Day 40:

*Buzz! Bu-*

Glynda's alarm was quickly clicked off by the pair lying in their shared bed, surrounding them with silence once more before they began smiling at the other. "Good morning, Rosebud." Glynda said to the girl lying on top of her. "You comfy there?"

"Of course." Ruby blushed as she began to adjust herself, before realizing her and Glynda's legs had become tangled in each other during the night. "Your boobs make great pi-" As Ruby spoke, her eyes drifted down to her girlfriend's breasts, before her eyes widened and her blush grew brighter. Ruby immediately lurched away from her girlfriend, covering her face with her free hand as her cheeks glowed as bright as a Christmas tree.

"What, what's wrong?" Glynda asked as she propped herself up.

"Your bra came off again." Ruby answered, trying to keep her eyes off her girlfriend's bosom as Glynda looked down to confirm the girl's statement. Sure enough, her chest was bare, and as Glynda's cheeks lit up like a Christmas tree, the woman wrapped her cuffed arm around her chest, pulling her girlfriend closer to her.

Looking down at their linked arms, the pair looked back up to the other's blushing faces before smiles crept across their lips again, giving way to soft laughter and giggles. "Guess the past month hasn't changed us that much." Glynda chuckled before looking around the bed, quickly finding the strapless bra she was wearing the night before. "Can I get some privacy?"

"Of course." Ruby said as she turned away from the woman, placing a hand over her eyes as Glynda worked the bra back on. "Though you're just going to take it off in a minute. The first years are being sent out on missions today, right?"

"Well, yes…" Glynda said. "But that isn't until later today. We might still be able to get some more cuddles in."

"You just wanna sleep in, you lazy butt." Ruby commented.

"Not at all." Glynda said as she finished getting her bra on. "I want to sleep in with you." With that, Glynda placed a hand on the side of Ruby's chin, turning to girl towards her before planting a soft kiss on her lips. Ruby's cooling cheeks lit up again before Glynda pulled back, staring into Ruby's silver eyes with a smirk. "Don't you?"

"… No later than six-thirty." Ruby said.

"No sooner than six-fifteen." With that, Glynda slid her hand to the back of Ruby's head before falling back into her bed, pulling Ruby with her to place the girl's head onto the woman's breasts. As they resettled into position, their cuffed hands interlaced with each other, and Glynda pulled one of her legs up around Ruby's waist. Blushing bright, Ruby nuzzled against the pillows her girlfriend made of her breasts, helping to light Glynda's cheeks as the two continued to lay in their bed.

*KNOCK-KNOCK-KNOCK-KNOCK!*

The short minutes passed by quickly before a pounding on Glynda's door ruined the quiet moment between the two, and the pair began to scowl as they both cracked an eye open to look towards it, before hearing another series of knocks against the wood. Letting out an annoyed sigh, the two pushed themselves out of bed.

"It's too early for this." Glynda muttered to herself as she and Ruby walked over to her dresser, allowing her to pull out a shirt before another series of knocks struck against the door. "Just give us a minute!" Glynda called back, already beginning to work her way into the dress shirt. "Let me get my shirt on at least." The woman said more to herself as she and Ruby began working the zipper up the sleeve of her cuffed arm.

As the pair approached the door, Ruby plucked up her cloak and quickly clipped it around her neck, allowing it to close around her form as Glynda buttoned up her shirt. Even with this, Ruby stayed at the other side of the door as Glynda began pulling it open, leaning around it to hide her lack of pants from the visitor.

Or, rather, visitors.

Glynda's eyes went wide upon seeing the large crowd gathered outside her room, seemingly lead by a scowling Yang and Weiss as the pair held up their cuffed hands to the teacher. After a moment, the surprised look on Glynda's face faded as the events of last night returned to memory. "Oh, right, hold on." Glynda said before closing the door.

"Who is it?" Ruby asked as Glynda turned around.

"Everyone." Glynda answered as she approached her nightstand, retrieving the silver key lying on top of it.

Returning to their positions at the door, Glynda opened it a crack before placing the key into Yang and Weiss's cuffed hands. "That's the master key, it should open everyone's cuffs." Glynda explained as the two got to work unlocking themselves. "Just leave the cuffs here, I'll get to them when you all are done." With that, Glynda closed the door again, locking it behind her before approaching her dresser. "Come on, Ruby, look like it's time to get dressed."

"I thought you wanted to sleep in?" Ruby asked.

