Disclaimer: i don't own RWBY or the characters
Summary: Nebula Violette reflects on her team after their loss in the Vytal Festival
Rating: K
Notes: just a dumb drabble from a dumb headcanon that popped into my head about team ndgo; it's only vaguely hinted at but the headcanon is that team ndgo is all trans
Stepping onto the field for the first time in the Vytal Festival was exhilarating, no student could deny that feeling. Maybe it was the loud cheering from the stands, the cocky faces of the opponents, or the announcers flattering the sparing teams that filled the contestants with adrenaline, but no matter what, once on the field, each team member's heart would beat as one.
Nebula Violette was certainly confident as she strutted to the center with her teammates to her sides, squaring up the presumptuous faces of the four boys in front of them. From overhead they could hear the professors of Beacon introducing them for the next battle.
"Team NDGO of Shade is certainly a crowd favorite," Professor Port's deep voice rang out, "but these lovely ladies are going against some of the toughest, testosterone-filled teammates we've seen so far!"
The four girls shared knowing looks, holding back giggles, before looking back to their opponents with raised eyebrows.
.
After the fight, despite loosing, NGDO strolled out smiling. Nebula ran a hand over her hilt of her weapon, glancing over at Gwen struggling to return her throwing knives to their original places. Octavia huffed with crossed arms, no doubt still upset over her being the first to be out, Dew simply patting her shoulder in condolence. The four girls continued their walk, looking for an open space in the fairgrounds to relax.
"Those announcers sure had some interesting quips," Nebula mused outwardly, "didn't they?" The other three looked over to their leader as they approached an open table, sitting down with matching sighs.
"Some pretty bad puns, that's for sure," Dew responded, rolling her eyes at the memory.
"What about those boys though?" Octavia teased
"Team SSSN? The "toughest, testosterone-filled" dorks?" Gwen laughed. "If we were in a looks competition I bet we'd win."
Nebula smirked, leaning on her elbows as her teammates moved into small talk. She couldn't help be keep the professor's words in her mind. Lovely ladies. And they were, to be brutally honest; they worked hard for the looks they gained and weren't afraid to flaunt what they had. Looking at her teammates—no, friends—her smile turned fond as she remembered the people they were only a year before.
Their freshman year, the four girls were nearly complete opposites to who they were now. Their selves from last year would be in awe at the people they would become only a little over a year later. Coming into their school they knew who they were, there was no doubt about that, but they still weren't comfortable just yet.
Gwen Darcy was shy, wearing loose fitting clothing and teasing with the chewed ends of her nails and rarely looked others in the eye due to her lack of confidence. Dew Gayl, while only slightly less shy, wore simple clothes with clunky armor across her chest, wearing more flashy clothes up to once or twice a month. Octavia Ember, however, wore the clothes she wanted, the dresses and skirts she wanted, the tight shirts she wanted, and she wore them with unrivaled pride and as flashy as she could. And when the four were getting to know each other, when they discovered all their similarities, they knew things would be just fine.
Flash forward a year and a half and the four girls now held themselves with pride, their past selves fondly looked back upon as mere starting points for their grand reveal.
Nebula guessed she was lost in thought longer than she intended because her teammates were looking at her with curious looks. She lifted her head, turning towards her friends, and sat up straighter in attention. "What?"
"Neb," Gwen leaned in with an unnecessary whisper, "you've been staring at us since we sat down. Is there something wrong?"
"Of course not," Nebula assured, giving a soft smile, "just thinking about some stuff."
"What kind of stuff?"
"Just…stuff." Her team looked at each other, knowing they wouldn't get much else from their leader.
"Okay then, well whatever you're thinking of can be put on hold for the time being, right?" Octavia asked with an impatient eye roll.
"Of course, like I said, it's just some stuff, nothing important."
