I stared down Coco with silent intensity, judging her.

In kind, she looked back at me with an impassive and cool mask, her sunglasses reflecting the table in front of her. "So what's it gonna be, kid? You sure you've got what it takes to do this?"

"As much as I ever do." I told her. "The real question is if you want to take that chance. You've had a pretty good ride so far. But I play hardball. You can get Ruby easy enough, Weiss and Yang with a bit more trouble. Even Blake if you really try."

"I resemble that!" Ruby chimed in, bitterly.

"But I'm not some open book for you to stare at," I told her. "You wanna get something out of me, you better be damn sure you've got everything you need-"

"Call," Coco said, setting her cards down. Ace-king offsuit.

"…" I huffed. "You missed the whole point of this game."

I set my own cards down, pocket Eights.

"I think I've got it pretty much figured out," Coco said, smirking, she then shrugged. "You're right though, you're not easy to read. But you're like an audio-book. The worse your cards are, the more likely you are to start talking."

I clicked my tongue. There was a tell I hadn't thought about.

"If you're done, then let me set the cards out," Velvet said, looking between the two of us. When neither of us stopped her, she started setting the cards down. Pretty much everyone had opted out for this hand once me and Coco started going at it. The flop hadn't boded well to begin with.

After recent events, poker night had to be put on hold for a few weeks. But, seeing as CFVY would be leaving soon, we decided it would be nice to get a couple of games in. A chance to get a bit of gambling in before they got to the big gamble. The one that didn't take cash, but traded in the currency of life. Frankly, after some of the news I'd gotten recently, I didn't mind a bit of relaxation. Tomfoolery was good for a healthy mind.

Though just as much for the sake of my mental health, we'd taken our game outside of Beacon. With everything going on with Goodwitch and Ozpin, the less time spent near their prying eyes the better. Plus, our dorm room was basically at capacity. We were cramped when it was just myself, my friends, and Zwei. Throw CFVY into the mix and things got uncomfortably warm in there, fast. Luckily for all of us, we had a better place we could crash at. It even had enough tables for all of us to play more evenly sized games at.

I was presently sitting at a table with Coco, Velvet, and Ruby. Jaune, Yatsu, Fox, and Ren were at their own table; Blake, Yang, Pyrrha, and Nora at another. Even made sure we were going to have enough cards to work with for everyone. Jaune's game was in the living room at the coffee table, the girls' game at the kitchen counter, and mine at the table. Zwei, regular little fixture that he was, orbited between the three, stealing scratches behind the ears wherever he could.

Overall, it was a better setup than we'd had previously. Big games were fun and all, but trying to balance everyone was more of a hassle than it needed to be. Had to source the extra cards anyhow, so might as well make sure everyone could do it their own way.

"Here's the turn…" Velvet said, setting out the fourth card. "And the river?"

"Bingo," I nodded, she'd picked up the terms quick enough. "… Aaaand bingo."

The cards were Pocket sevens, King of Spades, Eight of Hearts, and Ace of spades.

The Eight gave me three of a kind. Just a rank above the two pairs Coco had netted herself. Something she picked up on as Velvet had set the cards out.

"What was that about me talking more when my cards are bad?" I asked, raking in my winnings.

She pursed her lips for a moment, then shrugged. "So it goes."

Fair assessment. There was never a guarantee of things until the cards were all on the table. Actually thought she'd had me for a moment there, Ace-King is a solid combo most times. Both are high suits, and used in the highest value hands. But if those hands didn't come about, then they weren't worth any more than their own value.

Either way, it made for a good balance. Especially when the key of the game was trying to bluff your opponent.

We passed our cards back in and Ruby took the deck, giving it an awkward shuffle. Might've thought she was trying to stack the deck if it wasn't for the fact we'd have all caught it immediately. Didn't matter how many games she'd played, Ruby just couldn't get a handle on her poker face. That fact aside, she dealt the hand. It was a quiet one by comparison. I folded that turn, could see the cards weren't on my side. But Velvet managed to pull a win from Coco instead. Though part of me felt she'd thrown her a softball of a hand. Ruby hadn't, but wound up overshooting the mark instead. The cards passed to me, and I dealt us all in for another hand. Right about the same time, Zwei toddled up to Ruby for his tithe of scratches.

