Coco wasn't one to feel jealous very often.
In fact, she hadn't felt truly jealous towards anyone about anything for a long while. She was hot, she had a kickass Semblance that turned her already impressive weapon into a weapon of mass Grimm destruction, and more self-confidence in her little toe than most people in their whole body.
Alongside… Another major trump card, one she kept safe for a rainy day.
So, feeling any amount of jealousy was a rare -and uncomfortable- feeling. So when team CFVY was relaxing in their dorms one day, she spoke up.
"Do you guys sometimes feel like team RWBY is getting a bit of preferential treatment?"
It was a terrible thing to say about their friends, even younger as they were, they'd fought together at the breach and Coco knew they had earned the respect they had gotten… But still.
She could tell that the question made Velvet slightly uncomfortable as well due to the subtle twitch in the Faunus girl's ear as she wrung her hands together, a tick that only someone as close to her as team CFVY would be.
Still, Velvet was as smart as she was absolutely, world-shakingly cute, so even with the uncomfortable topic, she gave Coco a small nod. "Professor Ozpin does seem to be very… Lenient with them. Much more than he ever was to anyone from our year."
Coco frowned. If even Velvet was willing to talk about it so quickly, as friendly with Ruby as she was, then it must be even clearer than even Coco had imagined.
"I believe I may know why."
It was honestly rare for Fox to include himself when Coco and Velvet were 'gossiping' so Coco latched onto it immediately, especially with the potential for answers.
She didn't need to hop up on Fox's bed and wrap an arm around his shoulder to hear someone who could talk directly into her head with his Telepathy semblance, but the floor was getting uncomfortable anyway.
"Oh? You've got a theory, Fox?"
The boy nodded as he ignored her sudden proximity, instead focusing as he cleaned the blades of his weapons with an oiled rag.
"Indeed. Ruby Rose is rather quick and distractible, and the majority of our time as teams together is spent in active combat situations or sparring, so I don't blame you for not noticing."
Fox moved his head in the way that usually signified that he was thinking of his next telepathic message. Most people would meet your eyes and hum for a moment while they thought, but… Well, there just wasn't really much point in doing that in his case.
"I first noticed it during the Breach. Do you remember when I told you about my Semblance, how I mentioned I can tell people apart by how their aura interacts with mine as it connects?"
Coco nodded. She vaguely remembered something like that, but it was almost two years ago now that they'd all done the "what's your name, Semblance, and your favourite colour" game as an icebreaker so she didn't recall it perfectly.
"Yeah, you said I had a weird extra buzz in my Aura or something, right? That's why I'm so easy for you to contact because it's distinctive."
Finished cleaning his weapons, Fox stood and hopped off the bed, nodding slowly as placed them in their protective case.
"Exactly. Well, during the Breach, I reached out to you with my Semblance and accidentally sent a message to Ruby Rose instead. She has the same buzz to her Aura."
Coco hummed at that, a hand coming to stroke her chin. There was a deep, grumbling humming noise from the last member of their team as Yatsuhashi vocalised for the first time since they returned to their room, turning away from his scroll, and the book he was reading on it.
"That is rather odd. Are you sure?"
Fox didn't look annoyed by the question, and instead just nodded, his head leaning slightly to the side as Velvet started making thinking noises back on the floor.
"I am sure. Their Auras have the same buzz to them, but I don't know why."
"I think I do!"
Velvet jumped to her feet and darted over, her scroll open and on the photos app, the one connected to her weapon/camera, a picture of Ruby grinning alongside Velvet in a selfie on the screen.
"Look at this, she's got the same colour eyes as you, Coco! Maybe Grey eyes like yours give your Aura that signature buzz?"
Coco inspected the picture and hummed, turning to the side of the room as she pondered that, even going so far as to take off her sunglasses -an occasion so rare even Yatsuhashi paused in his reading to take notice- and look into the full-body mirror she had set up on the very first day, having claimed a full corner of the room for herself and her ever-growing and ever-fashionable wardrobe.
"You know, maybe you're right? They are similar in colour. I'd definitely say it's more of a Silver, though…"
She couldn't really tell her team about the weird stuff her eyes did when she was little, how they destroyed a Grimm that attacked her and her father, and how he had immediately sworn her into secrecy about them 'for her own safety', before buying her a pair of sunglasses… A similar pair to the ones she wore now, actually.
But if Professor Ozpin was giving Ruby specifically preferential treatment because of her eye colour, and the ability it brought… Then why wasn't she getting the same treatment?
Ugh, this was why she didn't like feeling jealous, it was so uncool.
In the end, with her not sharing that she had dangerous anti-Grimm laser eyes, their discussion didn't really go anywhere productive, slowly devolving into a conversation about the best eye colour.
Coco was team silver, with Velvet backing her up, what an absolute cutie! Yatsuhashi said Brown, and Fox abstained from the discussion on colour entirely, refusing to argue about something he had no idea about. Which was fair, she guessed.
Still, she had just seen Yang and Ruby accidentally detonate one-quarter of the weapon maintenance workshop after Yang distracted Ruby as she worked on her Gauntlets, and only received a slap on the wrist.
Coco could remember when Yatsuhashi forgot his massive size and bumped into another student during their first year, accidentally breaking their weapon mid-repair, and how all of the team CVFY took the blame and got a few days of detention.
