A/N: This chapter is mirrored from my old account: SoloRogueStudios
Wow, has it been THAT long? Well I'm glad to be back. Sorry for the long wait, this chapter was supposed to be completed on Valentine's Day...oh yeah, happy belated Valentine's Day. Instead, I ended up starting this on V-Day, and then school pretty much destroyed any time I had to work on this. Well the important thing is that Chapter 3 is finally here. I hope you all enjoy it.
Chapter 3: Valentine's Day
Glynda Goodwitch stood outside of her office with an interesting dilemma. The morning had started off normally enough, she had awoken Ozpin and they had done the morning rounds together. It had been like any other day until Ozpin placed a heart-shaped box of chocolates in her hand before heading up to his office. She had looked at the box confusedly before realizing its significance, it was Valentine's Day. That alone wouldn't be much of an issue; however, upon arriving she found another, significantly larger box of chocolates waiting outside her door. The fact that she had never received such a thing any other year, along with all of the visitors for the Vytal Festival, could only mean one thing.
"Ironwood."
Glynda unlocked her office and brought the box inside, noticing how it was the length of her forearm.
"Someone's overcompensating!"
Knowing she would most likely have to deal with the General later that day, Glynda started to mentally prepare herself as she got to work.
Meanwhile, in the dining hall, the students were starting their own day with breakfast. Team RWBY, Team JNPR, and Team SSSN sat together, chatting as they ate. Sage and Scarlet were just happy to be able to sit down with the group, they were usually too busy settling in to be able to do so. Weiss and Neptune were feeding each other pieces of fruit, much to Ruby's dismay as she was sitting right next to them. She managed somewhat ignore it by being in a contest with Nora to see how many syrup-drenched pancakes they could eat. Nora was also sitting just a little bit closer to Ren than usual, a fact that didn't go unnoticed. Yang considered teasing the ginger-haired girl about it but figured her green-clad partner would just calmly diffuse the situation. Yang instead decided to turn her attention to the pair next to her.
"So Sun, you and Blake been up to any monkey business lately?"
Sun practically choked as everyone else groaned at Yang's poor attempt at humor.
Blake rolled her eyes and retorted, "Yang, I know you're jealous of both of us but do you really need to be so childish?"
"Hah, why would I be jealous?
"Please, Sun has his abs, and as for me; well, we all know you have a thing for cat ears."
Yang blushed slightly, the rest of the table laughing at the rare sight of the boisterous blonde getting flustered. Knowing that she would get nowhere with the Faunus couple, she turned her attention to Jaune and Pyrrha instead.
"Easy targets." she thought. "So Vomit-Boy, how far have you and P-Money gone so far?"
The duo's faces flushed as they stammered to find a response.
"Aww c'mon," Yang continued, "you've been together for what, like a month now? Surely you wouldn't mind filling us in on all the juicy details."
"Y-Yang, enough." said Pyrrha, regaining her composure. "Jaune and I aren't doing anything inappropriate like that."
Jaune managed to calm himself down shortly after. "Y-yeah, n-nothing inappropriate, no juicy details; I mean seriously, Pyrrha and I haven't even kissed yet so-"
The whole table fell silent and stared blankly at Jaune as he slowly turned beet-red again.
"I-I'm just gonna…go." he said as he got up and left.
"Wait Jaune, I didn't…I'm sorry." Yang called after him. Pyrrha got up to follow. "Pyrrha I-"
"I know, you were just joking around. I'll let him know you're sorry." she said before heading for the door.
Yang laid her arms on the table and rested her face in them. "What have I done?"
"If you feel like tormenting people over their relationships then why don't you tell us what your Valentine's plans are?" asked an irate Weiss from across the table.
"What's there to tell, I got about a million cards and letters in my locker this morning; not surprising, all things considered." she said, gesturing to the ample cleavage revealed by her light-brown jacket. "I suppose I'll have to settle for going out with one of them tonight."
Weiss rolled her eyes. "I've got my own fair share of pointless love notes, Neptune and I are going to destroy them later."
"Because that sounds like a wonderful bonding experience." said Blake, her voice laced with sarcasm.
"Oh you'd be surprised how much fun destroying junk mail is." chimed Neptune.
Meanwhile, Pyrrha caught up to Jaune outside of the dining hall.
"Jaune, wait up."
Jaune turned to his girlfriend. "Oh, hey Pyrrha."
"Look, don't get so down, Yang said she was sorry."
"I know, she was just joking. It's not what she said, it's what I said."
"What do you mean?"
