Omniscient POV
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When Yang opened the door to her room, a swirl of rose petals pelted her face.
Ruby buzzed around in her Beowolf themed tank top and heart patterned pajamas, rummaging and grumbling through every nook and cranny she could find, while Pyrrha and Nora watched from their makeshift cots between the hazardous bunk beds.
Nora threw her hands high. "Welcome back."
"Hello, Yang." Pyrrha swept a few rose petals from her sheets. "I hope we're not intruding."
"Intruding?" Yang waved it off. "I invited you guys. Besides you're welcomed here whenever."
"I got it!" Ruby crawled out from under Weiss' bed and skipped towards them. "We can play now."
"What'cha got there, sis?" she said.
"Cards." She triumphantly held the deck above her head. "We're gonna try out this fun game Pyrrha told us about. Her and Rod played it all the time when they were at Sanctum."
Yang's stomach tightened, and she forced a smile. "Sounds fun. Cool if I join?"
Pyrrha shrugged. "I don't see why not."
The washroom door opened, and Weiss stepped out, garbed in a blue nightgown with her silky white hair cascading behind.
"Nice timing, Weiss." Yang gestured to their circle of friends. "Wanna hop in?"
Skepticism radiated from the heiress. "Hop in what, exactly?"
"Slap War." Pyrrha slid the cards out of the box. "The entire point of the game is to get all the cards. You can hold your entire deck but can't look at it." She shuffled and equally dealt the cards between them. "Every turn we place a single card from the top of our decks to the center of the pile without peeking."
"Ooooh," Nora's eyes sparkled, "I like surprises."
"It gets better." She swept a loose scarlet strand out the way. "Faces and aces are the most important, because depending on which of them is played, they allow players a specific number of chances to win the entire pile. If the next person in turn is unable to continue the cycle with another face or ace of their own, the person who played the card before them collects the pile and we repeat."
"Oh, I get it." Ruby beamed. "They're the best because they get the rest. I hope we don't make a mess."
Yang couldn't help but roll her jaw. 'Ringtail's rubbing off on her.'
"I suppose I can test this game." Weiss seated herself between Yang and Ruby. "But I still don't get why it's called Slap War."
Pyrrha's grin widened as she dealt the last card.
Not a minute later, the girls dove into their first game.
As expected, it went slow, considering no else played the game. Unsurprisingly, the Mistral champion won. During the second game, however, tensions spread thin and the pace got going; Pyrrha won that, too.
When the third match happened. . . it was war.
In rapid succession, they played a chain of useless number cards, adding to the growing pile.
Weiss placed a four and deflated at her momentary loss. "That was my last card. . ."
Yang threw down and whooped at the sight of a king. "Beat that!"
"Gladly." Nora fired back and forth, laying a six, ten, and luckily for her final chance, a queen. "Ha!"
She groaned and rubbed the stress from her forehead.
Given only two opportunities to get out of it, Pyrrha exhaled and played a three followed by an ace. "Oh my. . ."
Ruby clamped her head. "I can't take the pressure!"
"You better not lose it, sis." Yang pointed at the messy pile. "I still want another shot."
"Okay, I got this. . ." She revealed three numbered cards, and once the last card hit the pile, she gasped. "Yay, jack!"
A multitude of glares daggered the top of the older sister's deck while she gulped at the sight of the pile killer itself.
Yang placed her faith in the one card that could save her, steeled herself, and threw it down.
Another jack.
Screams, grunts, and a series of painful cries ricocheted across the room, hands pancaked over each other in a violent stack.
Nora wailed her sorrows, Pyrrha slipped out to massage her fingers, and Yang punched the carpet.
"No!" Ruby slumped over. "I didn't get the double!"
Weiss smirked at her newly won cards. "I'm back in."
Everyone groaned and prepared for the next round.
The door opened, and the final member of Team RWBY paused mid-step at the scene before her.
"What's going on here?" Blake said.
"We're playing a game," Yang motioned her over, "but you can still join if you want."
The Faunus grabbed a change of clothes from their shared closet to the washroom. "I'm going to freshen up, so count me out."
