"Come on, Blake. How can you not want to know?" Yang complained, flopping down onto Blake's bed. She couldn't possibly understand how her partner wasn't curious about Yang's discovery. "It's a real life mystery!"
Blake pinched the bridge of her nose in exasperation. "Maybe because it has nothing to do with us? Or maybe because I believe that people are entitled to their privacy? Or maybe that I think everyone has a right to a secret or two? Take your pick." She couldn't possibly understand what Yang found so interesting about this discovery of hers. "Also, get off my bed." Blake was too tired to deal with Yang's antics so soon after their Friday classes; she just wanted to let her ears out and then take a nap.
Yang threw her arms forward and flung herself up, grabbing Blake by the shoulders. "But Blake, they disappear the first weekend of every month. Not even Jaune and Pyrrha know where they go!"
"And if Ren and Nora don't even tell their team mates where they're going, then wouldn't that indicate they want to keep it private?" Blake sighed, removing her uniform jacket and placing it on its hanger.
"But, but!" Yang grasped around for any justification or rationalization for wanting to investigate where it is their friends and dorm mates disappeared to every single first weekend of every single month. Her eyes widened as her desperate searching came upon a reason. "What if it's something improper for Beacon students? We have a responsibility as both their fellow students and as their friends to make sure they aren't in any trouble!" Yang grinned triumphantly, believing her logic infallible.
Blake scoffed, skeptical. "First, you really think that Ren would ever allow Nora or himself to ever get into such a situation?" Blake asked, one eyebrow raised disapprovingly as she looked down at Yang. The answer to that question was obvious, so Yang kept quiet. "And second, you're just curious. Admit it. There is no good reason for wanting to know other than for sating your curiosity."
"Okay! I admit it!" Yang threw her hands into the air, flopping back down onto Blake's bed yet again, gesturing with her hands all the while. "But how are you not curious! Two of our friends, who have lived in the room across from us for the past two years, have been leaving Beacon every first Saturday morning of every month for those two years, and none of us, or any of their friends, know where they go. How does this not get your curious juices flowing?" Yang finished with a dramatic pout.
"The saying is 'creative juices,' not 'curious juices', Yang." Blake corrected with a small shake of her head. "And I am curious."
Yang's expression brightened immediately, reminding Blake of the sun reappearing from behind the clouds. "Then-"
"But that doesn't mean I will invade their privacy to satiate my curiosity." Blake finished.
"Hmph." Yang resumed pouting. "You helped me spy on Ruby and Weiss when I was trying to see if they were dating, though."
"That was because you were on the verge exploding from frustration and setting our dorm on fire." Blake explained, grabbing a pair of sweats and a t-shirt to change into. "I had to keep you safe from yourself. Can't have my partner getting in trouble, right? That would reflect badly on me as well, after all." Blake grinned at the memory as she walked into the bathroom to shower and change.
"You're a terrible girlfriend, you know that?" Yang called out to the closed door.
"I love you too, Yang." A muffled response came back through the door, accompanied by a giggle and the rush of running water.
"Keep me from getting into trouble, huh?" Yang muttered to herself.
And then suddenly, Yang had an idea.
Blake's pleasant dreams of visiting a fish market were interrupted when she heard rustling from the bed above hers, followed by a muffled impact next to her bed as Yang landed on the floor. A strange occurrence, as any attempt to wake up Yang before eleven on weekends usually ended in complete and utter failure. One of Blake's eyes opened just enough to make out the time on their digital clock.
"Yang, what are you doing up at seven in the morning?" Blake mumbled into her pillow.
"I'm getting ready for my day, obviously." Yang whispered, not wanting to wake Ruby and Weiss from their slumber.
". . . Allow me to rephrase. What are you doing up at seven in the morning on a Saturday?" Blake asked again, not quite awake enough to want to deal with any wordplay from Yang.
"Like I said, getting ready for my day." Yang answered again, pulling out clothes from her dresser.
"Your day of what?" Blake yawned, sitting up in bed.
"Spying on Ren and Nora, of course." Yang said in a voice that was far too calm for Blake's liking.
Blake just blinked as she took a moment to process that information. "Pardon me?"
"I'm going to follow Ren and Nora into Vale and see where it is they go every month." Yang responded excitedly, pulling on a black beanie. "How do I look?"
"Like you're far too obsessed with this." Blake groaned.
"Well, if they keep to their normal schedule, they will be leaving in about fifteen minutes. So if you want to 'keep me out of trouble', as you put it, then you should probably get ready pretty quick." Yang's grin was infuriatingly smug.
It took all of Blake's willpower not to groan loud enough to wake her still sleeping teammates. "Damn it, Yang." So Blake crawled out of her bed. Her warm, soft, comfortable bed. "You owe me big time for this." Blake complained as she brushed her hair.
"I'll buy you your favorite raw-fish-platter-thing you like at that seafood restaurant down by the docks." Yang teased enticingly while she brought over some of Blake's clothes.
