Disclaimer: RWBY is owned by Rooster Teeth.
Author's Notes: Sorry about the very long time between updates, I was focused on finishing 'Pyromania'.
Pocketing her cell phone and closing the textbook she'd been skimming, Yang hopped off her bed and started toward her door, stepping around the various piles of dirty and clean clothes and crumpled-up old notes that littered her floor. She jumped over her sparsely packed duffel bag, full of only a single change of clothes and her bathroom amenities, and smacked the light switch as she left the room, heading for the stairs.
She waited at the top of the steps as her sister finished the ascent, Ruby's head lolling on her shoulders and her eyelids kept open only out of will. "Hey Ruby! You're home late..." It was close to 8:30; the sun had set almost an hour ago.
"Yeah..." Ruby mumbled, not looking up from the ground. "Ms. Fall made me stay after for tutoring... and then I walked home..." It was not unusual for the sisters to walk home after school; they lived close and every street had wide, brightly lit sidewalks, which made their father more comfortable. But it did add time to their schedules.
"Wow, she really hates you." Yang said, giving the small girl's shoulder an empathetic squeeze.
"Yeah. Sorry." Ruby apologized in reference to occupying the stairs, "I'm gonna go take a shower..."
"Have you eaten yet? There are leftovers in the fridge..."
"Not hungry. Too tired." Ruby lumbered past her sister, her arms hanging by her sides as she trudged into her room and closed the door.
"Okay!" Yang called after her, racing down the stairs. She leaped the last three steps, landing with a thud on the main floor of their medium-sized three-story home. She cupped her hands around her mouth and yelled, "DAAAAAD!".
From around the corner wafted a faint response, the voice of her father journeying from the basement and through the kitchen. "Whaaaaat Yang?"
Smiling, Yang skipped through the kitchen, her footsteps making the stack of pots and pans soaking in the sink rattle against one another. "There you are!" she called down the steps, leaning against the door frame. The only indication that the basement was occupied was the yellow light splayed across the barren floor, the room otherwise innocuous. "I've got a question for you!"
"And I've got an answer!" her father shouted from out of sight, the sound of a rolling chair scraping across tiles signaling that she had sufficiently distracted him from whatever he was working on. Several moments and clacking footsteps later, he appeared at the bottom of the stairs, leaning on the handrail. Yang and Ruby's father was not particularly unusual; middle-aged, gently overweight but also muscular, with short, wispy tan hair and a similarly colored beard and mustache framing kind purple eyes and a mouth accustomed to smiles. "What can I do you for, hon?"
"Can I borrow the car tomorrow?" Yang asked, grinning.
"What for?"
"I'm taking my friends camping!" she said, an excited twinkle in eye.
"Well, it's kind of short notice... but okay." Her father stroked his beard with a couple fingers, running his tongue over his teeth in contemplative thought.
"Thanks Dad!" Yang yelled, beginning to turn away and head back to her room.
"Wait!" She craned her head back, wobbling on one foot and holding the wall to keep her balance. "You have to take your sister with you."
"What?! Why?"
"She's been so quiet and tired lately, I think it would do her good to get out of the house for a couple days."
"But Daaaaad! It was just supposed to be me and my friends!" Yang stamped her foot and pouted. "What if she doesn't want to go?"
"She goes, or you don't get the car."
"Dad!" Yang cried, her voice screeching with incredulous at her father's lack of fairness. After realizing no amount of tricks or promises to do the dishes were going to work on him, she finally complied. "Fine!" she grumbled, crossing her arms and glaring at the wall.
"Oh, lighten up. It'll be fun! I'm sure your friends will enjoy it just the same." He started walking back to his desk in the corner. "And it'll be good for Ruby!"
"That's not the point..." Yang fumed as she walked back up the stairs to her room. It wasn't that she didn't love her younger sister, but she wanted to spend the time with her friends, and having Ruby there... She always had to take her little sister everywhere! Once in a while she wanted to be alone with her friends, instead of having to drag the younger girl along just because 'Dad said so'. Yang breathed out, calming herself as she started up the steps. It wasn't like Ruby was going to embarrass her or anything, right? She could come along, it wasn't that big of a deal. She just wanted her own space sometimes.
