Neptune, whether he knew it or not, had been right. Yang had found herself in the exact same situation as her sister – albeit, her handcuffs partner had black hair, not white, and didn't seem to be quite as peeved with the position they were in. She seemed more amused with the whole scenario than anything else, though the same could not be said for the blonde she was now saddled with.

Yang, like her sister, had made her way over to the bar she was summoned to, a tiny location crammed in between a closed loan shop, and a bookstore – which, she noted curiously, was twenty-four hours, for reasons she couldn't quite fathom. She'd made her way down the street towards the bar, realizing about halfway through her path that it was closed, lights off and door barred shut. A sign was posted to the door, and she could make out the words "health hazard" in bold text on it, small type lost in a blur. Underneath the sign, someone had scrawled in neon graffiti "STD Spawn Point," which kind of gave away the game.

Either way, Yang wasn't going anywhere near the place. Before she could text her friends in confusion, however, a warm hand clasped her shoulder – she whirled to find Sun behind her, grinning like a madman. A dark-haired woman stood behind him, a bow atop her head, amber eyes watching Yang carefully. Lilac eyes drifted from the woman back to her Faunus friend, before narrowing in suspicion.

"Sun," Yang began, watching blond eyebrows rise in attention, "why did you call me to a defunct bar?"

Sun laughed at that, the sound rich and easy, echoing off the dark storefronts.

"Yeah, that was my fault," he replied easily, "sorry about that. Read some awesome reviews online, forgot to check if the place was actually still open or not."

Yang blinked, wondering if said awesome reviews were made before or after the gift of chlamydia, before Sun slung an arm around her shoulders and continuing.

"Anyways, forget about that," he said, "you busy tonight?"

"Obviously not, if I came all the way out here to meet you."

"Sweet! 'Cause boy, I have some awesome plans for the night!"

Yang's suspicions faded at that – nights spent between her and Sun were legendary amongst the group, as well as intolerable for the rest of their friends (there were only so many times people could wake up in a bathtub in the middle of a corn field). Going on a "sunshine" quest was a sort of rite of initiation amongst their gang, the only person returning for a second night out with them being Nora (the rest fled from invitations like vampires from sunlight). Sun inviting her out was a common, and welcome occurrence – and Yang's qualms disappeared, for the moment.

They returned immediately when Sun lunged forwards, snagging both her wrist and that of the dark-haired woman, latching them together with a loud click, as handcuffs encircled both of their limbs. Yang and the unfamiliar woman bumped shoulders with the movement, shooting one another a look of apology before they stared back up at the man who had linked them together. Sun grinned cheekily, his arms slung behind his head in an easy-going gesture, completely ignoring the stunned look of his friends.

"And those awesome plans," he continued, as though nothing had happened, "are that you two are going on a date!"

"WHAT?!"

Yang's cry was swiftly overlooked, Sun pointing at the pair of women, who had varying degrees of astonishment on their faces.

"Yang, meet Blake. Blake, this is Yang."

He dropped his hand, tilting his head as he grinned maniacally.

"You two are gonna be spending a lot of time together tonight, so might as well get used to each other now!"

"Sun."

The low voice startled Yang, who looked at the woman it had come from. Blake was staring flatly at the blonde boy, amber eyes narrowed and dark brows quirked in question.

"Did you seriously handcuff us together to make sure we can't ditch the date?"

"Yup!"

The easy going grin did nothing to appease Yang's annoyance. She wasn't upset about the whole date thing – if she was being honest, she was fighting off a blush from being in such close proximity to the raven-haired girl – but she wasn't overly a fan of the handcuff part. It wasn't anything sexual, but rather a great deal of memories of holding cells and cop cars were associated with the items. That, and she didn't want Blake to feel uncomfortable.

The blonde brawler raised her hand, lifting with it Blake's.

"Look, if we promise not to run, can you take off the stupid handcuffs?"

"No can do!"

"Sun."

The boy in question shook his head emphatically, before holding up a finger and wiggling it back and forth.

"Nuh-uh," he said, "what fun would that be? I mean, for one, then you two can't accidentally be inappropriate with your hands!"

"That's a good thing!"

"And secondly," Sun continued, smirking at the blush that had arisen on the girls' faces at the comment, "then all the things we have planned for the evening won't work!"

Silence greeted his explanation. Then:

"What things you have planned?"

