A Sweet Kiss Behind The Shelves

The sun had mostly set when Gray entered the library. He could see quite a few students around the many shelves. Gray walked down the middle of the building and wondered where RWBY and JNPR would be. He messaged Yang earlier on his way down the elevator from Ozpin’s office and found out they were still in the library.

He checked the message for any directions, but Yang didn’t give any.

Gray walked close to the reception desk and noted that the woman he had seen on his last trip wasn’t there. Instead, he saw two women that looked like they had come from Mistral and Vacuo. One had the typical eastern look with short and straight black hair while the other had dark skin commonly found in those who lived in the southern or western part of Sanus. Both women were very pretty and quite sexy in their conservative, yet formfitting attire.

Gray mentally added them to the list of potential additions. He would have to have a talk with them at some point, but that wasn’t for tonight.

With his Semblance still active, Gray stayed close to the counter. He would just get one of his girls to come get him since he didn’t know where they were. But who should it be? Yang? Maybe Jeanne? He did want to give Jeanne some more attention considering they don’t get to hang out as much as he did with RWBY.

“Jeanne will come and find me by the library reception desk.” Gray said. He then waited and looked around, wondering where Jeanne would come from.

He waited for a few seconds before he saw her walking down a flight of stairs leading to the second floor. Gray watched her slim and sexy legs as they carried her down the stairs. Her skirt flapped gently and teasingly as she moved.

Before she approached him, Gray turned off his Semblance and waited for her to make eye contact. The moment his Semblance went down, she looked around the large spacious area in search of him. Before she made it to the last step, she caught sight of him and smiled and waved. Gray smiled and waved back.

Jeanne got down to the ground floor and walked over. Gray could easily tell that she was happy to see him, and honestly, he was pretty happy to see her too.

“Hey.” She said simply as she came to a stop in front of him.

“Hey yourself.” Gray responded, before reaching out and grabbing her hand and pulling her into him. She stumbled a little in surprise as Gray caught her in a hug. He held her tightly and even lifted her up a little before setting her down and letting go just a little.

Went they parted, with his hands still on her waist and hers clinging to his arms, Gray saw that she was trying to hold back an embarrassed grin. She was blushing and looking around to see if others had seen them. Unfortunately for her the women at the desk were holding back their own grins as they worked at their terminals.

Without a word Jeanne grabbed Gray’s hand and pulled him along to the stairs. Gray didn’t hold back his own smirk as she led him to their teams. Even as she would occasionally glance back at him with a scowl/grin.

They climbed the stairs halfway before Jeanne finally said something.

“Did you miss me that much?” She asked him with some side eye. “Couldn’t wait until we were alone?”

“Yes.” He answered honestly.

Jeanne smiled and blushed some more and looked away. Her hand tightened on Gray’s and she pulled him along up the rest of the stairs. Once they got to the top and started walking in a direction to where, presumably, his team was Jeanne turned to him and asked, “So, how did your shopping trip go?”

“It went great. We got the beds and set them up. Did the clean up too. Professor Goodwitch’s Semblance is pretty handy.” He told her.

“Hers was a form of telekinesis, right?”

“Yeah. She points with her riding crop, which is an odd choice of weapon don’t you think? Do you think she rides horses?” Gray asked his girlfriend.

“I think... she looks like she's moments away from disciplining someone with it. Like back in the olden days, you know?”

“Ah, yeah. She does seem like she was from that time period.” Things used to be stricter a generation ago.

They walked past bookcases and other students walking up and down the aisles. Gray didn’t see his team or members of JNPR. He wondered where they could have chosen to study. Maybe it was a secluded corner.

“Where exactly are you taking me?” Gray asked the blonde girl.

“Oh, we found a nice quiet corner over that way.” Jeanne pointed in the direction of the corner of the building. A direction that they were walking in. “We would have gotten a study room on the ground floor, but those have to be rented and reserved for a fee.”

