115

Chapter 115Chapter Text

The music was loud.

The crowd was loud.

The decorations were loud.

The entire party was loud, noisy, chaotic, and…

Penny and Ruby couldn't care less. Oh sure, they preferred the comfort of a nice, quiet, calm area when they could, but if they couldn't handle a place full of loud music and people and the overwhelming scent of like a billion different types of snacks both fancy and not (seriously, there were charcuterie boards sitting next to trays and trays of hot pockets) , then how could they handle themselves as Huntresses in the midst of battle, among the roar of flames and grimm, the crushing panic of protecting the people amidst the stench of death?

Well.

Then again.

It was just a school dance.

They didn't have to stick around if they didn't want to, but even if they had been overwhelmed with the initial noise (which… Ruby had, a little- her ears were sensitive dangit!) they'd swiftly fallen into their own little world, devoid of all others and smeared in pastel colors as they danced around each other and held hands, weaving gently through the crowd as they swirled around and around and left rose petals and the scent of spring in their wake.

Ruby and Penny both said nothing for a long while, staring into each other's eyes and gently clasping hands as they danced around in a circle to the tune of gentle strings and classical music, the slower song allowing them to press closer together- become more intimate with each other as they smiled and felt the pulsing and melding of their Auras. Green and red mingled together wherever they touched, and the two of them only had eyes for each other as they continued to dance around each other like orbiting stars, stealing kisses and gentle nuzzles against each other with every turn as rose petals filled their wake.

"I am so fucking glad we put in an allowance for Ruby's petals," Emerald groaned, palming her face as she watched the two dorks in love moving to the rhythm as she rested her aching feet and leaned against Cinder's side, the older woman somehow managing to seem perfectly calm and collected despite the fact that she was currently curled up in a secluded corner of the dance hall with ice packs wrapped around her feet.

It turned out that flash-sculpting an entire new pair of heels because one's regular glass heels didn't go with her dress was a bad idea, because she'd forgotten to add her usual allowances for comfort and stability and nearly rolled her ankle at one point because she'd forgotten to activate her Aura whilst standing at the front entrance of the ballroom and making sure everyone coming in had an appropriate ticket for the event- or, at the very least, a Beacon student ID.

Emerald had needed to take over after that, but thankfully it was a quick process… but she'd already been kinda tired because Professor Goodwitch asked her to go around and make sure that the catering had arrived on time and was set up properly and then she'd had to help Mercury set up the speakers with a few other students and then she'd been running around all afternoon and-

Gods.

The party was going great, but all four members of Team CMNE (plus whoever they managed to con into helping them set up for the Dance) were all too tired to actually enjoy it beyond the pizza, snacks, and hors d'oeuvres they'd gathered together and had been nibbling on for the last hour.

"You and me both, Ems," Cinder deadpanned, one arm wrapped around Emerald's shoulders while her other held Neo, who was paradoxically the least tired out of all of them despite the fact that she'd been spending an inordinate amount of time in the last while helping make sure the decorations would look perfect via using her Semblance on the entire building interior . 

Then again, the smug little ice cream gremlin had been napping all day as a result of all that previous hard work. Emerald didn't begrudge her other girlfriend that much- she deserved the break… now if only Emerald had the energy to stop her from eating all the triple chocolate cookies in their pile of snacks.

"Gods, if we hadn't included that in the decoration docs, this entire place would look fuckin' ruined," Mercury groaned, kicking his feet up on the table (and wearing actually nice dress shoes for once instead of his basic Talaria-compatible combat boots) and fanning himself with one hand as he shoved an entire slice of pizza into his mouth and swallowed it like some kind of nightmare weirdo. "Good thing the theme this year was red, huh?"

