If one had expected the last 24 hours to be calm for Team VIEW and Team CARD, they would be sorely mistaken. Currently, Viralious sat in front of the mirror in Eckhart and Ifiral's suite of the dorm since Winter was getting ready in theirs. Fiddling with the dark tie adjusting it so it's straight for the hundredth time in the last twenty minutes.

"Is there really no good way to hold this in place?" Viralious annoyedly called out as the tie went back to its slightly ajar position.

"Put the tie clip on correctly and maybe you can actually focus on your damn hair." Eckhart calls out pointing to the hastily made ponytail hanging from the back of his head.

"Hey, it's how I normally wear it." Viralious shrugs while adjusting the tie clip.

"And you're going to scandalize every single person there." Ifiral jokes.

Viralious rolls his eyes, "And they'll live." he then turns and looks at his two teammates. "How do I look?" He wore a simple black tuxedo that he had on loan from Eckhart as well as a simple white dress shirt underneath. His tie was solid black and finally seemed to be holding straight. His pants were clean and simple black all the way down into his shoes which were shined to perfection. In the end he looked almost nothing like he normally would, the only way you could tell it was him was the signature slightly messy hair.

"Like a regular person who didn't fish their clothes out of the gutter." Ifiral answers sarcastically.

Viralious rolled his eyes before checking his scroll, "Still got about ten minutes before we need to leave. Anything I'm forgetting?"

Eckhart nods before pointing to a vase of flowers sitting on his end table.

"Flowers… Really?" Viralious deadpans.

"Not just any flowers, roses." Eckhart highlights "They are also white and pink representing a budding relationship."

"Celica put you up to this one?" Viralious asks.

"Yep, I was simply saying you should give her a box of chocolates but according to Celica it was-" Eckhart starts

"'Not likely to have an heiress on her knees at the end of the night." Ifiral finishes for his partner.

Viralious blinked twice before sighing, "Is it illegal to skin a fox?"

"Only if you get caught, but jokes aside she's done a shit ton to help so let her have a joke or two." Eckhart answers.

Viralious rolls his eyes, "There is such a thing as taking it too far." he then sighs, "But yeah, she's been a huge help."

"She'll drag you into one of her hair brained schemes to try and convince Delphi to date her if she hears you." Ifiral responds.

"Don't remind me I still remember the last one she pulled." Viralious sighs remember a small incident of Celica asking to jump out of a birthday cake.

"I mean she at least picked a good frosting." Ifiral jokes.

"Don't encourage her." Viralious jokes back before picking up the small bundle of flowers, "Are you sure I should give these to her? It feels a bit-"

"Look you can either give her the flowers now or me and Ifiral decorate your room with rose petals leading to the bed so which message do you want to send." Eckhart deadpans.

"I've unleashed a monster." Viralious mumbles under his breath.

"No, I just don't want either of you to fuck this up and ruin things for this team when things are actually looking good." Eckhart retorts.

"Yet you're not coaching Winter." Viralious side eyes Eckhart.

"I'm not worried about Winter fucking this up." Eckhart shrugs.

"Aw, so you do care." Ifiral jokingly coos, wrapping an arm around Eckhart's shoulder. Or at least tries to as a gate opens causing for Ifiral to fall onto the ground.

"Anyway Eckhart, mind if I ask why you're in a suit? Hardly seems like the best outfit to study in." Viralious asks his suspiciously dressed teammate.

Eckhart shrugs, "I've got dinner with my mother and uncle a bit after you leave."

"Yeah, meaning I get to spend my Saturday night alone… Maybe I should throw a party while you're out." Ifiral jokes putting on a fake sad face.

"You'll live. Besides, I'm sure May would love to have you over tonight." Eckhart shoots back.

"Eh, she's not my type. Besides, she's got the hots for Robyn."

"Oh, that's right you preferred the taste of mutton." Eckhart jokes back.

Ifiral is silent for a minute before bursting out into laughter. "Fiona would murder both of us if she heard that."

Viralious rolls his eyes before opening the door. Stepping into the common area, he can hear through the closed-door Winter bickering with both Celica and Ariel over something similar to what Viralious had just argued with the last two members of his team.

Smiling slightly, Viralious moved to take a seat on the couch when the door to his suite opened.