"We're going to need to put those cuffs away once everyone's unlocked." Glynda said as she shook her head, pulling a dresser drawer open before whispering to her wrist companion. "And try to keep quiet. There are Faunus out there, remember."

"What does that have-" Ruby began, before her eyes widened as she picked up on what her girlfriend was telling her. "Oh, right." Ruby whispered back with a nod.

As Ruby and Glynda entered the cafeteria, the red-haired girl almost immediately became aware of the way everyone was looking at them. The attention the girl got from being cuffed to her teacher was nothing new, and the pair had begun to adjust to the stares they received. This time, though, the students weren't just looking at them, they were glaring. Ruby's eyes went around the room, finding every student glaring at the pair as they approached their table. "I think everyone's still mad about last night." Ruby whispered to her wrist companion.

"I've noticed." Glynda responded as she and Ruby sat down. "Suppose I forgot about the aftermath of hijinks like the one we pulled."

"How long do you think it'll take for this to fizzle out?" Ruby asked.

"I hope you two are proud of that little stunt you pulled!" Weiss growled as she and the rest of Team RWBY approached the table, followed closely by team JNPR. "I cannot believe you two forced everyone to spend the night like that. Do you two have any idea what it's like to sleep chained to Yang!?"

"I think it's going to take a while." Glynda sighed.

"Come now, Weiss," Pyrrha began as Team JNPR took their usual seats across from Team RWBY. "Can you really say it was that bad?"

"Yes." Weiss said. "Sharing a bed with her was the most embarrassing thing I've ever had to do!"

"I offered to sleep on the floor, but you said no." Yang pointed out.

"You would have just pulled me out." Weiss responded. "And how come you're not mad about this, Pyrrha. You had to sleep with Jaune."

"It wasn't so bad." Pyrrha shrugged. "In fact, it was surprisingly comfortable."

"And Nora usually sneaks into my bed at night, so I'm kinda used to it." Ren added.

"Besides, it probably made the dance far more memorable." Pyrrha said.

"Great, tell that to everyone else." Ruby said, gesturing to crowd around them. "I can feel the way people are glaring at me."

"Oh yeah, that reminds me." Yang said before opening her jacket to reach into one of the inner pockets. "You two left before we named the king and queen."

"Yeah, sorry, we were pretty tired out at that point." Ruby said.

"… The dance doesn't name a king and queen." Glynda pointed out, causing Ruby to raise an eyebrow.

"Yeah, well it was pretty unanimous." Yang said, pulling out a set of tiaras with a smirk. "So we figured 'why not?'" With that, the blonde girl placed the crowns onto Ruby and Glynda's heads, causing the pair's eyes to widen as Yang gestured to them. "Ladies and gentlemen, the king and queen of the Vytal Festival Dance: Ruby Rose and Glynda Goodwitch!"

With that, the cafeteria burst into applaud, giving the blushing pair whistles and cheers as Scrolls flashed pictures of them. As the mock celebration died down, Ruby glanced over at her sister, still smirking as she looked at the image of the two on her Scroll. Glancing to the other half of her team, Ruby and Glynda found Weiss and Blake smirking as well, the former still giving the two silent claps.

"Congratulations." Weiss said.

After a moment, Ruby and Glynda both let out a sigh as they looked back at their meals. "Yeah, I guess we deserved this." Ruby said.

"Is it just me, or are all these missions really boring?" Ruby asked as she scrolled through the listing of missions.

"Yeah, none of these seem are really clicking." Yang responded.

"These missions are all meant for first years." Glynda pointed out as Ruby continued to scroll through the listing. "They're just meant to get you all used to the process."

"Yeah, but look at these." Ruby said, gesturing to the list. "Wall repair? Escort? Delivery? We are training to be Huntresses, right?"

"Being a Huntress isn't always hunting Grimm." Glynda answered. "While that's more common, this is also a part of protecting the Kingdoms."

"I guess…" Ruby mumbled, placing her free hand around her chin as she looked at the listing. "And after the last time we went Grimm hunting, I don't think we'd want to do something like that, but… Eh, I just can't find anything that clicks, ya know?"

"Then allow me…" Glynda said, placing her free hand on the board to scroll through the listing again, before eventually coming up on a wall-repair mission. "This one shouldn't be too hindered by our current predicament," Glynda began, pulling up her and Ruby's cuffs. "And if we're lucky, it should be fairly secluded, so not many people should see me and Ruby like this."