"Don't fucking tell me about it, Merc, we've put way too much time and effort into making sure that Ruby's rose petals wouldn't mess up the decorations- I guess if she throws enough everywhere, it'll look even more romantic… even if it's technically a tripping hazard," Cinder sighed, leaning back against the booth and staring up at the darkened ceiling, her Aura having already dealt with the damage to her feet due to its relative lack of severity- though, she kept the ice packs on because it just felt nice after standing around in glass heels for so long. "Bleh. They'll clear up soon anyway… as long as it doesn't turn into a petal storm again…"

"I think we're gonna be choking on flowers for a while if she lets out a petal storm indoors," Emerald deadpanned, groaning as she sort of peered down at the dance floor below, trying to see whatever she could and narrowing her eyes at Ruby and Penny as they continued to be obliviously in their own world… which, at this point, meant cuddling and canoodling by one of the pillar supports as rose petals continued to drift everywhere from Ruby's adorable dress. Honestly, it was almost too cute for all that she was basically just copying Penny's style with her shapeshifting and adapting it to her own colors. It was actually kinda cool, though it was weird seeing Ruby wearing… huh.

"... She's wearing Stiletto Runway. Why is she wearing Stiletto Runway?" Emerald muttered, scratching her head a bit as she tried to puzzle out why her baby not-really-cousin was wearing the single pair of heels she actually knew how to wear (and even then, mostly just for combat. She was horrendously bad at dancing in them) when she knew damn well that Ruby hated wearing "stupid lady stilts" in any format whatsoever.

"Probably because they're the only heels she can walk in, and also probably because Penny asked her too. Pennjamin's got her wrapped around her pinkie, we all know that, right?" Mercury answered dryly, rolling his eyes as he sat up and retrieved another slice of pizza, downing it with the same speed and efficiency as the last one. "Duh."

"Shut your fuck Merc, don't say it like it's the most obvious thing in the world," Emerald grumbled irritably, picking up a random chocolate from the pile and tossing it straight at Mercury's forehead… which did nothing of any use really, considering he just moved slightly and caught it in his mouth. "Bitch."

"Cunt."

"Manwhore."

"Ladywhore."

"Cocksucker."

"Carpetmuncher."

"Buttslut!"

"Silence, BOTTOM!"

"Only Cinder and Neo get to say that to me!" Emerald shouted back, then covered her mouth with her hands in utter shock as she registered what she just said. ".... Fuck!"

"Em, Merc, please shut the fuck up…" Cinder groaned, Neo helpfully providing her hand so Cinder could facepalm without moving her arms, the ice cream gremlin snickering silently as she snuggled her face into Cinder's boobs which were perfectly highlighted and enhanced with body hugging leather and a massive boob window that was the perfect size for Neo to stuff her face into. Thirsty little gremlin that she was. "Neo, dear, please remember to breathe, I'm wearing leather and not regular fabric so you might actually suffocate this time."

A single raised hand was her only response, bobbing about and signing in such a way that Cinder immediately knew that Neo was brushing her off by saying it would be a worthy death.

Emerald nodded faintly at that, giving her fellow Cinder simp a thumbs up and receiving one in return.

"... You two are ridiculous, you know that right?" Cinder sighed in a long suffering way, rolling her eyes at the actions of her two idiot girlfriends and thumping her head against the back of the booth while Mercury just snickered at the antics of the rest of his team. "Honestly, please don't actually suffocate in my boobs, I don't want to deal with the trauma of knowing my tits and body hugging leather are what killed both of my girlfriends."

"It'd be a worthy death, though," Emerald pointed out, staring rather enviously at Neo's position. "I mean, really, the only better way to die is being crushed between your thighs."

She paused, blinking slightly before Neo pulled her face out of Cinder's cleavage, then looked between Emerald and Cinder's lap consideringly.

"Don't even think about it, Neo. I am not doing that in public," Cinder warned, jabbing Neo in the shoulder with her finger and leveling an irritated look vaguely at Emerald. "Why would you get her thinking about that in public, Ems?"

"... It'd be hot, though…"

"It's public indecency."

"... I mean, we're in a corner, neither of us would tell, Mercury can just fuck off, and if you keep your voice down…"

"... Let's go back to the dorm instead."

"... Hey Merc?"

"Yeah yeah, I'll go fuck off and pretend Yatsu isn't out of signal range," Mercury sighed, palming his face as he stood and walked away. "Horny dumbfucks…"

"Look in a mirror, cuntrag!"

"Fuck you dipshit!"

"Bitch!"

"Asshat!"

"Fuck you!"

"Fuck you!"