It had been a surprisingly busy day for Yang Xiao Long. Busy,but hardly eventful. The second last thing she'd expected was for all her team mates to be out of the dorm at the same time. And the last thing she'd expected to find on that day was a letter,neat and clean in a pastel yellow envelope slid under the door,clearly marked in block letter print,"To: Yang".
After the briefest pause,she pinched the flap and tore it open,revealing a folded letter,surprisingly brief in it's content. A brief whiff gave a faint scent of perfume,but she wasn't sure that was intentional.
"Dearest Yang,it would be wonderful if you might grace me with your presence at the square of the fourth quadrant of Vale town tonight at 8. I'd certainly understand if you don't feel like showing up,but I'm perfectly willing to wait a little. With much affection,a secret admirer."
Where a signature would be,there was instead the faint outline of a lip mark,as though whoever wrote the letter had tried to seal it with a kiss,only to realize too late that their lip gloss was too faint to leave a mark.
With a bit of a grumble,Yang folded the letter back up and slipped into the bathroom for a quick shower. Whoever it was,they clearly had SOME sort of interest in her,and waiting around wasn't going to get her any answers.
20 minutes later,Yang was roaring down the (surprisingly clear for a Friday night) road on the Bumblebee,trying to clear her head. It definitely couldn't be Jaune. Or Sun. Certainly wasn't Neptune's kind of smooth either. Dust,she was acquainted with surprisingly few men at this point. ...Maybe it was Pyrrha. Yep,Pyrrha sounded good.
Pulling up to the entrance to the square,she pulled her helmet off and exhaled,the grinding gears in her head making an effort to lock into place as the engine fell silent. Flattening out her helmet hair and making sure her clothes (no different from her usual) were in place,she took even,measured strides towards the statue in the center of the square,framed by moonlight as her eyes flicked around to scan for the kind of person who'd slip her a love letter under the door.
Then...their eyes met. Sitting,legs crossed at the base of the statue licking an ice cream cone. That coat. That parasol. Those boots that she'd gotten plenty a good look at when they were kicking her in the face. That utterly ridiculous hair. And it's owner,standing up and smiling broadly as she clicked-clacked towards Yang,who was presently trying to restrain her twitching fingers from engaging Ember Celica.
"Yang...Xiao Long." Neo began. "You're...looking lovely tonight." Her smile this time seemed...much more sincere than when they first met. Didn't make Yang want to punch her any less.
Standing perfectly straight,doing her best to stay on guard against the considerably shorter woman,Yang let out a mix between a snarl and a confused mumble. "You...you're the one who sent me that letter?"
"Of course it was me,dear..." Neo turned her back to her,affecting an obvious pout. "Unless...I'm not the only person who asked you out tonight?"
"No...you are." Yang raised her arms,fists at the ready. "Look,if this is meant to be some sorta trap..."
"Oh! It's nothing of the sort!" Neo twirled around,taking a few cautious steps backwards as she brought her parasol down to hang off the crook of her arm,standing in an open,entirely vulnerable position. "Miss Fall pays me by the hour and,guess what? This isn't one of those hours."
Stepping back into an arm's length of Yang,she rested both her arms on Yang's shoulders,hands lightly cradling her neck. "So I thought...I may as well spend my time off with honestly,a perfectly charming,doubtlessly attractive lady who I hadn't quite gotten a chance to be acquainted with?"
In response,Yang loosened up a little,sighing. "So...this is...a date. You're asking me...on a date."
To which Neo responded by pulling back again,opening her arms. "Yes...I suppose. A date! Not that I'm used to going out much. With girls,I mean. Or,with any type of company,really."
If anything,Neo was better at playing the "smooth" game than Neptune was. And Yang definitely picked up that she was nervous. And unconsciously dancing in and out of Yang's reach like she did in their first meeting.
After a brief inhalation,Yang put her hands up,open this time. "Look...a date's a date,okay? I know how it works. These?" She held out her arms to emphasize her bracelets. "Are...not gonna come out tonight. Unless..."
"Oh! Of...of course not." She flicked a latch on the handle of her parasol,giving it a firm tug to show that nothing could slide out.