“Ah.” Was all that Gray said. He would have done the same. A nice quiet corner to study was preferable to reserving a space. Though, there may be a time when they could use one of those rooms for a project in the future.

They turned into one of the aisles and walked amongst the shelves. This portion of the library was mostly deserted. As they neared the corner, Gray could hear the unmistakable sounds of Yang talking. Then he heard Ruby respond and Yang saying something more. Someone else spoke next but they were quieter than the other two so Gray couldn’t make them out. Even when Yang and Ruby spoke at reasonable volumes, their voices still did carry far it seemed.

As they got closer, Gray found that he didn’t want his moment with Jeanne to end just yet. So, he slowed down and tugged on her hand, making her stop and look back at him with a question on her face. They both stopped at a T-section of walkways and Gray pulled Jeanne towards one end of a couple bookshelves that were back-to-back. Gray tugged and nudged the girl to lean against the sides of these shelves so that nothing could be pushed over by accident.

“...Gray?” Jeanne asked uncertainly. She didn’t know what he was doing but judging by the red on her cheeks there was an idea. She didn’t sound scared though. Just a little embarrassed.

Gray didn’t answer, except with an arm resting on the shelves by her head. He leaned in close, and the girl blinked and looked everywhere except at him. Her face bloomed into a cute red tomato.

“I did miss you, Jeanne.” He whispered.

The girl tried to look at him then but only managed to look at his chest. Gray saw her swallow in her nervousness.

Gray lifted his other hand and placed it on the side of her face. Her eyes shot up to his and couldn’t look away when he ran his fingers through her hair. Her breathing hitched as he traced his fingers around her ear and moved his hand down to her neck. By now her eyes had a dreamy look to them and he wondered what she was thinking. Her blush was still present, and her breathing was uneven as she responded to his every touch.

With his hand gently rubbing the back of her neck he finally leaned in and kissed her parted lips. There was a small noise that came from her mouth. A quiet moan when she felt his lips on hers. Gray slowly and gently pressed against her, both his lips to hers and the rest of his body. He leaned forward and made sure that she could feel all of him on all of her.

He didn’t add any tongue just yet. He moved his lips and briefly pulled back, only to press against her from a slightly different angle. He gave her many small kisses like that and felt her hands moving up his chest and shoulders. Then he opened his mouth and brushed her lips with his tongue. He heard and felt her gasp quietly. He licked her again and felt her mouth open a little. He gave her another quick flick before slowly dipping his tongue into her mouth.

Jeanne groaned and opened her mouth more. Her own tongue met his and she seemed to find pleasure in rubbing it against his. Her kiss became a little bit more passionate, and her hands moved up to encircle his neck. Gray met her passion for passion and explored her mouth and tongue. Her moans vibrated against his mouth, and he felt some of his own groan's leak into hers.

Gray moved his hands down her body and felt her shiver at the caressing. He brought his hands down to the small of her back and encircled her waist. He hugged her tightly to him and felt her tighten her arms in response. He lost himself for a moment as he held her and loved on her mouth. Her warm body pressed against him and lulled him into a trance. It didn’t last long but he felt as if he had been kissing her forever.

Eventually, they had to part and let themselves breathe. Their mouths weren’t too far from the other and they looked deeply in each other's eyes as they caught their breath. The heat between them hadn’t left as they gazed at the other. Gray brushed his nose against hers and gave her a small kiss as he had recovered faster. It was a peck, and she gave one back. Their foreheads came together, and they stared into each other's eyes some more.

Gray deeply enjoyed the wet and dreamy look in her eyes. The haze of arousal was there, and he was tempted to go further but he knew that there wasn’t a lot of time left.

He slowly peeled himself away from her body, keeping her eyes pinned with his. Her arms that were wrapped around his neck came loose and he caught one of her hands in one of his. He gave her a smile and tugged on her to pull her away from the bookshelves.

Jeanne couldn’t seem to form any kind of words or any kind of thought behind her hazy eyes. She just looked at him with a longing that tempted him to stay and continue. Another time, he promised himself.