"Two of them." Blake added, her voice bored. But her suddenly twitching ears betrayed her excitement.
"Two?!" Yang exclaimed, before putting her hand over her mouth. Yang glanced over her shoulder to me sure she hadn't woken her teammates. Once she confirmed their sleep was undisturbed by her accidental burst of noise, she turned her attention back to Blake. "Those things are like seventy lien each! Why do you need two anyways, they're huge!" Yang complained in a loud whisper.
"One while we're at the restaurant, one to bring home with me." Blake explained casually. "And that's my price for coming along and helping you today."
"But that's- but- my-" Yang was having trouble finishing a thought. "Fine!" she surrendered as she turned away to peek out of the RWBY dorm room door.
"Love you, dear." Blake teased as she placed a quick kiss on the back of Yang's head.
The sleepy faunus changed her clothes and cleaned up without further interruption or incident until at exactly the time Yang predicted, Ren and Nora slipped out of team JNPR's dorm and walked down the hallway hand in hand. "Come on," Yang whispered, gesturing to Blake, "let's go!"
"Yang, do you know anything about tracking someone?" Blake asked. "Or were you just planning on following them super suspiciously like some cartoon character hiding behind telephone poles and bushes?"
"Uh…" Yang flushed with embarrassment.
"Seriously, Yang?" Blake chuckled. "Wow."
"Oh, shut it." Yang grumbled.
"Just follow me, okay?" Blake sighed, leading the way out of their room to begin their adventure for the day.
"I can't believe this is what you woke me up early for." Blake complained. "Let's just go get my food now so we can go home."
"No way!" Yang protested, sipping her latte. "It's only noon, and they disappear the whole weekend. We have to keep following them."
"All they've been doing is shopping all morning, Yang." Blake pulled out her scroll, on which she had noted the different stores and locations that the other couple had been so far. "To be exact, they have been to four clothing stores, a grocery store, an Atlesian importer store, a Mistralian coffee and tea shop, and are now having lunch at a diner." She listed. "And all the while we've been following them and keeping out of sight. Was this really worth it?"
"…I bought you a latte?" Yang answered in an attempt to lighten Blake's mood. Blake glared back at her. "Just until tonight? Please?" Yang pleaded.
"All I'm seeing is a couple going out once a month for a weekend out on the town, alone, away from their schoolmates." Blake said, ignoring Yang's plea. "While romantic and sweet, it's hardly interesting or worth the effort you've put us through. And if they are having an overnight romantic getaway, I don't really think that's something we should be spying on." Blake said, her cheeks only slightly reddening with embarrassment at the thought.
"Be that as it may," Yang began, "I am paying for your services with what will end up being more than one hundred and fifty lien worth of fish. Surely you can stick with me until tonight."
Blake had to concede that Yang had a point there. She was being paid in fish. Moments later, Blake had a predatory grin on her face, figuring she could probably get something else out of Yang. "I will stay with you and help until tonight, or even tomorrow if we stay out, in exchange for a week of ear massages, half an hour a night."
Yang could only stare incredulously at Blake. "Seriously? You're going to try to hustle even more out of me?"
Blake put on a cute, pouty face she learned from watching Ruby. "I loooove you, Yang!"
"Oh, please don't do that." Yang groaned. "I get that enough from Ruby. But fine. One week of ear massages. Happy, love?"
Blake was practically purring. "Very much so." Blake glanced to their side, across the street. "They're done eating, shall we follow them then?"
"The sun's setting, where could they be going?" Yang asked. "This isn't exactly the shopping district anymore."
"Who knows." Blake answered, bored. "Maybe they're going clubbing. Or finding a hotel." She suggested jokingly while looking around at the number various nightclubs and hotels in the area of town they were in. She and Yang watched as Ren and Nora turned a corner in the distance, Nora talking animatedly while Ren listened patiently.
"Hold on a sec…" Yang said suddenly. "I recognize this area of town." She started looking around, landmarks suddenly clicking into place as she finally began paying attention to her surroundings. "Yeah, I've been here before! Remember that club I told you I about? Where I got into a big fight? It's down the next street."
"You don't think Ren and Nora would really go there, would you?" Blake laughed.
"Yeah, not really their kind of scene." Yang agreed with a chuckle. Her laughter suddenly cut off as she turned the corner ahead of Blake just in time to see Nora and Ren walk right up to the door of the club in question. "Holy crap, they are going into the club."
"You're kidding me." Blake replied in shock, turning the corner just after Yang and seeing the same sight as Yang.
Even more surprising was that the couple completely ignored the line outside the club, bypassing all the waiting club goers and waltzing straight up to the bouncer. And the surprises kept on coming when the bouncer made no attempt to stop them and instead let them right into the club without a word, just a nod and bow of his head.
"What did we just see?" Yang asked, dumbfounded.