Winter stepped out wearing an elegant white evening gown with a small dark blue trim. A large sapphire necklace adorned her neck accented by blue teardrop earrings.

Her hair was placed up into an elegant bun. The two lock eyes for a moment before Viralious gets his foot out of his mouth.

"You look amazing." Is all he's able to utter after a shocked silence.

"Thank you… you look great as well." Winter says playing with her hair. She then eyes the flowers and raises an eyebrow, "I didn't think you'd go for roses."

Viralious chuckles slightly nervously, "Yeah, well figured I might as well impress."

Winter laughs, "No, I meant I figured you would avoid them since it would seem cliché you know with your… you know what, never mind, thank you." She then takes the flowers and places them in a small vase that while obviously chipped, miraculously still holds water.

"I'm shocked that it still works. You know how often it falls on the ground." Viralious jokes.

Winter adjusts the flowers in the vase until they look perfect before something catches Viralious' fancy. Quickly he plucked a singular pink rose from the vase and broke the stem before handing it to her, "I believe a rose would accentuate that amazing hair of yours."

Winter looks at the rose before bursting into laughter, "That is one of the dumbest pick-up lines I've ever heard."

Viralious joins in, "Yeah it was bad."

Winter takes the rose from his hand and places it in the bun accenting her perfect white hair, "How's it looks?"

"Amazing."

Winter nods before checking her scroll, "We should make our way down to the docks, Klein will be meeting us as a chauffeur down at the Mantle station."

Viralious nods and holds out his arm, "Well then, we shouldn't leave him waiting."

Winter silently nods before taking his arm and exiting the dorm.

As the two turn the corner away from Team VIEW and CARD's dorms, Viralious suddenly feels a cold chill run down his back.

I hope that's just a rogue A/C unit.


Character Change: Viralious - Eckhart Slate.

Location: Atlas Academy: Team VIEW dorm: Common area


Eckhart had watched the two lovebirds leave as the door closed before he let out a sigh. Not even 3 seconds after they were gone he turned to Winter and Viralious' dorm. "They're gone… also you were right. He can't flirt worth shit."

Stepping through the door is a familiar fox Faunus exiting wearing not her normal scandalized outfit but a cool red and gray asymmetrical lace dress that accented her legs and pointed to the almost crystal stilettos she was wearing.

"Ariel, how the hell do you walk in these fucking stilts?" Celica inelegantly calls to her yellow haired teammate who's also dressed in a similar style but yellow and white.

"Years of practice. You'll be fine, I've seen you dance in combat boots before." Ariel dismissively waves her off before walking out and making her way towards the door before turning back to Eckhart, "For the record, I think this is a horrible idea."

"Noted: but we're choosing to ignore it." Eckhart replies, "Enjoy your date with Russet." This time, his response is genuine.

"Thanks." Ariel says smiling before opening the door and making her way across the hall.

After a few moments of silence, Ifiral pokes his head out and turns to Celica, "So what's the over under of those two fucking tonight?"

"I'd say a high eighty-twenty." Celica answers deadpan.

"I doubt either is going to put out after the first date." Eckhart sighs, earning a look of 'really from the others in the room.

"So, over under on Vir-" Celica starts.

"Zero." Ifiral and Eckhart both answer in unison.

"Oh, come on, I have a feeling Viralious is like his twin in more ways than one. Zeliska put out on the first date." Celica answers with a pout.

Ifiral just blinks twice, "Okay I have to ask, what was your relationship with Viralious' sister like?"

"A lady never kisses and tells." Celica responds by waving her finger in his face.

"We're off topic." Eckhart coughs, catching both of their attention, "Look, our Manta will be here in 5 minutes so we should get going, Celica."

"Well then Eckhart, we should get going… After all, it's not wise to leave a lady waiting." Celica answers, stepping forward and extending her hand.

Eckhart stares at her hand before looking her in the eye, "Celica, I'm not humoring you with this… we're going to spy on Viralious and Winter we don't have to pretend to be a couple."

Celica laughs, "I know but still it can be fun to play all posh and lady like… besides you're missing a cute little laugh and adorable cheeks… Oh, and antlers."

"And I have a taste in women which instantly disqualifies you." Eckhart responds, leading her to the door.

Celica fakes a shocked expression, "What? I always thought you were gay… damn, I should take you off that dating site."

Eckhart rolls his eyes, "Sure and I'll be sure to stop telling Delphi that you're in love with Ariel."