Gray held the hand of a dazed Jeanne and pulled her along. She slowly, and obediently, allowed herself to be pulled along. She silently followed as they rounded the corner and finally saw the rest of their teams.

They were all sat at a long table in the corner by a window. Yang was showing Ruby something from a book while Ruby had set up her scroll to take notes. Nora was reading what looked like a comic book and was giggling along to something funny. Weiss and Pyrrha were discussing something quietly with a couple books open between them. Blake and Ren were absorbed in their own books but were sitting closer to Weiss and Pyrrha probably because they were the quieter ones.

Blake, and then Weiss and Pyrrha, noticed Gray’s approach first.

“Hello Gray.” Pyrrha greeted him in her usual polite and cheerful way. She looked to her friend Jeanne and seemed to notice that something had happened between her and Gray. The red head gave a small smirk but didn’t comment.

At her words all the other girls turned to look at him and Jeanne. There was a round of greetings from the girls except for Weiss, Nora and Ren. Nora looked just as flustered and confused about Gray as before, if a little more in control of herself now. Ren gave a silent wave. And Weiss was being Weiss. The Heiress kept her feelings to herself behind a cool facade.

“Hi Gray!” Ruby said cheerfully, if a little loud for a library. Weiss also noticed as she gave Ruby a sidelong glance but didn’t glare. More sign of her progress.

“Hey boyfriend~” Yang added with a teasing tone.

Gray smirked at the messy blonde and gave her a wink. He then let go of Jeanne’s hand and struck a mock salute as he faced Ruby fully. The girls all blinked in confusion.

“Reporting in Ma’am,” Gray said with as close to a military tone as possible while remaining quiet enough for the library. “The beds have been brought to the dorm room and assembled on site. Professor Goodwitch was even so kind as to organise the furniture and containers brought by Miss Schnee for optimal space. Hopefully that pleases the Heiress?”

Gray directed that question at the Heiress... in question.

“...it does.” She answered a little uncertainly. “I’ll be sure to thank her when I see her next.”

“Noted.” Gray responded, really hamming up the militant demeanor. He turned back to Ruby. “Also, all rubbish and packaging have been disposed of and the old beds have been put into storage. All covers and sheets have been transferred to the new beds. That's all for my report Ma’am.”

Gray saluted again and waited stiffly for any response. Thankfully Ruby quickly got in on the joke and saluted back.

“Very good soldier. Excellent work. Take a break. You’ve earned it.”

“Thank you, Ma’am.” With that, Gray relaxed and grabbed Jeanne’s hand again and pulled her over to two empty chairs between Ruby and Nora.

When they were sat down, Gray noticed Yang grinning at his whole charade.

“You should have gone to Atlas with that whole thing. They would have loved it.” His second girlfriend said.

“No, sorry, I know it was a joke, but Atlas academy wouldn’t have accepted something as sloppy as that.” Weiss cut in without looking up from her textbook. The words themselves seemed... fine, but the tone made it all come off as... well, a little harsh.

The table went quiet then.

Gray and Yang shared a look. Yang looked annoyed and rolled her eyes. Not to mention the awkwardness from the other girls. Gray gave another look at Weiss and noticed that her eyes weren’t moving across the page. She just stared at the text in front of her with a slight frown creasing her eyebrows. Then she closed her eyes, and a small sigh escaped her. It was barely perceptible.

Now, Gray may be wrong about this, but... he got the impression that maybe, possibly, Weiss regretted saying that. She might be mentally berating herself for bringing down the mood. Again. She might have thought that comment sounded better in her head, but when it came out it only sounded cold and derisive. Lords know that Gray had moments like that before.

Gray hoped that he was right, and in the interests of getting closer, and for team harmony, he decided to offer her an olive branch.

“If an Atlas soldier saw me doing that, would they be offended?” He asked her.

Weiss glanced up at him with what Gray thought was a cautious look.