"Are they VIPs or something?" Blake wondered aloud. "Or if this is where they go every month, maybe they're well known regulars."
"I have no words for this." Yang stated simply.
Blake counted the number of people in line, and did some math in her head. "Well, if we plan on waiting in line it'll be at least a two hours. Maybe three, depending on how crowded it is inside. Do you want to follow them in, or call it for the night?"
"Are you kidding? We're definitely following them inside!" Yang clapped excitedly.
"And how do you propose we do that?" Blake asked. "Not only is the line long, but aren't you banned from the club after causing all that trouble in there like ten times?"
"It was only twice." Yang corrected. "And the second time I didn't even break anything!"
"I hardly think that will make much of a difference to them, Yang." Blake sighed.
"Then we'll find a way in without drawing attention to me." Yang smiled. "Think you could pick the lock to either the side or back door?"
"Can I? Yes. Will I? Maybe."
"Pretty please?" Yang pouted. "Admit it, you're just as curious as I am at this point."
Blake managed to keep her composure for a few moments before giving in to both the reasoning and the pouting. That pout must seriously run in the family. "I do admit my curiosity has been piqued. Fine." Blake looked around as they casually strolled past the club. "Distract anyone who comes around the corner while I get to work. I'll slip inside and get you in through the front. Just make sure you do something to try and disguise your appearance a bit."
"You're the best Blake!" Yang pecked her on the cheek before Blake turned down the alleyway.
"After I get in, wait one minute then pass by the front door like you just got here." Blake added. "And mess with your outfit a bit. Show a little skin, look a bit more… clubby." Blake gestured to Yang's blue jeans and leather jacket.
"I can do that." Yang laughed as she walked away.
Once Yang was far enough away to keep watch for anyone who may stray nearby, Blake kneeled down and pulled some bobby pins out from under her bow and got to work. The lock was an older model; clearly Junior had not bothered with keeping this door as up to date as the more visible areas of the club. As such, Blake had the door open and was stepping inside the club in less than half a minute. With a nod to Yang, Blake shut the door behind her as the blond started counting in her head.
Blake's eyes immediately adjusted to the dimly lit hallway she found herself in, somewhere in between the bathrooms and what looked like a stairway to the second level where the VIPs could spend their time. The pounding bass coming from the dance floor made it easy to navigate the building and Blake soon found herself coming out of the hallway near the bar. A quick sweep of her gaze over the dance floor was enough to see that Nora and Ren weren't there.
While wondering where they could've gone, Blake could see the bouncer just outside waiting to let some more people in, and so she made her way through the crowd to the door. While she was mostly hidden in the mass of people dancing, Blake started fiddling with her appearance. She pulled her hair over one shoulder, which would create a line of black that drew the eyes downward towards her contrasting white shirt. Then she unbuttoned the top couple buttons of her shirt, revealing her neck, collarbones, and just a hint of cleavage. Enough to draw the gaze and distract most people for the few seconds she'd need to manipulate them. Not as well as someone with Yang's endowment could, but she made do just fine. Just to be safe though, Blake also undid the button of her slacks and unzipped it just enough to flair out the two flaps a little bit.
Fairly certain that the bouncer would now be far too distracted by her clothes and the hints of what she was showing to actually properly bother her with questions, Blake opened the door behind the bouncer. She could see Yang approaching the door now, at just the right time. Yang had done a good job with her outfit as well, pulling her shirt down to expose more of her own ample chest while zipping up her leather jacket up enough to push up her chest to further accentuate their size. She's also folded up the bottom of her shirt to expose her well toned abs. Blake had to avert her own eyes quickly, lest she forget why she was here. Yang noticed and grinned at the effect she was having on her girlfriend.
"Excuse me." Blake reached out and tapped the bouncer on the shoulder. The bouncer turned to shoo her off, but his words got sidetracked somewhere between his brain and vocal cords, because nothing came out of his mouth as his eyes met Blake's, then drifted downwards towards her chest, then even lower down to her unbuttoned pants. "Could you let my friend over there in? She just stepped out to take a call." Blake said while pointing over at Yang, who was now standing in front of the bouncer. A lame excuse, but the poor man was too distracted to give the excuse enough thought to question it.
When he finally tore his eyes away from Blake and looked at Yang, his eyes once again drifted southward. "Um… uh…" He stuttered, not having fully recovered yet.
"Thanks, you've been such a big help!" Blake interrupted in an overly cheerful voice, grabbing Yang's hand and pulling her past the bouncer before he could regain his train of thought and closing the door behind him.
"Ugh. I hate doing that." Blake complained, separating from Yang so she could fix her clothes.
"It's not so bad." Yang laughed, also fixing her own clothes. "So, you see Nora and Ren on your way over?"
