Chapter 3: A Night Out

Professor Port's Classroom, 5th September 18 BBY, 15:59 pm…

Nathan slumped forward in his seat, trying his hardest not to fall asleep as Professor Port droned on and on. Months of being in this classroom with the man had done little to numb the sheer boringness of Port's class.

Port was still bragging about something he had achieved in his younger years, which had nothing to do with the lesson Port was trying to teach. As usual.

Nathan looked down to the row below him, where Weiss was sat, staring at the clock. He had to admit, it felt gratifying to know that even Weiss, the most studious and hardworking person he knew not named Pyrrha, was finding Port's lesson as boring as everyone.

Nathan had half the mind to send a meme he'd found to Weiss, to see if she'd find it funny. Actually, I'll do just that, Nathan thought to himself as he went for his scroll.

"So, Weiss…" Jaune suddenly whispered as he sidled up next to Weiss.

Even though he knew Weiss wasn't interested, that strong urge to tell Jaune to get the fuck away from Weiss that he'd first experienced around Neptune began to eat at Nathan again.

"You know uh, I was thinking after this maybe we could go grab a bite to eat?" Jaune asked.

Not happening, dude. We got shit to do tonight, Nathan thought to himself.

Jaune continued: "And… uh… you know well, I've got two tickets to that new Spruce Willis movie if you wanna make the trip to Vale. I hear it's awesome!"

Fuck's sake, Jaune… Pyrrha's right next to you! Nathan thought frustratedly. And she's actually interested! Go after her instead, you dense shit-brained weapons grade fuckwit!

"And… then maybe after that we could study together?" Jaune asked. "I mean you're smart, and I'm uh… you know…"

Nathan headbutted the table with an audible thud just as the timer stated it was the end of the lesson.

"And then, I…" Port said as the buzzer sounded to indicate the end of the lesson. "Oh, uh… timed that one wrong, I guess." Pausing, he added: "Well, the stunning conclusion to this story will have to wait! Until next time!"

Believe me, professor, the sleep will do me good after tonight, Nathan thought to himself as he returned his attention to Jaune's attempts to woo Weiss:

"Weiss? Did you hear me?" Jaune asked.

Getting up, Weiss' reply was as typical of her as ever: "No. No. No. Yes."

Nathan snorted and had to fight down an outburst of laughter. Jaune was his friend, but Nathan always found it amusing when Weiss shut Jaune down.

Jaune's head hit the table as the rest of Team RWBY walked past, with Yang rubbing Jaune comfortingly on the head.

"One day." The blond-haired brawler said as she passed Jaune.

Blake looked up at Nathan and smiled, a smile Nathan returned as he hopped over his seat and joined Jaune. "I keep telling you man, she's not interested."

"I don't get it." Jaune moaned. "My dad keeps telling me all women look for is confidence. Where am I going wrong, Nate?"

"Probably by not keeping your options open." Nathan replied. "Look around you. There's tonnes of beautiful women around you. Weiss isn't the only girl around."

"Are you saying that because you genuinely think so?" Jaune asked, a suspicious tone entering the leader of Team JNNPR's voice. "Or are you saying it so you can get with Weiss yourself?"

Nathan rolled his eyes. Not Jaune, too… "Dude, I feel like a broke record saying this right now: There is nothing romantic going on between me and Weiss, okay? We're just friends. Nothing. More."

"Yeah… keep telling yourself that." Jaune replied before standing up and leaving.

Nathan sighed, getting up to leave.

"Ah, love triangles. When you've seen one, you've seen them all."

Nathan's head snapped towards Professor Port, asking: "And how would you know anything about that?"

"Young man, I have taught at this school for many years." Port replied. "I have seen my fair share of love triangles over the years. Why; I do recall the love triangle between Taiyang Xiao Long, Summer Rose and Raven Branwen."

Nathan's eyes narrowed. "What do you mean?" He inquired.

"Have you not ever wondered why Miss Xiao Long and Miss Rose look so drastically different despite being blood relatives?" Port answered.

"No; because I don't make the personal histories of my friends my business unless they see fit to tell me." Nathan replied. "It's called having boundaries. Maybe if you respected boundaries, you'd have actually gotten laid."

