Skatidate [Private w/ Vera]

[Professor W B Copperfield]

It had been a long, long time since he had someone kiss him on the cheek. Or blush at his words. Or touch his hand. It was almost unbelievable and he had started to wonder if someone was paying her to do this. But everytime they had lunch together between classes, the sound of her laughter, the way her ears twitched when he spoke, the feel of her hand on his... It couldn't be faked.

It had been a number of weeks since their first date out to dinner and ice cream. He had been incredibly rusty and a little awkward, but he had earned a smooch on the cheek. Which was just the right step forward for him. Moving to fast might break his sense of reality. But he was finishing up a new project andd he thought it was about time he took her out again. Last time he had to psyche himself up for it, increase his heart rate prior so it didn't mess him up, etc. He was far more comfortable with her now, and he knew her routes through the school. He followed her, using his best fox steps to keep quiet, until she was walking alone through a hallway.

He ran up behind her and scooped her up into his arms, she was much shorter than he, and nuzzled his nose into her hair, humming happily. "Hey, I got a question for you. Before it warms up, wanna go ice skating? Like, maybe tomorrow?"

[Vera Noire]

Véra was humming softly to herself as she walked, carrying books to her office between classes. She suddenly heard the sound of footsteps behind her rushing towards her followed by arms grabbing her and lifting her up. Her tail puffed out in shock, her ears flattened against her skull defensively, and she got ready to fight back before realizing just who it was that had picked her up. "Don't do that, you scared the life out of me!" she complained. She had dropped her books, one of which had fallen on its spine, opening to an amazing well-drawn anatomical illustration of a Gryphon.

"Ice skating? That does sound pretty nice," Véra said with a blush. She relaxed in his arms but didn't quite like being held up in the air like this, especially in public. Sure their relationship wasn't exactly a secret, but it was embarrassing for students to see them like this.

[Professor W B Copperfield]

He hummed warmly at her answer and set her down. It wasn't like any students were around anyway, he wouldn't have done a thing in public. "I thought it did too. Now I just gotta figure out how before tomorrow." He chuckled, glancing at the books. He stooped over and helped pick them up. He kept the one with the amazing drawing of the Gryphon. "Vera, did you do this? This is amazing..." He softly traced some lines with his finger, admiring it closely.

[Vera Noire]

As Copper picked her books up for her and commented on the illustration of the Gryphon, Véra's cheeks turned red and she beamed proudly at his praise. A quick glance at the title page would show it was indeed her work, a compilation of Grimm knowledge that she'd spent years working on and published herself. "Y-yes, that is my work," she said. "Every illustration was hand drawn in the original manuscript. I still have the sketches if you'd like to see them some time."

[Professor W B Copperfield]

After examining the drawing he flipped through a few other pages, then the title page. Her book? Wait, he sort of recognized this work... He hadn't read it, but he was pretty sure he had a copy of this on a shelf somewhere at home! And she had drawn and wrote this?! "The original sketches? If you still have them, I'd love to see them, yes! I didn't know you did stuff like this!" He handed the book back. "You're an amazing artist, why didn't you ever tell me you could do stuff like that?"

[Vera Noire]

"I-it's purely academic, rather than artistic," Véra protested. "It's just a hobby I picked up during my time as a student, and I decided to use it for my work as an adult. The last time I used it for artistic purposes was.... before that incident." Her ears and tail lowered in sadness at a depressing memory, of the day that her team fell apart. True it was the day she met her son Vee, but it was also the day that team OBSN met their end, with her boyfriend Sterling dying brutally at the hands of Grimm. It was the day she had decided to retire as an independent Huntress, as well, and the start of her career as an academic and a full-time mother.

[Professor W B Copperfield]

Her ears and eyes lowered as she remembered the incident. They each had traumatic times in their past, things they stopped once it all was done. He reached out and grabbed her hand. "Well, someday I'd like to see you make art again." He lifted the hand and bent over a little to kiss it. "When you're ready." He smiled and stroked her hand with his thumb.

"But Ice Skating, tomorrow, you're good?"

[Vera Noire]

Véra blushed as he he kissed her hand and she nodded enthusiastically at the mention of going ice skating for a date tomorrow. "Y-yeah, that'll be fun," she said with a grin, ears and tail perking back up excitedly. Their last date had been wonderful so she was definitely looking forward to this one.

[Professor W B Copperfield]

The way she blushed, her tail and ears standing on end... So, so adorable. "I'll pick you up then, 4 o'clock." He smiled, stroked her hand a bit more, and parted from her.