“...no. They...would probably just laugh it off and move on.” She answered.

“So, when the Vytal festival comes around and Atlas students visit us, there shouldn’t be any issues, right?”

Weiss opened her mouth to answer but paused as she really thought about it.

“...well, there’s always going to be some hotheads anywhere you go. Even in Atlas.” She conceded.

“That’s true.” Gray said and looked pointedly at Yang.

“Hey, don’t you at look me.” Yang pouted.

Ruby giggled and the other girls started smiling. Yang was looking at Gray with a thoughtful look, just as Pyrrha was too. The red-headed Mistral girl looked between him and Weiss with a considering look.

“Can you deny it though, Miss I-Fight-With-A-Temper-Tantrum-Semblance?” Jeanne suddenly asked her with shit-eating grin.

“Excuse you?!” Yang responded with as much dignity as she could muster, along with an outraged expression, only ruined by the amused quirk at the corner of her lips. “The audacity!”

More of the girls were giggling or holding back their smiles. Weiss’ lips were twisted in an attempt to hold back too, but she also looked a little uncomfortable. Like she couldn’t move past the awkwardness that she created.

Jeanne and Yang traded a few good-natured insults at one another, and Gray just watched everyone. The others made comments of their own and Nora joined in on the fun too. Meanwhile, Ruby was watching Weiss with a little worry in her eyes but also looked a little relieved. The conversation was picking up again and Gray had made Weiss a part of it for a little bit, but the Heiress still looked out of her depth.

The only two that hadn’t said anything at all were Blake and Ren. They seemed content to just stay quiet and watch. Blake did look at Gray for a time with her difficult to read face, while Ren’s attention was on Weiss.

The awkwardness had faded somewhat, and the group decided they were too hungry to continue studying. It was about time to head down for dinner anyway. The girls set about putting away all of the books they found after keeping some that might help with their schoolwork. They signed the books out at the reception desk, with Gray eyeing the receptionists again under his Semblance, before heading over to the cafeteria.

Dinner was an uneventful affair. The girls brought Gray up to speed on what happened in the classes that he missed. He would have to do some reading to make sure he was ready for the next time he attended those classes, though.

Weiss was sitting with Ruby and Pyrrha and those two girls were trying their best to keep the girl's mood up. Everything seemed to be going well after that admittedly small scene, but Gray was wondering if perhaps he needed to have a short heart to heart with the girl soon. Her attitude was going to be an issue if left alone for too long. Her new friendship with Ruby was good and all, but the Heiress’ upbringing was still causing a little friction in the team.

The girl had made progress, and if what Gray had seen earlier in the library was any indication then Gray had hope of mellowing out the pretty little princess.

Dinner was delicious too.

It was on the way back to the dorm room that Gray thought about having that conversation with Weiss tonight. He was watching Ruby and Weiss walking in front of him. Their group of nine was being led by those two while he was near the back and walking hand in hand with both Jeanne and Yang. They were holding his arms and pressing their chest into him. It was a pleasant feeling, but Gray was distracted by how to smooth things over with Weiss. He watched her listen to Ruby up ahead and wondered what was being said.

“Any idea what her problem is?” Yang spoke softly next to Gray. “First Ruby, then you. Is she going to have a problem with me next?”

That... was the concern. Gray wondered if this attitude was going to repeat with all the RWBY team members until they all got sick of her. That would not be good for morale.

“Maybe this is just a difference of upbringing. She was raised within Atlas high society after all.” Jeanne whispered to her from Gray’s other side.

“So, she’s just pompous and full of herself because of how she was raised?” Yang asked.

“How do you think the pompous mentality lives on? With the rich raising their rich kids to be like themselves.” Gray answered for her.

Yang frowned, not liking the answer. Maybe she felt that there was more to it than that.

“It does seem like a behavior like that would be learned.” Jeanne agreed.