Port made to retort, but could not form a response.

"Look; I know you were trying to teach me a lesson sir, and I appreciate it." Nathan added. "But there's no use trying to teach me a lesson that I don't need. There is no love triangle between me, Weiss and Jaune because I do not like Weiss that way. She's my friend. That's all there is to it."

"And yet I've noticed the wistful looks you cast Miss Schnee's way." Port countered. "Perhaps wishing you could be closer than you already are."

Nathan went to respond, but found himself lost for words, scowling.

"Like I just told you; I have taught at this school for many years." Port added. "I know someone in love when I see them. And you are correct; perhaps in my youth I was a little more… earnest than I should have been, and that is why I never found love myself. Only the carnal pleasures one might experience engaging in promiscuous behaviour."

"Okay; no need to give me the image of you laying down pipe on some poor hooker." Nathan said before Port could say any more.

"Regardless, I also know when someone is in denial about being in love." Port said. "All I ask of you… is that you give what we have just spoken about some thought. Perhaps… You may learn more about yourself than you might think."

Nathan nodded, before saying: "Thank you professor."

"Thank me by arriving in this classroom in the future with whoever you love." Port responded, turning his attention back to his chalkboard in a silent dismissal of Nathan.

Nathan lingered, before turning on his heel and exiting Port's classroom. First Nora, then Pyrrha and Jaune, and now Professor Port… At this rate, Nathan wouldn't be surprised if Weiss herself harboured suspicions of his feelings.

As well as feelings of her own…


Later that evening, Team JNNPR's dorm, 17:15 pm…

Nathan straightened out his combat attire and looked himself in the mirror, smiling at what he saw.

For his investigation mission with Team RWBY that night, Nathan had donned a new set of combat attire:

Nathan was now wearing a sleeveless black top underneath a red coloured metal breastplate, on which his emblem; a phoenix lined up in a sniper's crosshairs, was emblazoned on the front. Alongside this, Nathan wore his black and red gauntlets, black fingerless gloves, black combat trousers with a red belt, on which were several pouches containing supplies Nathan felt could come in handy, like some dust rounds in case he needed to toss a clip to Weiss or someone if they had to go loud for whatever reason. Completing Nathan's look were some black shoes with red soles and shoelaces. His hair, which he usually wore down, was pulled tightly back into a neat ponytail, so that it was out of his face and left his vision unimpeded.

His lightsaber, as always, was clipped onto his belt, hanging from his right hip, as was Phoenix's Breath, holstered just in front of his lightsaber.

Giving himself one more once over, Nathan stepped out of the bathroom to find the rest of Team JNNPR waiting for him.

Ren stepped forwards first, gripping Nathan's forearm. "I'll have some dinner waiting for you when you get back." Ren said. "Whenever that is."

"Thanks." Nathan replied, before his eyes fell on Nora, who smiled at him.

"Go get 'em, Nate." Nora said enthusiastically. "Represent Team JNNPR."

Nathan chuckled, ruffling Nora's hair. He turned his attention to Jaune.

Nathan's team leader regarded Nathan with an unreadable expression before saying: "See you later, Nathan."

Nathan raised an eyebrow at Jaune's use of his full name. Jaune really only ever called him 'Nate', just like Nora, Ruby and Yang had been. Was he still upset about earlier?

Ignoring it for now, Nathan finally looked towards Pyrrha, who wore an encouraging smile that made Nathan feel like charging headfirst into a horde of Grimm.

Closing the distance between them, Pyrrha wrapped her arms around Nathan, hugging him firmly. "Be safe tonight, Nathan." Pyrrha said. "Team JNNPR would not be the same without you."

Nathan hugged her back, saying: "I will be, Pyrrha. Trust me."

"I always have." Pyrrha replied.

Breaking the hug, Nathan turned his attention to the door and walked over to it, exiting his dorm and stepping over to Team RWBY's dorm, knocking firmly on the door.

It wasn't long before Ruby opened the door, smiling at the sight of Nathan. "Hey, Nate!" She said cheerfully.