Blake shook her head. "Not yet." Just as Blake answered though, she heard Nora's distinctive laugh. "Wait, over there." Blake pointed with her chin just as a happily skipping Nora emerged from the same hallway Blake had initially come from, Ren calmly following behind. "Either they were in the VIP area, or both of them were in the bathroom at the same time."
"More likely the VIP area, since they just breezed in past the line outside." Yang speculated. "Let's hide in the crowd on the dance floor and see what happens next."
Blake nodded her agreement and hugged close to Yang as they moved to towards the middle of the dance floor so they could easily navigate closer or farther from their friends as necessary. Yang provided the cover by swaying her hips and dancing against her girlfriend, helping the pair blend into the dance floor crowd. Blake's contribution was just to place her hands on Yang's swaying hips while she kept an eye on Nora and Ren, swaying slightly so she didn't stand out as the only person not moving on the dance floor.
"So, what are they up to?" Yang asked as turned and slid her back down Blake's front.
"They just sat down at the bar." Blake reported, absentmindedly running her hands up Yang's sides. "Nora's drinking what looks like juice. Ren has water."
"Such boring drinks." Yang commented.
"We're all still underage, you know." Blake chuckled.
"This club doesn't exactly care." Yang laughed, glancing over at Nora and Ren. "You wouldn't be able to hear what they're talking about, by any chance?"
"Not with all this music."
"Let's see if we can sneak into that hallway behind them, by the VIP area you mentioned." Yang suggested.
Blake led the way this time, navigating them through the crowd slowly. They easily slipped through and behind groups of people to avoid Nora's line of sight as she spun on her stool. Reaching the hallway was easy enough, allowing them to listen in on Ren and Nora while remaining out of sight.
"They're taking a while, aren't they?" Nora asked Ren in between sips of her juice.
Ren shrugged his shoulders. "Hei mentioned they were just finishing something up. They'll be here soon."
"Okay!" Nora sang. "You must be the only one who doesn't call him Junior, though. Even after all this time." Nora giggled.
"Because that's not his name." Ren said tiredly, as if he's had this conversation before.
"Still, no need to be so formal with him, especially since-" Nora was saying before Yang interrupted Blake's focus.
"Oh crap." Yang whispered under her breath.
"What?" Blake asked, her question immediately answered as she followed Yang's gaze to the other end of the hallway, where two girl's dressed in white and red were walking in their direction.
"Those are the girl's I got into a fight with the first time I was here!" Yang whispered loudly. "What are we going to do now?" Yang was panicking- either they stayed in the hallway and got recognized by the Malachite twins, or they retreated from the hallway back into the main area of the club and get spotted by Ren and Nora.
"Just relax and follow my lead." Blake said with a smile, before reaching around Yang's waist and pulling their hips together. Yang had only a moment to spare for surprise before Blake also reached up behind Yang's neck and also pulled their heads together, locking their lips. While surprised at first, Yang trusted Blake's idea and played along in this farce, enjoying the perks of this particular disguise tactic.
Blake slid the hand she hand on the back of Yang's neck up to the side of her face nearest the Malachite twins and grabbed a handful of Yang's hair, obscuring her face as she subtly repositioned it. A few seconds later, there was a soft cough from their side. Blake opened one of her eyes to see the Malachite twins stand next to them, looking annoyed. "Excuse us." The one in white said, the displeasure practically dripping from her voice.
"Sorry." Blake mumbled from around Yang's mouth as she stepped back against the wall, pulling Yang with her as they continued their impromptu make out.
"Ugh." The twin in white rolled her eyes as she walked by them. Her sister in red followed right behind, the same look of annoyance on her face, if a little more subdued.
Once the Malachite twins were safely past them, Blake and Yang finally disengaged from each other. "Now that's a disguise technique I can really get behind." Yang said with a wide smile.
"I figured, from how dedicated you were to it." Blake responded with a matching smile.
"Well anyways, back to spying, shall we?" Yang reached up to straighten up her beanie, which had shifted when Blake grabbed her hair. "Whoa, what the-?" She said as she looked to the side, towards Nora and Ren.
Blake turned to look and then had just about the same reaction as Yang. "Whoa." The twin wearing white was not only smiling, but hugging Ren in what appeared to be a very familiar fashion. When they separated the twin in red took her place, in addition to giving Ren a gentle pat on the cheek. Both sisters also hugged Nora, also trading quick pecks on the cheeks.
"This, I was not expecting." Yang said.
"I can't say that I was either." Blake agreed.
Blake and Yang then hushed up so they could try to listen to what was being said.
"Sorry we took a little longer than we thought." The one in white said to Ren apologetically. "Junior's been behind on his paperwork this month so we were a little busier than usual."
"No worries, Melanie. We were a little early anyways." Ren said in a placating tone. "How's business been?"
"Good, and getting better. The club's gaining some more popularity, so we're full pretty consistently now." Melanie answered, taking a seat next to Ren.
