Hey people sorry it's been so long again, life needs to pipe down so I can write more often XD

Super special thanks to OneTruePastrami, who's now a beta reader and has been so helpful throughout this entire process. Seriously he stopped me from making a huge mistake this chapter so yeah... if you love this chapter, it's because of his awesome input, if you hate it, totally my fault haha.

Please leave feedback. Enjoy.

I spy with my faunus eye...

The ward, the following morning.

Cardin awoke to the sound of birds chirping outside the window. The sun hadn't quite risen yet, leaving the ward in a twilight that spared Cardin's eyes the blinding assault of the white room's radiance. He rubbed his eyes and yawned, gritting his teeth as the yawn made his torso ache slightly. His body felt sore and itchy, he ignored it, knowing he couldn't scratch at the irritation without reopening his wounds. Cardin tentatively ran his hands over his injuries, the stitches Dr. White had sewn were neat and clean but felt tender to the touch. The flesh wound in his thigh burned intensely while his shoulder and side felt as if Nora had hit him repeatedly with Magnhild. Worryingly, his back and abdomen barely registered as a dull ache.

Cardin sighed and pressed the button to tilt his bed into a sitting position. He surveyed the darken room, noting a small table with four chairs by the window that he hadn't previously noticed. Two vacant beds occupied the corners either side of the window. Cardin tilted his head upwards to regard the U shaped chrome railings that held curtains to pull around each bed to create privacy, even in the twilight the chrome gleamed.

His gaze finally rested on Velvet. From his position Cardin couldn't see much, Velvet had the bed covers pulled up around her shoulders, which rose and fell softly in time with her breathing. She slept on her side, the sound of her soft breathing lost in the pillows that she embraced with her left arm as if she was afraid they would leave in the night. One faunus ear curled protectively over her eyes like a sleep mask while the other rested against the wall behind her, cocked upright as if listening for danger. Her attractive face expressed a muted smile as she dreamed. Cardin caught himself admiring how beautiful she looked and quickly turned away in embarrassment, relieved that she wasn't awake to witness his blushing.

He sighed quietly and decided to head to the ward's showers while Velvet slept. I don't want her to see me as weak he thought to himself. Cardin pulled back the covers and dragged himself to the edge of his bed, quietly cursing as his movements exacerbated the pain from his injuries. He leaned over the edge of his bed, pulling out the wheelchair from underneath it and unfolding it as quietly as possible. Sporting only a pair of exercise shorts, his usually imposing physical figure looked subdued. His chest heaving and shoulders shuddering from the slightest exertion, the skin of his toned torso marred with small pink cuts, purple bruises and angry red areas around the stitches.

Finally, he snapped the backrest into place and threw himself from the bed and into the wheelchair: the impact knocked the air from his lungs and shot pain through his body. He took a moment to get his breath back before wiggling around into a comfortable position. He leaned over to the draws at his bedside and snatched a fresh pair of shorts from within and laid them on his lap. He wheeled himself slowly and carefully around his bed, shooting a cautious glance toward Velvet to make sure she wasn't disturbed despite his clumsy landing. Once he assured himself of her continued slumber, he returned to his mission, and maneuvered himself over to the doors. He allowed himself a small grin, proud of his ability to steer the wheelchair, sure he wasn't brilliant at it but for a first attempt not bad at all.

Cardin pushed the left door open with his foot as he wheeled himself through and caught it as it swept closed behind his chair, not wanting it to bang against the frame to incase the sound woke Velvet. He crossed the corridor and wheeled himself into the patient bathroom. He took a moment to regain his breath before stripping off his shorts, a process which took a while and nearly caused him to fall from his seat. Using the shower rails, he swung himself onto the shower stool. With his spine currently unable to support him he had to keep one hand on the lip of the stool to keep himself upright, Cardin reached up with the other and turned on the shower, pleasantly surprised to find the temperature already adjusted to his liking.

The cascade of warm water soothed his aching muscles and lifted his spirits. He lathered up his hair with shampoo and conditioner and spent a good fifteen minutes scrubbing himself clean, careful to avoid disturbing his stitches. He turned off the shower and sighed in contentment, shivering slightly in the cold air of the early morning. He dragged himself out of the shower and across the bathroom floor. Cardin retrieved a towel from the radiator and dried himself off before struggling to pull on his fresh shorts. He persevered, not wanting to suffer the indignity of a physician or teacher discovering his naked form.

Finally dry and clothed (at least partially), he pulled himself back into his wheelchair and threw the other shorts and the towel into a washing basket. He pulled the bathroom door back open and wheeled himself out into the corridor, a thin smile ghosted his lips. He'd proven to himself that he could still take care of himself, he wasn't useless, and most importantly he didn't need anyone. Cardin had always been tenaciously independent and the thought of having to endure being washed or escorted to the bathroom by a physician was too much for him to bear. Now one of those attractive nurses joining me in the shower, that's a different matter Cardin thought to himself smirking. A brunette would be especially nice he mused, an image of Velvet in a nurses uniform materialized in his mind. He forced the thought from his head, conscious of how strange it is to be attracted to someone he had been prejudiced towards so recently.