The game continued into the next hour until everyone fell flat as Pyrrha hummed a tune, mindlessly shuffling the cards square.
"Aw, man." Nora directed an accusing pout at the eldest of the sisters. "It's your fault for slapping wrong and giving Pyrrha a free pile, Yang."
"Hey, sixes and nines look a lot alike, okay." She spat out the bitterness of defeat and dug through the closest. "Whoever invented that stupid 'bad slap rule' deserves a beating."
"Do you ever lose at anything?" Weiss said to the champion.
Pyrrha playfully shrugged. "I can't say I don't like to try."
"I think we should try something else." Ruby racked her brain. "Maybe a game that doesn't involve winning or losing."
Dressed in a black robe, Blake returned, moaning and stretching both arms in the air.
"You calling it in, already?" Yang changed into an orange tank top and mini shorts. "The night's still young, partner."
Before she could respond, Nora laughed and bounced to her tippy toes.
"I know what we can do," she said. "Let's spy on the boys!"
Yang and Pyrrha flinched while Ruby and Weiss went pink.
"I'd rather sleep." Blake tucked into bed and buried her head between two pillows. "I want no part of whatever you're doing."
Weiss did her best to stay composed. "W-why in the world would we agree to an activity as inappropriate as that?"
"I don't know." Ruby smushed her fingers together. "Isn't that a bit much?"
"Nonsense." Nora blew raspberries and flashed a large pink scroll from under her pillow. "What's there to worry about? I mean, it's not like they'll even know."
Yang frowned at the device. "What are you doing?"
"Peeping," she crossed her eyes, "duh."
Nora pulled her scroll wide open, hit a few buttons on the translucent screen, displaying an image of a room with the word 'live' in the corner, and propped the scroll on a chair.
The camera angle was perched from on top of a shelf, capturing a wide range of the room with the exception of anything directly below it.
'She couldn't have. . .' thought each girl at the same time.
Ruby's hands fluttered to her face. "That's Team RTLS's room!"
"I can't believe you would do something so shameful!" Weiss said.
Pyrrha covered her mouth. "How did you. . ."
"Would you rather I explained how I did this," Nora pointed at the screen, "or prefer to see what Roderick looks like without a shirt?"
The girls stiffened at Team RTLS's leader entering the scene and taking it all off next to his bed.
Yang blurred towards the device at a Ruby rivaling speed. Icky liquid rolled down the side of her twisted lips, freeing wicked pleasure fueled giggles.
Blissfully unaware of the number of people watching him from next door, Roderick went about his business.
He laid his crimson-gold jacket on the bed, and next to go was the violet shirt, sinking into the hamper after an absent minded toss. His necklace jingled with each movement, swaying between that solid stomach and firm chest.
Every last speck of detail it had to offer was soaked up by the blonde, but she suddenly got cut off from her supply when a hand clamped her shoulder.
"S-she's back." Ruby breathed relief. "I almost thought we lost you there."
Yang met the crowd of judgmental eyes and suddenly found the urge to bury her head between two pillows like Blake.
"I knew you guys would like it!" Nora slapped a red faced Pyrrha on the arm. "By the way, anyone got popcorn?"
"I-I demand you turn that off, right now." Weiss did her best to push down her embarrassment and take charge. "I will not stand for this immoral tomfoolery any longer!"
Nora glanced over. "Oh, look, it's Stiofan."
In that instant, the heiress bought a first class ticket to the closest seat in the house, and the Faunus perked, peeping from within the gap of her pillow sandwich.
Bathrobe clad, Stiofan entered the scene in a fresh breath of steamy shower air.
"Finally done, man?" Roderick pulled a towel from his drawer and tossed it around his neck.
Stiofan rubbed his collarbone. "Just about."
"You alright?"
"Just a minor inconvenience." He rotated his arm. "I appear to have overexerted myself during my spar with Lady Weiss."
"I wasn't that rough." The space between Weiss' eyebrows crinkled. "And when will he stop calling me that?"
Roderick averted his eyes. "Actually, um, I-I can help with that."
