A/N: Thanks to everyone who has been following my Freezerburn Week fics! I love all the reviews and favs/follows- they really spurn me on to carry on writing for these two cute dorks. I hope you enjoy this for Day 7!
This was how it always was for Yang at airports.
People who were a part of her life always left her.
Yang would stand, trembling, as she waved goodbye with a smile on her face until they turned away from her.
Her mom had left her more than once.
Uncle Qrow left, but he did come back. Sometimes.
Even Ruby left last year. Of course, Yang wanted her to go to a great University and be the genius she was but Yang couldn't help feeling as if she was the only one stuck in the past. As if she was the only one not to move on to better things.
Now Yang faced Weiss and swallowed the lump in her throat.
"So… I guess I won't see you for a while." Yang cursed her inability to say something important, say something meaningful, to say how she felt.
"No. Probably not." Weiss' gaze was on the floor. "We can call each other and video chat though."
Weiss looked up and Yang felt her body tense. There was a sharp pain in her stomach. So many words were close to slipping out of her mouth but she closed her eyes and took in a deep breath.
"Bye, Weiss."
"Goodbye, Yang."
"Good luck over there." Yang opened her arms for a hug and, much to her relief, Weiss stepped into the embrace. "You'll have to let me know if anyone gives you any trouble and I'll sort them out." Yang rested her head against soft, white hair and held Weiss tight.
"I can handle myself, you know that." Weiss let out a laugh and pulled back to look into Yang's eyes.
"Give 'em hell, princess."
"I will."
Yang returned Weiss' smile but she couldn't make it reach her eyes.
All she could do was watch as the woman she loved walked away.
/-/
Blake was sat in the corner of the coffee shop when Yang stumbled in, out of the cold, and made her way over.
"It's good to see you again Blakey."
"It's nice to be back, Yang." Blake treated her with a rare smile.
"How long are ya sticking around for?" Yang asked, as she flung herself into the leather armchair.
"A couple of weeks. I'm doing some book signings actually." Blake took a sip of her tea.
"Oooh, very nice." Yang laughed and wiggled her eyebrows at her long-time friend.
"Thanks." Blake's eyes lost their playfulness as she put her cup down. "How are you holding up?"
"Holding up? Oh, you mean with… with uh Weiss leaving?"
"Yes. You've clearly been in love with her since senior year."
Yang felt her face grow warm. "Sophomore year," she mumbled to correct Blake.
"And you still feel the same?"
"Yeah." Yang sighed. "I couldn't tell her. I almost did. I almost ran after her." Yang wrung her hands together. "Blake, I swear when she walked away I could feel my heart breaking. I'm never going to get a chance to tell her now and it's all 'cause I was too much of a coward."
"You sound like a character in one of my novels."
"Heh. I'm sure I do. Part of me wishes I'd said something but it wouldn't have made a difference anyway."
"You know long distance relationships are a thing, Yang."
"I know. I just. She's gonna be asleep when I'm awake and she's going to be busy and-"
"You're making excuses."
"I am." Yang chewed her lip. "I was still scared I'd tell her how I felt and she'd look at me with disgust. What if she just doesn't like me that way?"
"If you never tell her, you'll never know."
"Well I missed my chance now."
Blake rolled her eyes. "It's your choice."
/-/
Yang smacked her laptop a few times until it began to cooperate and she finally saw a pitiful, grainy image of Weiss.
"Hey! I can see you now. I don't know what was up with it," Yang explained.
Weiss let out a laugh that crackled out of Yang's speakers. "Maybe you shouldn't abuse it so much."
"Alright. I didn't realise you were part of my laptop defence squad."
"I'm the chairwoman."
"You have time for that in your schedule?" Yang laughed. "What have you really been up to?"
"The usual. Attending important meetings, having posh dinners and trying my hardest to ignore Whitley."
"So, he hasn't grown out of his… phase yet?"
"No. I think he's just like that."
"That's a shame."
"Yes, it is." Weiss coughed. "How have you been?"
"Good. You know, nothing much changes here."
Their conversation was less awkward after they got over the first few minutes. Yang still managed to make Weiss laugh and if she couldn't tell Weiss was getting tired she wouldn't have wanted to hang up.
"It's got to be late for you now. You should probably go to bed," Yang suggested.
Weiss sighed before glancing over at her clock. "It is nearly two A.M I suppose."