"Sun. Explain. Now."

Sun laughed, holding out a slip of paper to the pair. Blake took it, reading aloud the lines with a look of incredulity.

"Eggs, bacon, more bacon, milk?"

"No, no, wrong side! That's my shopping list for last week."

"Well, at least we know you're not a vegetarian…" Blake murmured, turning over the paper and continuing to read from there, Yang peering over her shoulder at the note.

"A tale of love, poor smut, and hate, will set the tone for a perfect date!"

Blake looked back up at the monkey Faunus.

"Explain."

Sun laughed in return, shrugging.

"Well, I can't give you the answer, that would ruin the surprise!" he stated, before pointing to the twenty-four hour bookstore behind them, "but I can tell you that your hint to the next clue can be found in there."

"The twenty-four hour bookstore…?" Yang said, before the rest of the statement caught up with her, "wait, next clue?"

Amber and lilac eyes narrowed in on the blond boy, who was slowly starting to back away, as though preparing for an inevitable fallout (hint: he was).

"Well, that's the thing, you see," he clarified, his hands raising in a gesture, "we've got a whole night of things planned for you! Everything from drama and suspense, to dares, to surprises. Lots of stuff for you two to do together!"

Blake and Yang exchanged a look, then returned to staring at Sun, identical expressions on their faces – a mixture of disdain, intrigue, and flat out exasperation. Sun swallowed, his grin slipping slightly from nervousness as he finished his statement.

"Everything you do will lead you to the next clue, and you'll have to do a bunch of stuff to find and finish the tasks. Aaaaand you kind of have to finish them all before we give you the keys to your handcuffs, so I'd suggest you start now – okay I can see that you're about to hit me I'mjustgonnagogoodluck!"

With that, the monkey Faunus took off running, rounding the corner out of sight before either girl really had a chance to react.

"SUN!"

Blake and Yang yelled the name in unison, the sound echoing off the storefronts, causing nearby people to glance at them in interest. They stood in silence once the monkey trickster was well and truly gone, neither of them noticing the gathering of people atop a building, peering down over the roof at the pair. Nora's binoculars, despite reflecting all the light in the street, went safely unnoticed, the freckled girl herself cackling at the sight below.

The stillness was broken by Blake, who raised her hand and gave a slight tug on the handcuff chain, as though to clarify that they were well and truly inescapable. The action shook Yang from her stunned reverie, reminding her that she had some vital information that could save them from their situation. She gently tugged the linked arms towards herself, inspecting the cuffs before addressing Blake.

"Got a bobby pin?"

"In my back pocket," Blake replied, gesturing with her head behind her. Yang blushed furiously at the implication, her words stuttering.

"O-oh, well…"

Blake raised an eyebrow at her ruffled state, a cornering of her mouth quirking up in amusement. Keeping eye contact with the flustered blonde, the raven-haired woman slowly raised her free hand into Yang's view.

Yang let out a breath she didn't realize she was holding, her face turning even redder from embarrassment (Pyrrha, from above, snapped a photo to compare with her own hair colour).

"R-right…" Yang replied, laughing slightly at her mistake. Blake's smile grew, both of the corners of her mouth lifting at the blonde. She reached into her back pocket, withdrawing the bobby pin and passing it to the blonde, who accepted it with a muttered 'thanks.'

Yang turned her attention back to the handcuffs, removing the rubber tips from the pin and bending it to a right angle. She slipped it into the keyhole, moving it around, trying to get the tumblers to move.

"Come on…" she growled, frustration building as the seconds ticked by. A cool hand suddenly placed itself atop her own, causing lilac eyes to look up in surprise.

"Let me try," Blake said, holding out her hand for the pin. Yang dropped it into her outstretched palm, watching curiously as the woman tried her own hand at picking the lock.

"You know how to pick handcuffs?"

Blake smirked at the question, shooting a quick glance at her newfound date.

"I could say the same to you," she replied, turning her amber eyes back to her task at hand. Several minutes passed before she relented, withdrawing the pin and continuing to expect the handcuffs.

"I can't get it," she confessed, "there seems to be something… wait…"

She pointed at the edge of the handcuff around her own hand – Yang leaned in close, taking a moment to locate what she was indicating towards. Tiny, scrawled characters that Yang recognized as Sun's attempt at handwriting were printed on the metal, in marker that had already started to wear away.