"Cardin!" A stern yet effeminate voice exclaimed, startling him out of his reverie. "Just what in the hell do you think you're doing!?" Cardin turned to see an indignant professor Peach marching up the corridor towards him. As always professor Peach's appearance was immaculate. He was attired in a light grey suit with a black tie. His black dress shoes with Cuban heels clacked against the corridor tiles in time with his Derby handled black cane as he continued his angry march towards Cardin.

"Sitting out in the cold hallway at this time in a morning wearing nothing but shorts, I can see you shivering, what were you thinking?" Professor Peach ranted as he approached the wide eyed Cardin. "Oh I know what will help" the professor added sarcastically "what if I add a head cold to my five bullet wounds and four shattered spinal vertebrae, that'll be just peachy! And yes that was a pun!"

"Ssshh!" Cardin hissed, waving his arms trying to stop the professor from ranting.

"Don't you shush me!" Professor Peach said incredulously, now stood above Cardin, glaring down at him. "You're wounded, you should be in bed and-"

"-You're going to wake Velvet!" Cardin hissed. Professor Peach raised his eyebrow in apparent irritation before his expression softened and he smiled down at the student before crouching down in front of him.

"Sorry Cardin, I didn't realise what you were trying to say" professor Peach said softly, running a hand through his short blonde curls and smoothing the corners of his small moustache.

"It's alright professor, I should have been more clear." Cardin said through gritted teeth conscious that he was already likely to get a talking to for his early morning escapades.

"So why'd you sneak out? Professor Peach asked squinting up into Cardin's eyes, clearly suspicious.

"Needed a shower" Cardin explained simply, refusing to meet the professor's eyes.

"I could've guessed that from the dampness of your hair" Peach quipped "however, you wont look me in the eye, which means that's not really why you decided to sneak out, was it?" he said frankly.

Cardin sighed before replying, "I don't want her to see me like this" he said, nodding down to his wheelchair, eyes boring into his hand's that he had folded across his lap.

"You're sharing a room with Velvet for the next week, she's going to see you at some point Cardin, might as well get it over with."

Cardin nodded in defeat as professor Peach rose to his feet and wheeled Cardin over to the waiting room. "I thought we were going back to the recovery ward?" Cardin asked, somewhat puzzled.

"We are, just not yet, there's something I wanted to talk about with you, plus my legs were cramping up" the professor said, flashing one of his charming smiles as he took a seat facing Cardin. "Well it's two things actually" he admitted.

"Ok..." Cardin said hesitantly, wondering what the professor could possibly need to talk about.

"Don't give me that look, it's nothing bad. First I just wanted to ask if you managed in the bathroom alright? Do you need any help or do you think you'll manage?"

"What!? No! I mean I struggled, but I can manage professor, I swear!"

"Ok ok, calm down, I get it, you get embarrassed when you can't be independent. On to Item number two then..." the professor said as his expression darkened as he leaned forward and whispered in Cardin's ear. "Velvet is one of my favorite students, if you are the cause of any further harm to her I'll swap out your pain killers for laxatives so you can shit yourself in agony, do I make myself clear?" He hissed into Cardin's ear.

Cardin's eyes went wide, shocked at the effeminate teacher's threatening side, before he regained his composure. "I didn't ask her to nearly die saving me-"

"-No you didn't and yet she did anyway, what does that tell you?" Professor Peach interrupted, leaning back to glare at Cardin.

"Look, Coco's the one who took her aura down, I didn't hurt her!" He spat, slamming his fist down on his wheelchairs arm rest for emphasis.

"There's more than one way to hurt a person Cardin."

"What the fuck does that even mean?" Cardin hissed, trying to keep his voice down.

"Velvet cares about you, she cares enough that she's willing to risk her life and go against her own teammates to make sure you're safe. How much do you care about her?"

"I owe her my life, I care about her a lot ok!" Cardin blurted, he clamped his hand over his mouth as his face flushed red.

Professor Peach's expression softened as he smirked and patted Cardin's uninjured shoulder, "She cares about you a lot too, your secret's safe with me Cardin, and between you and me I think you and Velvet would be cute together." Cardin sighed in relief but the professor suddenly pointed an accusatory finger at him "providing you treat her right." Cardin gulped and nodded. "Now let's get you back to your room, Velvet would worry if you weren't there when she wakes up."

