I wanted to write a fluffy moment of Mercury and having a moment of realizing how much he loves his new family... also want it to have moments where no one knows who the hell to ship... although I do love the idea of disabler!
He stirred in his sleep. Nightmares again. Yang was just drifting off when she noticed. She also realized that she was leaning against him but then she noticed Blake on the other side of him also asleep and leaning against him. He insisted on sitting between them for some reason after attempting to sleep in another area. His movements soon also woke Blake up, too. Ruby and Weiss looked on across from them in concern. Everyone was just settling down for some sleep when he started this. Yang gently shook him and he jolted awake, almost taking on a fighting stance. Ruby stood up and put her hand on his shoulder.
"Are you okay?" She asked.
Mercury took a moment to answer as he tried to calm himself down.
"I will be." He said quickly as he tried to slow his breathing.
It was then that Yang figured out why he stubbornly insisted on sitting with them in their train car; he was looking for comfort. After having just traveled with him on a dangerous journey away from the group with Yang, he probably felt safer around her at the moment. They saved each other several times. Yang grabbed his hand and put an arm around him and Blake leaned against him, her cheek rubbing his shoulder briefly; a faunus way of showing affection. Weiss also got up and put her hand on his other shoulder. When they heard his story, Blake and Weiss both gravitated towards him more than everyone else. Ruby remained a little apprehensive but she was the one who offered him a chance to travel with them in the first place and she wanted him to prove himself to everyone else the most. Ruby was always the first to try including him in anything and adopt him as a part of their team in some way. Mercury, because he had a hard time with everyone else, often took to following Ruby at first.
Yang admittedly took more time trusting him but after that time they spent together dodging grimm and making their way back to everyone, she knew he could be trusted. He leaned more towards her, as he tried to calm down. As Yang thought about it, she realized that this was the first time he actively looked for comfort, much less allowed any of them near him like this. Which was why him coming in to sit with them was so weird in the first place but after some questioning looks, they allowed it. Yang rubbed his back in an effort to soothe him as she thought about this and leaned her head against his shoulder. He leaned his head against hers and closed his eyes, his hand enclosing around hers loosely. His breathing slowed again and soon, he was better. He straightened himself up, no longer leaning against Yang, although she stayed against him.
"I'm fine. Go back to sleep, guys." He said, sounding drained.
"Are you sure?" Weiss asked.
"I'm sure." He said using what assurance he could muster.
"Hey, if you need to talk or anything, we'll listen. We're all a team here. We're family." Ruby said.
Yang gently squeezed his hand affectionately, Weiss nodded, and Blake grabbed his other hand. Mercury was not entirely sure what to say to them. He felt overwhelmed with unfamiliar emotions in that moment. He never had any friends, much less a real family, or have anyone show him this kind of love and support. It pulled at his heart in ways he never knew possible. How can someone know how to react to this when they've never felt this feeling enough to even for sure know what it was? He let out a breath and smiled in spite of himself. Regardless of whether or not he could name this feeling, all he knew was that he was just glad they were there.
"I don't have anything to talk about. I just... wanted people around." He admitted hesitantly.
"And you got us." Yang said.
Mercury smiled at her. She was starting to become his favorite in more ways than just looks. It was hard to believe they were at each other's throats the week before. Ruby then hugged him and the rest of the team also joined in. All of them wanted to do what they could for him after the life he had and while the battle at Beacon was forever going to haunt their minds, he has been proving time and time again that he was coming to be a good person. The perverted part of Mercury was half tempted to comment about being in the middle of a bunch of cute girls but, he knew saying anything like that would definitely get him kicked out. He decided to tease them about it later and enjoy the moment for the time being.
Eventually, everyone settled back into their regular seats. Ruby and Weiss fell asleep leaning against each other. Blake and Yang stayed awake a little longer, making small talk. They were both just concerned he would fall back asleep and act up again. Mercury eyed Blake's ears. He thought about touching them in her sleep but maybe she'll let him feel if he asked? Or was asking to touch them a little too offensive? Blake noticed and pointed it out to Yang quietly which made her silently giggle.
"You're staring at my ears, aren't you?" She asked.
Mercury became slightly flustered.
"No." He said, averting his eyes and acting like he was looking out the window.
Blake rolled her eyes and Yang laughed. Both of them knew he was probably curious. Blake was willing to let him look. Some of her best interactions with humans was when she would let them touch her ears; it usually meant that they were open to learning more about the faunus.
"If you want to touch them, go ahead." She said.
"...Are you sure?" He asked hesitantly.
"It's alright. Besides, I like having my ears touched." She said, leaning her head down.
He hesitantly set his hand on her head and held one of her ear with his fingers. He was surprised at how soft and warm they felt. It was weird to him to think that these were an actual part of her body. He ran his fingers down to the base of her ears where they joined into her head. Yang grinned and leaned over Mercury, grabbing Blake's other ear. Yang then began to purposefully massage it. Mercury decided to copy her and soon, they ended up hearing a purr come from Blake. Mercury was surprised but he and Yang both continued until she was almost falling asleep from the attention. They both stopped and Blake slowly opened her eyes. She suddenly became flustered.
"Did I just-?!" She said, turning red.