So it was frustrating to see team RWBY get off essentially scot-free! Sure, they were out of class times, so teachers were more relaxed. And sure, the students had only pushed so hard for their punishment because they were racist pricks and didn't like Velvet… But still!
Coco sighed dramatically as she leaned back in her chair, finishing her maintenance on Gianduja minutes beforehand. God, she was too stylish to be this jealous, it was a terrible colour that didn't go with anything.
Whatever. Whatever! So, Ruby was getting special treatment because Ozpin likely wanted to ingratiate her to him while he cultivated her skill alongside her silver eyes and their anti-Grimm properties while ignoring her own… But she wasn't jealous anymore, she'd decided.
Sure, she was imagining all the extra weekends she may have had in her first year to go clothes shopping if they had been giving even half the leniency on detentions that team RWBY did, but she totally wasn't jealous.
…
…
…
'Uuuuuuggggghhhhh. Fine, I guess just asking Ozpin outright can't hurt if he already knows what Silver Eyes can do…"
"Pardon, Miss Adel?"
Coco shuffled in her seat slightly as Professor Ozpin and Miss Goodwitch stared at her from over the other side of the desk. She was confident in herself, sure, but getting the 'teacher stare' from two of the most powerful people in Vale, both physically and politically, would be nerve-wracking for anyone!
"I asked why Team RWBY was getting more leniency than my team ever got when it comes to fights and pranks and shenanigans and whatever."
The look that Miss Goodwitch shot Professor Ozpin at her words was rather close to an 'I told you so' look, which caused Coco to snort before she could stop herself.
Professor Ozpin met Miss Goodwitch's glare with an uncharacteristically sheepish smile, his shoulders dropping subtly as the woman tapped her riding crop on her hip.
"Ahem, well, maybe I've been a bit too lenient. But I am curious as to why you believe that your team, of all, should be enjoying that leniency instead, or as well as."
Coco coughed into her hand, feeling a bit awkward. When he put it like that it did sound very arrogant and bratty of her, didn't it? But she had a good reason to be curious!
"Well, I mean, the leniency is 'cause of Ruby's eyes, right? Her Silver Eyes, I mean. That's why I'm curious about why team CVFY didn't get the same treatment."
Professor Ozpin and Miss Goodwitch both looked nonplussed at her sudden mention of the Silver Eyes, something that turned into outright shock and amazement as Coco reached up and slowly took her sunglasses off, her other hand moving her hair fully out of the way, revealing her own Silver Eyes to the two teachers.
"See?"
Neither of her teachers spoke for a moment, and Coco vaguely wondered if she'd broken them somehow. Had they really never-
BANG
Coco flinched as Professor Ozpin's forehead slammed into his desk, his mug of coffee jumping a centimetre into the air but somehow retaining all of the dark liquid. Miss Goodwitch, in an odd episode of shock, stared at her, her mouth agape.
Professor Ozpin raised his head and massaged his temples, taking a sip of his coffee and sighing so incredibly deeply that Coco wondered how he could exhale for so long.
"To answer your question, Miss Adel… Well… The answer is that I didn't know you had Silver Eyes."
Coco blinked. Seriously? They just hadn't known? "Huh? How… How did you not know?"
Professor Ozpin nodded, even as Miss Goodwitch stared straight ahead in an odd stage of shock.
"I have literally never seen your eyes before, Miss Adel. I don't believe any teacher has, because they are tasked to mention any Silver Eyes they spot to me as soon as they can."
…
…
…
Coco's own forehead hit Professor Ozpin's desk as she internally lamented over all the weekend detentions she'd suffered through, all because she kept wearing her sunglasses like her dad taught her, even while she was getting literal combat training, in one of the most secure anti-Grimm schools on the planet.
But, the Silver -haha- lining was that, at least Professor Ozpin and the teachers knew about her now! "Does this mean CVFY gets special leniency now, too?"
An amused smirk appeared on the older man's face. "… Perhaps."
Only to immediately be removed by a riding crop to the back of the head and an irate glare from Miss Goodwitch.
"Brothers damnit Ozpin… We talked about this! We had an intervention and everything!"
"Perhaps, Miss Adel. We may talk about it later when we discuss what we do about you and Ruby's eyes."
Coco would take a 'perhaps' from the man on that, especially with the downright livid glare coming both of their ways from Goodwitch.
Coco would admit to sweating slightly under the scary woman's glare and took the dismissal for what it was, darting out of the room with a smile on her face.
She kept her glasses off for the moment, however, as she considered what to do about Ruby. Maybe she could give her a visit, and see if she needed any help using her ability. She hadn't heard of Ruby blasting and Grimm with laser eyes yet through the rumour mill.
Yea, she should probably give the girl a visit at least, after she'd finally, at long last, told her team about her eyes.
'Sorry Dad, but I've realised that the Grimm are gonna come after me either way! Might as well get practice with my Grimm targeting death beams!'
"I'm sorry, you're saying my eyes can do WHAT?!"
Coco sighed at the ecstatic -and completely oblivious- look in Ruby's eyes. So excited already, and she didn't even really know what her eyes did other than kill Grimm, or why Silver Eyes were special… Oh, the girl was gone.
The trail of rose petals from the girl's Semblance exited the window of her dorm and headed in the direction of the Emerald Forest. Was she… Going to try and use the eyes the instant after learning about them?
Brothers above…She was gonna have her work cut out for her, wasn't she?