Professor Peach wheeled Cardin back into the shared room to find Velvet awake and sitting up in her hospital bed. "Morning professor, morning Cardin!" Velvet greeted cheerily. She discretely eyed Cardin, marveling at his exposed and muscular torso. She felt her pulse race slightly as she surveyed his athletic body. She found her eyes darting from wound to wound; the stitches marring one of his broad shoulders, two short puckered lines of stitching one above the other on his left side. Then the main wound, an angry red line of stitches across his trim stomach surrounded by purple bruising. His thigh wound was concealed beneath his exercise shorts. Cardin's only item of clothing didn't leave much to Velvet's imagination due to his large frame. The fabric of the shorts had stretched, closely following the contours of his body. Velvet blushed, suppressed a giggle, and directed her gaze elsewhere when she realized what the particularly large contour down the right leg of his shorts must be.

Despite all this, Velvet caught herself admiring Cardin; not in spite of his imperfections but because of them. His wounds added a little vulnerability to his usual confidence, she found this more relatable and couldn't get enough of his newly exposed compassionate side. His change of character combined with his near total trust in her made him extremely appealing, the almost irresistible physical attraction was just icing on the cake.

"Morning" Cardin mumbled dejectedly without looking up from his lap. Velvet shot professor Peach a questioning glance. Professor Peach shook his head in response.

"Morning Velvet, how're you feeling?" the professor asked casually.

"Much better now that I've slept, still feeling really drained though, did Cardin need additional surgery this morning?" Velvet asked worriedly.

Cardin looked up at the mention of his name and opened his mouth to speak but was cut off by the professor. "Not to worry, that's normal for an E.A.D. sufferer, as long as you rest as much as possible you should be fully recovered by Thursday and nah found him out in the corridor grinning like an idiot, thinking he'd escaped." Cardin's turned to scowl at the professor. "I'm joking, geez, I've seen happier people listening to professor Port's war stories" the trio laughed at the professor's comment, though Cardin did try to maintain his scowl for the sake of pride even as he felt the corners of his mouth being tugged upwards into a smile.

A knock at the door made them stifle their laughter.

Team CRDL dorm room

Russell was awoken from his slumber, bleary eyed and confused. He glanced around his room, his eyes adjusting to the gloomy twilight; he glanced at his alarm clock 06:43 AM read the faintly glowing green display. He surveyed the room unsure what had woken him; dove snored loudly while above him, Sky mumbled in his sleep. A trio of soft but determined knocks at the front door reminded Russell's still awakening mind of what had interrupted his sleep, neither of his teammates appeared to stir at the sound so Russell sighed and pulled himself to his feet. Another trio of soft knocks by a persistent hand resounded against the door.

He crept across the room, nimbly avoiding the clutter that occupied more than half the floor space and pulled open the door, ready to hose the owner of the hand with insults. His eyes locked with a red tie, level with Russell's head, he stepped back and looked upwards to regard Yatsuhashi, whose massive frame filled the doorway. Yatsuhashi smiled warmly, tilting his head down to make eye contact with the shorter student. "Good morning Russell" Yatsuhashi greeted softly, bowing slightly.

"Um, morning" Russell mumbled, his prepared insults sticking in his throat, "what do you want?" he asked, eyeing Yatsuhashi warily. Should've picked up my daggers he thought as he glanced over his shoulder wondering if he could make it to the bedside cabinet his weapons lay upon.

"I'm not here to gouge out your eyes with an inventive array of cutlery I assure you" Yatsuhashi beamed, flashing another wide grin hoping to break the ice a little. Russell visibly relaxed. "I'm going to take my teammate a change of clothes and some breakfast before we begin our morning studies, I was wondering if you were doing the same for your teammate?" He asked.

"Uh, yeah sure, gimme a couple minutes" Russell said, caught off guard by the friendly giant's candor and polite manner. Yatsuhashi smiled and nodded before stepping back from the doorway and leaning against the wall beside it. Russell quickly and quietly grabbed enough spare clothes of Cardin's to last a couple of days and shoved them into a duffel bag. He donned his uniform quickly and pulled on a pale green beanie to hide his Mohawk since he had no time to style his hair. He nodded to the patiently waiting Yatsuhashi as he softly closed the door behind him and hefted the duffel bag to his shoulder.

The unlikely pair made their way through the corridors of the student accommodation building in silence. When they made it outside Yatsuhashi cleared his throat, Russell looked at him but the pair continued walking. "I just want you to know I bear you no ill will".

"Well that's good, I guess. But it isn't you I'm worried about, it's Coco." Russell explained.

"Don't worry you're only second on her hit list" Yatsuhashi deadpanned.

"You have a sick sense of humor, you know that?" Russell sighed, smiling despite the joke being at his expense.

"So I've been told."

"You're alright Yatsusushi"

"It's Yatsuhashi"

"My bad, so why'd you ask me to come with you this morning?"

"Well Coco is on that rooftop just to our left, she wanted me to lure you into the killzone..." he said, straight faced as ever.

