A Night Out (Closed)

'It's Saturday...'

That had been the only thought that had run through Amaya's head since she had woken up alone in her dorm room that morning. The rest of her team had been away doing whatever they felt like, it was the weekend after all and she didn't exactly discuss anything about any sort of plans they might have. In fact she hadn't really spoken much with anyone on the team for any prolonged period of time.

Of course the one notable exception had been her partner Matt, who just happened to be someone she had agreed to go out to dinner with that night. Perhaps agreed wasn't the correct term for it, but either way she was going to hold up her end of the promise she had made out on the range.

'He's going to think I'm an idiot before the night is over...' She panicked, knowing that this had been a rather big mistake on her part. She lacked any sort of major social experience as it was, let alone anything regarding going on a date.

'It's not a date...' She reminded herself, or at least tried to convince herself. The Faunus hadn't been particularly convincing.

She had gone to the cafeteria for a late breakfast and then spent the majority of the first half of her day out on the range, having gotten a new shipment of ammo in from her former instructor that had arrived with all her clothes and such from home the day before.

When Amaya had gotten back to the dorm, she was rather relieved to find it was empty. She hated having to hide in the bathroom any time she wanted to change and simply blame it on her own insecurity. Despite her slip-up with Matt and Lilith's rather forceful way of figuring it out, she had still at least managed to keep it a secret from their team leader.

She needed to take a shower and find a suitable change of clothes for the night out. After spending so long laying out on the range the front of her clothes had been covered in a relatively fine layer of dirt, and some of it had managed to get in her hair when the force expelled from the barrel of her gun kicked up the loose dirt in front of her firing position.

She propped up her rifle against the frame of the bunk bed she shared with Matt before moving over to her dresser. Amaya dug through the drawers trying to find something suitable to wear. She panicked as she started to wonder if she had anything truly suitable to wear for a date. Normally she didn't care what she wore during her free time, whatever was comfortable enough to walk around in was good enough for her. She knew that wouldn't work this time though, having to wear something good.

"This must be what people with social lives deal with on a daily basis..." She thought out loud, unable to hold back a small giggle at the thought.

She finally decided on something that was perhaps equally as astounding to her as the fact that she was about to go on a date. The Faunus turned and laid out the clothes on her bed so she would be able to change once she got out of the shower.

Amaya undressed and left her clothes in a pile in the hamper next to her bed before entering the bathroom so she could take her shower. It hadn't taken very long, although it was hard to pull herself from under the high pressure stream of hot water. Baking under the sun for most of the day out on the open range and now letting her scales soak in near boiling water was a fantastic feeling for her, but she knew she had to get out and dressed before any of her team came back to the dorm for whatever reason.

"Thankfully they're all still gone..." She told herself, after all her shower had been relatively quick and the chances her teammates would be back in the dorm were slim. She looked around the bathroom for her hair drier and cursed herself for forgetting that she had left it on top of her dresser. She reached over and grabbed her towel and wrapped it around herself so she could go out and grab it.

Amaya opened the door and walked out of the bathroom as all the pent up steam billowed out around her. She started to cross over to her dresser  where her hair drier lay before she stopped and realized that there was now someone else in the room with her.

"Oh..."

Saturday.

For the flurry the first week of school was, it was a good change of pace to have two days for doing whatever you pleased out of a Beacon uniform. While it wasn't a bad thing, he missed the individual feeling his usual wear brought him. Still, the cycle of getting up before 9AM at a decent time to get a shower and dressed for the day had been ingrained in his mind, quietly slipping out of the dorm to not disturb anyone as he went about his routine of... nothing.

Beacon had seemed so vast and offered a lot for students to do. He'd casually bounce around between various buildings, just getting a first hand account of what one hallway had lead to, or where this path had went. Mingling with others didn't see quite as hard, but he'd mostly stick with avoiding or having minimal conversation with any Faunus to a degree.