Both laughed before exiting the dorm room and making their way towards the hangar.


Character Change: Eckhart Slate - Viralious

Location: Mantle: The Aegis Alcove


Stepping into the restaurant, Viralious is immediately taken aback by what he sees: a series of crystal chandeliers that cast a gentle, flattering glow over the space, creating a dazzling display on the walls and tabletops. Deep royal blues and plush velvety purples are accented by subtle hints of silver and gold. The walls are adorned with tasteful artwork, featuring landscapes of Atlas and portraits of historical figures, framed in exquisite gilded frames. Some figures Viralious can recognize from his studies with the book from Professor Beryl.

Stepping further in, he and Winter stop in front of a large lectern looking structure with a sharply dressed gentleman. Just then Viralious notices the impeccably tailored uniforms the staff is dressed in, moving gracefully through the room, attending to every detail with utmost professionalism.

"Welcome, do you have a reservation?" The gentleman asks, looking down at the two of them. While his tone is almost perfect at hiding it Viralious can pick up on the slight bit of doubt in his voice.

"A table for two under the name Winter Schnee." Winter elegantly answers.

The man looks down at the large screen in front of him before nodding, "Please follow me." He directs them as he grabs two ornate menus and ushers them towards the seating area, the tables are spaced generously apart, creating a feeling of privacy and encouraging conversation without the intrusion of neighboring diners. Plush, high-backed chairs are upholstered in sumptuous fabrics, and each table is impeccably set with fine crystal glassware and polished silverware.

Viralious takes the initiative pulling the chair out for Winter and allowing for her to sit down first. Afterwards he takes a seat across from her and smiles, "So, have you ever been here before?"

Winter nods, "A few years ago, my mother celebrated her birthday here. Weiss loved the chandeliers and enjoyed the coloring book they gave her."

Viralious chuckled slightly, "I wouldn't have expected a place like this to have coloring books for children."

Winter nods, "Yeah apparently the owner actually loves kids and was happy when Wiess sang her praises to everything."

Just then their waitress arrives, "Hello, my name is Orchid and I'll be your server today. Do you need a minute to look over the menu? Or are you ready to order drinks?"

Viralious and Winter lock eyes for a moment before they both turn to their waitress, "I'll take a sparkling water. Light lemon please." Winter answers elegantly.

"I'll have the same." Viralious echoes her with a light nod.

Their waitress doesn't even write anything down, she just nods before answering, "Alright I'll be back in one moment." before stepping away.

Viralious and Winter turn back to each other, "So Viralious, what did Celica and Eckhart teach you?"

Viralious stops in his tracks for a moment before laughing slightly, "Not a lot, it was more Eckhart. Honestly, he just did what he could to make sure I didn't make an utter fool of myself while here."

Winter laughs slightly into hand, "I figured they would pull something like that."

"I'm actually a bit grateful for them… I was a lot more nervous until you mentioned it actually." Viralious admits.

Their Waitress then returns and places their drinks in front of each other, earning soft thanks from both students sitting at the table, "Have you two decided on an entrée or do you need more time?"

Winter speaks first, "I'll take the pan-seared halibut with lemon beurre blanc."

"Excellent choice." the Waitress says before turning to Viralious

"I'll have the herb-crusted rack of lamb with rosemary jus." Viralious answers, closing his menu and collecting Winter's before handing it to their waitress.

"Another excellent choice. Your food will be out shortly." the waitress answers before taking the menus and walking away.

Viralious is about to say something before he's cut off by a strangely familiar laugh from the table on his right. Turning his head slightly he catches the familiar sight of turquoise hair.

"Is something wrong?" Winter asks in confusion in front of him.

Viralious looks at the turquoise hair before immediately noticing the familiar fox ears. He sighs as soon he also eyes Eckhart sitting at the same table, "Unless Celica and Eckhart are secretly getting together, they are spying on us."

Winter goes wide eyed for a moment before getting an annoyed look, "I should have seen this coming."

"Really? So, I should have as well." Viralious shrugs.

Winter starts to get up before Viralious stops her, "I'll take care of it. The night shouldn't be ruined because our friends are stupid."

Winter chuckles slightly, "Alright I'll leave it to you."