"Funny guy" Russell sighed "come on, I'm serious."

"Our teams aren't on the best of terms right now-"

"-Understatement of the century" Russell interrupted.

"We have to set an example, rise above the petty feuds between our teams and work together for the greater good, there could be a day when our team's need to work together and I want us to be ready for that day" Yatsuhashi said wisely, using his 'mentor voice'.

"Good point but I sense you're holding back something" Russell said shrewdly.

"You're more perceptive than I anticipated Russell."

"Quit it with the fancy words and say what you need to say"

"Ok... Well the thing is Cardin and Velvet are getting pretty close, after what they have just been through, the last thing either of them needs is to be alienated from their team, I know Coco and Fox are displeased and I wager your teammates are similarly unhappy with the situation"

Russell nodded in agreement. "I won't lie to you dude, I don't like it, I don't even like the idea of faunus-human interaction, it's just how I was raised. But that's the thing; I don't have to like it. Cardin nearly died standing up for me, I owe him a lot and if all I have to do in return is keep my opinion on him and Velvet to myself, then I'm happy to do so."

Yatsuhashi raised an eyebrow in a mixture of apparent annoyance and surprise. "While I don't agree with the racism, I appreciate your discretion, can you try and swing your teammates around to your method of thinking?"

"I'll speak to them, no promises that they'll listen though."

"Thanks, I'll try to persuade my comrades as well" Yatsuhashi said as the pair reached the cafeteria doors. They briefly conversed with the catering staff and explained their situation. A rotund female cook told them that hot food wasn't yet available, so Russell and Yatsuhashi grabbed a tray each and placed two bowls of cereal on each one. Together they strolled through the school grounds and made their way into the biology wing, passing a nurse at a small curved reception desk and taking the elevator up to the infirmary. It was now 7:10 AM and as the pair traversed the waiting room corridor they heard laughter emanating from within the ward room. Yatsuhashi balanced his tray on one of his huge hands and knocked on the door, the laughter died down to a giggle as an effeminate voice called out "come on in."

Yatsuhashi and Russell looked at each other before shrugging and entering. All three of the room's occupants stifled their giggles and greeted the newcomers. Professor Peach dried his eyes on his cuff before pulling the table and chairs from by the window to the middle of the room using his polarity semblance and gestured for Russell and Yatsuhashi to sit. "Now don't let anyone tell you I'm not attractive" the professor quipped. Velvet laughed heartily at his pun. "You'll have to excuse me, I have a biology lesson to set up, so I'll stop getting in the way of your teammates' visit" he said pulling back on his blazer. "The pair of you better stay in bed! Remember to take your painkillers and I'll be back this afternoon to check on you." With that the professor gathered up his notes and strolled out of the room, waving nonchalantly to Velvet as he left.

"He certainly seems lively" Yatsuhashi mused as he took a seat at Velvet's bedside. She smiled and nodded happily, seemingly unaffected by her injuries, though Yatsuhashi suspected she was hiding the symptoms for his benefit. He passed her a spoon and a bowl of cereal which she began eating with relish.

"So..." Velvet began meekly, "I'm guessing that Fox and Coco are a little upset with me right now?"

"Yeah, but they just need time to calm down, Coco is actually more annoyed with her weapon being broken than being thrown across the room from its overloaded motor exploding. Fox on the other hand... well you know how protective he gets..."

"Can you ask them to come visit this afternoon?" Velvet asked hopefully as she set down her spoon and sipped at the milk residing in the bottom of the bowl.

"I can try but Coco was up till the early hours stripping down and cleaning her weapon with Ruby, it's going to cost roughly 2000 Lien for a new motor for her gun, so she's probably regretting spending 800 on a designer coat. Fox stayed up with her too, I went to sleep before they finished. They're probably both very tired. Plus I'd highly recommend giving them a day to calm down." Velvet nodded sadly, Yatsuhashi leaned forward in order to speak quietly without being heard by Cardin and Russell. "Has Cardin behaved respectfully towards you?"

"Tomorrow then?" she asked hopefully. "And yeah, we're actually getting on very well." Velvet replied cheerily. Yatsuhashi let out a long sigh.

"Good" he said, sounding somewhat concerned.

"What's wrong Yatsu?" Velvet asked worriedly.

"It's just... I don't want him to be a bad influence on you. You're a brilliant student and an even better friend and I don't want you to lose sight of who you are or what he is."

"I know what you're trying to say Yatsu, I won't change I promise you. What do you mean by 'what he is'?" Velvet asked her arms folded across her chest and her head cocked at an angle fixing him with an accusatory stare.

"He's a bully and he's also the reason you nearly died." Yatsuhashi stated flatly.