"And our legitimate business is actually doing much better than our under the table stuff now, so there's less red tape to worry about, which is nice." The sister in red added on as she sat on the opposite side of Nora.
"I'm glad to hear you two aren't involved in as much crime anymore, Miltiades." Nora said happily.
"It's a trade off." Miltiades said. "It's more paperwork and less exciting, but also more money and less trouble with the cops." She shrugged.
"I'm sure mother and father would be happy to hear that." Ren said. For some reason, he sounded hesitant in the way he said that.
"We all know those two don't want to hear anything from the two of us." Melanie snapped, an undertone of anger in her voice. Miltiades looked like she agreed with the thought, but seemed sad rather than angry.
"Hold on, are they…" Yang started.
"You're my older sisters. I have a duty to try and help you." Ren said firmly.
"And that's sweet of you to keep trying after all this time, little brother." Miltiades smiled sadly as she stood up and moved behind Ren, placing her hands on his shoulders. "But we made our choices, and we're happy with them. You don't need to keep straining your own relationship with mother and father over us."
"We're still your older sisters whether or not those two recognize us as family, or whether or not we share a family name." Melanie said soothingly. "Speaking of which, when are you two going to finally get married?" she smiled, lazily gesturing between Nora and Ren. "I feel like I've been waiting forever to officially be able to call you my little sister."
"We're going to wait until we graduate, we already picked out a date!" Nora said excitedly, clapping her hands.
The twins' jaws dropped. "You didn't tell us you proposed already!" Miltiades complained to Ren.
"I was going to tell you tonight, but it seems she beat me to it." Ren chuckled as he reached over and grabbed Nora's hand, showing a polished silver ring with several shining pink sapphires entwined in it, with some smaller green emeralds scattered in between.
"How pretty!" The twin sisters exclaimed simultaneously, moving in to inspect the ring.
"Hey, why didn't he tell us that he proposed?"Yang complained. Unfortunately, it was a little louder than she had intended and Ren turned his head towards them.
They could tell he was definitely surprised to see the two of them in the shadows of the hallway, but he played it off well and made a 'wait there' gesture with one hand before turning back to his sisters and Nora. "Way to blow our cover, Yang." Blake said rolling her eyes.
"My bad." She whispered. At least Yang had the common decency to look embarrassed as Blake stared at her.
A few moments later, Ren excused himself to the bathroom and headed for the hallway as Nora and his sisters continued talking about rings, wedding dress, and locations. "Evening, Blake." He greeted. "Yang." He nodded at the pair.
"Hey there…" Yang scratched her head, embarrassed.
"Funny seeing you here." Blake joked.
"Funny, indeed." Ren smiled. "I assume your curiosity finally got the best of you?"
Yang's jaw dropped. "You knew I wanted to-?"
"Find out where we went every month?" Ren finished. "Yeah, I figured it out a few months ago."
"Why didn't you say anything? It's been driving me crazy!" Yang said disbelievingly.
"I was kinda hoping that Blake would keep you from investigating." Ren said with a raised eyebrow.
"She forced my hand and then bribed me." Blake responded unabashedly and without shame.
"I understand." Ren chuckled. "Well. I suppose you have questions." He said in answer to Yang's expectant eyes. "I'll answer some of them, then."
"Those two are your sisters?" Yang immediately asked as soon as Ren finished speaking. She was totally willing to take advantage of Ren's willingness to answer some questions.
"My older sisters, yes." Ren nodded. "By several years. And before you ask," He held up a hand to stop Yang's next question, "I am aware that you fought them a few years ago."
Yang looked down as she twiddled her thumbs. "And…?"
"And?" He cocked his head to the side.
"Um… Well I'm not sure how I feel or how you feel about that." Yang said vaguely.
"Well, after hearing both you and my sisters tell the story, I figured that while you went overboard, Hei and my sisters didn't exactly handle the situation civilly either. So I've decided to ignore the event. Does that allay your fears?" He said as he rolled his eyes. "Honestly Yang, if you giving my sisters a little beat down bothered me that much, I would've mentioned it."
"That's good to hear." Yang sighed with relief. "For what it's worth, I do feel a bit bad about beating them up."
"The sentiment is appreciated." Ren laughed.
"While we're asking questions, if it's not too personal," Blake started. Ren nodded. "Did something happen between your sisters and your parents? You don't share a family name, and based on the little bit we overheard…"
Ren's eyes grew distant for a moment as he reached into his memories, seeing events from his past flash before his eyes. "The simple answer is 'yes', something happened." Ren answered. "When we were much younger, a conflict between them and my parents caused a rift. They were disowned, or exiled, whichever sounds more accurate to you. So they changed both their first names and their family names then left to find their own way in the world, away from my parents and the family business. Eventually they found Hei, who you know as Junior," He said with a nod to Yang, "and he hired them to work here."
"What did they do to make your parents mad?" Yang asked.
"Yang!" Blake slapped her on the shoulder. "Be polite."