"We can think of ways to get back at them afterwards as well." Viralious answers as he gets up, "I think Delphi would love to wish the new couple happy wishes." He says pointing to his scroll with a mischievous smile.

Winter catches the evil glint in his eye before nodding and taking a sip from her water. Viralious takes this moment to make his way over and takes a simple picture of Celica and Eckhart both taking a drink from their glasses.

"A cute couple didn't know you two were getting so close." Viralious says laying the sarcasm on thick.

Eckhart sighs as Celica pouts, "No fair you weren't supposed to see us."

"You're in eyesight from our table." Viralious deadpans.

"How else are we supposed to spy on you two?" Celica answers which earns a face palm from Eckhart.

"Celica, you need to learn to read a room." Eckhart answers

Viralious then shows him the picture on his scroll, "So this picture is a great look at Atlas' newest couple." he smirks as he sees the look of horror appear on both of their faces, "Delphi would happily congratulate you Celica, as Eckhart's a good guy while General Ironwood would probably call you to his office to hand you some contraceptives due to the 'reputation' Celica's built from her… well attitude, way of dress, and personality."

"Hey, we both know it's bullshit! I've only slept with your sister!" Celica cries.

"I really didn't need to know that…" Viralious sighs as he closes his eyes trying to erase that mental image…

"Quite evil of that to hold over us." Eckhart smirks back at him, "Alright what do you want?"

"Just don't interfere with tonight at all. Also, stop spying on us or I'm telling the staff to get you kicked out." Viralious answers truthfully.

"Only if you delete that picture." Celica says.

Viralious nods, "I can agree to that. Enjoy your date." he then turns back and makes his way back before bumping into a familiar stranger.


Character Change: Viralious - Kairi-Tsugumi Basil

Location: Mantle: The Aegis Alcove


Basil sat there across from the two most beautiful women in the room… or was she just the most beautiful one? It was confusing at times but they truly were beautiful.

Cinnamon wore a dress styled in old Valienan fashion; layers of fine, ivory lace cascade down from her high neckline, adorning the bodice and sleeves in intricate floral patterns. The dress cinches at her tiny waist, accentuating her feminine silhouette, before flowing gracefully into a full skirt.

Her other half is wearing something a bit more modern wearing a simple brown cocktail dress that matched her large bushy tail quite elegantly.

Basil felt slightly underdressed in her simple gray and white evening gown but deep down she knew neither of her dates cared. They had finished their food a little while ago and were just mindlessly chatting about the little things that they noticed about each other and how nervous they were to ask the other out when Makoto blurted something out that caught everyone's attention.

"Hey, doesn't that guy over there look like Murt?"

This instantly gets both Cinnamon and Basil to whip their heads in the direction that Makoto is looking… Sure enough the annoying maroon hue of Murt's hair is sitting at the table with General Ironwood…

"They don't normally go on dinners to fancy restaurants together do they…" Cinnamon mumbles out loud.

Basil turns to her dates before smiling and saying, "P-please g-give me one mo-moment." and starts to stand up and turns to make her way towards the table.

She locks eyes with the general and glares.

"Ahh Basil fancy running into you here… Murt and I were discussing having him stay as a permanent professor and decided to get dinner." Ironwood lies through his teeth.

Basil glares at him and sees the sweat start to roll down his head. Murt chips in, "Well you know how it is, discussing business gets boring so we figured we'd pop in for a quick bite to eat then get back to the drags."

Basil stared daggers at Ironwood not even giving Murt a second glance, "So you just happened to stop in the most exclusive restaurant in Mantle? On a whim? Seems like a long ride just to get food. Especially if you are going back to business afterwards."

Ironwood sighs before tugging the hem of his shirt, "I mean, yes this place is great and worth the trip."

"General." Basil says with venom.

"Yes, Basil?"

"Stop spying on Me, Makoto and Cinnamon or I'm going to shove your prosthetic so far up your ass you can high five your food." Basil said calmly… or you know, nearly yelled it's hard to tell the difference sometimes.

"Hey, I knew yeah had it in your kiddo!" Murt enthusiastically cheers.

Ironwood blinks twice before sighing, "We were just leaving anyway." he then pulls out the Atlas Academy credit card and places it on the table.

Basil swipes it quickly, "Thank you for offering to pay. I'm sure Koto and Cinni will appreciate it." She gives a fake smile and makes her way back towards her date when she bumps into someone, "Oh I'm sorry."