It was crazy to think he'd end up not only partnered with one, but having two other teammates of Faunus heritage. Granted, while Amaya wasn't glaringly obvious... it had became more and more apparent as they worked together on various tasks during the school week as a teammate the obvious patches of scales on her neck were always there. While there was some deeper fears he had... it was oddly comforting to know he had made some form of progress by having one friend so far.

The majority of the day had been a blur after lunch, taking the time to hone his skills a bit with his tonfa in the gym. Multitudes of dummies had been available for various states of training. Although none specific to a particular weapon, he found a way to make due as he spent the time honing his technique and discipline with swinging his weapons. A few practice bouts this week were a good reminder how prone he could be to danger having such a preference for fighting up close. With a good sweat worked up, the sound of metal had echoed from the floor as black tonfa whistled and whirred against the air as he fought the immobile opponent over and over, various metallic rods protecting softer points that would make the combat dummy's face light up red and emit a buzz for a clean strike provided by his weapons.

Pressing the thumb trigger, an exhausted hiss would come from his weapon as he brought the longer ends of his tonfa back against his forearms, out of juice for the evening as Matt panted in the aftermath. Nothing seemed quite as satisfying as releasing a little steam...

Especially regarding today.

Today was the day... A bet made, and followed through on. A date? He wasn't quite sure how to classify this... While he tried to assure himself that it was simply a bet and a meeting, he couldn't help but wonder where to exactly begin-- was he to dress up? Dress down? Was there a need to impress her? Would he be over-dressed for what they had planned?

Looking at his Scroll, the time didn't quite help his situation. It was already late afternoon, evening and dinner would soon be upon him. One thing was certain; Amaya probably wouldn't want someone sweaty at the table with her-- wait, where would they eat?

His mind raced with questions to himself as he made his way down the hallway to their floor, idly twirling one of his tonfa as he made his way to the door, opening it casually without a second thought. It had been eerily empty, minus Amaya's rifle propped against the frame of the bunk bed, a set of clothes set out... He'd turn to his closet without a second though, but something was strange. When did Amaya ever leave her rifle out-

The click of the bathroom door had soon grabbed his attention, looking over at the sight of steam soon drifting from the area, a familiar sight in only a towel appearing from the light mist that floated about her. Pristine white scales along her shoulders had a rejuvenated shine from the sunlight that peeked into the room against them, the girls long pink hair damp and still dripping. Matt gawked a moment, eyes trailing over the revealed scales and following the pattern against her shoulders as time felt like it froze before red eyes found his. Blood rushed to his cheeks-

Flinching upon her speaking, Matt choked on his words a moment, visibly rattled as he croaked out an attempt to speak before catching himself. Pulling his beanie down to cover his eyes and part of his cheeks, he'd finally stumble out, "S-S...Sorry!" as he dropped one of his tonfa and hurried toward the door, forgetting that he also was living with two females now. Swiftly swinging the door open, he'd usher himself out quickly in embarrassment, closing it behind him before calling out in a hurried explanation. "I-I-I-I forgot, I swear! I didn't think to knock, I didn't see anything, honest!"

He'd adjust his beanie back, rubbing his forehead in the aftermath as he pressed against the wall next to the door, sliding down it slowly. What a start to the evening. Upon reaching the ground, a soft thud would come from the back of his head bumping the wall, feeling his cheeks still warm from the brief sight of those white scales.

'This isn't a date, right? I mean, it wasn't exactly called a date, right? ... Right?'

Matt would scratch his head as he recovered from the incident that occurred. He should have remembered to knock first, but he had gotten so lost in his thoughts of tonight.

Co-ed life was a hard adjustment...

Amaya hadn't even been able to come up with any sort of a reaction to the situation before Matt hurriedly excused himself from the room, leaving her standing in the middle of the room in a rather stunned state. She felt like she was going to die of embarrassment at that moment. 'I've already started things off on the wrong foot.' She thought with a small sigh.