Like Nathan, she had also donned fresh attire for tonight's mission: This consisted of long-sleeve, light grey shirt with black belted cuffs near the ends of the sleeves. Over the top of the grey shirt was a black pinafore with two vertical lines of red stitching that resembled the lacing on a corset. Additionally, she had donned a red skirt with a large black print of her emblem on the side and matching black tulle underneath. Her stockings and shoes remained the same as her normal outfit, though the boots lacked the red trim that decorated the top. A few pieces of metal arranged in the shape of a rose were attached to the shoulder of Ruby's left sleeve, and her cloak's hood had been wrapped around her neck in a scarf-like fashion, while the rest hung down like normal.

"Hey, Ruby." Nathan replied, ruffling Ruby's hair. "Looking good."

"Thanks." Ruby responded happily, smiling at the fiery-haired Jedi before stepping aside to allow him inside.

The moment Nathan stepped into Team RWBY's dorm, he was greeted by the sights of Blake and Yang:

"Evening, Nate!" Yang called out from where she was lying on top of her bunk.

Yang had donned her own new outfit for that evening: a deep-collared cream vest worn over a low-cut black shirt; both of which were covered by a dark grey shrug with a raised collar, three-quarter sleeves adorned with a single black stripe down the outside of each sleeve, and gold cuffs. A black mini skirt was visible under the cream vest. A pair of crooked black belts with gold accents were slung around her hip, with a purple piece of fabric attached to the left-rear section of the lower belt. She was wearing thigh high stockings attached to her miniskirt by garter-belts on the front and back of each thigh, decorated with four golden studs above her knee and her emblem on the outside of each thigh in gold. Completing her look were a pair of black ankle boots with multiple buckles and white ribbons on the back tied in a bow. Around her neck was a purple pendant set in silver.

"Evening, Yang." Nathan replied. "I thought the air around me felt hotter."

Yang giggled. "I guess you could say I caused a heatwave." She joked.

Nathan rolled his eyes as Ruby groaned, looking to see Blake exiting the bathroom.

"Nathan!" Blake said, smiling at the sight of him.

Like he, Ruby and Yang had done, Blake was also dressed in a new outfit for the evening ahead:

Blake was sporting a white V-neck zip-up crop shirt with a black hem and three-quarter sleeves. Her emblem was printed in off-white on the left side of the shirt. She was also wearing black pants with a vertical grey stripe on the outer side of each leg and a black belt. Attached to the rear of her belt was a black piece of fabric that covered her backside from hip to hip. Underneath this was a longer, translucent, purple piece of fabric. Additionally, she wore black high-heel boots with two straps and buckles and purple undersoles, reaching to mid-calf. Completing her look were the black ribbons on her forearms and her signature black bow.

Looking between Blake and Yang, Nathan said: "I do not know which one of you looks better. Either way; I'm looking at a gorgeous woman."

"I think you're forgetting someone." Yang spoke up, pointing to the bed underneath Ruby's.

Nathan looked, and his breath caught in his throat when he beheld Weiss:

He hoped he looked decent, because Weiss looked absolutely stunning.

The SDC heiress was wearing a white, double-breasted pea coat with black piping, cuffs, and buttons over a white, pleated full skirt with black lace trim. Additionally, she was wearing a pair of white, thigh-high boots with black heels and lace-topped black stockings.

"Weiss…" Nathan made to say.

"Hello, Nathan." Weiss replied, standing up to greet him. "I'm glad you could make it tonight."

"Me too…" Nathan replied, eyes still exploring Weiss' outfit. "You… you look amazing, Weiss."

"Thanks." Weiss replied, smiling. "You're looking pretty good yourself."

Nathan smiled back, praying he wasn't blushing in the moment. By the Force, she's beautiful! Nathan thought to himself as he looked over Weiss once more.

"Alright guys, today's the day." Ruby said from her place on her bed. "The investigation begins!" At this, Ruby jumped down from her bed, startling Weiss, who had sat back down on her bed beneath Ruby's.

"I'm glad to see we're taking this so seriously." Weiss remarked sarcastically.

"Hey, we've got a plan!" Yang said. "That's… moderately serious."