"I mean we've been together for almost a month and a half now and I still haven't even kissed you"
Pyrrha looked at him with worry. "Jaune, it's okay."
"No, it's not okay. I just, I just want our first kiss to be perfect Pyrrha."
Pyrrha put a hand on his shoulder. "And I'm sure that when it happens, it will be; besides, it's Valentine's Day. What better day for a first kiss?"
Jaune looked up to see Pyrrha's reassuring smile.
She gave her boyfriend a light slap on the back. "Now come on, we don't want to be late for Doctor Oobleck's class."
Professor Ozpin was in a good mood, he was in a very good mood. As luck would have it, powering through enormous amounts of extra paperwork for days on end had put the Beacon Headmaster weeks ahead of schedule. He had filled out a few new documents and was now free for the rest of the day. With that in mind, he grabbed his cane and coffee mug and left his office to embark on one of his fabled walks around campus.
Ozpin decided to stop by Glynda's office on his way out but noticed she wasn't there.
"Probably out responding to some catastrophe or another around campus."
Something caught his eye as he peered through the window, a rather large heart-shaped box of chocolates. It was far more extravagant than the simple one he had gotten for her.
"Why do I get the feeling I'll be hearing a nice long rant later today?"
With nothing else to do there, Ozpin continued his walk. He decided to head towards the lecture halls to see if he could sit in on a morning class.
"Bartholomew gives a rather interesting lecture on Valentine's Day."
His mind now made up, Ozpin made his way to Doctor Oobleck's classroom, arriving just as the green-haired man was beginning his lesson.
"Settle down now class so that we may begin." said Oobleck as he noticed the Headmaster's presence. "Ah, and I see we have a special guest today."
All of the students turned their heads towards the back of the room, some of them visibly tensing upon seeing the man in charge of the whole school.
"Please, don't mind me, I'm just sitting in on this lecture like the rest of you."
Oobleck nodded and continued at his usual lightning pace. "Now, as you all know, today is Valentine's Day, a day celebrated throughout Remnant as a time of romance and companionship. Can anyone give me an example of this, what is it we typically do on this day? Pyrrha?"
"Spend time with the person who means the most to you."
"Weiss?"
"Flatter the object of your affection with petty gifts like flowers and chocolate."
"Yang?"
"Stay home with each other and have tons of se-"
"Moving on. These are all things that we do on Valentine's Day, but who can tell me why we do them? What is the historical reason for this holiday's existence and romantic focus?"
The Hunters-in-training all looked to one another, shaking their heads and shrugging their shoulders in confusion. All were lost in thought except for Ruby and Yang, the former of which was now raising her hand.
"Ruby, do you have the answer?"
"It's because of the hero, Saint Valentine."
Many of the students furrowed their brows, not knowing what she was talking about; however, Ozpin and Yang were smiling. The story of Saint Valentine was among the many that Yang had read to her sister before bed when they were younger.
Doctor Oobleck looked up with a smile of his own. "That is correct."
Oobleck had gained a great respect for Ruby following their mission to Mountain Glenn a couple of months prior. He had seen first-hand that she was both a capable leader and a young woman who knew exactly what being a Huntress was all about.
"Valentine Rosewood, better known as Saint Valentine, was a self-made Huntsman who lived in a small village on the outskirts of the Kingdom of Vale." Oobleck continued. "He was known for using a longbow that fired arrows shining with brilliant light, believed to be his Semblance which possessed purifying attributes. Eventually, his legend had spread to the Kingdom and the village was put under the protection of Vale in exchange for Valentine's service. Valentine was easily the most talented Huntsman of his time, slaying many dangerous Grimm, and when the village was expanded into a large town, it was named Rosewood in his honor."
Weiss was now raising her hand. "Excuse me Pro-, Doctor, but what does this have to do with Valentine's Day?"
"Nothing."
"Weiss quirked her eyebrow. "Then wha-"
"Apart from his skill as a Huntsman Saint Valentine was known for one more thing, his undying love for the village chief's daughter, Lady Rosa. No one today is certain of the details of their romance, but what is known is that their love was celebrated in the village long before it was assimilated by Vale. Valentine's Day is said to be the date of their anniversary, recognized as a national holiday after his defeat of a Goliath that threatened to break down the walls of the Kingdom. The holiday was then adopted by the other Kingdoms over time as a result of cultural diffusion. Any questions?"
Many of the students stared blankly, having missed about half of the Professor's rant. Ruby's eyes were practically bulging with enthusiasm, she had not heard the part where Saint Valentine killed a Goliath before. Ozpin simply smiled at the recounting of one of his favorite pieces of history.