She wasn't sure why he tried to get away with saying he hadn't seen anything, she had caught him looking her over rather obviously. Still, she supposed he was trying to avoid provoking any sort of reaction from her. 'I would have figured he knew me better than that after a week though...' She thought, crossing over to her bed and grabbing her clothes.

The Faunus supposed she might as well get dressed first so that Matt wouldn't have to sit out in the hall the whole time she was fixing her hair. She hung the towel up after shooting one last look at the door to ensure that it was closed, and then proceeded to put on the clothes she had chosen for the night.

Her outfit consisted of a black skirt that went down to about her mid thigh so that the patches of scales on her thighs were properly concealed, although the scales on her calves were still visible. For her shirt, she had decided on a rather simple white sleeved top, although the style of it stopped the sleeve just at her elbows which left the scales that covered most of her forearm visible. Her bra was a similar shade of white so a color difference wouldn't be noticeable through the fabric.

As for her footwear, she found herself painfully limited in her options. Obviously her combat boots were out of the question, and she knew that her running shoes would just ruin the look which left her with only one other choice.  'Heels...' She thought in absolute dread.

She pulled a shoe box out from under her bed and opened it, revealing the only pair of heels she owned. Just looking at them made her want to throw the box back under her bed and call the whole situation off. Her rather debilitating lack of coordination when it came to anything other than her rifle made walking in heels rather awkward for her. But Amaya knew that she had to go through with this, so she pulled the shoes out and slipped her feet into the heels.

'Why am I doing this to myself?' She thought as she looked at herself in the mirror. Part of her wanted to think she looked good, perhaps to anyone else she might look drop dead stunning. But she was noticing that that she lacked the air of confidence that it took to pull off a look quite like this, being quite overcritical of herself as she was often prone to doing.

She shook her head and walked over to the door, painfully aware of every click her heels made against the floor as she reached out to let her partner back into the room. She poked her head out and looked down at where Matt was sitting against the wall. "You... uh..." She deadpanned rather awkwardly, not sure what exactly she was supposed to say. "You can come back in now..."

She walked back to her dresser and grabbed her hair drier and the case that contained her contacts and hurried into the bathroom before Matt had enough time to reenter the room so he wouldn't be able to see her just yet. She left the bathroom door slightly cracked just enough to let their voices travel back and forth clearly as she plugged in her hair drier and set to work running a hand through her hair as she dried it out and styled it as she went.

The odd noise of clicking from the room soon grabbed his attention, looking up from his thoughts as the dormitory door had soon opened up. Poking out a little taller than he expected, Amaya had invited him back inside before the sound of clicking soon rushed away and the bathroom door was partially shut again. Getting back up with a little grunt, Matt would peek inside first just to double check there was an all clear before moving back to his closet.

"Sorry..." He'd reply again toward the cracked open door, realizing Amaya was probably still inside getting ready. Opening his closet, Matt would flip past the organized set of Beacon uniforms and shuffle around a few things while he pondered what exactly to wear tonight. Looking to his partners bed, the clothes that were layed out before were already gone-- an opportunity to cheat taken away from his earlier slip up. Wanting to keep the mystery of surprise, he'd mentally pick out a few things, shuffling through a few polo shirts.

Figuring the only thing he'd need was a shower, he'd crouch down, looking through a few things for another pair of shoes. He knew he had a pair of something that wasn't sneakers somewhere, pulling out a few boxes to peek around in as he attempted to make some kind of small talk with Amaya, "How has your day been?"

Sandals, slippers, track shoes... Nothing found so far. He'd look around briefly as Amaya replied, trying to recall where he might have unpacked his more formal shoes. Peeking back into his closet, he'd fumble around with moving his luggage as quietly as he could, biting his lip as he struggled to move a few suitcases. Eventually, he'd manage to reach behind his stuff, where his dark black loafers had been sitting. Thankfully, they hadn't been crushed, inspecting them a moment before placing them at the edge of his closet.

He'd need to just rinse off briefly, going ahead and removing his beanie and tossing it into a hamper before removing his jacket, waiting for Amaya to clear the bathroom.