"Right! Everyone remember their roles?" Ruby asked everyone.

"You and I will head to the CCT to check the Schnee records for any other Dust robberies or inconsistencies." Weiss said to Ruby. "Seeing as I'm in the family, it shouldn't be a problem."

"I'll join you two." Nathan stated. "Shouldn't be too dangerous, but… I feel like not beating up every White Fang soldier in Vale for a change."

Weiss eyed Nathan in that moment and smiled, leading to Nathan averting her gaze so she wouldn't see him blushing.

"The White Fang has regular faction meetings to hand out orders and recruit new members." Blake declared, smirking at the attraction between Weiss and Nathan. "If I can get in, I can hopefully find out what they're planning."

"I have an old friend on the shady side of town that typically knows everything going on in Vale." Yang claimed, trading a knowing look with Blake towards Nathan and Weiss. ""Getting information out of him shouldn't be too hard."

"Great!" Ruby said. "We'll meet up tonight near Yang to go over what we found." Pumping her fist, Ruby added: "Let's do this!"

"Yeah!" Said another voice as everyone looked to see Sun Wukong outside the window, hanging upside down via his tail.

"Sun?!" Blake said as she and the others jumped back from the window.

"How did you get up there?" Yang asked.

"Aw, it's easy." Sun replied. "I do it all the time."

"You do what?!" Weiss demanded, a scandalised scowl on her face.

"I climb trees all the time." Sun clarified.

Talk about a quick recovery, Nathan thought to himself. That could've been awkward. However, judging by Weiss' narrowed eyes and scowl, she didn't quite believe him. And Nathan couldn't say he blamed her. Sun hadn't exactly sounded genuine when he'd said that. Folding his arms, Nathan regarded Sun with a similarly suspicious scowl.

Sun quickly seemed to realise this, as he then asked: "So, are we finally getting back at that Torchwick guy?" Whilst dropping down and entering the room fully.

"We… are going to investigate the situation. As a team." Blake said firmly.

"I'm only here because Weiss invited me." Nathan added. "Don't recall you being invited by any of us."

"Sorry Sun." Ruby said gently. "We don't want to get friends involved if we don't have to."

"Pfft, that's dumb." Sun scoffingly commented. "You should always get friends involved." Jerking a thumb behind him, Sun added: "That's why I brought Neptune."

Wait, what? Nathan thought as he joined Team RWBY in looking out the window.

Sure enough, there was Neptune, stood precariously on a ledge outside the window.

"Sup?" Neptune asked, that same charming smile from several days before crossing his handsome face.

A face Nathan felt a strong urge to bloody with a right hook to the jaw.

"How did you even get up here?" Ruby asked.

"Yeah… you never quite struck me as a climber." Nathan remarked, ignoring the strong urge he had suddenly felt at the sight of Neptune to use the Force to cast the blue-haired Haven student away from the window and down into the nearby water fountain.

"I have my ways." Neptune replied, before looking down at the ground several stories below. "Seriously though, can I come in?" He asked, clearly scared of his predicament. "We're like… really high up right now."

Nathan fought another urge to suggest leaving him there, seeing the smile on Weiss' face as they helped Neptune inside. Looked like he'd just have to smile and deal with having Neptune around.


Once Neptune was inside…

"Alright, I'll go with Weiss and Nathan." Ruby declared once everyone was filled in on the plan. "Sun, you can go with Blake."

Thank fuck… Nathan thought to himself, folding his arms and eyeing Neptune.

"And Neptune, you can go with Yang, since she doesn't have a partner." Ruby stated, pushing a stiff Neptune over to where Yang was stood. "Everyone good?"

"Actually Ruby, why don't you go with Yang?" Weiss suggested. "After all, she is your sister."

NO! Nathan thought to himself, silently Ruby would say no.

"But Weiss, who would go with you, then?" Ruby asked, as Yang steadied a still nervous Neptune.

"Well, I guess Neptune could come with me." Weiss said, looking a bit bashful.

Neptune grinned at this idea, which didn't escape Nathan's notice.