"Goodnight, Weiss."
"Goodnight, Yang."
/-/
Yang was wiping the bar down during a particularly quiet shift when her phone started ringing. She saw the caller I.D and snuck into the staff breakroom to answer.
"Hey Rubes, I'm at work. Are you okay?"
"Oh sorry! I didn't realise. I'm fine I just have some news."
"News?"
"Are you sure you can talk now? I can call back later." Ruby's voice took up a guilty tone.
"It's slow today, plus, you've got me interested now. What is it?"
"Okay. Well I know you've totally loved Weiss since we were at school-"
Yang let out an exasperated sigh. "Am I really that obvious?"
"Yang I'm pretty sure I've heard you sleep talking about letting her step on you."
"I- well. That's none of your business. Anyway, apart from embarrassing your only sister why else did you call me?"
"She's sort of dating someone."
"Who?"
"Weiss."
"No. I got that. Who is she dating?" Yang's hand was tightening around her phone.
"I don't know some guy in Atlas. Her dad's been inviting loads of people to balls and stuff. Anyway, she's young, and an heiress, and she's not going to wait for you forever Yang."
"I…" Yang felt like she'd been punched in the gut. "She's never mentioned any of this to me."
"I don't think it's that serious yet. Yang, don't you see? You have to tell her how you feel."
"Well she obviously isn't interested in me. She must like this guy."
Yang was sure Ruby growled down the handset at her. "Yang. Maybe she feels just like you but thinks that you don't like her!"
"Thanks for telling me, Ruby. Look I've got to get back to work but I'll call you later okay?"
"Okay Yang. Loveyoubye!"
Yang laughed at her sister's speech. "Love you too."
/-/
Yang hopped from one foot to the other. Not long until Weiss' plane arrived.
And she was totally going to tell her the truth.
Yang held up the sign, that she had spent a sad amount of time designing, with Weiss' name on it, as she scanned the crowd of arrivals.
She spotted white hair.
"Weiss! Over here!"
Blue eyes met hers.
"Yang!"
Weiss ran towards her and leaped into her arms. Yang inhaled that familiar apple scented shampoo and held Weiss in a crushing hug.
"I missed you so much," Weiss said.
"I missed you too." Yang let Weiss back onto solid ground. "I have something important to tell you."
"Oh, me too."
"You first, Miss Schnee."
Weiss let out what could only be described as a giggle and Yang felt a fluttering in her stomach. "Well, I've sort of met someone. He's with me if you want to meet him."
"I- sure." Yang's head pounded at the news but she faked a smile. "So, you're dating?"
"Yes. It's nothing official yet but I thought since everyone's back for the holidays I'd be able to introduce you all."
"Great idea." Yang knew she was going to have to master talking through gritted teeth if they were here for a while. "Where is the lucky fella?"
"Neptune? Come and say 'hi'." Weiss waved over a tall guy with blue hair.
Yang wasn't particularly impressed.
"I'm Yang, nice to meet you." She offered her hand and regarded his limp handshake as proof he was not worthy.
"Neptune Vasilias, at your service m'ilady." Apparently, he was a flirter too.
"Great," Yang drawled, "why don't you grab the bags and I'll take you both to the car."
Neptune walked over to the baggage collection point, winking at a couple of female passengers on his way, and Weiss turned to her. "So… what do you think?"
"He seems… nice."
"Oh." Weiss' face fell.
"I mean it. I'm sure it'll be fun to get to know him."
"Is it the blue hair?" Weiss ventured.
Yang smirked. "Maybe. Or how freakishly tall he is, like, what do they feed you over in Atlas? Although, I guess you missed out on the super growth food."
"Hey!" Weiss slapped at her arm. "I may like tall people but I know I'm the perfect height."
"How do you ever reach stuff on high up shelves?"
"I don't need to when I can get others to do it for me." Weiss took on a smug look.
"I let you out of my sight for a couple of months and you're already letting this heiress stuff go to your head."
"Good thing I'm back now then."
Yang smiled, genuinely, and enjoyed Weiss' return gesture until Neptune hobbled over and dropped a suitcase on her foot.
"Sorry! They're a bit heavy."
"Don't worry about it, pal." Yang rolled her eyes and grabbed the majority of the bags off the trolley before leading the way out of the airport.
/-/
"So… what's he like?" Ruby threw even more tinsel at the already covered Christmas tree.