Yang rubbed her shoulder with a wince. "Sorry."
"I don't mind." Ren said courteously. "It's not something I normally go into, but I can give you the quick explanation. My sisters have always had a prominent independent and rebellious streak. Melanie more so than Miltiades, but Miltiades will always stay by Melanie's side and Melanie will never leave Miltiades behind, so they both got into trouble together on a fairly consistent basis." Ren started.
"They sound really close." Yang commented, reminded on her own relationship with her sister.
"Close enough that they still share a bed when they sleep." Ren grinned. "Won't even separate from each other at night. You should've seen the tantrum they threw when our parents tried to get them separate rooms, or even just separate beds, when we were younger."
"That… is surprisingly adorable of them." Blake smiled.
"Just don't let them hear you say that." Ren warned lightheartedly. "They have an image to maintain, after all. But I've gotten off track. When they were younger, they would often sneak away and into town, usually having their own adventures that were occasionally less than legal. They often got away with it as well because they were very good at what they did. The problem was that one night when I was still very young, I decided I wanted to follow my older sisters to see where they were going. I wanted to hang out with them more, after all. I was very fond of my big sisters." He sighed.
"That sounds like a recipe for trouble." Yang muttered.
"Exactly." Ren agreed. "Without going into too many details, I got caught in the middle of a fight between two gangs. My sisters jumped in and saved me, fighting off both their own gang and the other one. When they finally carried me home, they made me promise never to tell my parents I sneaked out on my own and they took the blame for 'bringing me out with them' that night." A flash of guilt passed behind Ren's eyes. "So my parents blamed them for nearly getting me killed on one of their 'silly adventures,' and they were banished from our home and family."
"That's so sad." Yang said softly. "I couldn't imagine being separated from Ruby like that."
"It was quite hard to deal with for me and them." Ren shrugged. "But at least one good thing came out of it."
"Oh?" Blake prompted.
"They got a reputation as skilled warriors from the fight where they rescued me." He laughed. "They took down nearly two dozen armed gangsters while they were unarmed. Though they joke now that it was mostly adrenaline and panic due to me being in danger."
"Well, it's easy enough to see they care about you very much, even from what little we've seen of them with you." Blake said, smiling.
Yang opened her mouth to respond, only to be interrupted before she even started. "Ren! Whatcha doin over here? I thought you were taking a little longer than usual." Nora's vibrant, cheery voice easily cut through the slightly muffled music coming from the dance floor speakers. "Oh hey! It's Blake and Yang! How ya doin?"
"Uh oh." Blake muttered, pinching the bridge of her nose as Yang happily began to chat with Nora, oblivious to the incoming complications. Ren apparently shared her thoughts, because he tried to lead Nora back out of the hall.
Unfortunately, the Malachite twins were only a couple seconds behind Nora and entered the hallway before Ren could do anything. "Is everything okay, Nora?" Miltiades asked.
"Is someone bother- are you two still making out in the middle of the hallway?" Melanie followed up, seeing Blake. "Hey, what are you doing here!" Melanie exclaimed, catching sight of Yang talking to Nora.
"They're friends of mine, Jiějiě." Ren interjected before anyone could make a rash decision. "I'd appreciate it if you guys didn't get into a fight."
"Jiějiě?" Blake whispered under her breath.
"It means 'older sister.'" Yang answered helpfully. "What? I can speak more than one language, too." Yang said defensively as she pouted when Blake's eyes widened her in surprise.
Melanie had stopped at Ren's words and it seemed she was just barely keeping herself from attacking Yang. "This brute is a friend of yours?" Melanie finally said after a few tense moments.
"I can't imagine why." Miltiades added, showing Blake that while she was the more subdued of the twins, she was by no means a timid woman and bore a sharp tongue of her own.
"Hey, I'm not so bad once you get to know me!" Yang protested.
"You came into our club and attacked everyone." Miltiades said pointedly.
"Well, Junior provoked me! He was being an ass!" Yang countered, but Blake could hear the conflict in her voice- even Yang knew she was out of line that night, but just didn't want to admit it, especially since she was being challenged about it.
"Hei's a guy. They're all asses." Melanie rolled her eyes.
"I… guess?" Yang had completely lost the momentum of her argument as Melanie took an unexpected turn in the conversation.
"Except for you, of course, little brother." Miltiades said, reaching over and rubbing Ren's head affectionately. Her voice was half teasing and half soothing, as if genuinely worried that her twin sister had offended him with her statement.
"Of course." Ren sighed. "So, a 'no' on the fighting, then?" He added hopefully.
Yang and Melanie eyed each other warily, the distrust evident in their eyes. Blake and Miltiades ad taken to looking back and forth between the two, waiting for a sign from their respective partners. It was Nora who spoke up first, though. "Look, if you two don't agree to get along, I'm going to get Magnhild and start breaking things." She looked at Yang and Melanie innocently, but they could see the silent threat of violence dancing behind her turquoise eyes.