Velvet's eyes burned with rare anger as she responded. "Ok well first off, he's not a bully anymore, he's really changed Yatsu." Yatsuhashi raised an eyebrow sceptically as he opened his mouth to speak, but Velvet wasn't finished. "I nearly got myself killed, he didn't ask me to, he didn't expect me to, I wanted to-"

"-that's what worries me Velvet, he's going to be the death of you." Yatsuhashi whispered back in a voice tinged with worry and distress.

"No. He won't." Velvet said bitterly. "I can make my own decisions Yatsu, I know you're trying to look out for me just like you always do. I'm not asking you to stop looking out for me I just need you to respect my choices" she pleaded.

Yatsuhashi shrugged as he stood up and removed the duffel bag from his shoulder, setting it down on his chair. He bowed stiffly to Velvet, his eyes never leaving hers for a moment. Velvet swore she could see tears build up in his eyes as a fleeting expression of sorrow flashed across Yatsuhashi's face before he suppressed his emotions. "I'm sorry Velvet, you're right, I'll see you after class" he rasped in a strained voice, fighting against his constricting throat muscles. He lumbered from the room, weighed down with a heavy heart, he barely acknowledged Russell's subtle nod as he left the room.

Russell and Cardin finished their discussion on their team's chain of command between mouthfuls of cereal as Velvet waited patiently. They spoke in hushed tones but Velvet's Faunus appendages allowed her to eavesdrop on their conversation. Though she had missed the start of the conversation from what she could gather, Cardin had proposed Russell lead team CRDL until he had recovered from his wounds. Russell seemed a little skeptical of Cardin's motives but also appreciative of the trust Cardin was displaying. Velvet found it a little strange that they had fought against each other a day ago and were now civilly discussing who would lead team CRDL in Cardin's stead. She found herself having to revise her opinion of Russell, despite being somewhat hostile towards her; he now displayed far more relatable emotions. It was easy to dismiss team CRDL as barely human monstrous bullies, but they were people with hopes and fears, just like her. Recently, Cardin had proven her wrong at every turn.

Russell and Cardin finally finished their conversation and Russell glanced at the loudly ticking clock above the door 07:50 AM. "I'm gonna have to go" Russell announced as he clambered to his feet.

"Ok I've sent Sky and Dove a text from my scroll, I've let them know you're in command, and do you mind bringing me my wallet?" Cardin said to Russell as he put down his scroll and picked up his cereal.

"Thanks, and sure, I'll bring it with me this afternoon" Russell said as he walked towards the door.

"Oh Russell, one more thing, mind if I ask you something?" Cardin said as Russell stopped short of the door and turned.

"Yeah, go for it?" Russell asked perplexedly.

"Why were you eating your cereal with a fork?"

"Russell grinned and ran a hand over his beanie."Since what happened in the dining hall with Coco, I uh, I have a thing about spoons..." his cheeks flushed pink as he pulled open the door and quickly stepped out into the corridor.

Cardin and Velvet listened to his footsteps fade away and looked at each other, Cardin snickered, Velvet giggled, then both convulsed in fits of full blown laughter. Clutching their stomachs and wheezing in mild pain for a long time after the laughter subsided. "So..." Velvet said breaking the silence "you missing being able to go outside yet? Because I am."

"Pfft I'm no meditation addict like you or Yatsuhashi but yeah now that you mention it I do miss the feel of the breeze on my skin and the whistle of the wind by my ear."

"Wow Cardin, that was almost poetic, Coco must have hit you harder than I thought" Velvet teased smirking, Cardin chuckled softly. It's so strange, only a few days ago he'd have called me a freak without any provocation, but now... it's as if we've been friends for a long time Velvet mused. She returned her attention to the present and noticed Cardin gazing longingly out of the room's only window. "Cardin?" He turned his head suddenly at the mention of his name, Velvet shrank back in his gaze, surprised by the sadness his eyes betrayed. "Are you alright?" Velvet asked worriedly.

"Yeah... I just didn't realise how much I missed the outside world until you mentioned it."

"Sorry" Velvet said hesitantly, genuinely feeling bad for inciting Cardin's sadness. "Hey I know what will take your mind off it?"

"Go on, it's not like I'm going anywhere" Cardin said wearily as he slouched back in his bed.

Velvet looked down and fiddled with the edge of her bed sheets nervously, conscious of sounding silly or childish. "My father, as in my biological father, we used to play a game..." She looked up nervously, surprised to see Cardin had shuffled into a more upright position and was hanging on Velvet's every word. He knows how much my father means to me, he's actually paying attention Velvet thought happily. "It's a good game because you can play it anywhere, though most often we played it in our home, have you ever heard of 'I spy with my faunus eye'?" Cardin shook his head, his eyes betraying his genuine interest. "It's sort of a guessing game, I'm not sure how popular it was though. I only ever played it with my father"" Velvet said wistfully.

"How do you play?" Cardin asked quietly.