"Why's that a priority?" Blake asked.

"It's awkward enough having our names plastered across the school newspaper." Glynda said. "Last thing I want is me and Ruby making national news or something." Glynda let out a sigh at the thought as she mumbled to herself, "With the jokes people would make, I doubt I'd be able to show my face in town again."

"Is there anything with more action to it, though?" Yang asked.

"Why do you think this is a four-to-five-man job?" Glynda responded.

"Doesn't that say 'Low chance of Grimm?'" Yang asked further, pointing to the line in question.

"Yes, 'Low chance.'" Glynda answered. "Not 'No chance.' Even if they're just small Grimm, they can still be dangerous."

"She makes some good points," Ruby said. "And it's not like we have anything better to do, so…" With a quick gesture, Ruby selected the mission before entering her team's information. "Besides, with all the drama from last week, a quick and easy mission could be a good chance to cool off."

"Be a lot quicker if you two still had your powers." Yang pointed out.

"Yeah, that's another benefit of these missions," Glynda said as Ruby finished entering the information. "They make for a quick paycheck."

"We don't need to pack much." Glynda reminded Ruby as the pair sat around one of Ruby's backpacks, stuffing supplies into it for the oncoming mission. "We'll only be gone for a day or so, remember."

"Right, right." Ruby mumbled as she squeezed her supplies into the bag, before narrowing her eyes at it as it refused to go in all the way.

"We could use two bags if you can't get everything in that one." Glynda suggested as Ruby continued to push the bag's contents in.

"I told you, this is fine." Ruby said as she forced it in. "It's not like this will all be very heavy anyway." With that, Ruby began working the zipper around the bulging bag before glancing back up at Glynda. "Is it really that bad being stuck to me?"

"Hm?" Glynda hummed before Ruby sat up straight.

"You said you wanted to avoid too many people seeing us like this." Ruby explained as she brought up their cuffed wrists. "Does this really embarrass you that much?"

"Well… Kind of, yes, but…" Glynda hesitantly answered. As Ruby looked back down at her bag, Glynda took the girl's cuffed hand in hers, scooting closer to her in the process. "But it's not like that. It's not you if that's what you're asking. In fact, I've kind of…" Glynda glanced away from the red-haired girl as her cheeks began to light up. "Enjoyed… Spending time with you…"

"Glynda…" Ruby muttered.

"I mean, yes, I'd enjoy having my privacy back, but…" Glynda said before hesitantly pulling up her and Ruby's joined hands. "These cuffs brought us together in more ways than one, and I'm happy for that."

"… How can someone so sexy be so cute?" Ruby asked, placing her free hand on the back of Glynda's head before pulling the woman into a kiss. Their lips danced across each other for a moment before the two pulled away from each other, blushing brighter than Christmas trees as Glynda put their cuffed hands down.

"Ye-yeah, well…" Glynda began. "I guess I'm learning a thing or two from you."

"Oh, please, you'll make me blush." Ruby giggled.

"You're already blushing." Glynda pointed out with a chuckle before climbing to her feet. "Now come on, we still need to pack for our trip."

"Geez, Rubes, think you need some more stuff in there?" Yang asked as her sister and teacher reunited with the team outside the auditorium, noting the rather large bag slung to Ruby's armored back by a single sash.

"What?" Ruby asked, turning to give them a better look at her bag. "I wanted to make sure we had enough supplies."

"You realize this mission will barely last two days, right?" Weiss asked. "And that the rest of us can bring supplies too?"

"Yeah well," Ruby began with a shrug. "Better to have something and not need it, right?" Looking towards her older sister, Ruby added, "If Dad were here, he'd agree with me."

"Not when he sees the size of that thing." Yang chuckled.

"He's seen me swing Crescent Rose, he knows I can handle this." Ruby said, hoisting the bag back up as the group began towards the launch pads.

"Let the record show I tried to convince her to let me carry some." Glynda stated before the group noticed a group of students gathering together.

"Hm, what's that all about?" Weiss asked before the students parted to allow the familiar group of second-years to pass.

"Looks like Team CFVY made it back in time to see most of us off." Ruby chuckled, before seeing Blake splitting off from the group, making her way towards Velvet. Looking to the side, Ruby saw the rest of her team following after the black-haired girl, and Ruby let out a soft sigh before she began to follow behind them. "Well, guess we're chatting with them now."

