Back outside, Y/N continued his little project. With light glaring down from a nearby window, and voices on the other side, he began to relax and let his mind be at peace.
Hearing the door open and close, he expected someone to walk through, well, it still was someone depending on who you asked.
Boss's nails clicked along the wooden porch at a slow and relaxed pace. He was tired too but enjoyed the cold a lot more than the warmth the cabin had to provide.
Bumping Y/N's knee with his head, he earned a few soft pats on his back before he settled in, curling up at his master's feet.
The muffled voices he could barely make out got Y/N thinking. It wasn't anything critical, just a warm reminder of how far he had come.
Math was such a pain, huh?
Everyone inside was content with what was being discussed, finding it interesting, nostalgic, or even cute. Y/N on the other hand was a little embarrassed to relive those moments, so for now he was content with math as Glynda retold a distant memory.
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There wasn't much to do during spring break, well, for kids such as Y/N and Glynda. There wasn't some festival to attend or party to enjoy, just everyday life without all the professors, lessons, and combat.
Y/N wasn't too sure what to do. He never intended to have company, let alone someone like Glynda at his side. So that basically meant his plans to relax and sleep were right out the window. He was fortunate enough, however, to share a feeling with her.
Neither child cared what there was to do or not do. With that in mind, Glynda recommended something, and much to her surprise, Y/N agreed.
The library was empty, leaving its long halls smelling of a faint, sweet cleaner. There was nothing else to note when the sun gleamed down from a nearby window, making the white pages of textbooks bright and Glynda's golden hair even brighter.
She recommended they get ahead of the curve, getting extra credit while patching the little holes in Y/N's memory. Right now they went over the Great War, a turning point in Remnant's history.
"Whatever happen to all the Rangers?" Y/N asked, his speech nearly mumbled as he rested his chin on folded hands.
"I'm... not sure."
The Warrior King had a small army of Rangers at his side but Y/N only ever counted a few dozen back in A'liah. It was something to think about but not drag along.
"Does your... father has some sort of family history with them?" Glynda asked, scared she may dig up something sour.
"Couldn't tell you." Y/N hummed. "I think he was like me... orphan and all."
"Is that how they're recruited?" The young woman asked, horrified by the implication.
"We didn't have anywhere else to go." He shrugged as if it were nothing. "But... that's the choice we made."
"Is that why you're here? In... Beacon, I mean."
"Pretty much." Y/N sighed. Standing up, he rotated his chair and sat down, letting him kick back with his legs propped up on another wooden chair. "This way I can find some kinda—just something. I dunno what it is yet, but I might find it."
He raised his hands and stretched, popping his back before his hands folded atop his head.
"And you?" He asked, breaking her out of a blank, somber stare. "You're asking me all these questions, figure it's fair I ask you."
"My parents made me join. I didn't have much of a choice." She slid her book aside and began twirling a pen in her hand, flicking it between her fingers and thumb. "It's... a sort of tradition in my family."
"I didn't think the great Hadlee was a Huntress."
"She isn't." Glynda replied with a small frown. "Not... really, anyway. She had some papers signed and some lien spent."
"Seems kinda cruel to send you here then."
"Yeah." Her pen stilled, allowing her to click the top with a slow beat without any rhythm. "But, like you maybe I'll find something here..."
"That shouldn't be very hard then." He said with a small laugh.
Leaning on an open palm, Glynda narrowed her eyes and asked with a faint smile. "Was that a compliment...?"
He looked at her in the corner of his eyes, pausing to scan her expression and the twinkle in her eyes.
"Maybe." He mumbled.
She flashed her teeth with a giggle, the sound alone was infectious, bringing a small smile to Y/N's face before he averted his gaze.
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Just like the library, the cafeteria was empty. But that's not to say the academy didn't account for the few students that stayed behind.
"What are you doing?" Glynda nearly groaned as Y/N plopped an entire pie down on the table.
"What?" He said innocently, his words almost echoing throughout the large room. "It's pie."
Their two plates were something to behold. Glynda gathered a balanced and plentiful meal, claiming it was healthy and required to run such a heavy Semblance.
Y/N's plate was the complete opposite. There wasn't a speck of green on it. In fact, the only thing resembling some sort of nutritional value was the two chicken breasts smothered in gravy.
"I mean... that." She pointed to his plate with her fork and her face scrunched up. She was apparently disgusted by the grease and copious amount of sugar present.
"Chicken...?" He frowned, confused. "Or mashed potatoes?"
"That." She repeated, this time with her fork circling his entire meal.
"Never had soul food before?"
"It's... junk food. How do you eat like that and look the way you do??"
"Mm." He grunted before shoveling a spoonful of macaroni and cheese into his mouth. "Like dat."