Stiofan's head tilted. "How so?"
"W-well, I've been reading this book lately, and there were a few massaging tips in there I could try."
"Wouldn't that be difficult," he gestured to the prosthetic, "considering your disability?"
"Actually," Roderick waggled his artificial digits, "the fingertips are designed to be soft for intricacy and convenience reasons. Helps me get a grip, you know?"
"It would be unfortunate if fragile items slipped or were damaged by a simple grasp." Stiofan hummed and cupped his chin. "Very well. I shall take your word for it."
Behind the girls, going completely unheard, rustles and a muffled scream rocked the only occupied bed.
Ruby watched through her fingers, and Yang and Weiss were a good minute away from being complete goners.
Pyrrha's lips quivered. "They're not going to really do this, are they?"
Nora struck a pose. "This. Is. Happening!"
Stiofan disrobed, leaving himself bare save for a pair of boxer briefs.
The girls resembled beets, but only Weiss racked Stiofan's body, searing every part of him into her memory.
The fresh droplets twinkled diamonds along the toned lines shaping his chiseled muscles. Routine sword swings honed his back and arms, constant footwork built his shapely thighs and calves, countless spear thrusts strengthened his chest, and a perfect rack of abs. . . Was there more to say?
'How pointless,' Weiss thought. She gripped the hem of her nightgown so hard it screamed. 'This is disgraceful, lewd, terribly unmannered, and. . . and. . .'
Blue eyes glazed over, and her body magnetized ever closer to the scroll.
"Incredible," she said in a single hot breath.
"Gratitude, partner." Stiofan set a chair into the middle of the room. "I leave the rest in your hands."
Roderick got to work, kneading the stiff joints of his shoulders and nipping shy of the neck, no part going unworked.
Unlike the other girls who suddenly forgot how to function, Blake noticed the oddly familiar movements and dug to the furthest depths of her memories for what it might be.
"Hmm." Stiofan relaxed to the touch. "This is rather pleasant."
A blush dusted Roderick's cheeks. "Please don't make any weird sounds. Doing this is hard enough as it is, man."
"Your technique is impressive." Intrigue reverberated in his voice. "What have you been reading?"
"Well, um, you see—" He cleared his throat. "Just a book about, uh, relaxation and stuff. I read it in my spare time at the library."
Blake reeled from a blow equally devastating to being hit by Nora's war hammer swung full speed, blood literally gushing from between the pillows where she hid.
"Roderick, I underestimated you," she said and fought to stay conscious. "You truly are. . . a . . . fan. . . ugh. . ."
"I see." Stiofan crossed his arms. "Perhaps we should discuss something else in order to take our minds off it."
"Shoot."
"How about that day you fought alongside Pyrrha in Combat Class?" He recalled their splendid performance. "Your teamwork was impressive, and it was a joy to watch."
Roderick snorted. "We just get each other."
"Is that so? Then why does it appear like there's more than meets the eye?" Playful interest lifted his smirk. "I don't mean to pry, however, I can't help but wonder what the extent of your relationship is with Pyrrha."
The former Sanctum Academy students winced.
"That's so true!" Nora dropped in front of her teammate's face. "You two were practically reading each other's minds. I know you guys are close and everything, but that was another level! There has to be more to it, am I right?"
Yang's ears opened.
Pyrrha fidgeted and avoided as much eye contact as possible. "There's nothing between us anymore—"
She slapped her own mouth shut.
The air vacuumed from the room, and every pair of eyes puffed bigger than bowling balls.
"Bad move, Pyrrha," Nora said in a sing-song voice. "No point in hiding it now."
Pyrrha's face resembled the same shade as her hair. "I. . . I. . ."
"You're not wrong, man," said Roderick. He drifted back to his bed and discarded his metal limb on the mattress. "It'd be a lie if I said I didn't feel anything. Not in the way you think, though. Yeah, we're more than friends, yet it's deeper than love. It's more like she's a part of me, and I'm a part of her." He opened the bathroom door and slipped inside. "No more, no less."
Yang powered down the scroll despite Nora's vocal dismay.