And promptly made Nathan want to stride across the room and punch Neptune's lights out, and use the Force to hurl Neptune back out through the window and down into the water fountain below.

Which was when Ruby burst out laughing:

"Heh, heh, heh." Ruby chuckled. "Nah." Before walking over to Weiss and dragging her out of the room.

"But, but!" Weiss whimpered as Ruby dragged her out of the dormitory.

Nathan swallowed his relief and followed suit, beyond glad he wouldn't have to deal with Neptune at all.


On the way to the CCTS Tower…

"Nathan?"

The sudden address from Weiss drew Nathan out of his thoughts, as he turned to face the SDC Heiress. "Yeah, Weiss?"

"Is… something wrong?" Weiss asked. "You're… rather deep in thought."

There's a great many things wrong, Weiss, Nathan thought. Most of them with me. "What's the deal between you and Neptune, Weiss?" He decided to ask.

"Nothing." Weiss replied. "He's a nice, friendly young man. Much like yourself were before we truly became friends."

Nathan frowned. "Right…" He said. "So all of his flirty comments are just the work of someone seeking friendship with you."

Weiss' eyes narrowed. "What are you saying?" She inquired.

"I'm just worried, Weiss." Nathan confessed. "Worried that Neptune isn't just seeking to be your friend."

"What makes you say that?" Weiss questioned.

"I've seen people like him before." Nathan responded. "They seek out beautiful women, charming them into sleeping with them or some other arrangement. Then when they've had their fill, they kick said woman to the curb, breaking their heart." Facing Weiss, Nathan warned: "I have a feeling Neptune only sees you as another notch on his belt. He'll sleep with you just the once, ditch you, and then start prancing around saying he had sex with the heiress to the SDC."

Weiss frowns. "You… really think so?" She asks.

"Like I said; I've seen people like him before." Nathan replied. "But… if you really are interested in him… go for it. I'm not going to stop you. All I'm asking is to please be careful. The last thing I want is for someone to break your heart."

Weiss frowned, and nodded, before they heard:

"I know you guys are having a heart to heart; but… can we save it for later? We have a job to do."

Nathan and Weiss looked to see Ruby stood a few feet ahead of them.

"Of course, Ruby." Weiss replied, moving forward to stand with her partner.

Nathan followed suit, part of him hoping Weiss wouldn't go for Neptune for whatever reason.


The CCTS Tower, 18:00 pm…

"Wow! I forget how big the Transmit tower looks up close!" Ruby exclaimed as they approached the tower.

"You should see the one in Atlas!" Weiss said.

"She isn't wrong." Nathan commented.

"That was the first one, right?" Ruby asked, eyeing Weiss.

"Correct." Weiss replied. "Atlas developed the Cross Continental Transmit System to allow the four kingdoms to communicate with one another. It was their gift to the world after the Great War."

"Ooh, look at me!" Ruby exclaimed, adopting a high and mighty tone of voice. "My name's Weiss! I know facts! I'm rich!" She then snorted into her hand.

Nathan rolled his eyes at Ruby's antics. She did her best to avoid it, but sometimes, Ruby really did still act like a child.

"Don't be a pest!" Weiss said, frowning at Ruby. "Besides, the only reason we're here is because you like the tower so much! We could have just as easily made a call from the library!"

"I know, but it's so cool!" Ruby protested."Ooh, I'm going to take a picture!" At that, Ruby took out her scroll, only to wind up dropping it in her excitement.

So much for a selfie, Nathan thought to himself as Ruby chased after her scroll, which seemed to want to be anywhere but in her hands.

Until it stopped at the feet of a familiar young lady:

"Oh!" Penny Polendina exclaimed, picking up the scroll, handing it towards Ruby. "You dropped this."

"Penny?!" A surprised Ruby asked.

"Uh…" Penny responded, clearly surprised to see Ruby but very uncomfortable about it.

"Where have you been? We haven't seen you since that night at the docks!" Ruby asked.

"S-Sorry. I think you're confused." Penny responded nervously, hiccupping and tossing Ruby's scroll back into the hands of Team RWBY's leader. "Uh... I've got to go!" At which she spun around and marched off at a quick pace.

