43

Chapter 43: Coffee and Cream

Tuesday, Beacon's Infirmary

"Just one more buckle, Miss Rose. Please hold still."

Ruby groaned impatiently from her bedside perch, wishing that the nurse would hurry up. It had been almost an hour since the nurse said she could finally, finally, get the cursed brace off her leg. It should have been off much sooner, but given how quickly she had healed, the nurse had insisted on running tests to make sure her leg was strong enough to stand on.

Yang chuckled, leaning against the wall as she watched her sister squirm. "Calm down, Sis. You're almost free."

Ruby pouted as the nurse fiddled with the brace. "But I want to run. You have no idea how much I wanted to during detention."

Detention that day had been the most bizarre thing they'd done at Beacon yet: capturing Grimm for Port's class. Nothing too dangerous, Boarbatusks and small Beowolves, but still; after being taught to only kill creatures of darkness, it had been a novel experience trying to capture them alive. One that left most of them with bruises (or, in Sun's case, a bitten tail, courtesy of a puppy-sized Beowolf).

With Port's leadership, it hadn't been all that hard. The man had such a thorough understanding of the forest that he knew exactly where to go to find certain Grimm all on their own, where there'd be no danger of getting outnumbered by the beasts. Then he'd give them orders, things like having Weiss summon a gravity glyph under a charging Boarbatusk at just the right time. Or having Penny distract a Nevermore by flying circles around it while Sun and Neptune prepared to jump on its back.

For Ruby, it had been pure torture. The way she saw it, fighting Grimm in such a way didn't seem like so much a punishment as an exciting new way to train. Which is why being stuck on the sidelines, watching everyone else have all the fun while being forced to listen to Port's endless commentary and anecdotes, was putting this day at the top of her shortlist of worst days ever.

Of course, it would all be forgotten if she could finally just get this freaking brace off!

Yang smiled a bit, Ruby's Impatience and Anticipation making her true meaning clear: I want to run with you. "I know, Ruby," she said patiently. "Just a little longer."

"Or, right now."

There was a small snapping sound, and Ruby felt the pressure around her leg disappear. The nurse unwrapped the limp brace, standing up with it in her arms. "Well, Miss Rose," she said with a small smirk. "It seems you're free to go. Please try to go at least another month without ending up in here again."

With her leg finally free, Ruby leapt off the bed, shifting her weight from foot to foot. She beamed at the nurse. "Thank you!" she shouted, making a beeline for the door.

Yang watched her go, rolling her eyes at Ruby's impatience. She nodded to the nurse in thanks, which was returned, before following her sister out.

The moment she pushed through the door, Ruby grabbed her by the arm and started dragging her. "Yang, c'mon! We gotta get to the forest before it gets too dark. Oh, this'll be so cool! C'mon, c'mon!"

Yang let herself be dragged down the halls for a bit, biting back a laugh at just how Excited Ruby was. In the back of her mind, she could Feel Weiss and Blake's Amusement mirroring her own. When they had nearly reached the school exit, Yang decided to rein Ruby in a bit.

"Ruby," Yang laughed as Ruby tugged even harder when Yang tried to slow down. "Ruby!" Digging in her heels, Yang pulled hard, spinning Ruby around and planting her hands on her sister's shoulders. Kneeling down just enough to be eye level with her, Yang said, "Hey! I know this is kind of impossible for you, but you need to slow. Down."

"But… but, but," Ruby gave her the puppy-dog eyes, like Yang had taken away her favorite toy. "But I can run again! And you can run! And Blake, and Weiss! We can-"

"I know!" Yang chuckled. "Ruby, I know. I know how excited you are that we can all run together. But I need you to calm down and breathe for just five minutes."

Ruby pouted. "Okay…" she grumbled.

"Good. Now, think for a second. Remember what happened to me when I tried using your Semblance at first?"

Ruby frowned. "You lost yourself, then crashed."

Yang huffed a laugh. "Yeah. Hard. And I had a pretty good idea what I was in for. Do you think Blake and Weiss are gonna be any better?"

It took a moment, but Ruby soon wilted, her shoulders slumping. "Oh, I don't want them to go through that. What can we do?"

Yang shook her head. "Don't think there's much we can do about that part. But, maybe we can help them with the aftermath." At Ruby's questioning look, she asked, "Wanna see if we can raid the school pantry?"

Ruby blinked. Then she smiled widely. "Race you there!"

Before Yang could say another word, Ruby blurred away, leaving rose petals in her wake.