Amaya continued to dry and attempt to style her hair, deciding on a pinned up ponytail and doing the best she could to make sure her hair was straight and untangled. "It's been, uhh, relaxing I guess?" She answered his question, although it sounded more like a question of her own than anything else. "I basically spent all day on the range, so nothing was too interesting..."

She found it amusing as she continued to style her hair that a person as anti social as her was trying to make small talk with a man who could technically be considered her date for the night. "And I haven't even been here for a week..." The Faunus muttered to herself, although it couldn't even be heard over her hair drier.

Finally, she had finished pinning up her hair and ensuring that she looked presentable in the mirror. Still, she couldn't stop herself from fretting over every little detail. For a finishing touch she put her blue contacts back on her eyes, blinking rapidly to ensure they were properly in place. She realized now that she was ready she didn't have any reason to stay in the bathroom and now had to present herself to Matt.

Her hand hesitated when she reached out to push the door open, realizing that he would be seeing her in what she would be wearing for the night. 'What if he doesn't like it?' She panicked, her mind immediately jumping to the worst possibilities. 'What if it's too much?'

The snake Faunus tried to brush those thoughts away, but they still lingered in her mind as she pushed the door open and stepped out into the dorm. She stood there in front of Matt, blushing slightly as she tried her absolute best not to stare at the floor but failing rather miserably at the attempt.

"H-hi..." Was all she could manage to say, waiting for the inevitable judgement.

Matt had been reaching into his closet to pull out a black, plain polo, piecing together and outfit as he tried to find a pair of jeans that hadn't been combat worn. He'd stand barefoot and in his sleeveless white shirt as Amaya soon appeared slowly from the bathroom. He'd look over, beanie off and his hair down and unkempt as the Faunus appeared. He'd pause in his matching, eyes locked on the now blue eyed partner that stepped out from the bathroom.

His green eyes would lock on her a moment, feeling a different kind of blush coming from him as she presented herself to him. Eyes would trail across the white top and black skirt she wore, her hair done up in a straightened, styled ponytail. The small patches of her scales were revealed along her legs and arms, eyeing the patch of her neck before stammering a "H-Hello..." back.

There was something oddly alluring of her now-- the willingness to show a part of her heritage? The fact that this could very well possibly mean a date right now? He'd laugh, an oddly nervous way about him as he seemed at a loss of words, grinning a bit as he struggled to reply, "You... look wonderful." A reaffirming smile came from him as he had completely forgotten what exactly he had been doing, standing there a brief moment before suddenly looking like he had been caught with something.

"O-Oh! I uh... I stopped at the gym for a little. Just want to freshen up a little before we leave..." He'd laugh a bit, lifting his clothes up in a confirmation as he'd move past her. "I promise I won't be too long."

Pressing his back against the door, he'd slip inside and close it behind him, taking a moment to catch his footing as Amaya had, quite honestly, stunned him from how she looked tonight. Where he had thought the bet might have been rescheduled or postponed for something, she had actually taken quite the initiative-- Matt had begun to second guess if what he had chose was good enough for her as he hung his clothes along the towel rack. Slipping from what he wore, he'd kick it to the side and slip into the shower. The sudden burst of hot water made him flinch in surprise, at least now knowing Amaya enjoyed the hottest setting; a mystery he'd been trying to solve all week as he adjusted it to a lesser heat.

Matt would take about five minutes inside before the water came off, the mist partially filling the area as he reached out to grab a towel and dry himself off. Wrapping it around to keep decent, he'd step out and wipe a hole in the condensation along the mirror as he used his hand to style his slightly damp hair. Brushing it to the side a bit, he almost felt a little naked without the beanie he usually wore. In his efforts though, he wouldn't think it be an appropriate look now that Amaya showed him what she wore. The sounds of brushing and the sink occasionally running would come from behind the door as he prepared, taking the private opportunity to also change into his clothes.