What the fuck is up with her? Nathan wondered as he and Weiss looked to Ruby.

"What was that about?" Weiss asked, echoing Nathan's line of thinking.

"I don't know, but I'm going to find out." Ruby responded, starting off after Penny, looking to them as she added: "You go make your call! I'll meet up with you later!"

"Wait!" Weiss called out, reaching towards Ruby, only to lower her hand with an angry sigh upon realising the futility of stopping her team leader.

"Looks like it's just us now, Weiss." Nathan said, stepping up next to Weiss.

"Yes. It appears so." Weiss replied. "Not that it's a bad thing." She added, turning towards Nathan with a smile.

Nathan found himself smiling back, gesturing towards the CCTS tower. "Shall we?"

Weiss nodded, turning and walking towards the CCTS with the elegance only Weiss could display.

Nathan quickly followed suit, asking: "So; who're you going to call? Your father?"

At the mention of her father, Weiss' expression faltered, and her forward movement slowed. "No." She said after a few moments. "We're just going to call the World Headquarters of the Schnee Dust Company. They'll have the records we'll need. And my father will not need to know about it."

Nathan frowned, noticing Weiss displaying similar behaviours to Winter whenever their father was mentioned.

Not wanting to pry, Nathan said nothing, out of respect for Weiss in case asking would be pushing against her boundaries

But one thing was certain as Nathan carried out walking towards the tower with Weiss: Her father didn't exactly come across as a particularly pleasant man.


Inside the CCTS Tower…

Moving through the grandiose lobby of the CCTS Tower, Nathan joined Weiss as they entered the nearest elevator, at which a voice addressed them:

"Hello. Welcome to the CCT. How may I help you?" The CCTS AI inquired.

"We'd like to go to the communications room, please." Weiss stated, looking towards Nathan, who nodded.

"Absolutely." The AI responded. "Could you please place your Scroll on the terminal to verify your identity?"

Weiss obliged, taking her scroll and holding it to the terminal.

"Perfect! Thank you, Miss Schnee." The AI declared.

With that, the elevator began its ascent.

Nathan glanced back towards Weiss, whose expression had changed from pleasant to serious, finally deciding to ask: "Hey Weiss; are you okay?"

"Yes." Weiss replied. "Just… mentally preparing myself, is all."

Nathan sensed the lie the moment it passed Weiss' lips. But Nathan once again opted not to pry. If Weiss wanted to tell him; she would.

The elevator doors suddenly opened, indicating they were on their required floor.

Following Weiss up to the desk, Nathan stood quietly as the holographic secretary addressed Weiss:

"Welcome to the Beacon Cross Continental Transmit centre. How may I help you?" The hologram inquired.

"I need to make a call to Schnee Company World Headquarters in Atlas." Weiss answered.

"Absolutely." The secretary responded, before pausing as several beeps were heard from her. Until she finally added: "If you could head over to Terminal 3, I'll patch you through."

"Thank you!" Weiss replied, gesturing to Nathan to follow her.

Upon reaching their designated terminal, Weiss sat down, looking to Nathan, gesturing for him to move so he'd be just out of sight of the camera facing her before taking a deep, clearly unhappy breath.

Nathan's frown deepened. Weiss clearly wasn't looking forward to this conversation.

Before long, he heard a voice speaking from Weiss' terminal:

"Thank you for calling the Atlas- Oh! Miss Schnee! Good afternoon! Would you like me to patch you through to your father? I think your sister Winter might be here as well."

I'd be down for the latter, Nathan thought to himself as Weiss replied:

"No, thank you! I was actually wondering if you could find some files for me. I've compiled a short list." At this, Weiss produced her scroll, placing it into a slot on the keyboard, clearly transmitting the information required.

A few seconds passed before the SDC employee addressed Weiss again:

"I see. If you don't mind... what may I ask is this for?"

"School project." Weiss quickly responded.

Nervously, the SDC employee added: "Um... There are some sensitive documents on this list, ma'am."

Oh boy, Nathan thought to himself. Sounds like this poor lady could get in trouble for this, even if it's sending them to the SDC heiress for a quote-unquote 'school project'.