A few students asked questions that Oobleck hastily answered until the bell rang. Ozpin got up to follow the students filing out of the room until he noticed a downtrodden-looking Jaune lagging behind.
"Something troubling you, Mr. Arc?"
Jaune practically jumped out of his own skin. "Oh, uh…hello, Professor Ozpin. No, no, I'm alright, really."
Ozpin frowned slightly. "Well, okay. Just remember that you can always come to me if you need anything."
With that, the two parted ways.
Professor Goodwitch was in a bad mood, she was in a very bad mood. Her day had practically just started and she was already darting around campus dealing with the myriad problems that had sprung up like weeds. Complaints about a lack of hot water in the showers, squabbles between teammates in the dorms, pranks being pulled around campus, and a group of scorned girls setting up a love-note bonfire were all problems she had had to deal with. She rubbed her temples, exhausted, as she returned to her office. She had to go over her lesson plan for the day but quickly found herself distracted by the large pink heart on her desk.
"Just when I had almost forgotten about it."
She slumped in her chair, wishing General Ironwood would just show up so that she could get the inevitable argument over with.
"Ozpin usually goes for walks to clear his head. Got some time before my first class, maybe I should give it a try."
Goodwitch grabbed her scroll and left, looking through her lesson plan as she walked. She left Beacon Tower, almost running into Sun and Neptune on her way out, and started down the path through the campus gardens.
"Dude, are you thinking what I'm thinking?" asked Neptune.
"That you're crazy and whatever it is is probably a bad idea?"
"We should totally snoop around in Goodwitch's office while she's not there, maybe find some evidence."
"Yep, thought so, you're crazy."
"C'mon Sun, this'll be great, she's probably heading to class and won't be coming back for a while anyway."
"How would you know?"
Neptune held up a bronze badge. "Dude, we were junior detectives."
Sun pouted. "Alright fine." He sighed. "I'm team leader, how do I let you talk me into this stuff?"
"Cause it's tons of fun?" Neptune said with a thumbs up.
The two transfer students made their way up to Goodwitch's office. Neptune took a look through the window in the door.
"Whoa Dude, there's this huge heart-shaped chocolate box in there. How much you wanna bet it's from Ozpin?"
"We don't know that, could be a secret admirer. I mean she is pretty much…y'know."
"Hot?"
"Yeah that."
"Well, let's find out who it's from then." Neptune started fiddling with the lock.
"Don't you think you should let me do that; I'm the one who's good at stealing stuff y'know, breaking and entering kinda comes with the territory."
"Oh…right." Neptune said as he moved over.
"Just keep watch alright."
"Got it."
Sun started picking the lock, glancing through the window occasionally out of curiosity. "Hey man, I think I see another chocolate box on her desk."
Neptune stole a quick look." Oh yeah you're right, that one's a lot smaller."
"You thinking what I'm thinking."
"Dick measuring contest?"
"Yep."
Sun continued to work the lock while Neptune kept watch, neither one of them aware of the silver-haired man approached from Neptune's side of the hall.
"What do you two think you're doing?"
Neptune whirled around and Sun practically jumped up to the ceiling. The Headmaster of Beacon stood before them with a hard look on his face.
"Professor Ozpin! We-we-we-we, we were trying to see if we could talk to Professor Goodwitch…about something, right Sun?"
"R-right, a-and I looked, through the window…she's not in there."
"Right…not in her office…sooo, we should go or, we'll be late, yeah."
The transfer students shuffled away from the office, practically shaking in their proverbial boots. Ozpin's stern expression turned into a mischievous smirk when they had turned away.
"By the way, I don't think those chocolate boxes have names on them."
Sun and Neptune froze, their faces turning white as a sheet. Ozpin merely chuckled and moved on. The two turned to each other on the edge of tears once the Headmaster had gone.
"How did he do that?" asked Sun.
"I dunno man but that was scary."
"Seriously, what is with that guy?"
"I'm starting to think he just loves messing with peoples' heads for his own amusement."
With nothing else to do, Sun and Neptune left Beacon Tower and headed to their next class.
Meanwhile, Professor Goodwitch's day had taken a turn for the better. The walk she took that morning really helped clear her head of any stressful thoughts.
"And all these years I thought he just did it to slack off. I'm doing this more often."
Her classes went by quickly. She made note of which students had made progress and which ones still needed improvement. The morning lessons were fairly uneventful, although Goodwitch would have preferred it if the upper-class boys spent more time sparring and less time trying, and failing, to hit on Coco during class. Nonetheless, she managed to survive until lunch.