"What do we feel like doing for dinner?" Jaune asked from his spot in the living room.

"Pancakes!" Nora twittered.

"I don't feel like being on clean-up detail tonight," I said. "Why don't we do something simple?"

"Pancakes are simple," Nora challenged.

"You've never tried making Ren's recipe," I countered.

"How about pizza?" Yatsu offered. "Could order it, help cut down on clean-up."

"Pizza sounds nice," Ruby agreed. "Girls, Six?"

"Pizza works," Blake agreed, nodding.

"Sounds good," Weiss added.

"Hm, yeah. Pizza," Yang agreed dully.

"I think we can do pizza too," Pyrrha agreed, looking at Nora.

Nora didn't say anything, but the pout on her face said enough.

"Think we all agree pizza works," I said. "Just need to figure out who's ordering, picking it up, and paying for it."

"Also what kinds we're getting," Velvet added. "I'd love a slice of White Broccoli with hot honey."

Ruby briefly shot her a confused glance. I wasn't one to judge, but it seemed an interesting combination.

"How about the winners get dinner?" Weiss offered, smiling politely. "Considering there can be only one winner in these games, we can let the cards decide."

"Seems fair," I said, nodding towards Coco. "Next hand decides who gets to keep playing. Then we work out who's doing what."

"I can do that," Coco nodded, shuffling the deck. "One more hand then…" She looked back towards her male teammates. "You boys feel like switching players around after this hand?"

Fox nodded in agreement, and Yatsu gave his thumb, something neither Jaune nor Ren seemed to disagree with. Changing players would at least keep things fresh. People could play different games if they felt like it too. Really, thinking about it, these nights had just turned into a chance for us all to decompress. Something they needed as much as I did, recently.

Everyone seemed cool with switching tables after this hand, so we went with it. Cards started being dealt, and a thought occurred to me as we were about to start.

"One more thing," I said. "No folding this hand." My gaze drifted over to Weiss. "Should be counted as volunteering, if you decide to give up here."

Weiss didn't say anything for a moment, but I could tell by the stony look on her face that she'd been thinking that. Her natural affinity for the cards had lent to her being a regular winner. Perhaps that was stacking things against her, but, well, them's the breaks.

Her eyes drifted from her cards, to me, then back again. "… Drat."

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I snickered as I looked at my cards. Ace-Ten Suited. Good setup, lots of potential, but not worth a damn on their own. Let myself smirk as I spoke. "I don't know about this hand Coco, I think you might have me this time."

"…Pff, please," Coco retorted. "A hand like this?" She set her cards out, Pocket Twos. "You can beat that easy, anyone can."

"Well, try this on for size," Velvet added, smirking as she showed her cards, Three and Eight off-suit.

"I can beat both of those, see!" Ruby chimed, flipping her cards around. Pocket Kings "See, I have… wait… Whoops." She deflated as she caught up to the game we were actually playing now. Coco and Velvet only barely managed to suppress their snickers as Ruby's cheeks flushed. An honest mistake, but no less humorous, or unexpected from Ruby.

"I'm sure you'll be able to beat this one too," I said, setting my own cards out. I nodded to Coco. "Settle it up so we can make the order."

She nodded and started setting the cards out. Flop-

"… Well shit." I muttered.

…

Of all the times to fall into a Royal Flush, naturally, it had to be the one time I'd actually wanted to lose. Couldn't have even waited for the Turn and River, had to literally flop onto the table.

Though, in the end, a win's a win even if you didn't like the prize.

The other tables finished their games quickly as well. We spent a few minutes trying to figure out what everyone wanted on their pizza and where we'd be getting them. Jaune tried to argue for something called a calzone, but was unanimously shot down. There was also a brief squabble over breadsticks and garlic that'd been tied into knots. Though it wound up going nowhere. We wound up settling on four pies and these rings of fried batter called Cal-Amari. Named after the guy who'd come up with the recipe, apparently.

After fighting about it for a bit, we settled on a place a few blocks down and got down to the real debate. Who was ordering, who was buying, and who was delivering?

Winning such honors had wound up being me, Jaune, and Weiss. It'd been a close thing between Jaune and Yatsu, apparently Jaune just happened to have slightly higher value cards. Weiss had won in a landslide, which wasn't a surprise. Girl needed to go to the casino more often, she'd have pocket change for days. Not that she needed it.