The energetic lightness of her gait returned as she reached the top of the stairs, bounding along the hallway as her excitement returned. Her sister hadn't made it to the shower yet, judging by the open bathroom door, so Yang tapped lightly on Ruby's bedroom door. "Ruby? Open up!" she added after getting no response.
She felt, rather than heard, the slow footsteps as Ruby crossed from her bed to the door, the handle twisting as it opened. "What's up, Yang?" Ruby threw a hand up over her mouth to conceal a yawn, her eyelids draped over the majority of her eyes.
"Get ready to go camping! You're coming with us!" Yang said, beaming as her sister raised an eyebrow.
"What..?"
"Dad said you ought to come with us, so pack up, 'cause we leave here at 10:30!"
"But I don't want-"
"No buts! You're coming, so get packing!" Yang turned and left, waving over her shoulder.
"Okay..." There was a quiet 'click' as Ruby closed her door, followed by several drawers being opened.
The alarm managed to release one squawking note before Yang pounded the 'Cancel' button, the young blonde girl having awoken minutes before, watching and waiting for the alarm to go off. Erupting out of the bed in a flurry of covers and flailing limbs, Yang quickly dressed in her pre-established outfit of tan cargo shorts that cupped and accentuated her thighs, a black t-shirt that ended just above her navel, and a light yellow sweatshirt with the sleeves wrinkled from being rolled up too often. She jumped into the bathroom to brush down the worst of her bed-head, tying it into a pony-tail before returning to her room to grab her hat and duffel bag.
As she passed Ruby's room, she knocked her knuckles against the door. "Time to get up, sis! We're going camping!" She continued down the hall to the steps, smiling as she heard a muffled groan from the younger girl's room. "Up and at 'em!" she yelled as she rushed down the stairs.
Yang joined her father at the dinner table, the older man reading the newspaper over an empty bowl of cereal and half a cup of steaming black coffee. "Morning, Yang." he said, taking a sip.
"Hey Dad!" she replied, dumping her bag next to her chair and grabbing a bowl, spoon, and cup from the kitchen, helping herself to some of the hot drink. She was scarfing down her cereal when Ruby appeared, dressed, as usual, in her red sweater and black leggings, rubbing her eyes to erase some of her sleepiness.
"Do I have to go camping?"
"Yes!" Yang answered between bites, wiping a drip of milk from her chin.
"No." Their father continued to browse the Classifieds section of the paper, ignoring Yang's angry glare. "But I think you should go. It'll be fun."
Ruby sighed, flopping over and letting her hands dangle towards her feet as she plodded into the kitchen to get her own set of breakfast materials. "Okay..."
After impatiently waiting for Ruby to finish eating and packing their duffels and sleeping bags into the car, Yang closed the driver's door and sent a quick message to Nora and Pyrrha, letting them know she was on her way. She waved goodbye to their father as they pulled out of the driveway, the older man returning the gesture from the porch while taking another sip of coffee. Ruby had decided to sit in the back after being coaxed by Yang, the blonde's argument being that "Pyrrha is so much taller than you, I think she'd be uncomfortable in the back seat."
Their first pick up was Nora, the short ginger-haired girl living about ten minutes away. The energetic teenager joined Ruby in the back after tossing her bags into the trunk, already starting to babble away about her morning. Evidently, she'd had pancakes for breakfast, which she immensely enjoyed. Their next stop was Pyrrha's modest home, about fifteen minutes from Nora's, the redhead waiting for them on the steps with her bag. She took the open passenger's seat, apologizing to Ruby for forcing her to move.
The final stop on their way to the woods was Weiss Schnee's mansion, set deep into the spacious suburbs of Vale. It was a lonely white abode, surrounded by a long, mowed lawn, with a wide, railed porch and an attached two-door garage. "Awww," Nora moaned from the backseat, drawing the other three's attention. "I expected icicles..." the hyperactive teen said with disappointment.
The front door opened just as Yang parked in front of the garage doors, the white-haired, irritable Weiss emerging carrying her duffel, sleeping bag, and backpack. She approached the driver's door, and Yang rolled down the window so they could speak. "Hey there Ice Queen! Ready to go camping?"
Weiss scowled at the word. "You are early!" she growled, glaring at the blonde driver. "Tardiness I expected, but you being early?! Unforeseeable!"