Yang stared down the hall for a second, then ran a hand down her face. "And she forgot we're keeping this Affinity stuff a secret." Running after her at normal speed, Yang grumbled to herself. I really need to check if there's such a thing as 'speed deprivation', 'cause Ruby gets it real bad.

Again, Yang felt Blake and Weiss' Humor, though this time directed at herself.

"Yeah, yeah, keep laughing you two," Yang muttered with a smirk. "You'll be sharing this headache real soon."

Beacon's Airfield

"Well. I guess Ruby's already up and running."

Weiss giggled in response as she and Blake stepped off the Bullhead, their arms loaded down with shopping bags. "Probably. She's already annoying Yang."

Blake laughed with her, leading them up the path back to the school. It had been a quick run into the city, just to pick up the new scrolls Weiss had ordered for them all. There had been a bit of arguing on her girlfriend's part, each saying that Weiss didn't need to go and buy them all scrolls, let alone the latest model. Weiss had shut them all down rather quickly, saying that it was no problem. They needed new scrolls, she had the money, and she wanted to.

Plus, while they were in town, it gave Weiss the chance to sneak off and look up a certain… special gift she wanted to get them all. She just had to find the right time to ask them all about it.

"So," Blake said as they walked up the path. "Are you excited about later?"

Weiss jumped, her stomach dropping. Did… did Blake just read my mind?

"U-um…" she stuttered awkwardly. "A-about what?"

Blake quirked a brow at her tone. "Learning Ruby's Semblance. Why, what did you think I meant?"

Weiss' brow shot up, relief flooding her. "Oh! Oh, yes, Ruby's Semblance, of course that's what you meant. What else?" She giggled nervously, hoping Blake would buy it.

From Blake's unimpressed look, she hadn't but chose not to comment. "So?" she asked instead.

Letting herself calm down, Weiss thought for a moment. "I'm not sure. I mean," she added quickly, seeing Blake's questioning look. "I want to be able to use this power, of course, but…"

Blake nodded in understanding, feeling Weiss' unease. "It's weird since it's not supposed to be our power?"

Weiss nodded. "Exactly. Plus, the thought of Ruby teaching us is… different."

Blake chuckled as they passed between two buildings, entering the main courtyard. "I know what you mean. Still, it shouldn't be too bad. You already did it once, right?"

Weiss groaned. "Apparently. Too bad I don't remember how I did it… or even noticed when it happened."

"Well, we'll just have to see. Between her and Yang, we should be able to get started, at least."

Weiss hummed, conceding the point. A thought struck her. "You know, now that I think about it… I don't know what your Semblance is, Blake."

Blake blinked in surprise. Then, she gave a sheepish smile, her ears wilting at the sides. "Yeah, I haven't really had to use it for a while. Sorry."

"It's alright," Weiss assured her. "It just struck me as odd, given our… unique situation."

Blake giggled in agreement. "Good point. Though, I'm not sure what use my Semblance could be to you three. All I can do is-"

"Hey, Blake!"

A sudden shout cut off Blake's words. The pair turned to face the voice, towards a collection of picnic tables. It was Velvet who was calling them over, Coco eyeing them from behind her aviators. Books and papers were strewn about their table's surface, likely the result of an outdoor study date.

Blake's face lit up when she saw who it was. "Velvet! Hey, what…"

To Weiss' confusion, Blake trailed off suddenly, blinking. Then her smile grew wider. Velvet must have noticed this, her cheeks tinting as she ducked her head a bit. Still smiling, she waved them over to their table. Blake went instantly, Weiss trailing behind her uncertainly. She had a vague idea of what this would be about, but she wasn't sure how to feel about it.

"So," Blake said, sitting down across from the pair. "It seems you didn't waste time."

Velvet smiled bashfully, eyes darting towards Coco, who smirked back. Weiss didn't quite understand until Coco turned her head. Just above the ruffled collar of her shirt, there was a small splotch of purple on her neck, surrounded by a ring of teeth marks. Flecks of light tan showed through the healing bruise, faint against Coco's skin. Weiss' brow rose in recognition.

"Yes, well…" Velvet trailed off awkwardly.

Coco rolled her eyes behind her aviators, her smirk fading to a fond smile. "What Vel's trying to say is, after you two had your little talk Sunday, she told me about this whole Mate's Mark thing later that night."