Which was exactly the reason she got tapped for footing the bill this time. Jaune got stuck with making the call for the order, while I got stuck with delivery, naturally. We couldn't pay remotely, though Weiss apparently tried that, so she had to make the trip with me to pick up the pizza. Which itself turned things into an adventure and a half. Due to recent events, going out in public was becoming increasingly difficult. It wasn't like I'd get mobbed every time I stepped foot outside, but I wasn't exactly incognito anymore. Short of ditching my helmet, there wasn't much I could do to make myself any less conspicuous. So I had to limit my time outside, and take paths with less traffic. Hence a closer pizza joint.

Though it did have its perks.

"Thank you, come again!" the girl at the counter called. I motioned a hand back in a wave as Weiss and I slipped through the door. We were back out on the street and quickly walking away before the door had fully shut.

"What're the odds that she's going to let people know we were here?" I asked.

"Vale's crazy vigilante and Atlas' premier heiress spotted buying pizza in scenic Vale," Weiss shuddered. "You saw how quickly they jumped on the bandwagon with Jaune and Pyrrha."

"… So I'll take that as a yes?" I pressed.

"She's probably calling the News as we speak," Weiss answered primly.

"That tracks," I nodded, shifting the food in my arms. "At least they gave us an extra pie and soda for free."

Weiss shot me a sharp look, then huffed. "Why can't you just take that thing off?"

"And kill everyone's appetite?" I asked. "No thanks."

Weiss shook her head, and we continued walking. It was the early part of the evening and the streets were, unfortunately, more active than I'd like, though we quickly worked to change that. Rather than just taking a straight shot back to Tukson's place, we took the long way, doing our best to take whatever paths were obviously barren and deserted. Or at least less crowded. Whatever worked better for getting away from any prying eyes. It was going to take us a little bit to get back.

"This aside, I needed tonight," Weiss said. "I think we all did after everything that's happened."

"Wish it was over with," I said. "You'd think after everything we've done so far it would've gotten the message across. This is just a lull in things though. Whatever game the White Fang's playing, they're not done yet."

"I wasn't talking just about the White Fang," Weiss said, giving me the side-eye. "But, yes, we'll count them too."

"Hm," I grunted.

"…" Weiss sighed. "I get there are some things you probably think you need to do on your own, but you could at least tell us."

"Then you'd all just be worrying about me," I said.

"Like we wouldn't if you just suddenly disappeared?" Weiss pressed. "You know how that dolt is. If you don't show up, we're going to come running after you."

"Yeah, I know. I still remember what happened with Blake," I told her. "It's nice to know you care, but I've got things under control. If it's not, I'll probably let one of you know before I do something stupid."

"Good," Weiss huffed. "Now if we could just get Yang to stop being so mopey. Having Blake do it is more than enough, seeing Yang do it just hurts."

"Got any idea what's gotten into her?" I asked.

"None. She's been unusually tight-lipped," Weiss said. "Ruby might know something, but she hasn't said anything about it either."

I nodded. "I'll try talking with her in a day or two and see if I can't see what the trouble is. I have an idea or two, but nothing that should've gotten her like this."

"What is it?" Weiss asked curiously.

"A conversation we had a while back," I explained. "Tried to be up front with her about something and she didn't seem to take it well."

Weiss' brow crept upward slightly as she gave me a conspiratorial look.

"There's no gossip here, Weiss. Whatever you're thinking, it's not that," I told her. "Something happened, and I needed to clear the air with her, so I did… At least I think I did."

"… Fine, be that way," Weiss shook her head. "I'm sure I'll find out eventually."

We arrived back at Tukson's and went in through the shop. About halfway back through the shop, Weiss stopped at the register and turned towards me. She blocked the path and made me stop. Her smaller stature didn't make her a good roadblock, but bowling through her would've been impolite.

"Before we go back upstairs, I'm calling dibs on your card table," Weiss said.

"…Um… ok, why?" I asked.

She raised her chin imperiously at me. "I demand a bet of Favors-"

"Oh not this shit again," I said, shaking my head. My feet moved to start bowling.

Weiss put her hands up and planted them against my chest. "Stop, stop! Let me finish!"