"Oh, relax. It's not like you were doing anything else, right? Now hop in, we're losing daylight!" Yang grinned as Weiss' expression soured further, the fractious girl stomping to the trunk and depositing her bags.
As she opened the door and prepared to climb in, she paused, taking a step back and crossing her arms. "Nope." she declared, pointing her nose to the sky.
"What?" Yang asked, craning her head out the window to see what had upset the final member of their crew.
"I am not sitting next to her." Weiss pointed into the car, glaring at Yang.
"Relax princess, I don't bite!" Nora's bubbly voice echoed from the back seat.
"I am not a princess, you air-headed, miserable little-"
"But your castle is soooo big!"
Yang saw Weiss' face spasm, her face flushing with anger at Nora's interruption, and decided to intervene before her newest friend's blood pressure burst her heart. "Nora, do you promise to be nice?"
"I'm always nice!"
"Yeah, but I need you to promise you'll be nice to Weiss."
"Okay! I promise! Cross my heart and hope to die!"
Weiss simply glowered at the blonde, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Do you really expect me to be convinced by a promise?"
Pyrrha leaned over from the passenger seat, speaking loudly to be heard through the car. "Don't worry, Weiss, I'll keep an eye on her for you."
"Don't bother. I've changed my mind, I'm staying home. Have fun without me." Weiss turned back to her house, taking three brisk steps before Yang's taunting voice reached her.
"Okay! I guess I'll just let the whole school know that Weiss Schnee is scared of the woods..." She drew out the words, waggling her eyebrows as Weiss turned back to the car. The look she received from those icy blue eyes would have killed a lesser person, but Yang merely smirked at the girl's barely restrained fury. "Too easy..." she muttered to herself, shaking her head and shifting into reverse while Weiss clambered into the car.
The drive to the campsite passed with surprisingly little incident, the only true problem arising when Nora really really really wanted to see what was out the window, scrambling across Weiss in a tangle of arms, legs, and particularly vicious threats. Only a quick reaction from Pyrrha saved Nora from being strangled by Weiss' thin, pale hands. Yang had turned on the radio, loud rock music competing with the wind blowing through the open windows. Things calmed down as they entered the forest, Pyrrha and Yang nodding their heads in time to the rhythm while Nora bobbed in her seat, trying to distract herself away from playing with Weiss' flowing white hair. Weiss was reading over one of her essays on her laptop, wracking her brain to find the reason she agreed to go on this trip in the first place and silently wishing agony on her orange-haired neighbor. Ruby was asleep, and had been for the majority of the ride, her head propped against the window, gentle snores being drowned out by the music.
Somehow, when they arrived at their campsite, Nora was the first one out of the car, chased by shrill curses from a ruffled Weiss. The camp was a wide, circular cleared area covered in gravel with patches of the soft, bright green grass of Spring protruding through. In the center was a ring of larger, blackened rocks, the remains of a makeshift fire pit from the previous group of campers. Four fat logs were arrayed in a square around the pit, their dull brown trunks baking in the mid-afternoon sun.
Yang stepped out of the car and took a deep breath, sighing contentedly and turning to look at Weiss as the latter clambered out of the back seat, her laptop clutched in her left hand. "Don't ya love the smell of that fresh mountain air, Ice Queen?"
Weiss looked over at her with a sullen frown, her mouth pinched tight in an expression of displeased contempt. "Yes, it's lovely. How long do we have to be here again?" She waved away a curious gnat that had flown too close to her nose, clamping her hand onto her hip after it decided she wasn't worth investigating.
"Just through tonight and tomorrow morning!" Yang slapped Weiss on the back as she walked to the car's trunk, a wide grin spreading across her face. "It's gonna be a ton of fun!"
"I'm sure..." Weiss grumbled, watching Nora walk along the length of one of the trunks, hands held far to the side to help maintain her balance. "Well, what do we do first?"
"Normally," Yang said, leaning over to unlatch the trunk, "the first thing we do is set up the tents!" She heaved the trunk open, her arms lifting over her head as she pushed the door to its upper limit. "After that we can go hiking, or gather firewood, or just sit around and hang out!" She missed Weiss' grimace of disapproval as she leaned into the car, rummaging through the tall pile of bags. "Hey Ruby?" she called, her voice muffled by the car's interior. "Where'd you put tents?"