She sat at a secluded table in the dining hall; she made a point to eat lunch here more often after the massive food fight that teams RWBY and JNPR had a few months ago. She sat quietly and ate, reading an e-book on her scroll while never ceasing to watch the students like a hawk.
"Mind if I join you?"
Goodwitch looked up to find Ozpin, lunch in hand, standing next to her table. "I'm surprised you're out of your office so early." she said as he sat down.
"Well, as it turns out, there are some benefits to having you bury my desk in paperwork for a month."
"Oh, maybe I should do it more often."
Ozpin and Glynda laughed together and continued talking. Halfway across the dining hall, teams RWBY, JNPR, and SSSN sat together and chatted away.
"Look at those two." said Neptune. "I'm telling you something's up between them."
"Oh, are you getting a bit delusional sweetie?" said Weiss, causing some at the table to cringe slightly.
"I have to agree with him, I was at Goodwitch's office too, definitely some Valentine's competition kinda stuff going on." added Sun.
"You broke into Goodwitch's office?" Blake chastised.
"W-well, yes, uh no, almost."
Blake's eyes narrowed as Ruby looked between them all, curious yet confused. "What are you all talking about?"
Scarlet answered, "Neptune's got this crazy idea that your Headmaster and his assistant are together, like, together together. He won't stop until he proves it."
"Betcha they fuck in the office when no one's around." said Yang suddenly.
Ruby, Jaune, and Pyrrha all sputtered. "YANG!" they all shouted at once.
"What, I'm just sayin'."
"That's just scandalous Yang." said Nora. "Ooh, how often do you think she puts that riding crop to use?"
"Nora," said Ren, "don't encourage her."
"So Rubes, whaddya say, wanna help us out?" asked Neptune.
"Well, I guess I wouldn't mind, I mean Professor Ozpin and Professor Goodwitch do spend a lot of time together, and besides this actually sounds pretty fun." she answered quickly.
Sun and Neptune gave each other a thumbs up as Sage sighed and turned to the rest of Team RWBY. "Weiss, Blake," he said, "you two are going out to dinner with them later right?" The girls nodded. "Good, please keep them out of trouble."
The rest of lunch passed and eventually everyone found themselves in Professor Goodwitch's combat class. Professor Ozpin had returned to his office to look over some urgent new reports, something about a group of students setting off confetti bombs from the top of the CCT.
Goodwitch had set up 4v4 team battles today. Team SSSN had gone up against Team CRDL who actually managed to put up a decent fight. The bullies seemed to have finally learned their lesson and had been improving dramatically.
"And all it took was a month of detention." Goodwitch thought.
Currently, Team RWBY was squaring off against Team JNPR in what had quickly turned into a stalemate. Team RWBY was pressing a hard offensive, kept at a distance only by Nora's grenades, while Team JNPR put up a seemingly invincible defense thanks to Jaune and Pyrrha. On RWBY's side, the team was starting to tire out.
"We need to start making progress, Bumblebee." called Ruby, causing Blake and Yang to rush forward.
On JNPR's side, a rush was just what Jaune was waiting for. "Now!"
Pyrrha switched her sword, Miló, into rifle mode and began firing over her shield. Nora accompanied her with grenades as they both fired on Yang and Blake. Meanwhile, Ren rushed out and used his aura-enhanced martial arts to quickly disable them in all the confusion. Jaune, Pyrrha, and Nora moved up to Ren's position when he was done, it was now four against two.
"Weiss, Flash Freeze." called Ruby.
Weiss nodded and activated her 'Time-Dilation' Glyph, a glowing yellow clock formed at her feet and began to turn faster and faster. When it was finished Weiss leaped into the air, rebounded off a glyph, and slammed right into the middle of Team JNPR in an icy explosion. Ruby vanished into a cloud of rose petals as she activated her Speed Semblance. Weiss was on Ren like a blizzard of slashes and managed to take him down before Nora clocked her on the back of the head with Magnhild, now in hammer mode.
Ruby appeared behind Nora and took her out with a quick swing of her scythe before vanishing again. She reappeared behind Jaune and Pyrrha and would have ended the match if Pyrrha hadn't forced them to the floor with her Polarity. She used her magnetic Semblance once more to flip them on their backs to defend against Ruby's follow-up attacks. Ruby kept swinging, even as Jaune and Pyrrha got back on their feet, but their defense was ironclad. Ruby swung wide, only for Pyrrha to catch Crescent Rose on her shield. Jaune rushed inside the scythe's effective range and slashed at Ruby, Pyrrha following suit shortly afterward.