Copperfield's long legs shook a little. He wasn't scared of this, no. It was just hard to keep his balance. He was on the ice, one hand on the wall as he tried to make just one pass around the rink. Ice skating was supposed to be fun but he forgot that it had been years since he skated as a child up in Atlas. And he had grown a heck of a lot taller since then. But he was determined to regain the skill and to be able to skate out in the middle with Vera.

Left push, slide, right push, slide, left puUUUUSSH- ... slide.. right push...

[Vera Noire]

Contrary to Copper's difficulties, Véra glided across the ice with grace and ease, as if she'd been ice skating her whole life. Growing up in Argus, it was a skill she had mastered at a young age. She came over to Copper, skating along side him. "Need some help, dear?" She asked, taking his hand to offer him support as he tried to make his way out to the middle.

[Professor W B Copperfield]

He did not need help, he was figuring it out! It was just taking him a minute! But, she called him 'dear'. He hadn't been called a cute nickname in a long while. So despite his pride and stubborness pulling to take his arm away from her, he relented and took her hand. The wall was far sturdier but he decided to put his trust in her ability. He'd just need to remember to use his Aura for protection if he fell. His hand shook a little as he swallowed.

"I'm... I used to do this as a kid, but when I-!" His balance shook. "...-when I left I never picked it up again. Oh man it's been a while." His left foot slid out far easier than he was ready for, and would hit the ground if Vera didn't catch him.

[Vera Noire]

"I'm glad it gets cold enough in Vale to do this," Véra pointed out, planting her feet to help him keep his balance. "Growing up in Argus I used to ice skate all the time with my parents. Unlike you I didn't really get tall so it's pretty easy for me still," she explained. "The trick is in how you shift your weight. Put too much weight too fast and you'll slip like that. Try putting more weight on your heels and hips."

[Professor W B Copperfield]

She planted her feet, allowing him to push himself up using her as a brace. "Woo, almost bit it there." He smiled at her. "Thanks."

"Heels and hips? How do you put weight on your hips...?" He wondered outloud, shifting his weight and feet as he tried to figure out the right way. It took a minute, but he thought he got it. "Ok, lets go forward now." He tried with the new position, which with how tall he was looked a little funky with him hunching over.

[Vera Noire]

Véra skated alongside him, holding his hand as he seemed to be figuring it out based on her advice, which brought a smile to her face. "It looks like you're starting to get it," she praised.

[Professor W B Copperfield]

"Y-yeah, I think I am!" He was excited, a smile over his face. He looked at her own stance and her legs, which were very pretty legs, weren't being assisted by her cane. Interesting. He pushed that thought away and tried not to draw attention, looking back at her face before slipping, regaining his balance, and face forward once more.

"Do you go out often?" He asked. "Like with Vee? Out on the town?"

[Vera Noire]

"No, not really, he tends to go out on his own more often than not. Now that he's all grown up and attending Beacon he doesn't have time for his dear old mom any more," Véra answered with a disappointed frown. "Every now and then I can convince him to come to town with me for some quality time, though, so it's not all bad. He's always so busy these days...."

[Professor W B Copperfield]

Hearing that made Copperfield frown. "I would have spent more time with my parents if they had been around. Kid doesn't know what he's missing." He squeezed her hand. "I'm not gonna miss out though. Anytime you wanna hit up the town, I'll be there."

He said it before his brain had come to a decision. Sure, he really really liked her but anytime? He had work to do, and not the kind that was his job! This would eat into his workshop time in a big way! Was he really ok with making that commitment?

[Vera Noire]

Véra blushed at his comment and subsequent declaration. "A-any time? You mean.... like... you're willing to come shopping with me?" she asked, half-excitedly. While shopping wasn't exactly a date it was a nice activity the two of them could do to spend time together and she was clearly excited about that possibility.

[Professor W B Copperfield]

She asked about going shopping, which sounded boring, but she sounded so excited about the prospect. And he found that he really, REALLY wanted to make her as happy as possible. Even if it encrouched on his tinkering time. And he could pick up Dust as they went out anyway, so that should be fine.

He nodded. "Anytime. I'm pretty busy with everything, but as long as I get to be with you... I'll find time in the schedule." He stroked her hand with his thumb.

[Vera Noire]

Véra blushed at that and grinned happily, tail swishing to and fro with excitement. "That's really sweet of you," she said, squeezing his hand.

