Velvet and Weiss sat near Cole while Ruby tweaked with blueprints Cole had told her an idea he had, and she was happily drawing away while Cole hissed and jerked about in pain.
"AHHH, damn it ice queen I said I was fine!" Cole roared squeezing velvets hand while Weiss had used her Arma gigas' left arm to hold Cole's arm in place while his shoulder moved around to test the damage.
"Cole, stop being a baby and brace yourself" she replied as the gigas arm balled his fist with him.
"Uh, brace for wha-" *SNAP* "AHHHHH" whimpering and heaving in heavy breaths Cole cradled his arm "Thank you" he strained through clenched teeth.
"Now if I may ask the three of you" velvet said helping Weiss wrap ice packs onto Cole and finally asked, "how did you dislocate your shoulder and how come ruby isn't helping?"
Cole said nothing and looked away, but from his embarrassment she turned to Weiss for an explanation. "Cole wanted a spar with us, he nearly killed ruby with his ability not being dialed down, my Arma gigas grabbed him at the apex of his charging attack and his shoulder came out."
Ruby looked up and smile "he didn't go that far Weiss"
Giving her a deadpan frown, she crossed her arms, "your aura shattered, and he kept hitting you, I responded in kind"
"I get it okay, I went too far and did more harm than needed, but I do not fight fair. I fight to win. at best she would be knocked out, not dead" Cole groaned walking out of the room and grumbling about not doing anything wrong.
ozpin's office*
Pacing in front of this desk, qrow growled just as he slammed his hands on the desk. His red eyes bore fire in ozpin's brown cool eyes, "you cannot keep protecting that kid oz, the amount of rules and regulations alone that he broke when ruby and her team found him are enough to have you stripped of your job!"
Oz took a moment to check what little paperwork and forms he had for Glynda to file for him left and looked qrow up and down as if examining his body language and replied calmly, "he was assigned by goodwitch herself with after studies detention and for causing such a detriment to my school grounds amongst other places he's also confined to school grounds only, is under nightly observations and to make the council sure he won't do more costly damage" he paused to project a form detailing his possible imprisonment for the inability to conform to hunter academy standards "this is what will happen if he steps a single toe out of line...your nieces are under the same intensive observation, hell, qrow every hunter is constantly monitored in the event they go rouge or intentionally kill someone, or just simply cause too great a cost to every kingdom's equivalent of collateral damage"
Digesting his explanation, qrow chugged his flask empty and quietly apologized with, "yang and ruby alone did destroy half of the kingdom till you put them through hell to fix what they had done...oz, I may be in the wrong here but trust me when I say 'Cole valentine isn't trustworthy and should be excommunicated from beacon', if you don't there will be hell to pay from the council"
Oz shut down his desktop smiling warmly "tell the council, their best headhunter and his warning is duly noted but is the situation in my academy is well under control"
Qrow nodded and turned to take his leave when he froze at the sight of Cole with his left arm in a sling and ice dust packs tied to his shoulder covered head to toe in burn and blood marks, almost like a train ran him over his posture seemed to show he was used to the abuse of combat, which got a curt nod from oz but a scoff from qrow when he entered the elevator giving them both a wave as the door slid closed.
"I'll just pretend I heard nothing you two said and just give you the five essays you and Glynda wanted; I made copies so you both got the same essays and I've finished all my assignments-"
Oz cut him off by handing him a bag of cherries and smiled "your punishment is over Mr. Valentine, you went above and beyond with port and Oobleck to make me aware of your earnestness, but the cost was your freedoms for a month. Of course you aren't a prisoner so you'll be permitted to go on missions but only on the condition your assigned as support if a member is injured or unavailable...but seeing as your unable you'll be assisting the faculty" he smirked at his arm in a sling handing him a bottle of painkillers with his name on it with their jobs that require one of your good hands; until you heal your limited to the janitorial and librarian duties"
Cole took the bottle and gave them back "I'm not a fan of pills or really any kind of prescription drugs sir, but thank you for this, I have a lot to make up for, but I need help managing my anger and triggers for it."
"you'll need the pills, that shoulder won't heal without relief and proper care; you're not above being scolded because your pride gets yourself or your fellow hunter killed" oz replied with a harsh warning tone and a touch of regret in there for good measure.
Taking the bottle back he gave a quiet apology and made his way back to the elevator when he said not looking back, "I've never been on a team so I won't be much use to them regardless" taking a deep breath, he added, "but I will do my best to work on that while I pay my time forward"
Entering to go to Glynda's classroom to clean the arena grounds, ozpin cleared his throat and made him turn to face him. "See that you do young one, just remember you are not alone when your struggling, for the wolf needs his pack to take down a bear"
Cole involuntarily chuckled at that and gave oz a two-finger salute as the door slid closed and took him down the tower. 'Does he ever sound normal when he gives advice?' Cole thought to himself exiting the building.