"And that's the match." came the voice of Professor Goodwitch as she stepped onstage and the main lights came back on. "Ruby, Weiss, you two should have stuck together rather than splitting up towards the end. Excellent teamwork from all of you."
The two teams made their way back to their seats, Ruby commenting on their loss. "I just couldn't split up Jaune and Pyrrha no matter how hard I tried."
"Oh c'mon sis, you can't split up the Boy Blunder and Pumpkin Cereal, they're too cute together." said Yang.
Jaune and Pyrrha blushed as they all sat down next to Team SSSN.
"Hey Rubes," said Neptune, "sooo, Sun and I have a date to get ready for after class sooo, could you take care of that Goodwitch thing for us."
"Sure…wait, date, not dates, what're you going together?"
"Yeah, it's a double-date; Sun's idea, said it would be a good 'bonding experience' for our girlfriends."
Ruby stifled a laugh. "No offense but that sounds like a terrible idea."
"Yeah that's what I told him."
"Well good luck with that."
Class ended and the students crowded out the door, Jaune practically sprinting out of the room and Ruby moving just as fast towards Professor Goodwitch. Pyrrha began to pull away from Ren and Nora as they got to the door.
"You two go on ahead, I have something I'd like to discuss with the Professor."
Professor Goodwitch was making some last additions to her notes when she saw Ruby walking up to her.
"Something I can help you with, Ms. Rose?"
"Actually Professor Goodwitch there's just something I'm curious about."
Goodwitch raised an eyebrow, curious herself as to what the red-cloaked girl could want to know.
"See, I was wondering since it's Valentine's Day and all, and I always see you and Professor Ozpin together, I mean you do spend a lot of time together, anyway I was just wondering if you two were…y'know?"
Goodwitch stared at the girl for a few seconds before her words clicked. A furious blush spread from cheek to cheek before she sputtered out a response. "I-I-I, d-detention, before dinner, now leave, right now, and don't ever ask me personal questions like that again."
Ruby took off like a shot and blazed past Pyrrha, almost knocking her down in the process.
"What was that all about?" Pyrrha thought as she approached her teacher. "Excuse me Professor."
"Ah, Miss Nikos, someone a little more sensible, is there something I can help you with?"
"I actually had some questions about our performance today."
"Well, I really need to be getting back, can we talk in my office?"
"Of course, this was my last class today."
Ten minutes later, the pair was sitting down in Goodwitch's office. The Professor shuffled some papers around and turned her attention to her scarlet-haired student. Pyrrha took note of the Valentine's novelties on her desk.
"I didn't know you had some secret admirers Professor." she said, trying to make conversation.
Goodwitch quickly moved the chocolate boxes out of view. "Pay no mind to those. Now, you had some questions for me?"
Pyrrha nodded. "Yes, I was wondering what you think about Jaune's performance recently."
Goodwitch raised an eyebrow. "Mr. Arc? Well, if I'm being honest, he's shown more improvement than any student I've ever had."
Pyrrha beamed upon hearing this.
"No doubt those late night training sessions had a lot to do with it. You should be proud." continued Goodwitch.
"Thank you Professor, I am."
"And, if I may say so, you're relationship likely played a role as well."
Pyrrha blushed. "O-our relationship? We, haven't really been together that long."
"Nonsense, it's likely been building since day one as far as I can tell."
"I mean…we've been partners but-"
"Exactly, two people fighting and living together for so long, it's bound to become something more than a partnership."
Now Pyrrha was intrigued. "Do teammates usually end up in romantic relationships?"
"I wouldn't say it's a regular occurrence but it happens more often than you might think."
Pyrrha thought for a moment before asking her next question. "Do they ever become something…more? W-what I mean to say is…do many students end up…getting married or…having children?" Pyrrha was blushing furiously at this point.
Professor Goodwitch found herself raising both of her eyebrows now. "Not very often, but it does happen."
Pyrrha was smiling even brighter now.
"But…I would recommend retiring before having kids. The life of a Huntress is no life for a mother. Your friend Miss Rose could tell you that much."
The Professor sounded like she was speaking about something much more personal, but Pyrrha didn't press the issue.
"Thank you again for taking the time to see me Professor."
"Of course, enjoy the rest of your day."
Meanwhile, at the top Beacon Tower, Jaune Arc stood nervously outside the Headmaster's office.
"What am I even doing here?" he thought. "Better get this over with."
Jaune pressed the button on the keypad to page the Headmaster's desk.
"Come in." he heard Ozpin say through the intercom.
Jaune walked through the door and stopped in front of the clockwork desk. Ozpin looked up from the papers he was working on.