Yang and Melanie quickly looked back at each other and reached out to clasp hands. They pumped their hands once before letting go, a truce being born in the face of impending pain. "Truce?" Yang asked.
"Truce." Melanie nodded.
"Good. I won't have my friends and sisters fighting each other." Nora nodded happily, hands on her hips triumphantly.
"Now that that's out of the way, shall we go sit somewhere and not stand in the middle of the hallway?" Ren suggested.
"Let's just go to the private VIP lounge upstairs." Miltiades offered. "No one's reserved it tonight, so we can have it to ourselves."
"You're… welcome to come if you want." Melanie said through gritted teeth to Yang and Blake.
"I wouldn't want to impose-" Blake started.
"Nonsense! You're coming with us to get to know each other better!" Nora cheerfully trampled over Blake's attempt to decline.
"We are?" Yang started in surprise as Nora dragged her two friends upstairs.
Ren could only laugh. "I guess you two have to get to know them now."
"Do we really have to?" Melanie groaned.
"Well, you would've had to at the wedding anyways." Ren looked over his shoulder. "Nora wanted to put them next to you just to see what would've happened."
"I guess this way is a little better." Miltiades giggled, ever the more leveled-headed of the twins.
"Who knows, you may even get along." Ren shrugged.
Blake and Ren could only laugh at how well Yang and the Malachite twins had gotten along once they were forced to stop trying to beat each other to death. An observation made all the more obvious as the twins nearly fell off the couch laughing at some story Yang was telling. Their evening had started off a little rocky with the three of them being politely wary of each other, but Nora's enthusiasm had quickly wore away their walls and they started getting along as if they had been friends for months.
While the three of them traded stories and jokes, Blake and Ren sat a little ways off to the side on a separate couch. "I'm glad they all get along." Ren said as the edges of his mouth lifted ever so slightly. "I love my sisters, but I don't quite have the personality to be as animated as they usually are. It's nice for them to have someone besides Nora that they can be a little more themselves with, rather than always being so professional while working and then more quiet around me." Ren said quietly. As quietly as one could speak and still be heard in a club, anyways.
Nora, who was asleep with her head on Ren's lap, mumbled under her breath as she shifted positions. She had nodded off a short while earlier, having exhausted herself on telling wild stories with some of her own acting to go with it. Blake was surprised, even after two years she still was never sure until now that Nora actually did sleep. She still wasn't a hundred percent sure Nora wasn't faking it.
"It'll be nice for Yang too, if they start hanging out beyond just this." Blake agreed. "I obviously can't keep up with her all the time, and Weiss- well, we know how she is. Ruby can sometimes, but usually only if she's interested in what Yang wants to do at the time."
Their conversation was interrupted as they heard a slight oomph coming from where the other three girls were sitting. Yang looked down at Miltiades, who had tipped over onto the couch next to Melanie and was softly snoring with a soft smile on her face. "I didn't think my story was that boring." Yang said dejectedly.
Melanie, who was leaning over and inspecting Miltiades, spoke up. "I don't think she thought it was a boring story. It just looks like she's had too much to drink." She explained. "You forget that we've been drinking all night while you all have been just having soda and juice."
"I suppose you're right. We have been here a while, we should probably take off." Yang agreed, standing up and looking at Blake. Her girlfriend nodded in agreement before standing as well.
"I guess I'm carrying her back to our room." Melanie complained, bending over to lift her sister.
"You live here at the club?" Yang asked.
"Yeah. It's way nicer than it sounds; we just remodeled so we've got super sound-proofed rooms, all the food and drink we could want from out here, plenty of space-" Melanie said excitedly. Any further explanation was cut off as she stumbled under the effort of attempting to lift her sister, clearly a little more inebriated than she had thought she was.
"Whoa there." Yang reached out and caught Melanie before she could fall. "Looks like you could use some help too." Yang looked over her shoulder after helping Melanie to her feet. "Could you help Mel, Blake? I'll carry Miltia."
"Sure thing." Blake grinned at the nicknames Yang was already using. Sometimes she envied her girlfriend's ability to be so social and outgoing. She was opening up more though, thanks to Yang. "Come on, then." Blake lifted Melanie's arm and set it around her shoulder's to help keep her steady.
"You guys don't have to do that, I can take care of them." Ren offered.
"Nah, you got a sleepy Nora in your lap to take care of." Yang said with a chuckle, lifting up Miltiades off the floor and into a bridal carry.
"I suppose you're quite right." Ren admitted, looking down. "I'll bring her to the spare room here tonight, rather than a hotel." He decided as he imitated Yang and picked up Nora in a bridal carry. "I'll show you to their room." Ren led them through a small, out of the way doorway outside of the room and down another set of hallways, each one less club-y and more homely than the last until Ren finally stopped in front of a deep green door with a golden 'M&M' engraved on it. "Here's their room." He pointed with his chin. "I'll be in that room with Nora if you need anything." He finished, pushing open the door next to his sisters' room.