"We could just wait for them to finish." Glynda suggested. "I doubt anyone from Team CFVY would mind, especially with your and Coco-"

"Nah, it'll be fine." Ruby said, waving her cuffed hand up towards her girlfriend. "Besides, I've been meaning to talk with Coco since yesterday."

Before Glynda could ask what Ruby meant, Blake tapped Velvet on the shoulder. "Velvet, are you guys okay?" Blake asked as the group of second-years turned to face her. "Your mission was supposed to end a week ago."

"It was nothing, really." Velvet answered. "There were just… More Grimm than reported."

"I doubt that would extend your mission for that long." Weiss pointed out before the ears atop Velvet's head began to droop.

"Well, it… Was a lot more Grimm." Fox interjected.

"But we made it through." Coco added, before pointing her thumb up to herself as she pulled a smirk. "Takes more than that to knock down my team."

"We were just on our way to debrief with Ozpin." Velvet as she turned away from the group. "And we'd hate to keep him waiting. We can talk more when you guys get back from your mission."

Before Team CFVY could get too far away, Ruby raised up her free hand. "Hey, Coco, before you go," Ruby called out, causing Coco to turn to look at the red-haired girl. "I just wanted to thank you again for that dress you got me.

"… It was nothing, really." Coco said with a grin, which quickly turned into a playful smirk as she turned to face Ruby completely. "And thank you for shopping at Abel Wears. Fa-"

"'Fashion lush to impress your crush.'" Ruby recited. "We've heard it already."

"Well then," Coco said before looking up at Team RWBY's blonde. "Send me those pictures, I'm dying to see her face."

As Coco turned to rejoin her team, Yang quickly slapped her forehead as she scowled to herself. "Knew I forgot something." The blonde grumbled to herself.

As Team RWBY resumed their pace towards the launch pads, Ruby glanced up at her wrist companion to find Glynda giving her a grin. In response, Ruby cocked an eyebrow at the woman. "What?"

"So you and Coco are friends, then?" Glynda asked.

"What? No, of course not." Ruby quickly said. "We're just don't always snark at each other."

"Kids these days." Glynda sighed as she rolled her eyes.

Walking through the groups of other departing students, Ruby flicked her Scroll open and looked over the information again. "Bullhead 7 at docking bay 5, should be right around…" Ruby muttered to herself before spotting their assigned ship. The group's eyes immediately fell onto a figure loading cargo into the craft, and Ruby cleared her throat as she and her team approached. "This ship is for wall repair in a village just outside Vale, right?"

"That it is." The man replied as he placed the final crate into the ship, and Ruby and Yang immediately perked up upon hearing his voice. "Before we go, I'd like to get to know you kids and what we're working-" As the blond man turned around, his blue eyes widened upon seeing the people in front of him, before a smirk grew across his lips as Yang approached him.

"Dad!" Yang greeted upon pulling the man into a hug, which he quickly returned as Blake, Weiss, and Glynda looked between the two and Ruby. "I didn't know you'd be here."

"Ozpin called me in a few days ago." The man explained. "Said something about a teacher being preoccupied this year." As the father and his daughter parted, Mr. Xiao Long looked towards his red-haired daughter, seeing her looking away from him as she rubbed her arm. "Well, Ruby? Don't I get a hug?"

"We-well, I'd love to, Dad, but…" Ruby stammered before lifting up her and Glynda's cuffed hands. "It'd be a little awkward…"

"A pleasure to meet you, Mr. Xiao Long." Glynda said, holding out her free hand for a handshake. "I'm Pr. Goodwitch. You see, me and your daughter here got into an incident with a new species of-"

"New species of Grimm, I already know." The man said, tightly squeezing the woman's hand as he gave it a good shake. "Yang already told me everything."

"She… She did?" Ruby asked as she and Glynda looked towards the blonde girl as her father let go of Glynda's hand. "… What did she tell you exactly?"

"Oh, relax, you two." Yang said with a wave of her hand. "I just told him the basics of your fix."

"Define basics." Ruby requested.

"Is there something I need to know?" Mr. Xiao Long asked.

"It's nothing important, Mr. Xiao Long." Glynda said before pulling on her and Ruby's cuffs. "We've just been the center of attention for the past month due to these, and there have been some… Less than amusing jokes and rumors."

"Ah." Xiao Long said with a nod. "Well, don't worry about it, I'm only here to judge your guys' performance in the field." With that, the man turned and stepped onto the ship before gesturing for the group to follow him. "Now come on, we can talk about your guys' capabilities on the way over. And please, feel free to call me Taiyang."