Oz sat in his chair reminiscing over his old team and smiling about how his life as a hunter, then as a professor, and finally as the headmaster of beacon. His run as a man without a legacy of his own, he wanted to do more but could not find a way to give himself more time to consider it however, because a call interrupted his thoughts.
Hitting the answer key ozpin was greeted with a rageful Jaques Schnee, his day immediately came off the frying pan and into the fire.
'I'll die sooner if this keeps up' he thought grimly.
"If all you have for me is rage and viscera I won't talk with you, pleasure to hear from you though" he interrupted whatever he was angry about this time and just ended the video call.
"Glynda, clear my schedule for tonight and send Mr. Valentine to his dorm to rest, we need to pay a visit to that diner, I've been craving some fast food."
Glynda gave a heavy and irritated sigh as she replied, "fine but he still needs to finish categorizing library books"
"of course, just be ready for tomorrow; Jaques, is in a rather foul mood"
"When is he not?" she snarked hanging up.
'that's a good point, miss Schnee is the focal point I wish he didn't blather about every few weeks that she did not consider is poor situation of his daughter becoming my student.'
Turning around oz flinched at the face of his long since dead alter ego Osma, the mage of the first age of man. "That child, Valentine, was it? He reminds me of when you were his age, brash, untethered by anyone, a force of nature for you to mold for this generation's war of Grimm vs remnant" ozma sarcastically taunted.
"Words are all you spout ozma, no one isn't above being assisted to help the world truly be rid of the queen and her abhorrent circle."
"You speak of my dearly beloved queen like she had a choice to be corrupted by the pools of Annihilation" he rebuked with barely hidden scorn.
"I merely said that my students of each kingdom's academy is entrusted to stave off the queen, not that I said she put herself in the situation you unfortunately had to witness' oz spat back tired and annoyed.
Another figure fizzled into his reality bathed in a purple cloak around their shoulders and said tired and sad "you two have so much better topics to spit out yet you bicker over the dark empress...pathetic as always I see"
"Tell him that!"
"Tell him that"
Oz and ozma said in unison, but the woman shushed them with a finger to their lips and sighed "I hate quarreling between inheritors, but mommy needs to tell her babies a lesson taught her way"
Immediately ozpin and ozma were in a dreamscape pinned down by two big bean bag chairs with her in Her's drinking a cup of coffee.
"ahhh, that's the good stuff" she said snuggling into her seat.
Both men were in for one hell of a talk and ozpin knew it cause the last time she used this realm oz was having a meltdown as a teenager when his semblance awakened, in his sleep no less.
"So, who's first?" she asked smiling cheekily.
It was around ten minutes after goodwitch told him to head to the dorms was when teams JNPR and RWBY knocked at his door and it was one hell of a greeting to be sure,
Cole opened his door without a shirt on showing the horrid black, blue, and purple bruising over his torso and shoulder. His arm was still in a sling but to cover himself he was wearing a button-up shirt, but it did nothing more than show how crappy he looked.
Ruby cringed and asked "c-can we come in?"
To which Cole just hummed and let them into his room and widened the door. After everyone got comfortable, Cole asked "what the hell do you all want" he scowled as he shrugged off his shirt and pulled the sling off along with his bandaging. "I'm already under constant observation, have an ankle monitor for if I left beacon, and I still have community service to do." he hissed as he pulled the long since warmed up cold packs off and dropped them into a trash can with blue fluid sliding down his upper body and stomach.
Weiss threw a rag at him and said "wipe that stuff of you barbarian" making him sigh smiling a bit.
"I'll ask again but a bit nicer since I like a few of you" he said panning his frown at Blake, yang, and jaune and pulled a silken robe on and over himself struggling to tie it up with one arm. "What on the god's green remnant do you eight want with me this time, I've been going to therapy, and I've written a plethora of essays."
Fed up watching Cole making a fool of himself, ren stood up and helped Cole properly put the robe on, jaune opened his mouth to speak, but Nora interrupted him.
"Ruby and Weiss were concerned for you, and we are making sure you don't hurt them" she smiled brightly as ren helped pull jaune back to his seat.
Pyrrha stepped forward and gave him an exoskeleton for his shoulder. "And I heard about what happened so we put our heads together and thought a peace offering would help smooth any rough edges and cool some bad blood between our friends that came to check up on you.