After a few moments of silence, he'd step out, his black polo hanging at his belt line of the dark denim jeans-- no combat wear on them, and no sight of shells on the normal looking black belt he wore. Feet had been placed in a pair of black loafers, Matt even going as far as to wear matching black socks with the attire as the top button of his polo was undone. Giving a sheepish smile, he'd reach to flick the lights off, head flicking a bit to get the hair out from his face as he'd ask Amaya. "Ready?"

He'd move toward the door, pulling it open and waving her out first as the evening sun peeked through the dorm windows.

Amaya wasn't sure how exactly to react when Matt suddenly seemed to be at a loss for words. That was what she had been afraid of, this small period of time where she wasn't sure what he was thinking about her. Her heart was pounding in her chest as she waited for him to say something, anything, whether it was some sort of compliment or even his dissatisfaction with what she was wearing.

Finally he said something, and as forced as the compliment had seemed she believed that his words were genuine. The Faunus hadn't realized she was holding her breath until she let out a small sigh of relief. "Okay..." She said with a small nod as he entered the bathroom and closed the door behind himself. Amaya walked over to her bed, feeling genuinely happy for the first time in a very long time.

She couldn't help but smile as she sat down on the edge of her bunk waiting for Matt to freshen up in the bathroom. "I look wonderful..." Amaya echoed under her breath, blushing slightly as she realized that she couldn't remember the last time anyone complimented her on anything let alone her appearance. It was an odd feeling, and she was satisfied that her gamble with her choice of attire had seemed to pay off at first.

Amaya looked at Matt as he exited the bathroom, standing up and looking him over as inconspicuously as she could. It seemed that he had taken this just as seriously as she had, which was certainly interesting to her. 'And to think this all just started out as a simple bet...' She thought, still wondering if she had made the right choice in agreeing to this.

After all, they hadn't even left the Academy yet. There was still plenty to go wrong, and Amaya was rather painfully aware that she could make a complete idiot of herself before the night was over and ruin a perfectly good partnership before even realizing what had happened. The Faunus tried to force those thoughts from her mind, trying not to focus on all the potential negative outcomes of this night and instead just trying to focus on getting through it.

"Thank you." She said as Matt stepped aside and held it open for her. She walked through the door and then waited for Matt to be at her side before they started to make their way through the academy to the shuttle that ferried students to and from Vale on the weekends.

The hallways had seemed a little less traveled on the weekend as Matt walked side-by-side with Amaya silently. Not an intentional silence however-- his gaze would look the opposite way as he tried to piece the events going on. There seemed to be some kind of thought process probably going on between them. Amaya had really dressed the part for the occasion, his look occasionally stealing a glance her way at that styled pink hair as they waited for the elevator, a sheepish smile given if he was caught before looking down toward his Scroll or at something else.

As they continued past the direction of people headed to the cafeteria, he'd find himself in the smaller crowds of people heading for the shuttle. The nearly endless transit to and from Vale was a bit of a wonder, always noticing the various transports available at nearly all hours of the day to bring students to and from the various areas. Upon gazing around the groups waiting, it seemed that either some other dates or groups had also gathered out for a Saturday evening as he paused a slight distance from them to lean against a pillar.

The bet had turned into something interesting for him to grasp, the sudden flood of questions and inability to coherently piece together something to say making him uncharacteristically nervous now around Amaya as he idly clapped his hands together. The evening sun didn't really make things even better as the oranges were a good contrast to the pink hair, giving a warm glow off the whites of her pristine scales that mixed with her skin...

Realizing that there was probably a prolonged silence, he'd slip out, "So-ooo... How did the range go?"

Adding on to the question, he'd continue with, "Didn't take any bets with anyone, did you?" Although serving a bit of a reminder, there was a sense of pride about this accomplishment. Not to mention a trip to Vale with Amaya wouldn't be a terrible plan to begin with on a Saturday night so far. Company was always fine... at the very least, he could convince himself this was just a team building exercise in... socializing?

Seeing the next shuttle arrive, he'd wait in line with Amaya, following nearby as the two of them bored the transport intended for Vale.