As the rest of her team followed the Huntsman onto the ship, Ruby leaned towards her girlfriend. "I'm starting to see what you mean by this being embarrassing." Ruby whispered.

"I knew this would be boring." Ruby sighed, sitting just outside of the village's broken wall as she rolled her fingers along her pistol's grip.

"Well, sorry to disappoint you." Glynda began, pulling her eyes away from Forever Fall to glance down at her girlfriend. "But I'd rather be safe than sorry."

"Yeah, I now, but…" Ruby began, leaning back before looking up at her girlfriend. "But we're not even doing anything."

"That is a large part of being the last line of defense." Glynda responded. "Waiting for the action to come to you. Or would you rather be out hunting with your sister, partner, and father when we're like this?" She asked as she lifted her and Ruby's cuffed hands, knowing she probably didn't need to.

"Glynda, I get it." Ruby began. "I don't want to get hurt, it's just…" Ruby took a glance to her side to see Blake reading one of her novels. A twitch of her bow further reminded Ruby of her predicament. Not wanting her teammate to hear her, Ruby pulled out her Scroll before pulling up a notepad app, quickly typing out her message before holding the device out to her girlfriend.

[We can't even TALK]

Glynda felt a light blush spread across her cheeks as she looked back up at her girlfriend. "I mean, we're just sitting here." Ruby said. "This doesn't feel like being a Huntress at all." Ruby once again began typing out a message on her Scroll, and Glynda watched as Ruby worked on it before she finished it.

[And I can't enjoy being with you]

"I know, Ruby." Glynda said, turning to look back out into the red forest before glancing at the workers behind her. "If you're really that bored, we could always help with the wall during the next shift."

"… Guess it would be better than nothing." Ruby said, taking another glance at Blake to see the girl flipping a page. Turning her attention back to her Scroll, Ruby once again began typing out a message to her girlfriend.

[What was your first mission?]

Passing the device into her wrist companion's cuffed hand, Ruby watched as Glynda typed out a message before holding it out for Ruby to read.

[Escort mission. Me and my team helped oversee the transportation of medicine and food to an outer village. I think it was this one, actually.]

With a slight grin, Ruby typed out her response on the device.

[Small world. What was it like?]

[Boring. The path was already cleared, we were only there just in case. We actually thought about ditching it to go on our own Grimm hunt.]

[Did you?]

[Pro-Huntress caught us before we did. Gave us an earful about it.]

Ruby had to cover her mouth to keep herself from chuckling before she brought herself to write a response.

[Funny to think about you getting lectured]

[I know. How times have changed.]

Ruby and Glynda gave each other soft chuckles and smiles before allowing silence to settle between them again. The two tapped their fingers on the back of the Scroll, trying to think about what to talk about next as they let their eyes wander. After a moment, Glynda turned her attention back to the Scroll, quickly typing out a new message to her girlfriend.

[Why are we talking like this?]

[Because we don't want Blake to hear us]

[Thus far, the conversation has had nothing to do with us dating.]

Ruby's face went blank before a blush spread across her cheeks, realizing Glynda had a point before she began typing out her response.

[Yeah, but it's kinda nice huddling this close.]

Glynda's raised her eyebrows at the message before looking down at her girlfriend, finding the girl was indeed leaning against her shoulder, cuffed arms interlaced with each other as they both held up the Scroll between them. A light blush spread its way across Glynda's cheeks when she finally noticed Ruby's weight against her arm, and Glynda's lips curled into a small smile as she rolled her eyes at the younger girl. Ruby's grin, meanwhile, grew into a full smile upon seeing Glynda's.

Ruby and Glynda dropped another heavy cinderblock down the metal bars protruding upwards out of the wall's foundations, allowing it to slam into place in its cement. As Glynda began scraping away the excess, Ruby ran her wrist along her forehead, cleaning off beads of sweat before she began doing the same. As the pair began preparing the next spot for its block, Ruby took a glance at her wrist companion, noting the large amount of sweat dripping off Glynda's forehead and the deep breaths the woman was taking. Loosening the straps on their helmets and letting them hang off the back of their necks helped to cool their heads in the autumn breeze, but only a bit.

"Not used to doing stuff like this, are you?" Ruby asked.

"I… Do not exercise often... Enough." Glynda panted, trying to catch her breath after lifting the previous load. "How did I let you talk me into this?"