"You pick something you can see in the room, it has to be something you can both see though, for example the bed. You say 'I spy with my faunus eye something beginning with B' or whatever letter starts the object you picked. The other person tries to guess what object it is you've chosen."

"How many guesses does the person get?" Cardin asked.

"As many as they want, the game ends when they either guess correctly or give up. Then it's the other person's turn" Velvet answered. Cardin nodded in understanding. "So... wanna play?"

"Hell yeah" Cardin replied smiling.

Team CFVY dorm room

Coco spun around in front of her full length mirror checking her uniform for creases, making sure all her jewelry was positioned correctly. Something's wrong Coco pondered. She twirled again, still unable to grasp what was different. "Urgh" she said, vocalizing her frustration.

"What's up?" Fox asked concernedly, suddenly appearing at her side.

"This uniform, it's lighter than before I washed it, I swear! Maybe the laundry staff switched detergent?" Fox shook his head and smiled. "What? What!" Coco said, scowling.

"You're not wearing your shades, everything's lighter for you" Fox explained quietly.

Coco's cheeks tinged pink, embarrassed at her own lack of awareness "Oh shut up I knew that."

"Yeah... sure you did" Fox said condescendingly as he patted Coco lightly on the shoulder. The door swept open and Yatsuhashi lumbered in sullenly. Silently sorting out which books he needed in his book bag for today's studies. He didn't make eye contact or even acknowledge his teammates as he roughly shoved his books into the satchel.

"Hey Yatsu, where'd you go, its 8 AM?"

"Took Velvet some clothes." Yatsuhashi said quietly without looking up.

"Oh how is she?"

"She's fine."

"You could have got some breakfast for us on the way back" Coco said in mock annoyance.

"Sorry." Yatsuhashi sighed.

Coco cocked an eyebrow and shot Fox a questioning look, both of them knew something must be up with their normally cheerful teammate, he was normally quiet but never this melancholy. Fox shrugged but jerked a thumb over his shoulder indicating Coco should let him talk to Yatsuhashi privately. Coco nodded, she understood Fox and Yatsuhashi had boy talk the same way she and Velvet had girl talk. "No worries, I'll meet you both in the dining hall, I'm starving" Coco said as nonchalantly as she could before leaving.

"Hey Yatsu, wanna talk?"

"About what?" Yatsuhashi said as he gathered a few pens and zipped them in one of his bags pockets.

"Come on man? Is it Velvet?"

"Yeah."

"Shit, is she hurt worse than we thought?"

"No" Yatsuhashi sat down on his bunk as his eyes bore into the floor between his feet. "It's just... uh its going to sound stupid... I think she's getting feelings for Cardin" he blurted.

"What?" Fox said incredulously. "No way, he was pulling her ears and calling her a freak like a week ago."

"Think about it Fox, why would she go against Coco and nearly die saving him?"

"I think you're over analyzing it, you know how Velvet is, she probably didn't want his death on Coco's conscience."

"That's not it, I know Velvet, I see the way she looks at him, she likes him."

"Then tell her how you feel, tell her he's only going to hurt her?" Fox proposed.

"I tried to, she wouldn't listen."

"Then tell Cardin to stay away or we will break him so bad not even doctor White will be able to stitch him back together."

"No."

"Look buddy if you don't tell him I will".

Yatsuhashi rose to his feet, his fists clenched so hard his knuckles cracked threateningly. "No" he growled. "Velvet is happy, this is her decision and I'm going to respect it and so will you" he said with resolve as he stepped towards the door, the message was clear; Yatsuhashi was done talking, he'd made up his mind.

Fox shook his head and sighed. "Suit yourself friend, I won't say anything, but mark my words you'll regret not telling her how you feel."

"I already do" Yatsuhashi mumbled as he yanked the door open.

The emergency ward 01:30PM

"Ok... Recliner." Cardin said.

"No" Velvet replied.

"Respirator?" He asked hopefully.

"Nah"

"Railing, reading material, reflex hammer?"

"No."

"I got it! Room!" Cardin beamed.

"Nope." Velvet said grinning back. Cardin sat back and let out a sigh of defeat. "Give up?" Velvet asked.

"Yeah, go on, what was it?" He said dejectedly. Velvet pointed to the window, a grin still plastered on her face. Cardin gazed intently at the window, seeing his face contorted in confusion looking back at him from the window glass.

"I'm pretty sure window starts with a 'W' Velvet."

"You're right, 'reflection' doesn't though."

"Oh come on!" Cardin said in mock annoyance.

"Well you can see it, can't you? Plus if I'm not mistaken, earlier you used 'Beacon' for one of yours and that's hardly fair considering we can't see the school apart from this room" Velvet countered cheerily.

"Fine but I think at this point I'm tired of playing. Call it a draw?"

"I'd hardly call 43 points for me and 21 points for you a draw but sure, if it makes you feel better..." she tailed off, smirking.