"Mr. Arc, is there something I can help you with?"
Jaune hung his head nervously. "Well, you said I should see you if I ever needed anything, and I mean you're usually giving Ruby advice, and well-"
"Jaune, just tell me what's on your mind."
Jaune swallowed the lump in his throat. "It's…Pyrrha."
"Your partner, last I saw you two were getting along famously."
"It's not about us getting along, it's…I, um, I don't suppose your boundless wisdom includes dating advice?"
Initially, Ozpin was perplexed. Here stood a student asking the much older man for dating advice. The very idea just got sillier and sillier the more he thought about it. Eventually, the Professor couldn't help but struggle to contain his laughter.
Jaune sighed as he hung his head again, this time in shame. "Knew this was a bad idea."
"Very well then," said Ozpin as his laughter died down, "but I'll need a little background if I'm going to help you."
Jaune's head snapped up, he was dumbfounded. "W-what?"
"I said I would help you, now tell me everything I might need to know."
Jaune couldn't believe his ears, the Headmaster actually agreed to help him. He couldn't tell if it was because Ozpin was the coolest headmaster ever or if he just wanted to amuse himself, probably both; but, at this point he didn't care, he would take all the help he could get. Jaune recounted the details of his partnership and subsequent relationship with Pyrrha, conveniently leaving out the part about his forged transcripts and being blackmailed by Cardin. Ozpin listened with an amused smile until he finished.
"And, that's about it. So, whaddya think?"
Ozpin thought for a moment. "Well, the way I see it, you still owe her a proper dance don't you?" he said with a sly smile.
"W-well, I guess so. But how am I supposed to set up a romantic dance on such short notice?"
"You have a nice rooftop don't you?"
"Well yeah, but I would need decorations and things."
"I need to go into town to get some things of my own, I wouldn't mind making a few extra stops."
For the first time in this whole visit, Jaune broke into a smile. "Thanks Professor Ozpin. Y'know, you're pretty awesome."
"I try."
Jaune set off to his dorm to grab his music player and some portable speakers. Ozpin, in the meantime, headed to the air-docks to get a ride into town. He stopped on the way as he spotted Yang sitting on a bench. She was sulking, a very un-Yang-like thing to do.
"Feeling a little down today, Miss Xiao Long?" he asked as he approached the bench.
"Oh, hey Oz-man."
Ozpin quirked an eyebrow but otherwise ignored the informal address. "Not a fan of Valentine's Day?"
Yang sighed. "Ruby thinks you give good advice, maybe you can help me out. Every Valentine's Day I get about two-dozen letters from guys asking me out, every Valentine's Day I pick one of them to go out with, and every Valentine's Day I go home disappointed by the fact that it's just another shallow guy thinking he'll get lucky. What do I do?"
"Life is all about taking risks that we may not always be rewarded for. I would try to make what seems to be the best decision, and if it doesn't work out, try to make the most of a risk gone wrong. Everyone could use a light evening workout and if you could save Professor Goodwitch the trouble of disciplining someone, I think she would appreciate it." he said, adding a wink to the last part. "Most importantly, have fun."
Yang had been listening intently and just now registered what he had told her. "Thanks Professor, I uh, think I left my gauntlets in my room." she said as she walked off.
Ozpin couldn't help but smile knowing that Yang would end up enjoying her night and that some troublemaking student would probably be taught a lesson they won't soon forget. His advice now given to the boisterous blonde, the Headmaster continued towards the air-dock.
Professor Goodwitch was just finishing up the last of her work for the day. Thoughts of rest and relaxation filled her mind. Ozpin was probably going to do something special for Valentine's so she had that to look forward to as well. The last document was filed away when she heard a knock on her door.
"Come in."
The door opened and Ruby Rose walked in nervously.
"Ruby, what can I do for you?"
"Well, um, you gave me detention."
Goodwitch stared blankly for a few seconds. "Oh, that's right."
The Professor measured her options. On one hand, she had in fact given Ruby detention. On the other hand, it was a completely hair-trigger response to a minor personal slight. Beyond that, she also just finished up for the day and really didn't want to deal with any additional work.
"I may have…overreacted earlier, you don't really need to serve detention today."
Ruby perked up immediately. "Oh, really!? Thank you, thank you, thank you! I can't believe you actually let me go, thank you so much Prof-"
"Ruby." said Goodwitch, sternly.
"Yes, Professor." she responded, nervously.
"You're dismissed."
"Okay."
Goodwitch couldn't help but smile as the red-cloaked girl left the room. "She's a good kid, no harm in letting her go just this once."