[Professor W B Copperfield]

Holding her hand, watching her smiling face and swishing tail, sparkling eyes... "Gosh you're beautiful..." He whispered, thinking he said it in his head. This was just a perfect moment, as they skated by the dancing lights and icy floor. She had made her move before with his cheek. It was his turn now. His other hand reached up to cup her cheek. He leaned down and moved closer, entirely focused on her. Copperfield's breath mingled with hers. He went for it.

And he slammed into someone, falling right out of Vera's hands as he collapsed with a surprised shout.

"Hey, watch it!" Cried the other guy, now just as on the ground as Copperfield was.

[Vera Noire]

Véra was shocked as Copper suddenly leaned in as if to kiss her, her face turning red and her tail fluffed with surprise. Just as she was about to close her eyes and lean in, though, he was ripped away from her by crashing into someone. Scared and worried for him, she rushed over to check on Copper and the man he'd run into. "Are you okay? No cuts or other injuries?" She asked as she helped the both of them up, her hand lingering on Copper's hand before she started brushing ice off of his outfit.

[Professor W B Copperfield]

"Y-yeah, Im-" Copperfield said as he tried to regain his balance before the other guy interrupted him.

"I might have broken my ass, thanks to you! What in the world were you thinking? Asshole!" The other man held his rear in pain as he struggled to get to his feet.

Copperfield shot him a quick glare and tightened his fist as Vera brushed ice off of him. "I was THINKING about kissing my girlfriend who was teaching me how to skate, you MORON."

"Learn some other place where you wont barrel into someone else you giant freaking ape!" The man was still rubbing his ass but was pbviously content to continue hurling insults and complaints.

[Vera Noire]

Véra stepped up and immediately slapped the man across the face. "It's one thing to be upset at being run in to, it's another to belittle a man for trying to learn a new skill. Sure he picked a bad time to close his eyes, but you should have been more attentive to the people around you. You do not own this skating rink, you have no right to act so self-important." Her tail was incredibly fluffed and held out straight, clearly displaying her anger. "If you feel too immature to walk away from this I'd be happy to put your head through a wall or two."

[Professor W B Copperfield]

The slap made the man blink. Then his eyes hardened and his body tensed.

"Careful buster." Copperfield warned, sticking his hands in his pockets. "She's a Huntress. She can follow through with her threat. Just keep skating, and we wont be tempted to buy any of the cute toys at the hospital gift shop you get sent to, ok?"

The man shook. He wasn't going to take the advice.

Then the lights changed, darker with blacklights to turn previously-ordinary designs of the building into neon colors that stood out. The music also changed from something upbeat into slow dance music. That seemed to shake him enough and he turned around with a "Bitch."

"She's a cat you idiot!" Copperfield called back, but the man kept skating. Copperfield let out a sigh. "Well, talk about ruining the moment."

[Vera Noire]

Véra seemed like she was ready to beat that man to death with his own leg before Copper stepped in. "Pussy," she said to the prick as he left. "I've met Geists with more spine than him," she vented as she turned her attention back to Copper, her tail still standing on end to make her anger quite visible. She definitely needed a distraction.

[Professor W B Copperfield]

She turned back to him, the man was gone. She was angry. Furious. And she had stood up for him. "You are so hot right now." Copperfield said low under his breath, but loud enough she would hear him before a hand came out to hold her face as he pressed his mouth to hers. His other hand wrapped around her waist and pulled her body to press against him.

[Vera Noire]

Véra's eyes went wide as she suddenly found her mouth pressed to his and she practically melted into his embrace, relaxing immediately and leaning into the kiss happily as she wrapped her arms around him. This is just what she needed after such an infuriating confrontation. Her tail swished behind her, the fur having settled, indicating her happiness and excitement at sharing their first kiss.

[Professor W B Copperfield]

He kissed her for a long moment. His heart pounded and he couldn't help but smile against her as his chest felt like it was getting filled with helium and light. He kissed her again, and again, before parting slightly from her. He wanted to say something but he found his he didn't really have anything other than, "Gosh your beautiful..." he whispered above the music, their eyes not two inches away.

[Vera Noire]

By the time Véra opened her eyes, her face was red and her tail was swishing excitedly. "That was..... amazing," she said with a grin. She hadn't been kissed like that in years. Not since Sterling died. After that day her life had been consumed with raising Vee to make up for her failures, and of course she loved her son, but she had been too afraid to love anyone else until that wonderful day Copperfield had asked her out. Now here they were, sharing their first kiss and staring into each other's eyes romantically. She couldn't help herself, she leaned in and gave him another kiss. It almost seemed as though she were purring, but that could have just been an auditory hallucination.