"Oh, come on, they aren't that heavy." Ruby said.

"Maybe not to you, but I don't swing a giant weapon every day." Glynda remarked.

"Yeah, but you're probably only lifting half of the weight at most." Ruby retorted. "You're just being a drama queen."

Before the conversation could go any further, a gunshot yelled out over the two. Looking out towards the forests, Ruby and Glynda saw Blake standing at the ready, weapons in her hands as she fired off more shots into the forests before the black figures of the Grimm began to come out of the tree line. "Guys, I think a few got passed the others!" Blake called to the two before a Beowolf lept out at her with its claws at the ready. The raven-haired girl skittered back, leaving an image in her place before she began slashing at the creature, only for more beasts to begin emerging.

"Heh, finally, some action." Ruby chuckled to herself as she walked across the scaffolding. Pulling her helmet up onto her head, Ruby reached for the pistol she left lying at the side.

"Let's try to keep our distance." Glynda said as she picked up her SMG. "Wouldn't want either of us getting hurt."

With a nod, Ruby and Glynda jumped off the scaffolding. Landing on the red grass, Ruby and Glynda immediately pulled up their guns, firing rounds at the black beasts. The bullets either dug into black flesh of cracked white bone, drawing one of the Beowolves' attention. With a snarl, the creature began charging at the two, and the cuffed pair focused their fire on it. As the creature drew closer in spite of the bullets peppering it, Ruby gave Glynda a shove, helping to push the woman out of the way before the Beowolf could swipe at her. As the two fell out of the way, Ruby spun her pistol around in her hand, slashing her blade through the Beowolf's side. As the Beowolf slid to a halt, it turned to face the cuffed pair before Ruby spun her pistol around again, firing a series of shots into its head, further breaking into its mask before a round found its way through. With one last snarl, the creature fell backward as smoke began to leave the bullet hole.

Looking back to the forest, Ruby and Glynda saw another Beowolf running at them, and with wide eyes quickly rolled under its attack. As the creature dug its claws into the dirt, Ruby and Glynda began firing shots off at it, alternating with each tumble as they rolled further away from the wall. Most of their shots either missed or failed to faze the creature before it began after them. Coming to a halt, Ruby and Glynda began collecting themselves before Ruby pulled up her pistol again, firing a few more rounds into the creature as it came closer. As the Beowolf prepared to attack, Glynda spun her hatchet around and brought it up over her head. Ruby ducked under the wolf's claws, bringing up her and Glynda's cuffed hands to stop the attack before it reached Glynda as the woman brought the ax down into the monster's mask. The light quickly left the beast's eyes, and Glynda began attempting to pry the weapon out before the two heard a growl behind them.

Ruby immediately spun around to aim her pistol at the approaching Beowolf, only for its head to fall off its shoulders as Blake kicked it to the side. "You guys sure you want to be out here?" Blake asked as she quickly began scanning the battlefield, locking eyes with an approaching Beowolf before she began firing at it. "Last time didn't work out so well."

"We can handle this." Ruby said, joining her teammate in shooting the creature as Glynda got her weapon out of the carcass's head. "These guys aren't tough, we already got two."

"… Guess I can't stop you guys." Blake said as their target finally died, and with a twitch of her bow, she quickly spun to the side to stab her blade into another approaching beast. "And I think we're seeing the end of this anyway."

"Great." Ruby said as she and Glynda nodded before Blake quickly ran off to fight another Beowolf. Holding up their weapons, Ruby and Glynda began surveying their surroundings, before Glynda caught sight of another Beowolf and began shooting at it. Three bullets escaped her barrel before her gun began clicking, and Glynda looked into the black magazine on top to realize how empty it was. As Glynda popped it out, Ruby spun around her to begin shooting the beast as it began running at them. Just like Glynda's gun, hers began clicking as well after a few shots, and Ruby quickly ejected the clip as her cuffed arm was pulled towards Glynda's pouches.

Taking the opportunity to reach into her own pouch, Ruby pulled out a clip as Glynda brought out a magazine, and the two quickly rolled out of the way of the Beowolf's pounce before they fed the ammo into their guns. Spinning around to face their attacker back-to-back, Ruby and Glynda fired their new bullets into the creature's form before they charged at it. Spinning their weapons around as they got close, the two quickly sunk their blades into the Beowolf, Ruby stabbing into its chest while Glynda swung her ax into its neck. Once black smoke began to escape from it, Ruby kicked the dead creature away from them.