"I think we'll be fine." Blake said. "Goodnight, Ren."
"Night!" Yang smiled. Ren just nodded as the door closed behind him.
With that done, Yang stood to the side and allowed Blake to open the door for them since her own arms were full with Miltiades. "Ladies first." Yang joked.
Blake smirked as she led the mostly asleep Melanie into the room and turned the lights on. "Wow, they weren't kidding. This is a really nice room." A thick, white carpet was the first thing Blake noticed about the room, immaculately clean and soft enough to sleep comfortably on. The carpet was broken up by a dark hardwood floor than ran throughout the room, like a pathway connecting the different sections of the room. From what she could see, there weren't any other rooms besides this one in the twins' living quarters, except for what looked like a shower and bathroom off in the back corner. The single room served as a kitchen, living room, dining room, and bed room all in one.
Unlike a small apartment though, this one room was very large- you could have easily fit team RWBY's dorm room in here four times over, maybe even a little more. Everything in here was very high quality, from the crystal wine glasses drying on a dish rack to the silken bed sheets on the king sized bed. "Holy crap, their dish towels look more expensive than some of my clothes." Yang muttered in awe.
"Tell me about it. They've certainly got money. They could easily afford a very nice house if they really wanted. I'm actually pretty sure this is nicer and bigger than some houses I've seen." Blake commented.
"Yeah, well let's get them to bed before we forget about them." Yang said, smiling as she shook her head. She strolled over to the large bed and set Miltiades down on it, who immediately began reaching around in her sleep as her face contorted into a worried expression. "Whoa, is something wrong?" Yang panicked, reaching down towards Miltiades.
The sleeping girl grabbed Yang's hand reflexively once it touched her, but after a few seconds she let go and began reaching again. "I think she's looking for Melanie." Blake said, remembering Ren's comment about the twins still sleeping together. Blake led Melanie to the bed, easing her down onto it so she was sitting next to Miltiades.
The reaction was immediate. As soon as Melanie was on the bed, Miltiades' hand found hers and she instantly calmed down and resumed sleeping peacefully. "Oh, how cute!" Yang squealed.
Blake had a soft smile on her face as she nodded in agreement. "Yeah." Her eyes then traveled down the twins' bodies, noticing that their outfits weren't really designed for lying down in, much less for sleeping. Blake kneeled down in front of Melanie. "Melanie, do you have any pajamas we can help you change into?" Melanie mumbled something under her breath, more asleep than not. "I'm sorry, can you say that again?" Blake asked patiently, turning her head so she could listen with the more sensitive ears on top of her head.
"No pajamas." Melanie breathed softly. "Sleep… naked." Melanie yawned before almost falling onto her side, but Blake steadied her at the last moment.
"What'd she say?" Yang asked, unable to hear as well as Blake.
"They sleep naked." Blake answered with a light blush on her face. Undressing people she just met wasn't really something she expected to need to do.
"Oh." Yang said simply. "I, uh… I can do it if you aren't comfortable with it." Yang offered.
"It's okay, I can help." Blake pushed down her embarrassment.
And it was a good thing that Blake did, because the red and white outfits that the twins wore were a nightmare to take off. It didn't help that they were asleep, so were unable to cooperate with the disrobing. Blake was of the opinion that there were far too many hidden straps, ties, and buckles to make this at all easy to remove every night and just figured her and Yang they were doing it wrong. Eventually, Yang and Blake had managed to get both of the twins undressed and in the bed. As soon as the blanket settled on the two of them, both sisters immediately positioned themselves so they were facing each other, holding hands and foreheads touching, with almost no space between them.
"Man, I never thought these two could've been so adorable." Yang laughed. "Let's bounce."
Blake simply nodded as they left, shutting off the lights and closing the door behind them. We should find a hotel for the night." She suggested. "There's one just a couple blocks away."
"Maybe we can even get naked and sleep like they did, huh?" Yang teased walking backwards in front of Blake as they exited the club.
"I was going to suggest having sex, but that works too." Blake countered, keeping her facial expression nonchalant.
Yang was so surprised by Blake's response she stumbled over herself and fell to the ground. She blinked in disbelief as she sat on the cold sidewalk, staring at her girlfriend. Blake, for her part, was nearly doubled over laughing. "Okay, I did not see that one coming." Yang said before she started laughing alongside her partner. "I'll pay you back for that one."
"Looking forward to it." Blake reached down and pulled Yang to her feet before giving her a quick kiss on the lips. "And don't think I've forgotten about the food you owe me."
Yang groaned.
Greetings, readers. It's been a long time since I've had the time to dedicate to writing something. This was just a small idea I've had tumbling around in my head for a while, and figured I'd write it since I had some free time. Thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed it!