Yang giggled and Mercury smirked. She hid her face in her hands and Mercury chuckled, putting an arm around her. His hand came up to stroke one of her ears until she leaned into it and purred again. But this time, she caught herself.
"Stop that." She said, embarrassed.
He and Yang laughed.
"But it's adorable!" Yang giggled.
"It is cute." he admitted.
She pouted but Mercury was still stroking her ear and she inevitably gave in and purred again. This time, Mercury and Yang stayed silent. Both of them wanted to see how long she would let him go on. Eventually, she leaned against him and soon fell asleep, her purrs subsiding. He then looked at Yang whom was looking at both of them lovingly. He wasn't sure what was with her looking at them both like that.
"What's with that look?" He asked.
"I'm just glad we're all here together." She said, closing her eyes and settling more comfortably next to him.
Yang had grown significantly close to him and while she did feel bad for him in regards to his past, she did not think he would ever take to their side fully. Until journeying with him when it was just them, she thought he was incapable of feeling anything because of how he was raised. But, he proved otherwise and she had bonded with him strongly. Seeing her two good friends become close meant a lot to her. Mercury stayed awake a little longer just to look around the car they were in. Team JNR was in the room across from them, Emerald had taken to them more. Qrow was somewhere else on the train, probably walking around. Across from him, Ruby and Weiss were leaned against each other, sharing a blanket. On Mercury's right was Blake whom seemed content sleeping next to him. On his left was Yang whom was currently... asleep with her brow furrowed. She was shaking and he heard a whimper escape her throat. Mercury woke her up quickly. She didn't jump as much as he did but she was breathing just as heavily. Not knowing what else to do, he put his arm around her.
"Are you okay?" He asked.
She looked down at her prosthetic arm and Mercury became troubled at that look. He put his hand on her cheek to get her attention. Same kind of nightmare but whatever hers was, it seemed to leave a worse impact on her. She looked at him and a tear fell from her eye. He was not sure if his next move was overstepping a boundary but he knew he couldn't just let her sit like that. He pulled her against himself and she buried her face in his shoulder, quiet sobs following shortly after. Mercury himself never thought he'd see the day he would be doing this with anyone. For him, this was an alien action. He's never tried comforting someone like this and days ago, he would have scoffed at this. But, after the compassion she had shown him, he couldn't just leave her to sooth herself. And while he didn't like the fact that she was crying, he was glad that she was with him. There was something bittersweet about her crying against him like this that he couldn't quite figure out. He ran his hands through her hair idly. Now that he thought about it, this was the first time he had an excuse to feel her hair. It was soft and thick. It even smelled nice; lemon and lavender, her typical shampoo. Eventually, Yang calmed down but stayed against him. He rested his head on top of hers.
"Mercury..." Yang said.
"Yeah?" He asked.
"Tell me the truth... Are you happier here? With us I mean?" She asked.
"Where is this coming from?" He asked.
"Just answer it." She said.
He thought for a moment before answering.
"Before all this, I didn't know how messed up my life was. But now that I'm here, I don't think I could ever go back. I know I told you that I thought I didn't belong with you guys but, I never really knew. I never had any real friends or family. Emerald and I had each other but it's hard to be friends with each other when neither of us knew how. But, I'll do all I can to stay like this. Because this is the happiest I've been." He admitted.
Yang smiled and relaxed against him. He was still worried about why she asked that question.
"Seriously though, what happened in that dream?" He asked.
"I had a nightmare about Adam again. First, it was when he cut my arm off and then, at the end, it was when I stabbed him. But when I moved away, it was you." She said.
Mercury wasn't sure what to say but then he chuckled.
"I mean, I knew you probably would have stabbed me a week ago but I didn't think you'd still be dreaming of it." He chuckled.
Yang glared at him in annoyance and he went silent.
"I don't... I don't want to do that again. Adam left me no choice and I was not really close to him but... I don't know. I didn't want to kill him, neither of us did-"
"We talked about this. You did what you had to do to survive. Are you afraid that might be the case with me?" He asked.
She nodded.
"Does it look like I'm going to try anything funny anytime soon?" He asked.
"It wasn't long ago that you might have." She admitted.
"Salem is after both Emerald and I. It's safer staying with you guys. But, I... We're... Well, you guys are all I got. I don't plan on giving that up... for anything." He said.
He was hesitant with his wording, none of this touchy feelie stuff was comfortable for him but, he wanted to try to say something to ease Yang. Yang smiled and kissed his cheek before leaning against him again. He leaned against her again, his head resting on hers. Both of them fell asleep, neither of them having anymore nightmares. The next morning, everyone awoke before Mercury and Yang. Ruby and Weiss woke up first and set their blanket over the three of them. Blake woke up next. She affectionately ran her hand over Yang's hair, moved Mercury's bangs out of his face, and she tucked the blanket around them both more, taking a moment to rest her head between both of them affectionately before getting on with her day. Mercury briefly woke up but shifted and hugged Yang against his chest before falling back asleep. He can pass it off as something that just happened in his sleep if she woke up any time soon. Besides, he slept better with her leaning against him like this... little did he know that she had been awake since Ruby and Weiss had put the blanket around them. Yang smiled. She truly did love her friends.
It sounds like all five of them are in love with one or more people in this but I meant for that to happen. I wanted this to be subjective; could be friendship, could be romance. I just wanted them to be family here.