Cole instantly glared at her and gritted his teeth as she set it down next to his bed. "You will never understand the pain of begging someone for help while you bleed out and cry as your only family DIES BECAUSE THEY WERE TOO CHICKEN SHIT TO SAVE HER"
Blake rushed him after his first few tears fell one after another, one second he was angry at the ass backwards thought of a gift for him to forgive Blake, confused at them all for coming, crying for reopening his wounds to all of them again after months of burying it deep down -obviously not deep enough- and kinda glad they were here with him.
Looking down he saw cat ears flicking at his chest and arms around his waist firmly holding him, yang did not want blood to spill so she pried her off him and glared into his eyes but flinched at his tears flowing down his face like a child losing a toy.
"What makes this okay..." he whispered sounding broken and croaked out a myriad of why's.
"How does a white fang terrorist get a second chance to redeem herself, tell me how that is at all fair!" Cole was noticing they all were eyeing him like a monster ready to pounce, so he forced it down, took a deep breath and wiped his tears away and shook like a tree ready to topple over in a storm.
"Look, Cole I'm sorry you lost your mother-" yang tried to continue but was shut up via a hammer strike to his desk next to the gaping window and said cold as ice, "speak carefully xaio long, because I don't care about the consequences like you do"
Stomping over to him yang met his blue and green eyes with red ones but what he whispered had her reeling back to Blake a bit startled.
"Your mother is still alive and I'm starting to see where you get it." It was just loud enough that they all had heard it. They all eyed him warily as he stepped forward, not brave enough to stop him.
Cornered against the broken desk, yang felt waves of ice-cold chills wash over her like a fog threatening to suffocate the ire she held for his actions towards Blake.
"you still have a mother who draws breath in her ungrateful lungs, judged me for how painful I've been dealt in this life thanks to her." he turned to the fridge and walked over and pulled it open grasping a bottle of black cherry mead and chugged half the liter tall bottle, "Blake is just as capable of losing her life if she finds out when you fuck around with me...Adam knows as best as I do where it gets you trusting her of course".
Weiss interrupted his jabs and said "look, Cole you have every right to be wrathful to those two but for our sake as friends could you try to give us all a second chance?" She pleaded with him, and this was the first time he had seen it for himself.
Covering a hearty belch, Cole sighed at her cute look with a small blush of embarrassment,
He stood there contemplating her request for damn near ten minutes, they all waited squeamishly talking in hushed whispers while he thought it over. He blew a heavy breath out and finally said, "I...suppose yang deserves another chance, as long as you all stop instigating jaune and yang into confronting me every time I do anything with friends." he looked her in the eye and said a bit warmer than before, they all deflated happily making their way to the door when Cole cleared his throat and added, "but if Blake or you breathe a word about my morality of my attitude I'll put you all on the floor with broken bones and all... now get the hell out of my room, I have work to do tomorrow while you children play civilian shoppers on Saturday" he ripped open his door open and watched them rush out of his room.
Weiss stayed behind and closed the door looking him in the eye and smiled grabbing him by his belt, pulled him close to her, grabbed his hair on the back of his head and kissed him for three agonizingly slow seconds. She pulled back and said, "I'm no diamond girl, but I recognize a tough guy façade when I see it; I know how you feel about it all, but please be good for yourself if you can't do it for me, please?"
Hugging her he took in her scent and said into the crook of her neck, "I'm trying to, they just caught me on the worst day to force their intervention"
Pulling away she kissed his cheek, left his room, and said "I will talk to them about the approach, and we'll try to check on you tomorrow after port lets you go from his long-winded lectures of his glory days as a hunter"
They both shared a laugh as the door closed completely but on the other side the seven others saw everything happen and stood there staring at her starstruck.
A moment later Nora cracked a wide smile and asked, "tall dark and edge lords do it for ya, or is that been a thing since the diner fiasco?"
Her face burned hot with embarrassment and squeaked out "oh gods no" before rushing off with her Arma gigas holding them back as she ran away as fast as she could.
On his side of the door Cole had called ms.goodwitch and said, "I need to buy a new desk, team RWBY and JNPR cornered me into a forced intervention, and I broke the damned desk in half."
"The desk needed replacing anyhow, but the school pays for any furniture that breaks; it's a combat academy so it is bound to occur"
"I still want to pay the cost for the new desk" he insisted walking into his bathroom.
"If you insist on it being that way Mr. Valentine, just pick it up with prof. Peach after cleaning up the dust grinders after class and please be careful next time, those desks aren't cheap"
"Yes ma'am, I apologize for calling at this hour" he replied as he hung up the call and began to brush his teeth and went to bed completely ignoring the 'gift' from Pyrrha and lied down hoping for a more restful night.