"Mmm-wha?" Ruby mumbled, blinking slowly and stretching as she woke up. "What'd you say, Yang?"
"Where did you put the tents? You know, the things we're going to sleep in?"
"I thought... I thought you got the tents?" Ruby answered, rubbing her eyes and climbing out of the car to join her sister by the trunk.
"No, I got everything but the tents. You were supposed to get the tents!"
"Are you saying..." Weiss' cold, threatening voice pierced into the sisters' conversation, "that we are going to have to sleep... in the open... in this wilderness?!" For the first time since she'd met her, Weiss saw Yang's face lose it's smile and happy-go-lucky brightness. She would have enjoyed it, except she was far too angry. "Don't you know there are BEARS, or MOUNTAIN LIONS that could be out here, waiting for a meal as easy as five girls sleeping in the open?"
"Or the monster!" Nora chimed in from across the campsite.
Weiss rolled her eyes. "Yes, or the monster, which we all know is totally a possibility." The vein on her forehead was throbbing and red, her face locked in a scowl of irritation.
In a snap, Yang's face and attitude returned to normal, her smile returning to shine at the glowering Schnee. "Naaaah!" she said, waving away Weiss' concerns. "It'll be fun! The open air, the stars overhead, the wind brushing across our faces..."
"The bugs, the beasts, the possibility of rain..." Weiss countered, raising an accompanying finger with each point.
"Chill out, Ice Queen!" Yang laughed, slinging her arm around Weiss' shoulders, much to the latter's annoyance. "It'll be fun. Now, who's up for a hike?"
"Ooh! Me! Me me me!" Nora shouted, hopping up and down energetically.
"I'll come!" Pyrrha raised her hand, a thin smile across her face.
"Weiss?"
"No. Thank. You." Weiss growled out, her teeth chomping the end of each word. "I have an essay to write. Which I will be doing from right..." She stomped over to one of the logs, plopping down stubbornly onto the smooth wood. "...here."
"Suit yourself! Ruby, you coming?"
The younger sister was leaning against the car, looking like she was about to fall asleep at any moment. "I don't think so. Thanks though."
"Okay! You get to keep the Ice Queen company! Be careful, I don't know what I'd do if my only sister got turned into a popsicle!"
"Shut up, Xiao Long!" Weiss glared at her screen as the three pairs of footsteps bled away amongst the sounds of birds and the wind, Pyrrha, Nora, and that utterly detestable Yang Xiao Long going for a hike. With luck, they'd be gone until early evening, leaving her time to complete the second of the three essays. A quiet sigh and the sound of boots crunching on twigs drew her eyes upward, and she watched as Ruby walked toward the edge of the campsite. "What are you doing?"
"I'm going to get some kindling, maybe look for some larger wood. Yang likes a big campfire, and I'm pretty sure Nora does too." Ruby said, sticking her hands into the pockets of her sweatshirt.
Weiss rolled her eyes, scoffing quietly. "She most likely does, I agree." She returned her gaze to her laptop, opening up the essay and focusing her mind.
"Um... hey Weiss?" Ruby's timid voice made Weiss sigh and turn her head, the young girl's eyes downcast as she rubbed her arm nervously.
"Yes?"
"Can... can I ask you something?" Ruby sat on the other end of Weiss' log, twiddling her thumbs.
Weiss sighed again, louder this time, and closed her laptop. It seemed the whole family was determined to keep her from completing her assignments. "By all means, ask away." she said, not bothering to disguise her irritation. "I'm totally not trying to work, or anything."
"Sorry." Ruby fidgeted on the log, her boots carving small swathes of twigs and refuse. "It's... um, well... it's about school..."
"Yes?" Weiss prompted, waving her hand in a circle to try and draw the question from the red-haired girl and so get closer to resuming her work.
"About... Ms. Fall's class..."
"Let me stop you right there." Weiss said, holding up a hand. "I'm really sorry, Ruby, but I don't know anything about calculus, so I can't help you." She reopened her laptop, twisting her body to face away from Ruby.