With nothing left to do in her office, Professor Goodwitch gathered her things and cleared off her desk, throwing out the large heart-shaped box almost as an afterthought. She locked her door on her way out but only managed to make it a few steps down the hall before she heard a familiar voice call out to her.
"Hello Glynda."
Goodwitch whirled around to find James Ironwood walking up behind her.
"I hope you've been enjoying your Valentine's Day, I for one-" *crack*
Ironwood's introduction was cut off by the sting of a riding crop across his cheek.
"How dare you, how dare you step foot on Academy grounds!"
Ironwood ran a hand over his face, his good hand. "Now Glynda, I understand you're probably angry-"
"Angry!? I'm pissed!"
"Glynda look-"
"Don't use my given name like we're friends, you've lost that privilege!"
"Professor Goodwitch, then." he said, more sternly. "What do you want me to do, apologize? I did what I thought was best."
"Consigning one of the most accomplished Huntsmen in the world, one of your oldest friends, to government scrutiny or worse is what you call doing what's best!?"
"One of the greatest Huntsmen, who just lets a terrorist organization run rampant without doing anything about it!?"
"Oh, and I suppose your great plan would be to send a whole army in and cause an international incident!"
"At least that wouldn't mean sitting back and losing the trust of the people!"
"Says the man who refuses to even trust his friends and has lost their trust in turn! I told you, it's time you stopped talking about trust and started actually showing it!"
"So what, I'm untrustworthy, is that what you're saying!?"
"I'm saying you're a short-sighted, self-centered imbecile!"
"And you are blindly following an old flame, a washed up war hero who may have changed the world, but doesn't seem to care about anyone but himself!"
"Is that what this is about!? How mature of you James, really!"
"Am I wrong!?"
Goodwitch's eyes narrowed and her voice dropped. "Yes, you are. Now, get away from me and off school grounds."
Ironwood turned to leave. "You know, I really hoped we could start over Glynda."
"You thought wrong, General Ironwood."
"Yes, I suppose I did, Professor Goodwitch."
Ironwood left the hall, intent on returning to his airship and leaving the grounds as demanded. Professor Goodwitch stood in the hallway, still fuming.
"I need to let off some steam."
Professor Ozpin returned from Vale a little after dinner time with several cardboard boxes in tow. He had the receiving staff take the larger box to his office while he carried the smaller one by hand towards the dorms. On his way, he found Yang heading the same way with a spring in her step.
"And how was your night, Miss Xiao Long?"
"It was…smashing." replied the blonde with a sheepish smile.
Ozpin chuckled a little before the two were joined by a clearly distressed Pyrrha Nikos.
"Excuse me Professor, have you seen Jaune anywhere? He wasn't at dinner and I'm starting to get worried, I haven't seen him since our last class today."
"I have no idea where he could be." said Ozpin with a knowing smile. "I'm a bit busy at the moment, perhaps Miss Xiao Long can help you find him." he said, giving Yang a sly wink.
The boisterous brawler caught on immediately and smiled deviously in her mind. She stepped forward and placed a 'concerned' hand on Pyrrha's shoulder.
"Yeah, c'mon Pyrrha, I'll help you find your dumb boyfriend."
"Thank you Yang. Hey!"
The two girls walked off, away from the dorms, leaving Ozpin clear to proceed. If Jaune was planning something that involved Pyrrha, Yang had a pretty good idea where it would be and would do her best to distract the red-haired warrior.
Ozpin went on ahead to the roof of the dorm where Jaune, Ren, and Nora were setting up a candle-lit dinner; Nora was ogling the food and playing with a lighter. Jaune looked up and saw the older man exit the stairwell.
"Professor, I got some extension cords from the AV room." he said, motioning to the orange wheels in the corner. "I figured we'd need them."
"Good work." said Ozpin as he opened the box he had brought with him.
Jaune and the Professor emptied the box of several dozen feet of multi-colored lights. They strung the lights up on the wall by the door and the various pipes around them. Ren was setting up Jaune's music player in the corner; he had picked out some soft music for the dinner and a variety of tracks for the inevitable dance afterwards. When they had finished, they took a step back and admired their work.
"It's …perfect." said Jaune.
"An exceptional job." remarked Ren.
"They're going to have the best date EVER!" exclaimed Nora.
Ozpin simply chuckled at the teammates' antics.
Ren and Nora left shortly after to find Pyrrha. Jaune looked at Ozpin with a newfound sense of respect and admiration.
"Thank you, Professor. I don't know what I would've done without your help."
"Nonsense, all I did was steer you in the right direction."