"We're not doing Favors again, Snowflake," I told her. "It was supposed to be a one time thing, and I am not owing Coco another one."

The last one I had owed Coco required me to make dinner. Would've been simple on its own, but she kept making demands of how I was supposed to prepare it while I was making it. I only narrowly avoided it turning into a giant waste of ingredients, but swore I wasn't cooking for her anymore.

Weiss could be a brat, but holy shit.

I tried to move past Weiss, but each attempt required me trying to keep the pizzas balanced. Which gave Weiss more time to get in my way and slow me down. Despite that, I managed to steadily push her back up to the door leading into the backroom. Then she put a glyph under her and made sure she wasn't going anywhere.

"Oh for- Weiss," I growled.

She stared me down imperiously, refusing to give another inch.

"What is this?" I asked, stepping back so I didn't drop the pizzas. "What exactly do you want?"

"I want-" she started.

"A Favor, I got that," I said, looking down at her. "But clearly you want it for something, and you've got a good idea of what it is too, since you're trying this hard to get one from me."

Weiss pursed her lips but continued staring me down.

"What exactly do you want from me?" I asked. "You could literally just ask."

Weiss didn't respond for a long moment. She just continued trying to look down her nose at me. Which had the opposite effect of what she wanted, because she had to incline her head towards me, it required she tip herself back quite steeply. Despite that, she soldiered on with the gesture.

Right up until she got a light dusting of red on her face.

"I-it's not important," she said.

"Doesn't seem that way," I replied.

"You'll laugh at me if I just ask for it," she continued, red hue of her face darkening to a rosy shade.

"You don't know that," I pressed. "If it's that important to you, odds are good I won't laugh."

I worked very hard not to add the 'much' to the end of that sentence. Truthfully, she was being quite outrageous for something as small as a Favor. Knowing Weiss it was either something meteorically large she was struggling with, or something so basic and simple her pride refused her to be honest about it.

So I stood there having a stare down with her. Waiting for her to cave first. She was the one looking to get something, so she'd better be willing to give a little.

"…" She exhaled through her nose and lowered her head, suddenly unwilling to meet my gaze. "… Promise you won't laugh?"

"… Weiss I taught you how to swim, there's not much you can say right now-"

"Just promise!" she snipped.

"Fine, fine," I agreed. "Promise I won't breakdown in guffaws of laughter. Now can we get on with it? The pizza's getting cold."

"…" Weiss steeled herself, and spoke her request. Still not deigning to look up at me as her ears began to turn red. "… I want another hug."

A moment passed as her words hung in the air. I was still looking down at her, but she couldn't bring herself to look up at me.

"… *snrk*"

"DON'T LAUGH!" Weiss snapped, finally looking up at me. Her face was Bighorner red.

"A hug?" I asked, trying very hard to keep a straight face. "That's it?"

Her face started twisting up in a pouty little scowl. "This is why I didn't just ask!" she turned about and her glyph vanished, pushing through the door. "Forget I said anything-"

"Wait, just hold on a second," I told her.

"…" Weiss looked back over her shoulder at me.

I set the pizza boxes down on the counter and dusted myself off. Then I took a few steps closer to her, arms open. "C'mere."

"…"

She didn't say anything, but the speed at which she collided into me spoke enough for her. Weiss's arms locked around my waist, and I draped my arms over her shoulders, before locking tight around her. I didn't try to squeeze the life out of her, but it's a fine line. Whatever I was doing, I was doing it right, because I felt her relaxing.

"Was that so hard?" I asked her.

"-hut hup." Weiss said, words muffled by my clothing. Despite the order, she made no moves to let go.

"I'm not an unreasonable guy Weiss, and this ain't an unreasonable thing," I told her, gently. "If you need something, just ask. Favors are a business you shouldn't be trying to get wrapped up in."

"Hmm," was Weiss' answer.

The room fell silent as we stood there. At that point, I'd have no problem letting her have as long as she needed.

Judging by how tightly she was hugging me, boy, did she need it.

…

As they fished through the cabinets of the apartment, searching for plates and cutlery, Coco noticed Velvet looking curiously at the floor. There was a small smile on her face.

"What's up bun-bun?" Coco asked.

"…Nothing," Velvet said, turning to look at her, still smiling. "Just thought I heard something."