"He's stupidly tall, has blue hair that looks stupid, and he has stupid noodle arms. Like, has the kid never heard of arm day? Not that he's heard of leg day either…"
"Not all people are buff Yang." Ruby held up her arm and showed off her biceps. "Not everyone can be as hardcore as us."
"It must run in the family!" Tai burst into the living room with his arms flexed.
"You guys are cute but we all know I've got the best arms." Yang smirked at them.
"I'm gonna let you have this round 'cause I know how sad you are about your girlfriend dating some guy," Tai relented as the doorbell sounded. "Also, she may or may not be at the door right now and I made cocoa for everyone so enjoy."
"Thanks dad!" Ruby followed him back into the kitchen.
"I guess I'll get it!" Yang yelled in their general direction as she made her way to the door.
Of course, it was Weiss stood there in an adorable pea coat.
"Hey." Weiss' voice was muffled by the thick blue scarf she wore.
"Hey. Do you want to come in?"
"Yang, are we okay?" Her eyebrows were furrowed together as she looked up at Yang.
"Of course. Why wouldn't we be?"
"You've just been acting a bit weird since I bought Neptune back and you keep being busy whenever I try to meet you. If I've done something to make you upset will you at least tell me what it is?"
"Weiss. You've done nothing wrong, and the last thing I wanna do is make you upset. I've been busy with work is all."
"Okay. I can tell you don't like him though." Weiss shuffled her feet. "Can I ask you why?"
"You know me." Yang shrugged. "I'm protective of those I care about. I don't know him well enough to judge properly, and I'm sure he's a nice guy, but I just get the feeling he isn't as serious about you as he should be."
Weiss' eyes were wide in the porchlight. "I'm glad you were honest with me. Maybe you're right."
"You deserve someone who will commit to you and will be devoted, Weiss."
"Well…" Weiss smiled at her, "let me know if you find that someone."
"I'll keep my eyes peeled. Do you wanna come in for some cocoa?"
"That sounds lovely."
/-/
The frost of the winter was melting away when Yang next saw Weiss.
Another airport reunion.
"Welcome back!" Yang, Blake and Ruby spoke in unison as they fell into a group hug.
"The gang's all here and it's time to party!" Yang pumped her fist in the air. "So, Weiss, how are you feeling about being twenty-one? You looking forward to the party?"
"It can't be any worse than last year."
Yang's face turned serious. "We don't talk about that."
"Anyway," Blake cut in, "who's invited?"
"Oh, you know, the usual lot." Yang waved her hand around.
"Did you invite Jaune?" Weiss asked.
"Uh, Yeah."
"Ugh. That guy was always obsessed with me at school."
"He's not the only one," Blake muttered to Ruby, who began giggling until Yang shot them a glare.
"What did you say, Blake?" Weiss questioned.
"Oh, nothing."
"Let's get moving, shall we?" Yang helped Weiss with her bags.
/-/
The party was, and Yang never used the term lightly, "Bangin'", as she told her sister.
"It is," Ruby replied. "Maybe you should call it quits on the cocktails though."
"Why?" Yang wobbled as she carefully placed her Strawberry Sunrise back on the bar, only spilling about a quarter of its contents in the process.
"You just need to be able to dance, Yang!" Ruby shouted over the music.
"I got my moves, sis. No need to worry."
"Yang that's a lunge."
"Just stretching."
"Weiss should be the most drunk on her birthday don't you think?"
"Now that I can agree with." Yang completed another stretch. "Where's she gone?"
"I don't know but there's Neptune." Ruby pointed across the dancefloor.
"Aha! My nemesis." Yang cracked her knuckles.
"Uh oh. Maybe we should go find Weiss?"
"No!" Yang straightened up and started towards the noodle boy. "I must challenge him."
"No fighting. Yang. Please! Him and Weiss aren't even a thing anymore." Ruby followed her and grabbed onto her arm but Yang dragged her along.
"Blue hair!"
Neptune looked their way and frowned at the sight of Ruby hanging off Yang's arm. "Yang?"
"Yes. It is I." Yang drew herself up to her tallest. "I challenge you to a dance battle!"
Neptune's eyes shifted left and right, and his forehead was shiny with perspiration. "I'm not sure I feel like it right now I uh I-"
"No excuses. Only you, me and the glorious art of dance." Yang turned to take in the spectators that dragging a teenager across a dancefloor and yelling at someone tended to garner. "Ren- you can judge us."