"Hmmm..." She looked over his food, skeptical to say or think anything.
"How're you not embarrassed to order that?" The young man asked while cutting a biscuit and coating it in gravy.
"What's wrong with this??" Her brows curled into a small frown while her voice expressed confusion.
"Really?" Y/N chuckled.
Glynda's lunch was a bed of rice covered in greens, something Y/N found to be very weird. As for the main dish, she had a slice of fried tofu, hard-boiled tea eggs, and dumplings floating in a steaming bowl of rich broth and noodles. To complement this, she added buns filled with greens and bits of pork. It was the fanciest food originating from Anima, something she seemed used to.
"Here." He grabbed his plate and hers then slid them around, swapping places. "If I hear you out it's only fair you return the favor."
She opened her mouth but paused, knowing it was fair. If she hated his meal as much as he did hers, then she wouldn't push it any further.
Y/N had little trouble biting into one of the buns she piled in her bowl, even giving a faint hum when he continued chewing.
Picking at the food, Glynda was sure to avoid the little holes made by Y/N's spoon before getting started. Using a fork and knife, she cut the chicken, earning another chuckle from him.
"Quiet." She ordered.
Cutting a thin piece, she then dipped it in the gravy and potatoes before digging in. She started slow, chewing the stringy meat that popped with juices, a flavor that melded with some sort of mixture of spices and buttery kickstarter.
She blinked, masking the pleasant surprise she just experienced. However, even that didn't seem to be enough as Y/N gave her a knowing look.
"Not bad, hm?" He asked, grinning as he finished one of the stuffed buns.
"No." She mumbled past a bite of macaroni. "You?"
He shrugged. "It's alright."
Forks and spoons clinked with ceramic, and after a brief but amusing moment of Glynda trying to teach Y/N to use chopsticks, their lunch came to an end.
"Yeah, alright, Anima's got something going."
"And Vacuo has something... alluring."
"If you get past all the spicy stuff, yeah."
All that remained between them was the aforementioned pie. Both of their spoons dipped in and out, picking it apart piece by piece. Not even the whip cream would survive.
Today was something new. It was simple, sure, but that's where the magic seemed to stem from. It was a breath of fresh air for the both of them, and it was almost lost if not for Glynda.
"Do you... have anything else planned for the day?"
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"Very bold." Sangria laughed.
"Bold would be what you did." Glynda shot back.
"What did she do?" Sienna asked with an amused smile.
"I'll tell you what I did."
Before Sangria could follow through, the front door opened, giving way to a voice. "Don't tell them." Y/N deadpanned.
"Okay, now you've got me interested." Harriet chuckled. She didn't care much that she was stirring the pot.
"Yeah, uhh..." Iris cleared her throat and shook her head. "I don't think I wanna know."
Bloom, enjoying a cup of coffee of all things, raised her brows and shifted her gaze constantly, going from one face to another.
Willow was more considerate of the children, which only consisted of Iris and Winter at this hour, but concerned nonetheless.
"Iris, why don't you get to bed?" Sangria somewhat recommended. However, going off the small side-smile she sported, it was more like a gentle order.
"Don't have to tell me twice." The young woman whispered before taking her leave.
"I think I'll—" Winter cleared her throat and pointed to Iris, joining her with a jog.
"Alright, spill the beans."
"Don't." Y/N replied, much to Harriet's displeasure.
"What's there to hide?" Raven asked with her eyes beginning to narrow.
"Exactly." The Ex-Ranger nodded. "So, I invited him out for drinks. He had water, I had something a little more strong. He had some steak and gravy, I dunno what I even had that day. Then... we thought we slept together."
"What?!" Glynda exclaimed both in shock and disbelief. Meanwhile, Harriet laughed, Raven gave an amused roll of her eyes, and Willow smiled.
"That's... hmm." Sienna nodded to herself before her brows furrowed. "That doesn't surprise me."
"Right, 'cause I just can't help myself." Y/N replied sarcastically, earning a laugh from Qrow.
"I believe..." Klein timidly made his way upstairs, unsure what he'll find or do, but his current personality figured it was better than this. "I had something to do."
"And I'm somehow doing something wrong." Bloom said, poking fun at Y/N.
"I think I'd rather hear what happened next." Sienna's stern words brought the room back together, continuing what was left of the story.
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Y/N stared at their pie for a moment, mulling the question over. He considered getting some extra sleep or maybe just being lazy for the day, but all that didn't sound as alluring as it did before.
"Nope." He replied before taking a spoonful of pie. Then, before Glynda could finish chewing hers, he nodded to her. "Hmm?"
A bit of the towering cream stained their lips, making Glynda's curl into a tight smile. She'd already given up the entire week, so what was a whole day?
"Mm-mm." She hummed, shaking her head.