"No, it's my fault I wasn't-" Viralious starts before noticing who he's bumped into, "Professor?"

Basil sighs, "H-hello V-Viralious…"

Both realize exactly what's happened, why were there, the fact both were probably being spied on and just told their would-be observers to fuck off… They both also knew how nervous the other must be because of this interaction.

The two awkwardly stand there for a minute before Viralious sighs, "Pretend we didn't see each other?"

"Yep." Basil squeaks, and the two separated a bit too quickly.

Sitting back down across from her two squirrelly dates she smiles and flashes the card she 'borrowed' from her boss. "The general generously offered to pay for our dinner."

Cinnamon gives a small laugh while Makoto nearly doubles over earning a few looks from nearby tables… not that they weren't already getting looks for being three Faunus.

"I don't know how you can get him to do these kind of things… it's like he's scared of you." Makoto laughs out.

Basil sighs, "Yeah… s-sure…" she awkwardly thinks back to all of her work as a Geist and her threats to the General…

"Basil… are you okay?" Cinnamon asks.

"W-what?... o-oh ye-yeah… I w-was j-just l-lost in tho-thought." Basil responds.

"Ok… well we just wondered if you had been here before." Cinnamon smiles

"N-no I-I norm-normally d-don't e-eat a-at f-formal p-places." Basil responds flustered.

The three continued with their simple conversations. As the night continues Basil's stutter slowly dissipates into happiness.


Character Change: Kairi-Tsugumi Basil - Viralious

Location: Mantle: The Aegis Alcove


After Viralious sat back down it didn't take long for their food to arrive, the food itself was great and fancier than anything Viralious had eaten before. Their conversations were filled with honestly just little topics such as thoughts on the current rumors, drama, who's dating who and small stories from their lives before Atlas. Eventually, it was time to pay for the check. Viralious, to Winter's surprise, managed to pick up the check.

"Are you sure, Viralious? I can handle it." Winter says as she sees him place the lien on the table.

"It's alright Winter, I've been saving my portion of the stipend, I can cover this." Viralious half lied. He had actually sold his fire and combustion dust to Ifiral to guarantee he had enough.

Winter gives a small pout, "Viralious you know I can handle things… you don't have to cover everything."

"I know… but I felt I should at least cover our first date… though I'll readily admit it's going to be a moment before I can take you back here." Viralious jokes as the waitress takes the bill.

Winter laughs, "Right, well this was great, I'm glad we were able to do this."

Their waitress comes back and wishes them a good night especially after Winter gives her a generous tip. Stepping out into the cold streets Viralious hands Winter the coat he's wearing.

"Viralious, you know I have an aura. You don't have to give me your coat." Winter looks at him perplexed.

Viralious chuckles, "True, but a gentleman always offers his coat to a lady."

Winter rolls her eyes before taking the coat and wrapping it around herself, "Again that's a horrible pick up line." she then sighs, "A shame that tonight needs to end."

Viralious stops, "It doesn't have to yet."

"What do you mean?" Winter asks, staring at him.

"We could go on a walk for a bit and enjoy the nice outdoors." Viralious shrugs.

Winter glances at him before smiling, "Alright… I believe there is a park nearby."

The two walks off into the night smiling as the cold air flows behind them and small snowflakes start to fall.

A/N

Hey guys sorry about the delay, a lot has happened. I've been extremely busy and when I found time to work on this motivation has been scarce. Again, I can promise you that this story will get finished but I cannot guarantee weekly uploads with my current work schedule so instead I'll guarantee at least a monthly upload. We will still strive for the weekly uploads that I've tried to keep for the story but you will at least get one chapter a month. Hopefully this is temporary and I'll suddenly not have as much work to do and can actually work on this story more.

Now with that out of the way there really isn't a lot to cover in this chapter it's really just fluff that I would have liked to give more time to but I realized if I tried we wouldn't see this chapter for a while so we're skimming over dinner in this chapter and going to the after-dinner activities in the next chapter…. So, look forward to that.

This is where I would like to thank my editor AmoebaHewdraw, who is 100% happy that I have a no smut rule…

AmoebaHewdraw's Note: Is this the part where I come out to the readers as ace? Oh yeah, I'm ace by the way. Happy Pride Month. Yes, I know it's not July.

Until next time, Xcom out.