"Whatever." Cardin said trying his best to seem put out and annoyed, he couldn't help but return Velvets attractive smile with a grin of his own.

"So what do you want to do now? It's still three hours till classes finish for the day, so we won't be getting visitors for a while".

"I don't know, maybe go back to gazing longingly out of the window and talking about how much we miss being able to go outside?" He said sarcastically.

"I have a better idea. Get your jacket on." Velvet sat up carefully, breathing in sharply as her body protested her movements.

"What in Remnant are you doing?" Cardin asked worriedly. "Professor Peach told you to rest!"

Velvet waved her hand dismissively at him, she reached forward grabbing the back of one chairs at her bedside and used it to drag herself to her feet. Her hands trembled with the effort and she tasted the familiar iron tang of blood in her mouth as her pulse pounded in her temples.

"Velvet? Velvet! What are you doing?" Cardin hissed trying to keep his concern from his voice.

Velvet's head began to clear and the pounding in her head faded significantly as she took a few deep breaths. "I'm going outside."

"But you need to rest!" Cardin said.

"Are you coming or not?"

"Uh, in case you forgot, I can't walk right now? Also I highly doubt the nurse at the front desk would let us waltz right out the front door."

"Who said anything about using the front door?"

"This is so stupid." Cardin sighed.

"What happened to being a miscreant with a rebellious reputation to uphold?" Velvet teased, pulling on her brown jacket.

"Fine, let's go." Cardin said, rising to the bait and shuffling over to the left side of his bed. He pulled on his jacket slowly, wincing as he flexed his left shoulder, struggling to get his arm in the sleeve.

"Let me help you" Velvet said softly, moving to assist him.

"No." Cardin said tersely. Velvet tensed and backed away a step. "Sorry" he sighed, "I -I didn't mean it to come out like that, I just need to do stuff for myself." She nodded knowingly and waited patiently for him to pull his jacket on and drag himself into the wheelchair at his bedside.

"At least let me push?" she asked hopefully. Cardin nodded his eyes betraying his discomfort at the situation, unable to respond since he was out of breath. "Good, glad to see there is a limit to your stubbornness, I was starting to worry" Velvet teased. Cardin twisted round in his chair to scowl at her but found himself smiling instead. Velvet cocked her head down to meet his eyes and returned his smile with one of her own. Velvet looked away first returning her gaze to the door as she lightly kicked off the brake. She pushed him towards the door, veering off to the left before reversing through the doorway, preferring to open it with her back rather than by pushing Cardin's legs against the door.

Cardin's wheelchair squeaked gently down the corridor accompanied by Velvet's timid footsteps. "lift to downstairs is the other way" Cardin rasped, finally regaining enough breath to talk.

"We aren't waltzing out the front door, or even going downstairs" Velvet said mysteriously.

"Great, so we're rappelling down from the window then?" Cardin asked sarcastically.

"Yeah, I've already tied together some bedcovers together and broken one of the windows, all that's left to do now is disable the security cameras" she replied, matching if not surpassing Cardin's sarcasm with her own.

"Ok..." Cardin said, caught a little off guard by Velvet's confidence. "So where are we actually going?" he asked curiously.

"The roof." Velvet said simply.

"The lift doesn't go to the roof".

"I know, we're taking the stairs".

"Um Velvet?" Cardin said exasperatedly as he gestured to the squeaking wheels of his chair.

"I'll get us there" Velvet said confidently, Cardin turned to sass her but closed his mouth when he caught site of the determined expression on her face. She pushed open the door to the stairwell with her back and pulled Cardin through after her. "Ready?" Velvet asked

"Ready as I'll ever be" Cardin sighed.

The jolt of the chair being dragged up the first step, made him breathe in sharply as his abdomen and spine changed from a dull ache into a sharp stabbing pain. Velvet must have heard his sharp intake of breath because she leaned over his shoulder and met his eyes with a concerned gaze. "Want to stop?"

"No" he rasped.

"You sure?" Velvet said skeptically.

"Keep going" he asserted, summoning as much force into his voice as he could muster. Velvet nodded and dragged him up another step, pausing for a moment; Cardin bit his lip and gripped the wheelchair's armrests, half to keep himself from falling out and half to manage the pain. She pulled him up another step, then another. Cardin's eyes welled up and he clenched his eyes tightly shut to stop his tears from falling as each impact was somehow more painful than the last. Finally they reached the first landing and Velvet kicked the chair's brake on before falling back against the wall panting. Cardin also panted, having held his breath to lessen the pain in his abdomen. "You ok?" He rasped looking at Velvet with concern.

"Half. Way. There." She panted, placing her hands on her knees and leaning forward slightly in order to better support herself, her hair fell forward concealing her face, which was flushed red from exertion.

"I asked how you were, not how our great escape is going?" Cardin pressed.