"Sorry, Yang, Blake, you can't pick these ones!"

Yang read the statement aloud, then looked back up to her partner in crime. Lilac and amber held contact for moment, before Blake spoke.

"They know us too well."

"Yup."

Silence held for a brief moment, before the pair broke into quiet laughter. Yang grinned at her partner, who looked back at her with an expression of amusement.

"Odd type of knowledge to share, huh?" she asked, to which she received another smile and a nod in reply.

"Not that odd," Blake answered, tilting her head slightly, "though I would like to hear the story of how someone like yourself learned to escape handcuffs."

Yang laughed sheepishly, shrugging.

"Well, looks like there's plenty of time for me to tell that story," she replied, blonde brows furrowing slightly as she spoke, "since we're going to be stuck together for a while…"

Blake replied so offhandedly that Yang nearly did a double take.

"There are worse people to be stuck with for the night."

The dark-haired woman shot Yang a smirk, clearly amused by the way Yang's face lit up once more like a stop sign (the blonde had a feeling that was going to be happening a lot over the course of the night).

"Well, you… uh… you're not too bad? I mean, compared to others? I mean–"

Blake laughed, the sound velvety and rich, doing nothing to dispel the blush on the blonde's cheeks.

"Are you always this articulate?" she teased, lighting bumping Yang's hip with her own.

Yang made a show of pouting, taking a moment to gather her words before replying.

"Only around pretty girls like you."

Now it was Blake's turn to blush, her dark cheeks reddening slightly. She raised an eyebrow at the blonde, spitting out a single word.

"Flatterer."

Yang laughed, Blake smiling back at her, the blushes slowly fading from their cheeks. Atop the nearby building, Nora nearly dropped her binoculars.

"I've never seen anyone fluster Yang like that," she gasped, receiving stunned nods in reply, "did you see how red her face got?"

"I don't think I've ever even seen Blake blush before," Sun commented, having joined the rest of his tactical squad a bit before, "or seen her become that comfortable with someone that quickly."

Pyrrha glanced at the monkey Faunus, red brows rising in curiosity.

"Match made in heaven?"

Sun flashed her a grin bright enough to match his namesake, nodding.

"Damn straight."

Back in the street below, Yang had given up on fiddling with the handcuffs, letting their arms drop back down. She gestured to the paper still held in Blake's hand, then jerked a thumb in the direction of the bookstore.

"Should we get going, then?"

"No rush," Blake answered, "it is open twenty-four hours, after all."

Silence followed her comment.

"That was a joke."

Yang laughed awkwardly at Blake's clarification, looking away in embarrassment once more. Making a fool of herself in front of the pretty woman seemed to be a common theme of the evening so far – and Yang was willing to bet it would continue.

With that, the pair turned to face the bookstore, making their way in muttered conversation towards the shop. For reasons Yang didn't particularly want to think about, both of them almost seemed used to being handcuffed to another person – the amount of times they bumped into one another was few, and more out of general clumsiness than anything else. Despite being complete strangers, they got along rather well, personalities fitting together well – a fact that Sun belayed back to Neptune happily.

It was going to be a long night, but at least they were starting it with smiles.


A/N: Intros are done, so now's probably a good time to post this. Just a bit of info about the fic, before things start getting crazy - I'm going to try and update it daily, at least on weekdays. That being said, I don't have a lot of time to write, with school, work, and life in general. All of the chapters I write in my commuting time, which is enough time to hammer out a chapter, but not really any time to edit. So, there might be a couple of mistakes throughout the story - I'll do my best to avoid them, and check for any major ones, but I don't have a lot of time to fine comb my work for errors. That said, if you find any errors in my work - especially larger ones - shoot me a pm, and I'll change it. You can also toss comments my way if I write in anything offensive, or mess up some of the deeper topics.

As for the writing itself, I don't really write shippy things, so this a bit of a new experience. The story's set in kind of a modern AU, one where all of them are substantially older (at least in their twenties), with Faunus but no Grimm. I'm really making half of it up as I write, so let me know if I contradict myself. This is going to be a longer fic - I sat down with a small outline and idea to write a short and sweet fic, but seeing as how I've banged out 6000 words in introductions alone, that's not going to happen.

It's going to be a long ride - and a long night - and I hope you'll stick with me through it. Sorry for the huge author's note. Thanks for reading!