"Oh... okay." Ruby mumbled, standing and walking into the woods to get some firewood.
Weiss clicked 'save' milliseconds before Yang landed beside her on the log, the three hikers returning just as the sun was dipping behind the backs of the hundreds of trees, the light illuminating the veins in all the fresh Spring leaves. "I'm back! Miss me, Ice Queen?" Yang said loudly, beaming at the white-haired girl.
"Like plants miss a drought..." Weiss deadpanned, shutting down her computer and stuffing it back into her backpack.
"Great!" Yang elbowed Weiss in the shoulder, earning herself a top-rate glare from her classmate. "Now comes the fun part! The fire! Hey, Ruby!" Yang called, standing and crossing the campsite toward her sister. "Did you get the firewood?"
"I'll get the hotdogs and the skewers!" Pyrrha said, walking toward the car.
The first stars were visible above the floating sparks and rising smoke of their campfire, the five girls sitting in an uneven circle around the burning wood, spits in hand and hotdogs cooking. Yang and Pyrrha sat across from Ruby and Nora; Weiss sat alone, hugging her knees to her chest as she watched the flames lick across her dinner.
"What's the matter, Ice Queen? You look cold..." Yang said, the fire's reflection dancing in her eyes as she looked at Weiss. "You wanna borrow my sweater?"
Weiss sighed, unwilling to admit her discomfort to the vivacious blonde, and even more unwilling to accept her sweater. The thing looked like it was decades old and had never been washed. And it was Yang's. "No, thanks. I'll just get my own from my bag..." She started to push herself to her feet, but slipped on a pile of leaves and fell backwards. Her hands swung in wide circles as she tried to catch herself, and her hotdog flew from her skewer and sailed off into the forest. "Well that's fucking great..." she huffed, wiping her hair out of her eyes and glad that the darkness hid her flustered blush. She had completely embarrassed herself in front of Yang; the blonde was surely never going to let her forget it.
"No worries, Weiss. We've got plenty more! I'll get one started for 'ya!" Yang offered, a fist barely covering her grin.
Weiss stood, more with more care this time, and brushed herself off. "Th...Thank you." she said, handing Yang her skewer and clomping across the campsite toward the car. Yang watched her go, absentmindedly placing another hotdog onto the stick and hovering it over the cavorting flames.
"Yang..." The blonde's gaze switched from Weiss to Pyrrha, the tall girl's green eyes looking at her doubtingly.
"What?"
"I know you like her, but you're really pushing it..." Pyrrha whispered, turning to check on the condition of her hotdog.
"What do you mean?" Yang narrowed her eyes at her red-haired friend.
"You're smothering her! Give her some space! You don't even know if she's gay, yet you keep trying to force her to like you."
"I'm not forcing her!"
Pyrrha rolled her eyes and groaned. "You threatened to tell the whole school she was scared of a stupid urban legend if she didn't come camping with us! You're coming on way too strong, and I don't think she's even interested..."
"Alright, listen here Pyrrha..." Yang grumbled, pulling her hotdog from the fire. "When you get that Jaune guy to ask you out, I'll listen to your advice. Until then, I'm going to keep doing things my way."
"I'm just saying... maybe you should slow down. You don't even know if she's into girls!" Pyrrha said, shrugging while placing her hotdog into a bun.
"Well," Yang peered over Pyrrha's shoulders as Weiss was walking back to the fire, pulling at the bottom of her blue sweater so it lay smooth. "let's find out right now." Yang stood, returning Weiss' skewer to the white-haired girl, who accepted it with a quiet 'Thank you'. As the last member of her group sat, Yang cleared her throat, drawing all four pairs of eyes. "Okay then, ladies..." She tossed her hair over her shoulder, the fire casting an evil shadow over her face as she put her hands on her hips. "Let's talk about boys!"
Author's Notes: Sorry if this chapter was a little rough. That's what I get for coming back to this story after over a month. Good thing I kept some notes...
I haven't written anything in about a week, and it's being surprisingly difficult to get back in the writing 'mood'.
To everyone who voted in the poll: After I finish this story, I promise to start 'Coup'. I'm still fleshing out the details and need something more concrete to work on in the meantime.
Please remember to review/follow/favorite the story.
Thank you for reading!
Keep moving forward.