Looking over to the raven-haired girl, Ruby and Glynda saw Blake swing her pistol around by its ribbon, slicing into two Beowolves with its blade before slashing at the nearest one with her sheath, killing both. "That all of them?" Ruby called out as Glynda began looking around, confirming there weren't any Grimm left.

"Yeah, think so." Blake answered as she began re-sheathing her weapons, glancing around herself to confirm no other attackers were approaching.

A moment passed, and the Grimm showed no signs of staging another attack. Once the group was sure they were safe, Ruby reached up to her chin, loosening the strap on her helmet. "Well, back to work then." Ruby said, letting her helmet fall back as she and Glynda turned back to the wall, the latter letting out an agitated sigh as she began loosening her own helmet.

Ruby let out a yawn as she and Glynda sat out in the field again, shrouded by the darkness of night with the over half-way finished wall behind them. According to the workers, the project would be completed by the next day. With all of the workers retiring for the night, it simply became a matter of ensuring Grimm didn't slip into the village or undo their progress in the night. As soon as that was brought up, Ruby volunteered herself and Glynda for first shift, leading Taiyang to suggest he take it with them to ensure their safety.

The sun had since set, they were a couple hours into their shift, and Ruby was dead tired.

"I don't think the coffee's working." Ruby said as she glanced at the half-empty thermos by her side.

"Come on, Ruby, it's not that late." Glynda stated, glancing at the girl beside her. "It's just two hours until the shift change, we can make that."

"Easy for you to say." Ruby said, resting her head on her girlfriend's shoulder. "You're a night person, I'm not, remember?" Glynda rolled her eyes at the girl's remark and display as Ruby reached for her thermos, lazily pouring herself another cup.

"If you want, you can close your eyes for a bit." Glynda said. "I can cover for you."

"No, that'd be cheating." Ruby said as the steam began to rise from her plastic cup. "We're in this together; if you stay awake, so do I." Taking a gulp from her drink, Ruby winced at the bitter taste in her mouth before bringing the cup back down. "It'd be easier if this stuff worked." Ruby remarked.

A moment of silence passed between the two before Glynda took a glance towards Taiyang, some distance away looking off in the other direction with his own thermos. Glynda's eyes darted the other way as soon as she finished her thought, realizing just how risky her idea was before she glanced back down at the girl next to her. Seeing the girl wince as she swallowed another mouthful of coffee too dark for her liking, Glynda let out a sigh to steady her nerves before she wrapped her arms around Ruby, scooting the girl around to place their backs toward her father.

"Glynda, what are you-" Ruby began asking before she felt Glynda's lips press against her own. In the dim light of the broken moon, Ruby could make out Glynda's blushing cheeks as her own lit up, before the girl closed her eyes and returned the gesture, scooting closer to Glynda as she set her cup down.

After a few moments, the two parted, taking in breaths of cold air as they stared at each other before Glynda broke the silence. "You take your coffee way too sweet." Glynda remarked, causing Ruby's cheeks to light up brighter.

"Eh, what can I say?" Ruby asked, before running her tongue along her lips and glancing up at her girlfriend. "Yours needs more cream."

"I don't want to drown out the flavor too much." Glynda said, taking a quick glance at Taiyang to ensure he hadn't seen. Sure enough, the man continued to stare into the forest. "So how do you feel now?"

"Energized." Ruby answered as she gave her girlfriend a playful flex of her free arm. "Think I can make it till the end of our shift."

"Good, back to work, then." Glynda said as she and Ruby shifted back into their original position. As the two went back to staring at their surroundings, Ruby tilted her head to rest it on Glynda's shoulder again, causing the woman to cock an eyebrow at her. After a moment, Glynda shrugged her other shoulder as she tilted her own head, resting her cheek on top of Ruby's head.

You know, it's kinda funny how, despite all of the problems I have with RWBY and my distaste for it, I now have three stories that are pretty much retellings of it. I mean, this story hasn't exactly turned into that, but it's more-or-less following some of the same plot points and framework at the moment.

This chapter was a bit trickier to write. Aside from current events zapping productivity from me or eating up my time on their own, I had to figure out how the wall repair missions would work on my own, which made most of my writing sessions just me sitting at my computer trying to come up with what happens next and how. I considered cutting the brief scene of Ruby and Glynda working on the wall before the Grimm attack and reworking it a bit to flow better, but I figured it didn't do enough harm to warrant that.