It's a new year at Beacon Academy and that means new students. Ace Dodger is one of those new students. Despite having lost both of his parents 6 years ago, he kept following his dream to be a Huntsman. With his childhood friend, Ray, he looks forwa...
I yawned as I woke up, feeling the warmth of my Ace's body against mine. My sleepy eyes opened slowly and looked up at his face, seeing that he was still fast asleep. I smiled as I continued to rest my head on his bare chest and thought to myself, He looks so peaceful when he's asleep. I moved my hand and placed it gently on his cheek, feeling the slight bit of stubble that he had as I rubbed my thumb across it slowly. He smiled and pulled me closer to him as I felt him stir slightly. I softly snuggled my head in his chest, enjoying the warmth and relaxation I felt, and slowly fell back asleep.
When I woke up again, he was still asleep, but now his face was turned towards me. He looked so peaceful, so at ease. I couldn't help but smile as I gazed at him, I could swear I fell in love all over again. He looked so handsome in his sleep, just so calm. We laid there like this for what seemed like forever. I knew I had to wake him up before this moment would most likely be ruined by one of the others. But before I could do anything, I heard his voice say softly, "Do you mind if we stay like this a little longer? I'm feeling... well, warm."
I smiled back at him as I noticed a slight smile on his face and I placed a gentle kiss on his cheek. He slowly sat up and looked down at me, his face breaking out into a smirk. He looked at me and said, "What are you smiling at?" I smiled a bit more and replied, "I was just thinking about how comfortable you look when you sleep. I can't help it; it's an irresistible urge to snuggle with you." He laughed and wrapped his arms around me, pulling me closer to him. Then he said, "So do you want to get up and get ready for the day, or snuggle some more until the others interrupt us?" I giggled and said, "I'd love to snuggle, but I don't want to have this moment ruined." He kissed my head and replied, "Well, how about we snuggle for a few more minutes and then get ready for the day?" I smiled as I nuzzled my head against his chest and said, "Sounds good to me."
Time Skip (Brought to you by Chibi Ruby trying to convince Chibi Ace to wear a shirt under his jacket and ultimately failing)
Ace's POV
After Jacques Schnee returned to his airship and began to take off, Ruby, Blake, Yang, and I looked at Weiss with concern, while she exhaled and dropped her strong and confident facade. The ship flew away, and a truck arrived on the platform. Once the truck came to a stop, Winter opened the passenger side door and peeked out at the ship. Then Weiss said with a joking smile, "Oh, now you show up, Winter. You just missed father." Winter replied, "I wouldn't say I missed hi─" From the sky, Penny came crashing down, landing on one knee. The force from her landing sent Team RWBY flying with a small scream, while Winter and I managed to steady ourselves against the shockwave. Penny straightened up and threw her hands into the air, the word "CONGRATULATIONS!" appearing above her head as a green hologram, with bright green hologram confetti spawning from it with a party horn sound, and she said, "Surprise!" She looked around with a giant grin as the hologram flickered. When she noticed Team RWBY on the ground, her grin and the hologram both fade and she said, "Uh, did we not start yet?" Winter put her fingertips to her forehead in exasperation. Ironwood stared with a wide-eyed grimace, while faint groaning can be heard from Ruby, as Winter sighed and answered, "Apparently, we haven't." Nearby, Jaune and Nora laughed, while I helped Ruby up as she gained a look of confusion and said, "Start what?"
3rd Person POV
After the sun finished setting, RWBY, JNPR, Ace, Qrow, Winter, Penny, and Ironwood gathered in the center of Amity Colosseum's arena. RWBY, JNPR, and Ace stood lined up, with Ironwood, Winter and Penny standing across from them and Qrow standing off to the side. The arena lights are on and pointing at the center of the stage where everyone is standing. Ironwood spoke up and said, "It goes without saying that this arena holds a significance to all of us. It's only fitting that we should be able to reconvene here. Now. When the world needs to be brought together more than ever. The road you traveled from our first meeting hasn't been easy." While he talks, Ironwood began walking along in front of all of them. Penny, who was holding a tablet-sized Scroll, excitedly bounced up and down next to Winter, who placed a hand on Penny's shoulder to hold her still. Ironwood continued as he said, "You fought for your school and your friends at Beacon. You fought for the world and the innocent at Haven Academy and beyond. You faced down terrors people can't even fathom. That's not the behavior of students. It's the behavior… of Huntsmen and Huntresses."
He looked over at Penny, who happily began humming and walking past them, stopping in front of each person to tap on her Scroll. With each tap, her Scroll emitted a beep and someone else's Scroll buzzed. Ren spoke up and said, "Wait... what is this?" Everyone else checked their Scrolls as Penny continued tapping hers and Winter said, "You are being granted your Huntsman licenses, today." Penny finished using her Scroll to grant everyone their licenses and walked away with a big grin. Ironwood spoke and said, "I know this is coming a little ahead of schedule, but Brothers know you deserve it. I only regret that I couldn't do something a little more ceremonious for the occasion." Ruby stared in awe at her license and said, "I─ We… we're honored, General Ironwood. But you really don't have to do th─"
Ironwood interrupted her and said, "Please. With the threat of Salem still out there and tensions rising in our Kingdom, I certainly could use more trustworthy fighters by my side." As Ironwood walks away from them, Team RWBY and Ace looked at each other. Yang and Weiss' faint smiles fade, and Blake's cat ears droop. Ironwood added, "I should be so lucky to have all of you." He stopped for a moment, then looked at them and smiled as he said, "It's okay. It's a big moment. And what better way than to celebrate here? When this tower is ready and communications are back up and running, we'll tell the world about Salem and face down whatever comes at us after that, together." He sighed before adding, "That's… just about all the pomp I have in me. If you'll excuse me, I have to get back to running this operation. Um… Well, then. Enjoy the cake." Ironwood walked away, with Winter following. Penny spoke up with an encouraging tone and said, "Your speech outros are improving, sir!" RWBY and JNPR looked at their licenses and Yang said, "After everything we've been through, I almost forgot this is what I wanted in the first place." Blake replied, "When Beacon fell, I didn't think this would even be possible." Weiss added, "It almost feels trivial now."
Qrow spoke up and said, "Geez, guys, lighten up a little. Enjoy yourselves for a change. You've earned it." Nora replied, "Finally! Someone said it. Let's kill some cake, huh? Because I can eat two slices before Ren even eats one. Who says I can't? Who says it, huh!?" Ren shook his head slightly and said, "Nora, nobody is arguing with you about this." A short while later, all of the teens except Ruby gather around a cake. Ruby instead looked over to see Ace sitting nearby in the bleachers, so she walks over to him.
Ace's POV
I sat down in a nearby seat as I looked at my license in slight shock.
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After everything that had happened, I still couldn't believe that I got my license. I felt a hand on my shoulder and saw Ruby sitting down next to me. She gave me a warm smile and said, "You okay?" I nodded slowly and said, "I think so. After Beacon and losing Mason, I kinda forgot about wanting to get this. To be honest, I had decided that keeping you safe was more important than getting a Huntsman license. In fact, if I hadn't wanted to become a Huntsman in the first place, we never would've met." Ruby nodded and wrapped her arms around me as she said, "But you did. And ever since I met you, I've never been happier. I love you, Ace." I hugged her back and said, "I love you too, Ruby."