He solemnly nodded to accept the title of dance battle judge and they commenced.
/-/
Yang was still high on the adrenaline of her victory, despite it being an easy one, when she swaggered over to Weiss. The boy couldn't dance. Nonetheless, a victory was a victory.
Yang leaned an elbow on the bar. "Well hello there. Can I buy you a drink?"
Weiss mirrored Yang's posture. "What's a bar like you doing in a pretty girl like this?
"What."
"You're pretty. I will have that drink now."
"Oh." Yang's face felt warm. "What do you want?"
"I'll have a gin and tonic."
"Guys!" Ruby rushed over to them. "Why don't we go outside for a bit- there's going to be fireworks."
"But we were about to get drinks," Yang protested.
"Fireworks," Ruby replied more forcefully as she took hold of them both.
"Alright." Yang let herself be led outside.
There was a paved area that was designated as a 'beer garden' that many party-goers had gathered in to enjoy the firework show.
Ruby disappeared and Yang turned to Weiss. She was shivering in the cold, her breaths visibly leaving her mouth and her cheeks and nose were tinged with red.
"Weiss, I was thinking we should walk home after these fireworks. You can stay at mine."
"Great idea, hotshot."
Yang laughed. "You haven't called me that since we were kids."
"You're still saved in my phone as that."
"Good."
"Hey, Yang." The blonde boy, who seemed to have no buttons on his shirt and was friends with Neptune, approached them.
"What is it, friend of the enemy?"
"Huh?"
"What's up… brah?"
"Nothing much, dude. Just wanted to let you know how cool this party is and to give you another beer."
"Ah. I like you." Yang gave him a high five and took another can.
/-/
Yang cracked her eyes open and became aware of just how fast the world was moving.
"Shit…" Her head felt like it was going to split in two.
She opened her eyes again and was grateful that her past-self had thought to leave a glass of water on her bedside table. She gingerly propped herself up against the pillows and sipped the water whilst trying to remember all that had happened last night.
"Uuughhh." A groan, muffled by the covers, caught Yang's attention. White hair, that was impossibly messy, appeared next to her. "Yang?"
"Uh. Good morning?"
"I feel like I'm dying," Weiss croaked out.
"Same." Yang sighed. "Have some water. Oh, and Happy Birthday."
"Thank you." Weiss sat up and Yang suppressed a laugh at her messed up hair, smudged lipstick and the large band T-shirt Yang must have lent her. She still looked beautiful.
"You're looking good."
"Don't tease me."
Yang swallowed. "I'm not."
Weiss froze with the glass halfway to her lips. "Oh."
Yang put her hands in her lap and focused her gaze on them. "I wish we weren't so hungover for this but since I got you in my bed anyway… Weiss."
"Yes?" Weiss finished her gulp of water and placed the glass on the stand.
"I love you." Yang watched sky blue eyes widen but she wasn't finished yet. "I've loved you since we were at school together, and waking up this morning has made me realise that waking up next to you is a privilege I'd like to repeat."
"Yang…" Weiss' eyes went from wide shock to something akin to anger. "Why did it take you so long?!"
"What?" Yang's head shot up. "You could have at least given me a clue."
"I've hardly been subtle." Weiss sighed. "When we left school, I thought I must have gotten the wrong signs off you. You always seemed so confident I was convinced that if you liked me you would have made your move."
"I can't believe we're managing to sort-of argue about this." Yang rolled her eyes.
"Well I can't believe I spent the last few years thinking I was losing my touch. I genuinely thought the only person I was interested in was impervious to my charms. I-" Weiss was cut off by Yang's lips and all the nervous energy that had been between them for so long was thrown into it.
Yang pulled away when she felt her head spin. "I can't tell if I feel dizzy 'cause of kissing you or if it's my hangover."
"I have that effect on people." Weiss smirked at her until they burst into a fit of giggles.
"You know the best cure for a hangover?"
"To stay hydrated," Weiss answered immediately.
"Well yeah but also cuddles." Yang shifted closer to the middle of her bed and held up her arm.
"I'll have to test your theory out." Weiss beamed up at her then nestled underneath Yang's arm, against her side. "I think this is officially the best birthday ever. Oh, and Yang?"
"Yes?"
"I love you too."