"I guess we should hit the hay." She retreated to her bunk above her partner's and disappeared beneath the covers. "Got a big day ahead of us tomorrow. Best be ready for it."
The other girls caught on that it wasn't a suggestion and entered their respective sleeping areas, silently agreeing not to mutter a word of it for Yang's sake.
They said their goodnights and allowed the night to whisk them away.
-----
Several hours later, Yang's quiet groans filled the room, tossing and turning until she finally gave up.
She blew strands of hair out from her face. 'I need some air.'
The second the door creaked shut behind her, rustles of another occupant stirred in their sheets.
With the help of her scroll, Yang lit up the darkened hallways and navigated her way outside the dormitory.
The gentle night breeze caressed her skin, cooling the rising heat in her face. She leaned against the building and held her chest to settle the rampant emotions whirling inside.
All night, the only thing she could hear was what Roderick said about Pyrrha, and it blared louder than her motorcycle running nonstop.
The doors clicked open.
"Yang," a blob of red appeared at the threshold, "are you there?"
Yang gaped at the four time champ entering the lamplight. "Pyrrha, what are you doing here?"
"I could ask the same thing." Pyrrha joined her on the wall. "Can't sleep either?"
Arms crossed, she grumbled.
Yang's problem was as open as a rookie's guard, and Pyrrha knew exactly how to approach it.
"This is about what happened," she said, "isn't it?"
She hung her head. "You noticed, huh?"
"It's easy to tell when a girl's in love." Pyrrha shrugged. "Especially since I'm having a similar experience."
Yang scoffed. "Vomit Boy's still giving you trouble?"
The corners of her lips cracked up. "Vomit Boy?"
"Guess he never told you." She chuckled and thought back to the first day which seemed like forever ago. "Me and Ruby met Jaune on the airship dropping us off to Beacon. Well, we didn't actually meet. Jaune got airsick and blew chunks across the deck." She almost gagged at the rancid phantom scent. "And some of it got on my boots. Hence, Vomit Boy."
Pyrrha giggled behind her hand. "Well, with Vomit Boy, things have actually become incredibly more difficult."
"Can't be that bad."
"I offered him advice on how to ask Weiss to the dance."
She sucked her teeth. "Ooh, ouch."
"I know, right?" She groaned and covered her face. "Jaune seemed so lost, a-and confused. Helping him was the first thing that came to mind. . . I'm so stupid."
"You've got to be more out there, girl." She nudged her arm. "I mean you got the looks, smarts, and people call you 'The Invincible Girl.' Like, come on. It's just Jaune. I'd get it if you were going for someone scary. . ."
Yang drifted off at the way Pyrrha remained unresponsive and held an emptiness to her eyes.
"Wait," she said, "you didn't come out here to talk about Jaune, did you?"
She shook her head, red locks bouncing.
Yang's heartbeat elevated ten notches. "Are you in love with Roddy?"
Pyrrha drew circles in the concrete with her slippers. "I can't say that I'm not."
"Figures." She forced herself to laugh, but every breath was a needle to the heart. "I'm more shocked that you two haven't already hooked up."
"Actually, I already had my chance."
Yang's pupils dilated. "You guys. . . were together?"
The temperature dropped further, and Pyrrha shuddered under the night's frigid touch.
"Before our last battle at the Mistral Regional Tournament, Roderick and I made a wager: the loser must absolutely do one favour for the winner." Eyes closed, she relived the memory of that day over again. "As you know, I won, and like every year, we enjoyed ourselves in the festivities held during the tournament. I had him win me the circlet I usually wear." She smiled and tapped the spot where the absent bronze piece of metal was supposed to be. "After that, I-I took him somewhere nice and told him how I really felt."
It was barely a year ago, and Pyrrha could still see it as clear as Yang beside her.
The stone bridge they stood on, the rippling river passing underneath him, the tranquil twilight of the moon melding with the sun across opposite sides of the sky, and the stillness most of all. Stuck in time. Alone with the boy dearest to her heart.