They all made it to their dorm rooms and the girls of each team said their good nights. The two teams filtered into their respective rooms and Gray kissed Jeanne before sending her on her way. Nora didn’t say anything to tease them either, probably since she was still feeling awkward over her own kiss and the fact that the Weiss situation still left an odd awkward feeling in the air. JNPR closed their door just as Gray closed the door to RWBY’s room.

“Bunk-beds!” He heard Ruby call out. She used her Semblance to shoot up the ladder to the top of the left bunk-bed. She sat up there and smiled down at the rest. “Mine.” She said simply with a cute smirk.

Yang and Blake chuckled at the girl. Yang then turned to the black-haired girl.

“Top or bottom?” She asked her. For a moment Gray saw a small blush on Blake’s face but it disappeared just as quickly. He wondered if he mistook it for a trick of the light.

Blake raised an eyebrow and placed her hands on her hips before answering with a question. “You want the top bunk, don’t you?”

“Weeeell, since you’re offering...” The blondie looked up to the ceiling and hammed up the innocent tone of voice.

Blake rolled her eyes and huffed in amusement. “Go for it.”

“Yay! Thank you, Blake.” Yang cheered and climbed up to her new bed, giving Gray a nice view up her skirt. When she got up there, she looked across the room with confusion. She pointed at the bunk-bed with the chests of drawers beneath it. “Hold on. Why is there another bed over there?”

All the girls looked over to Gray’s bed.

“Ah, that one is for in case I ever get sick and need to stay away from the rest of you. So, I don’t pass on whatever sickness I have.” Gray answered easily.

“Ah, yeah, that makes sense.” His girlfriend said.

“Were you worried that I didn’t want to sleep with you again?” He teased her.

“I... er, well... maybe a little.” She stuttered before conceding the truth with a small nod.

“Well, don’t worry about that.” He said and watched her sag her shoulders a little in relief. “Except for tonight though.”

She blinked as he threw that at her.

“I’d like to spend the night with Ruby. Is that okay with you?” He asked her with a sweet smile.

“O-Oh, yeah, that's fine.” Clearly, she was a little disappointed.

Gray climbed the ladder and hung there with his face and chest just above her mattress. “Hey, come here.” He whispered to her.

Yang crawled over to him, and Gray reached out and grabbed her by the back of the neck. He pulled her into a kiss and kept her there for a minute. He poured his affection for her into that kiss and stroked her hair. When he pulled away Yang tried to follow and pouted when she realized that he wasn’t going to lean back in. Gray thought that was really cute of her.

“Remember, I’m going to alternate who I sleep with each night. You’re okay with that.” Gray said once he briefly turned on his Semblance. After he turned it off again, he leaned in once more to kiss before stepping down from the ladder.

When he looked over to the other girls, he noticed that Blake and Weiss had moved their attention away from him and Yang. Blake was sitting on the bottom bed and looking around at her new sleeping arrangements. Weiss had gone over to her various portable containers and was looking through them.

Ruby was still sat up on her bed but was looking a little shy as she glanced at him and Yang.

Ah, she probably heard the part where he said he would be spending the night with her. Made sense.

Gray looked over to Weiss and wondered if he should try talking with her tonight. He’d have to invite her to join him outside the dorm room or to go into the bathroom because he didn’t think she would talk openly and freely in front of others very easily. It was probably for the best to do it as soon as possible, and he did have his Semblance on his side in case they didn’t see eye to eye. He didn’t want to use it for something like this though.

He made up his mind and walked up to her as she was closing the door to one of her dressers.

“Weiss,” He called out. He saw her shoulders stiffen just a tad. He could also tell that the others were paying attention too. “If it’s all right with you, would you like to take a walk with me?”

She partially turned to look at him. Then her eyes looked down and away. She thought about the offer and her shoulders slumped a little. There was a look of resignation on her face like she knew that this was going to happen. Maybe because it had already happened with Ruby, and she did put her foot in her mouth in the library. With a slow breath she began to respond as she looked back into his eyes.

“Yes. I think I would like that.”

My Patreon