Blake's brow rose. "You didn't know about it?" After being together for so long, she'd assumed…

Coco cocked a brow at her. "No, I didn't." She then turned fully towards Velvet, putting a hand on the Faunus' head, right between her long ears. With faux-anger, she griped, "And I'm still not too happy she kept it a secret from me for so long."

Velvet pouted, her ears sagging at the sides. "Coco, I told you-"

"I know why you did it, Vel," Coco said, her voice lowering to a warm whisper as she rubbed the back of Velvet's ear with her thumb. "And it's very sweet. But you should know me better by now."

Velvet didn't respond outside of a bashful nod, smiling as she leaned into Coco's touch.

Weiss was surprised at the interaction and slowly turned to Blake. She'd made it sound like petting a Faunus' ears like that was meant to be private. Though judging from Blake's slight blush, and her averting her eyes from the pair, maybe there was still truth to that. Weiss caught Blake's gaze, and the cat Faunus shot her a look that clearly said, 'I'll explain later'.

"Anyway," Coco went on, retracting her hand. "Velvet gave me a crash course on Mate's Marks, then gave me this." She ran her fingertips over her fledgling Mark. "But, she said that for me to do the same to her, we need your help. How exactly is that going to go down?"

Blake, having fought off her blush, frowned in thought. "I'm not really sure. I think that all I need to do is get Velvet's Mark started, then have you take over."

Coco grimaced slightly. "By 'get it started', you mean you'll have to bite Velvet."

Sensing Coco's unease and seeing Velvet's face tint, Blake's ears pulled back in worry. "Y-yes. That's right." Blake shrank under the fashionista's gaze, Coco's frown deepening. "I'm sorry?"

Coco kept up her glare until Velvet elbowed her softly in the side, pouting in reprimand. After a moment, Coco sighed, pulling off her glasses. "Look," she said, her brown eyes meeting Blake and Weiss' both. "I'm not going to pretend I fully understand this whole thing yet. But, it's important to Velvet…" She glanced at Velvet, her girlfriend smiling back. "And… it is nice being able to… Feel her like this. So… if you'll give us your help, we'll take it."

Blake smiled kindly. "I'm happy to do it. I'm just not quite sure… how."

Coco frowned. "Well, that's a bit of a problem. My Mark is only gonna last a week at most."

"I could look up more on it."

The three turned in surprise towards Weiss. The heiress winced internally at the sudden attention but met their stares evenly.

"You could?" Coco asked, her eyes narrowing slightly.

Weiss nodded, looking Coco in the eye. "I found the story that helped us become Mates. If I re-read the myth, cross-reference some of the details, maybe I can work out exactly what we have to do."

Coco tilted her head back a little, a thoughtful gleam in her narrowed eyes. Velvet, on the other hand, was ecstatic. She leaned forward in her seat, asking excitedly, "Could you? That would be amazing, Weiss."

Weiss smiled. "It's no problem. I'll look into it later, and get back to you as soon as I can."

Velvet was practically bouncing in her seat. "Great! Oh, wait, let me give you my scroll number."

As Velvet scribbled down her number on a spare scrap of paper, Coco looked between Weiss and Blake in interest. "So… you two are really Mated?" she asked, a hint of skepticism in her voice. "To each other, and Ruby and Yang?"

Catching her tone, Blake and Weiss frowned at each other. "Yes…" Blake replied slowly. "Is there something wrong with that?"

Coco shrugged, pointedly ignoring Velvet's warning glance. "Not really, you do you. It just seems a little… odd…" No one missed her sharp look towards Weiss. "All things considered."

Velvet elbowed her girlfriend in the side, her ears drooping down her back. "Coco!" she hissed in reprimand.

Weiss sighed, closing her eyes. She had a good idea as to what Coco was implying. Blake did as well, given the quick shot of Indignation that shot up Weiss' spine. Weiss sent over a quick burst of Calm and Assurance, mindful of the sour look Blake was no doubt sending Coco's way. "You are referring to my family's history with Faunuskind?" she asked, her crystal blue eyes meeting Coco's deep brown.

Coco raised a slight brow. "Partly. I'm talking more about how you wouldn't stop scowling at every Faunus you passed in the halls your first couple months here." Her eyes darkened considerably. "Velvet included."

Weiss blinked. Okay, so not exactly what she thought, but not too far off. "Ah. Well." She shot Blake a look, unable to keep feelings of guilt from rising to the surface. Blake's sympathetic smile reassured her that she'd forgiven that a long time ago. Weiss took a short breath, looking back to Coco. "My father has a very… vocal opinion about the Faunus people. One that he made sure I and my brother shared. Coming here to Beacon-" And being away from him, she added silently. "-opened my eyes quite a bit."

