Disclaimer: RWBY is the property of Roosterteeth and the creation of Monty Oum.
Beyond the Stars
"Are you alright?"
"Am I ..." Yang grabbed her knees, chest heaving as she tried to catch her breath. Still panting, she shot a glare over at her running partner, taking in in the long white hair, tied back in an off-kilter ponytail that ran almost all the way down her back. The grey suit she wore, with sharp lapels and a sharper collar, that somehow stayed completely spotless despite running through miles of smoke, debris, and homicidal robots. It was entirely unfair – the two of them had spent the last hour dodging laser fire and the white-haired woman had barely broken a sweat.
"You show up in my flat chasing a skull-masked monster, get me shot at by jack-booted robots, burn down half the block, and you're asking if I'm alright?"
The white-haired woman straightened, her back cracking, and fixed her tie. "Any grievous physical wounds? Severe head trauma? Laser burns?"
Yang rolled her eyes and slumped against the wall. "Yeah. Think I'm fine."
"That's good," the woman said, brushing her side-tail over one shoulder and straightening the lapels on her suit. The two just stood there for a moment, hearts pounding, their breath slowing as the adrenaline bled from their systems. Finally the white-haired woman gave a quiet little cough, and turned to look at Yang.
"Then, I suppose it's time."
"Time for what?"
The woman stared at her as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Time for me to go."
Yang couldn't help but gape. After dragging her halfway across the city, nearly getting her killed, and delivering unequivocal proof of alien life, this woman was just going to ... what? Leave?
"Just like that?"
The woman shrugged as a large blue box materialized behind her, pulsing into existence and letting out one long, rhythmic groan. "Just like that."
"You're mental," the blonde said, somehow surprised that she couldn't manage the energy to actually be surprised.
"Unless ..." the woman started, trailed off until her eyes met Yang's. "If you really wanted, I suppose I could," the woman shrugged, looking very specifically at the molding of her doorway. "Let you come with me."
"... this is a thing with you, isn't it? You just go gallivanting around, recklessly endangering the first attractive young woman you come across?"
"That's not-" The woman caught herself, huffing slightly before looking back at Yang. "I'm not always the one doing the reckless endangering."
Yang smirked, flipping a stray lock of blonde hair back over her shoulder. "So you do think I'm attractive."
The woman let out that same annoyed little huff, stepped back inside her box, and pulled the door shut behind her. A long, pulsing noise filled the air, a grating, grinding groan that resonated in the depths of her bones. With each tone, the box became a little less solid, fading a little more out of existence and taking the impossible woman with it.
Rolling her eyes, Yang stepped up to the box, waited for it to seem mostly solid, and rapped three sharp knocks on the outer door.
The sound ground to a halt, ending in one long whining note before the box re-materialized before her. A small window, right at the level of Yang's chin, opened in the front panel and ice-blue eyes beneath pale brows scowled up out of the little square.
"What?"
Yang leaned in against the box, staring down into the window and smiling all the while. "You haven't answered my question."
"What question was that?"
"What would we do?"
The window closed, the wood clicking into place just as the door swung open. She stood there, severe and imposing. And tall. Almost as tall as Yang. Almost. Even in heels, the blonde still had a good three inches on her. From the way her scowl deepened, Yang could tell how much that must annoy her – she seemed the type who liked to loom over others.
Eventually she spoke, icy gaze never leaving Yang's face as she spoke. "Travel. See the stars."
"Which ones?"
"All of them. Any one that's ever been, ever will be. Anywhere in the universe, in all of time and space.""
Yang mulled it over for a second. The events of the last few hours rushed through her mind, followed by the monotony of the day before, and the day before that, and the one before that. She thought of spending every day toiling in a dead-end job she despised. Of bills and rent. An ordinary life just like everyone else.
The white-haired woman frowned up at her, watching as she struggled to make up her mind. "It's not always safe," she warned, her voice soft and gentle.
Yang's mind was made up in an instant, the unintended challenge sparking something deep within her. The last thing she wanted right now was safe.
"Nothin' worth doing ever is," she grinned down at the woman. "And if it's so dangerous, you could probably use someone watching out for you."
"You think you can take care of me?"
Yang rose to her own full height, lilac eyes staring their challenge down into those impossibly blue ones. "Oh, trust me, Princess. I can take care of you."
The woman's eyes widened slightly, and Yang could have sworn her cheeks went just a little pink. She made the huffing noise again, turning on her heel and walking deeper into the box, leaving Yang to close the door behind her. The blonde grinned demonically, very much the cat with a new toy, a new mouse to torment. All that running, and now someone who seemed so easy to tease? It had been a long time since she felt so ... alive.
Conventional understandings of physics demanded that Yang examine her sanity after she stepped into the box. Then again, after finding that both laser fire and homicidal robots weren't merely the domain of cheesy science fiction, she was willing to stretch the bounds of 'sane.' Crammed inside the little box was a cavernous room, walkways running around the sides, the walls covered in strange, round, glowing things that for the life of her Yang couldn't guess the purpose of. A massive column stood in the center, decorated with countless levels and dials, half of them not looking connected to much of anything.
"You're not going to say it?" the woman asked, looking almost put out as she watched Yang walk through her home.
"Would you actually give me an answer?" the blonde replied, not knowing what 'it' was, but enjoying anything that put the bizarre woman a little more off balance.
"It's something of a tradition."
"Yeah well, I'm pretty bloody far from traditional." Satisfied that no more psychotic killing machines were about to leap out at her, Yang leaned back against the railing that circled around the column. Grinning, she looked back at the woman who'd knocked her to the ground while she was just grabbing lunch, the one she'd spent the rest of her day running for her life with. "So, Princess, where are we goin'?"
"... why don't you pick the first one?"
Writer's Note: So, here's my fourth entry for RWBY relationship week. Apologies, but I needed to bump the Freezerburn one up a bit. It's nothing special, just an idea that was kicking around for a bit. Please review!