He fell asleep after two hours of listening to white noise tracks of rain and thunder that port of all people instructed him to play in hopes his insomnia would get easier to conquer but all it had done was intensify his nightmares.
His mother scolding him for letting yang live.
Rayla calling him worthless as a brother.
His father laughing drunkenly as he cut at his body only for his sword and bullets from his pistol to pass through him.
Raven taunted him about being weak.
Ruby called him a monster
Weiss begged him to be better with a foggy red cloud near her abdomen.
Blake begged him why, whilst covered in blood with a gaping hole as big as his fist in her chest gushing with blood.
Yang had chains around her neck all four limbs yelling at him for killing qrow
Jaune scorned him for breaking him more than physically.
Nora cried Grimm tar tears with the handle of her hammer sticking out of her stomach holding her up like a puppet.
Pyrrha asked why he did it and held her stomach soaked in blood and stomach fluids.
Ren had seemed to have had his throat ripped out, so he simply glared at him and flipped him off.
All of them rushed to tear him apart in a swarm of screeching and hands grabbing at him.
Cole shot up from his bed and shot the wall with a bolt of orange lightning two inches from hitting Weiss in the face and startled her.
"w-Weiss, oh gods I'm so sorry" he gasped out holding his chest feeling like his heart was going to burst.
Acting on instinct Weiss placed her small and cold hand on his chest calming him down by reassuring him, "Cole it is okay. I am right here, shhh shhh shhh its okay, focus on me, let me hold you together, you don't need to be alone"
Cole took a long moment or so calming down to realize Weiss had lied down with him and pulled his head to her chest to let him be comforted him this time.
Weiss sent a message to her team that read: [Cole had another night terror, I'll be with him till morning]
Blake: [be careful]
Ruby: [don't stay up too long]
Yang: [be sure you two use protection ;-p]
Weiss scoffed at that last bit and shut her scroll and put it on cole's on the table next to his bed.
Cole begged for death, apologized for failing and when he felt her hold him he held her firm in his sleep. He wasn't a bad person but he was sure as hell in pain, pain he could have buried away to survive his trauma.
Taking a long breath in through his nose, Cole involuntarily smelled Weiss' perfume and mumbled "Thank you Weiss"
She thought nothing of it as she fell asleep soon after he finally had and dreamt of Jaques going to prison and Whitley being named heir to the SDC and opened a tailor shop for all remnant and gave the family equal shares of the SDC. All were smiles and fake congratulations as she found a well trimmed Cole wearing a black and orange suit, hair braided like a warrior's and beard brushed with oils to help it stay well groomed.
"care to dance Ms. Valentine?" he asked pulling her hand to his lips and kissed her knuckles.
"What wife would deny a man like you dear warrior of my heart" she replied giggling as he pulled her in.
Wasting little time, cole moved his free hand around Weiss' back to rest on her shoulder blade. Now that their hands were properly placed, custom and style dictated that there be as little room in between them as possible as they danced. They were a married couple, after all. There wouldn't be any shame in a simple little display of public dancing between them.
Cole felt a shiver run through his body as they began to move. Step. Side. Close. Step. Side. Close. The three steps repeated over and over again as they moved to the rhythm of the music. Weiss had more experience than most when it came to dancing, but she had never been this nervous before. The atmosphere she was in meant that all eyes would be on her and her husband cole. Any mistakes they made would be amplified for decades.
Cole smiled wide as he spin her and pulled her into his chest making her laugh as she hugged him.
"I wish this feeling never-"
BEEPBEEPBEEP*
BEEPBEEPBEEP*
BEEPBEEPBEEP*
BEEPBEEPBEEP*
Cole grumbled as he grabbed his scroll and shut off his alarm. As he sat up he realized he felt heavy where his left arm felt most numb. Looking down he saw weiss in her shorts and an oversized t-shirt with a chibi grimm on her chest. The good thing about his arm being numb, it was his left arm.
the problem, it was his left arm and it was still bruised to hell and when the feeling came back he'd be in agony when the tingling sensation came about.
Cole pulled his arm free and went right to his bathroom to change as best he could till he got to his shirt and was successful in wrapping his injuries up and got it in the sling but his shirt wasn't on so he zipped up his jacket and put his arm in the sling.
For once I got nothing to say other than I generally am trying to do better but I'm tired. I know this story is going to die fast but I'm doing this for the few whom read this and I appreciate your attention to this world I'm building.
Do yourselves a favor and enjoy your day and treat yourself when you want that snack or meal you crave.
Comment anything you think could be worked on at: H6pp1n355_in_misery.
Criticism is appreciated.
Pizza.