Coco just stared into Weiss' eyes for a long minute, as if searching for something. Velvet kept glancing between the two like she was worried Coco was about to instigate something.

"...okay," Coco eventually said, leaning back in her seat. "I can buy that."

The other three at the table let out a collective breath. "That's it?" Weiss couldn't help but ask.

Coco shrugged shamelessly, a smirk tugging at her lips. "Pretty much. Just seemed kind of strange that you went from the Ice Queen to, well…" She waved vaguely between Blake and Weiss.

Weiss smiled, unable to deny Coco's point. "Yes, well…" She looked at Blake, eyes asking. Blake grinned back, offering her upturned hand. Weiss took it in her own, squeezing gently. "It's been an enlightening few months."

Coco was full-on smirking now, scooting a bit closer to Velvet on the bench, draping her arm over her shoulders. "Yeah, I know the feeling."

Velvet blushed a little, before handing her number across the table. Blake said her thanks, reaching out to take it when she suddenly stiffened. At her side, Weiss' eyes widened in the same instant.

"Uh…" Coco droned uncertainly. "Something wro-?" She jumped when Blake and Weiss abruptly slammed their hands down on the table, right over Coco and Velvet's books and papers. "What-?"

Coco got her answer as a red whirlwind shot out of the school entrance, streaking across the grounds. It weaved through the throng of students milling about, darting around aimlessly until it circled their table, Ruby Rose's form materializing behind Blake and Weiss. A blast of air arrived a second after her, rustling the paperwork held tightly under Blake and Weiss' palms. Rose petals drifted in the wind, covering every surface around them.

"Blake!" Ruby shouted, bouncing from one foot to the other. "Weiss! Look, I can run again! We can- oh, hi Coco! Hi Velvet!" Ruby spared the now-confused partners a brief glance, before looking back down at Blake and Weiss, who had turned their heads to face her. "C'mon, we only have a couple hours till night time. If we hurry, we can catch Professor Port before he leaves!"

"Ruby!" Blake tried to say over her leader's hyperness. "Wait for just a-"

But Ruby was currently in her own world, already speaking again. "I'll run ahead. See you there!"

In another flash of red, Ruby was gone, leaving rose petals and overturned students in her wake.

Weiss groaned as she straightened her back, glancing at the table to make sure no books or papers had been blown away, even as a huff of laughter escaped her lips. "Seems she didn't waste time," she said to Blake.

Blake smirked back. "You expected her to?"

"Dammit, Ruby!" Yang's voice suddenly boomed from the school entrance, the blonde running out the doors as fast as she could towards the red dot in the distance. She didn't even notice Blake and Weiss as she charged through the crowd of students, gritting her teeth in annoyance. "I told you to wait for me!"

Weiss rolled her eyes as the sisters disappeared from view, making to stand. To Velvet and Coco, she said, "Sorry, but we'd better follow them before Ruby gets even antsier."

Velvet waved them off. "It's fine, we get it. You'll call if you find something?"

Blake nodded, taking the piece of paper Velvet offered. "You can count on it."

After exchanging goodbyes, Blake and Weiss ran off in Ruby's direction, leaving Coco and Velvet alone. Watching them go, Coco chuckled. "A whole team of girlfriends. That is a whole new level of different."

Velvet nodded, humming. "I don't know how they do it. They seem happy, though." She waited for a moment, then turned to Coco. "You owe Weiss an apology, you know."

Coco groaned, her eyes rolling up. "C'mon, Vel, you know why I was angry."

"Yes," Velvet replied, her eyes somehow both stern and humorous. "And it was very sweet. You're still apologizing to her."

Coco gave an exaggerated huff. She wasn't even going to try and resist Velvet's famous droopy-eared pout, smiling fondly as she turned back to their homework. "Yes, ma'am…"

Betaed by Covert Weapon

Old A/n: Okay, this wasn't really meant to be a whole chapter by itself, but writer's block is kind of kicking my butt, and I didn't want to leave you guys without a chapter for so long. All goes well, I should have the next one by this weekend.

Also, side note: After watching the most recent episodes, I am very surprised and very happy. Some of the things we've just learned line up perfectly with what I've been planning for this story. That never happens! Thanks, RT!

Although, for some other parts… F*** you, Adam. F*** YOU!