"Roderick didn't see me the same way." A single tear drop streaked Pyrrha's cheek. She soaked in the stars, calmed by a bittersweet sense of relief. "It took a while to understand, and as confusing as it was, he was right. What we share isn't love. It's more than that. Like what we heard earlier, Yang, I am as much a part of him as he is of me. That is who we are to each other."
Yang reeled at the amount of strength and pain belonging not to the perfect champion everyone admired but a girl still recovering from rejection.
"Don't let my story worry you." She sniffled and kept a brave face. "I'm sure you'd have a better chance than I."
She blinked. "Huh?"
"Roderick mentioned a specific person from his childhood repeatedly while we were together," she said, rightfully sour. "Honestly, I was beginning to get jealous over this girl. Although, now that I've met her myself," she strolled towards a nearby bench, "I can see why."
Yang went rigid.
Pyrrha winked. "Good luck."
The shock kicked her in the gut.
"Wow. And here I was, preparing myself to break through the roadblock you built between me and Roddy." Yang slumped and rubbed her brow. "To think there wasn't anything there in the first place. . ."
"If you don't mind me asking," Pyrrha sat, hands clasped in her lap, "what do you see in Roderick?"
She joined her on the bench. "For one, he's not a scumbag like so many of the other men I've ever come across."
Simply thinking of them nearly set her hair on fire.
The predatory eyes, the infuriating whistles, the disgusting compliments, and worst of all, the pushy flirts who couldn't take a hint unless it came in the form of a knuckle sandwich.
Like Yang, Pyrrha understood what it was like to receive a lot of unwanted attention, mostly in part of her celebrity status.
"Roddy's special," she continued. "When we were kids, I always dragged him along and made him do things he really didn't want to do, but in the end, he went along with it every time. I really liked that about him—how he's so considerate, thinking about other people's feelings over his own."
Pyrrha smiled. "I understand what you mean. When we were still at Sanctum, I made Roderick train with me almost everyday. He clearly hated it, and just like you said, he still decided to join me. It's very endearing."
"That's him, alright." Yang leaned back, arms tucked behind her head. "I'm so glad to see that even though he's changed, he's still the same after all these years."
A fog filled Yang's eyes, and right away, Pyrrha sensed the off feeling shrouding her.
"Yang, what's wrong?"
She didn't bother to hide it, and ultimately spoke her mind.
"Did you know that it was my fault?" Yang's voice wavered and fell barely above a whisper. "Roddy lost his arm because of me."
For the first time that night, Pyrrha was caught off guard.
"I didn't," she said. "Roderick never told me, and I knew better than to ask."
"I took advantage of his kindness and forced him and Ruby to do something so dangerous and stupid. Any other person would've resented me for all my worth. Not Roddy, though. That dumb guy just smiled when I visited him in the hospital, and he even had the nerve to ask if I was alright." Yang pulled up a leg, hugged her knee, and did her best to keep it together. "That's when I learned how blessed I was to have him in my life and exactly how much he means to me."
Pyrrha's heart melted. "This talk has been uplifting. Thank you, Yang."
"I could say the same to you." Yang snapped out of her gloom and punched Pyrrha's arm. "You have any idea how frustrating it was thinking you were after him, too?"
"I'm sorry if our relationship was misleading." She flicked up a finger. "Also, be gentle with him. He's very delicate."
"Tell me about it." She clicked her tongue. "I took Roddy to play in the woods one day, and he cried after tripping over a root. He was a huge baby back then."
Her eyes twinkled. "Well, at Sanctum, Roderick accidentally knocked out a teacher."
Yang's face slacked. "No. . ."
Pyrrha bounced and nodded furiously.
"Roderick wasn't paying attention," she said, "and when our teacher approached him, he was startled, and, well, let's just say class ended early that day."
She doubled over laughing. "You gotta tell me more!"
"Only if you tell me more!"
"Deal!"
The two girls proceeded to exchange as many embarrassing stories about Roderick as they could within the hour.
Meanwhile, in the small portion of the dormitory building where the exchange students were staying, one of the windows cracked ajar ever-so-slightly, revealing Cinder's concealed gaze within the dark crevice.