Cautiously satisfied,Yang nodded. "So,did you actually have plans for tonight,or are we gonna just stand here and stare at each other?" The flash in Neo's absolutely disorienting eyes suggested that she was tempted by that notion,before...
"Ah! Yes...of course. Maybe...we could get dinner? I...haven't eaten yet. And I walked here,so..." Neo had to resist lifting an eyebrow to highlight her point.
"Fine...we're riding. Hope you got a good place in mind..." Yang turned to get back on her motorcycle,Neo clicking close behind her. "You got a name,or...? Because you clearly know mine already."
Easing onto the wide bike seat,Neo giggled. "Neopolitan. But my friends...and Mister Torchwick,call me Neo. No,that's not my...real name. But it may as well...um,I've probably said too much." Earning an eyeroll from Yang as she enthusiastically wrapped her arms around Yang's waist as they roared off into the young night.
Another 15 minutes later,the two of them were slurping down noodles side by side at a stall,with an entirely reasonable space of one stool between them.
"Never thought you'd like this kinda place." Neo smiled. "Figured you'd want to head straight for a club."
"Eh...that's not really my scene to be honest." Yang muttered in response. "Besides,I'm kind of on the 'do not admit' list of the only club in this quadrant."
Neo chuckled. "Hah...I've heard a couple things along those lines. So..." She leaned back,pushing her empty bowl slightly forward. "What about that...Blake girl? I mean,I saw you with her and the Miss Schnee the other day,and we pretty much know all there is to know about her." She interrupted Yang,who's mouth was still mostly full,with a gasp. "Ah,I don't mean like,deep dark secrets or debiliating psychological weaknesses or whatever,that's Cinder's bag. I mean like...stuff,you know. Is she...a dog person? Figuratively,I mean."
To which Yang answered with a brief laugh,and 6 seconds of choke-coughing. "Oh dust no! You should've seen the look on her face when Zwei popped out of the box. You know...Zwei,my dog...or my dad's dog,at least. He must've been with Dr. Oobleck when we were..." Yang cleared her throat.
"Oh,uh..." Neo hurried to change the topic. "So,uh...girls! I wonder if I'm your first? Probably not,Blake sure looks like a catch,huh?"
Yang scratched the back of her head. "Uh...I guess? I mean,we're both you know,team mates,I don't really wanna make it awkward,and...feels like we're both stepping around it,y'know?" She leaned a bit to her side,in an effort to ease away from Neo's intent,dreamy gaze. (A gaze so sweet,it looked like melted ice cream was pouring out of her eyes,which themselves were melted ice cream.)
"Ohhhh...well in that case..." The next comment Neo was about to deliver with a sweetly evil smile on her face was interrupted by the ringing of a scroll from her coat pocket. "Oh! Miss Fall! Yes...the usual place...of course,I'll be right there,bye..." With a snap,she shut her scroll and hopped to her feet. "I'm...really,really sorry to cut this short,but-"
"Go ahead,go...plot your evil with your boss or whatever..." Yang waved her off. "Tell her I'll be aiming straight for that annoying hair flip this time."
Rather dissolute,Neo whimpered. "B-before I go,couldn't we at least,you know? Kiss...and make up?" She half-closed her eyes and pursed her lips,waiting for Yang to respond...
To which Yang rose,Neo once again reaching up to only her chest as she leaned in,responding in kind...only for her lips to meet the cold caress of a pane of glass,that promptly dissolved into a heap of sand on the ground.
"Hahaha,you really DO look cute like that!" Neo laughed,legs dangling over the edge of the overpass above Yang. "I'll see you again real soon? I mean...during a time when we're not trying to punch or stab each other!"
"Yeah,sure!" Yang shouted up at her. "Long as I'm the one who calls you! And I get to pick where we go next time!"
"Done and done!" Neo waved,as she vanished in a cloud of glass shards. The last thing Yang saw of her was the pink silk of her parasol.
"Dammit..." Yang couldn't help but smile,or at least sneer,as she swung her leg over her bike,heading back towards Beacon. At least this night was...a little more eventful than she expected it to be.