"Well, thanks again."
Ozpin smiled and nodded. "Well, I should get going before Miss Nikos arrives, I still have other things I have to attend to. Have a good evening, Mr. Arc."
"You too, Professor." replied Jaune as the Headmaster left the rooftop.
Glynda Goodwitch stood in her bathroom, toweling her hair dry after a brief shower. After her encounter with Ironwood, she decided to blow off steam by spending about an hour in the training center with the bots turned up to the highest level. Beacon's training drones were designed by the Atlesian military, making their brutal destruction that much more cathartic.
Satisfied with her hair, the Professor decided to go up to the Headmaster's office and wait for him. Ozpin had sent her a message earlier that he was going into town for some errand and it was just about time for him to get back.
Glynda only had to wait a few minutes before Ozpin came through the doors with two lightly steaming plates of food.
"Ah, Glynda, I guess my timing couldn't be better."
In that moment, he noticed how different she looked from the usual. Her hair was down instead of in its typical bun and she wore a more casual lavender blouse. The outfit was rounded out by a business skirt and pantyhose; some things never seem to change.
"Well you look nice."
Glynda nodded as Ozpin set the food down on the desk. He had prepared a delicious looking chicken, broccoli, and rigatoni topped with a thick alfredo sauce. Figuring he would make them dinner, Glynda had brought a bottle of wine from their private collection.
They ate their meal quietly, enjoying each other's company and the occasional banter. The peace was finally broken when Glynda brought up the subject that had been gnawing at the back of her mind.
"Ironwood came to see me today."
Ozpin raised his eyebrows at the sudden mention of the General. "Can't say I'm surprised. How did it go?"
Glynda looked down. "It's over Ozpin, he's a lost cause. We can't count on his support anymore."
"I see. Well, we'll figure it out together."
Glynda nodded. "I gave him quite the earful, and his face will probably be red for a week." she said with a laugh.
Ozpin smiled as he walked around his desk and placed his hands on her shoulders. Glynda sighed in relief as the stresses of earlier that day finally left her. They stayed like that for a while before she brought up another thing that had been bothering her.
"By the way, what is that?" she asked, gesturing to the large box off to the side. She hadn't seen it last time she was in the office and assumed it was brought up while she was in the shower.
"Oh that, that's your other present for today."
Glynda raised an eyebrow. This was always how Valentine's Day played out for them. Ozpin would get her a chocolate box, make her dinner, and get some kind of insane gift the likes of which only he would think of. Never before had he gotten such a large box, however.
"Would you like to open it?" he asked, a playful tone in his voice.
Glynda nodded and approached the cardboard container. With a wave of her hand the tape holding the box together peeled back, allowing it to fall open. What Glynda saw caused her to raise her eyebrows the highest they'd been all day.
Inside the box was an absolutely massive stuffed panda which promptly started to fall towards the blonde-haired professor. She caught the stuffed animal to keep it off of her. Ozpin couldn't help but laugh at the sight.
Glynda shot him a glare. "You got me a giant panda? You're crazy."
"I thought you'd like it. Aren't pandas your favorite animal?"
"…yes."
Ozpin looked on, amused as she dragged the panda across the office towards the elevator.
"Well, this has been quite an eventful day. Care to help me find a place for this?"
"Yes, of course. Maybe then we can finally get some rest."
Glynda flashed a smirk. "Oh, I never said anything about letting you sleep tonight." she said as the elevator doors closed.
Ozpin could only smirk in turn as he began to clean off his desk. He reached under the edge and pulled out a small spyglass, a useful tool for keeping a hawk's eye on the campus. He looked out towards the student dorms just in time to notice a certain couple share their first kiss on the moonlit rooftop. Happy that his help yielded a positive outcome, he put the scope back under the desk.
"An eventful day, huh? For the first time in quite a while, that's not such a bad thing."
He stepped into the elevator and closed the doors, curious about the sight that would greet him when he got off.
A/N: This chapter actually ended up being quite a bit longer than I originally intended. Please review it, send me feedback, etc. Let me know what you think. I personally feel like I tried to do too much with this chapter, not helped at all by the fact that I could never work on it consistently, but let me know what you guys thought of it.
Now, some sorta bad news. I'm gonna take a bit of a break from this story b/c I've got some other ideas that I want to work on. There's gonna be a Romeo one-shot that is currently making good progress and if you're a Kingdom Hearts fan, I'm planning a Kingdom Hearts one-shot or two. Anyway, stay tuned for those and I hope you enjoy them when they're finished.
A/N: This chapter is mirrored from my old account: SoloRogueStudios