"Well, then, I'll be sure to treat them with care." Weiss replied.

Note to self, remind Weiss to delete these files when we're finished with them, Nathan thought to himself. He might not necessarily like the SDC as a company, but even he was above committing corporate espionage.

"Right... Very well." The employee said, still sounding incredibly nervous. "The data is being transferred to your Scroll now."

"Wonderful!" Weiss said gratefully. "That will be all, then."

"Are you sure you wouldn't like me to patch you through to your father before you go?" The SDC employee asked.

At that, Nathan immediately saw Weiss' smile vanish, before she quickly smiled again.

"Yes, I'm sure." Weiss replied.

Nathan frowned. He knew a fake smile when he saw one, and Weiss' smile was for certain a fake one.

"Well, then... Have a nice day!" The SDC employee said, at which the call ended.

The moment the screen went blank, Weiss' smile vanished completely, replaced with a deeply sad facial expression.

Seeing his moment, Nathan stepped forward. "Are… you sure you're okay?" He asked, placing a hand on Weiss' shoulder.

Weiss met Nathan's gaze, and he only needed one look at the tears forming in her eyes to immediately pull Weiss into a warm hug, at which Weiss began crying.

Holding Weiss closely, Nathan let her cry into his shoulder for as long as needed, until finally, she stepped back, wiping her eyes.

"Thank you." Weiss said.

"No problem." Nathan said, smiling as they headed back to the elevator.


Outside the CCTS Tower…

The night was growing darker as Nathan and Weiss exited the tower, and Nathan looked towards his friend.

The sad expression still remained on her face, and so he pulled Weiss close. "Do… you want to talk about it?" Nathan asked, rubbing Weiss' shoulder.

The Schnee Dust Company heiress shook her head. "No… not yet. We still have work to do."

Nathan nodded, then hugged Weiss again. "I'm here when you're ready to talk, Weiss. Just let me know."

Weiss hugged Nathan back, saying: "I know, Nathan. I know."

Once again, Nathan's heartbeat quickened, butterflies began flapping about in his stomach, and that warm, fuzzy feeling he felt whenever Weiss was nearby filled his being.

Weiss still fit into his arms just right.

Breaking the hug, Nathan met Weiss' gaze. "Better?" He asked.

"Much better." Weiss replied, a genuine smile crossing her face, her eyes sparkling like diamonds reflected in the moonlight.

Nathan smiled back, unable to help himself. He could never get tired of looking into Weiss' beautiful eyes.

Was this was what it felt like being in-

The signature sound of a scroll ringing broke his trail of thought, and Nathan quickly realised it was Weiss' scroll.

The SDC heiress had her scroll in her hands within seconds, saying: "It's Blake!" Before answering: "Blake; Sun, what's the-"

"Everyone!" Blake interrupted. "If you can hear me, we need back-"

"HELP!" Sun cried out in the background, alongside the sounds of something chasing him and Blake:

Something big.

Nathan glanced over to Weiss to see her rolling her eyes and dashing off, a small smile crossing her face. Smiling himself, Nathan followed her, wondering what on Remnant Blake and Sun had gotten themselves into.


I think we can all see where this is going.

A little earlier upload this evening, but I'm sure none of you are complaining.

When I was brainstorming ideas for this new story, the realisation that I could write a bit of drama into the team dynamic within JNNPR due to two members having feelings for the same woman was a welcome one. Plus, felt like I could write a few of my own frustrations into it as well.

But enough rambling; it's review time!


54godamora: Yes, we definitely are... with a few extra bits of goodness as well.

Rider126: It's a good idea, yes. One I might adapt to fit my own plans.

Sharnorasian Empire: That was my idea. It made more sense within the context of their current relationship for Nathan and Ironwood to be more respectful towards each other, bordering on friendship. And I love your use of that Dumbledore quote to further discuss your take on the Dark Side.


With all that said; thank you all so much for taking the time to read this story. If y'all liked it... you know what to do.

I shall see you tomorrow with Chapter 4, which sees Nathan join in against whatever's pursuing Blake and Sun.

T-Rock14.