"I'm just winded" Velvet lied, her entire body ached, especially her head, she felt drained and slightly nauseous. I've done too much too soon she thought angry at herself for making such a rash decision maybe Yatsu is right, maybe Cardin's bad side is rubbing off on me Velvet thought distractedly. I'm halfway there now, no point turning back. "You ok to keep going?" Velvet asked as she straightened her back and swept her hair from her eyes. Cardin nodded determinedly, though to Velvet he seemed somewhat pale.

Velvet took a deep breath and then dragged the wheelchair up another step, the pain in Cardin's abdomen flared up again, each successive step brought with it an increase in the pain Cardin experienced. Velvet was fairing no better, every muscle in her body burned, her breathing became labored and tremulous as her arms shook trying to support Cardin's weight.

Velvet forced her exhausted body to keep going, gasping in relief as she reached the top step with her feet and with one final effort pulled Cardin up the last two steps, dragging the front wheels away from the edge to make sure Cardin's chair didn't roll down the stairs, and feebly attempted to kick the brake back on. "It's ok I've got hold of the wheels" Cardin rasped. Velvet nodded and leant back against the wall, tentatively sliding down it into a sitting position, visibly exhausted. "You've done too much Velvet, you look like hell" Cardin admonished as he carefully maneuvered the wheelchair round to face her.

"Gee, thanks" Velvet wheezed, rolling her eyes.

"I didn't mean it like that, you look fine." Cardin quickly assured her.

"I know, just teasing" she breathed, smirking. Cardin smiled back and the pair gazed at each other for a moment. Cardin reached down and pulled up a lever on the side of his right wheel, locking a secondary brake. He braced his left hand on his arm rest and helped Velvet to her feet. She nodded gratefully and sashayed over to the door pushing it open.

Pure unfiltered sunlight washed into the dimly lit stairwell, temporarily dazzling the pair as they shielded their eyes with their hands. Once their eyes adjusted to the brightness, Velvet stepped outside and held the door, turning to smile at Cardin and beckon him outside. Cardin smiled back happy with both the company and with the escape so tantalizingly close to completion. The pain in his abdomen forgotten for the moment. Cardin disengaged the brake and wheeled himself through the door basking in the sunlight as Velvet gently closed the door behind him. He glanced round as she joined him near the edge of the roof. Cardin re-engaged the secondary brake as Velvet placed a hand on his chair's armrest to support herself as she took in the beautiful view that the rooftop vantage provided.

Cardin risked a sideways glance at Velvet. She looked pale and sickly, though she smiled bright eyed as she gazed upon the beautiful view, made all the more wonderful by their time in confinement. Her hands shook in time with her quiet but tremulous breathing her exhausted body doing its best to stop her from collapsing. She shivered slightly despite the warm kiss of the sunlight on her skin.

Cardin took her hand, shocked at how cold it was, she glanced down in surprise. He pulled lightly and gently led her round the front of his wheelchair, wrapping an arm around her waist and hooking his other arm behind her knees and lifting her onto his lap, flaring his aura to support his back. Velvet twisted round slightly, hooking her legs over one of the arm rests and wrapping her arms gently around Cardin's neck as she nuzzled into his uninjured shoulder. Cardin kept an arm around her waist protectively, to keep her from falling from the chair, his other arm rested across her legs. "Y -you looked tired… and you're injured and stuff." Cardin said, trying to justify his actions and avoid embarrassment. Velvet nuzzled into his shoulder again in response. "Velvet?" Cardin whispered.

Velvet looked up meeting Cardin's eyes with her shimmering brown orbs "Yeah?" she replied, her breathing finally settling down.

"Can... can you uh... help me take my jacket off?" Cardin asked tentatively, his cheeks tinged pink as his pride took a hit.

Velvet smiled as yet again Cardin trusted her, to some it may not have seemed like a big gesture, but Cardin admitting he needed help typified the deep level of trust he and Velvet had developed. "Sure" she said softly, leaning back to pull Cardin's arms from his sleeves. He winced as her ministrations caused the pain in his shoulder to flare up again but at least finally he was free from his jacket. He nodded his thanks to Velvet as she handed his jacket to him and placed her arms around his neck again.

Cardin delicately placed his jacket around Velvets shoulders and wrapped his right arm around Velvet's waist as his left arm retook its position across her legs. Velvet sighed in contentment as the numb ache across her body was washed away by the warmth of both the jacket and Cardin's embrace. The heat building across her body was outmatched by the blush that erupted in her cheeks in response to Cardin's compassionate gesture. "Thanks Cardin" she whispered softly in his ear.

"No problem bunny" Cardin whispered back, tightening his embrace slightly as they both looked out onto the school grounds, entranced by the perfection of a moment neither wanted to end.

Thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed it, remember I'd love some reviews. I really need the feedback.