"Ok, I think that's the last of them." Yang called out to the rest of group, sighing heavily. She wiped the thick layer of sweat which had accumulated on her forehead. This was the hardest workout I've had in a while, she thought to herself. She bent down to pick anything of value off the raider. Patting the side of his hip, she felt something hard and rummaged out his pocket. A few 10mm rounds.
"Hmm. Blake might want these."
" I might want what?"
Yang turned around, finding Blake walking towards her, to her pleasant surprise. Usually, she stayed up in any sniper perch she could find, but when they were ambushed, Blake ran down to join in the fight.
"Um…just some rounds for your gun" Yang scratched the back of her head, not sure what to say as she handed the few bullets to her. Blake smiled a little. Not exactly a romantic gift, but after the raider ambush, her ammo count was beginning to dwindle.
"Thank you."
"No problem," Yang smiled, and then she thought a bit, realizing she wanted to say more.
"Ugh, Blake?" Yang called out softly to the raven haired woman, who turned back to the tall berserker.
"Mm hmm?"
"I was wondering if you could, ugh, maybe, stay close to the group for a while. With me." Yang ran her hand through the back of her hair, nervously. Blake raised an eyebrow slightly, not sure what to make out of Yang's request.
"Is something wrong?"
"NO! Nonono, nothing is wrong. It's just…I rarely see you these days. I know you are protecting the group and you like being alone, I get that, honestly. It's just…I only see you at meals. And I guess I…I miss you" Yang's mouth ran at a hundred miles, only slowing down for the last three words. Blake took a moment to register these words, which Yang mistranslated as shock, making her look down shamefully.
"I know, it's your job to protect the group, I guess I just-"
"Ok."
"Wait, what?"
Blake shrugged, her black hair fluttering lightly against the wind, her golden eyes looking up into Yang's.
"You're right. I don't always have to be hidden away…and I guess I haven't spending a lot of time with you, and I want to make it up to you" Blake took Yang's hands, stood on the balls of her feet to reach Yang's mouth, and kissed Yang long and gently, pulling away to see her lilac eyes twinkling and her cheeks flushing.
"I love you, Blake."
"And I love you, Yang." Yang then wrapped her arms around Blake's waist, and pulled her girlfriend in for a longer kiss, feeling Blake wrap her arms around the back of Yang's neck. In that moment, everything was perfect. She didn't care about the two nosey pairs of eyes watching, or about the dead raiders that littered the ground. In those few moments, it was just them. Just Yang and Blake, and that was all that mattered.
oo0oo
Weiss and Ruby watched the whole event unfold from a safe distance away, a brief distraction from looting the bodies of the men they just fought. Ruby smiled cheerfully at them, leaning on Crescent Rose with its blade embedded in the dirt, while Weiss eyed them up with distaste…and perhaps a slight hint of jealousy.
"Ugh, are they always like that?"
"Nope. Well, not lately," Ruby answered. It was true. Though they had been inseparable ever since they found Blake, they seemed to be spreading apart lately. But this kiss meant they were getting better, it had too. Weiss tired to ignore the tragedy she heard in the redhead's voice went back to trying to pull out her bade from the raider's head she had impaled. Placing a boot on his head, she grabbed the handle with both of her hands, pulling with all her might, straining as she tried to continue talking with Ruby.
"Well…maybe…they should…be helping us!"
Ruby giggled. She couldn't help but notice that Weiss was being a little more talkative with her the past few days…and maybe even friendly. Pulling Crescent Rose out the ground, she folded the blade down until it touched the barrel and slung it over her back.
"Yeah, I hear you. You need a hand there, Princess?"
"No, it's fine. I got this!" Weiss protested, ignoring Ruby's new nickname. She tried pulling again, but her rapier refused to budge even a millimetre.
"Honestly, it's ok, I want to help" She wrapped her arms around the top of the handle, ignoring Weiss's protests. When she realized that Ruby wasn't going to leave her alone, she decided to use it to her advantage.
"Fine then. On the count of three?"
"Yeah,"
"Ok, then." Weiss kneeled slightly, her grip tightening around the handle. Ruby mimicked her movements, adjusting her position so she could get better leverage, nodding once to Weiss when she felt that this was the best way to pull.
"Ready? One. Two. THREE!"
With their combined strength, Weiss's rapier slid out the ground and the raider's skull with a sickening squelch. Not expecting it to come loose so easily, the two girls lost their balance, and fell to the ground, Ruby landing on top of Weiss. For a moment, they just lay there, staring at each. Ruby looked deep into Weiss's eyes, and Weiss stared back into Ruby's silver eyes. Remembering where she was, she brought herself back to reality.
"Get off me! Where's Myrtenaster?"
Ruby shook herself back down to earth.
"Myr what?"
"Myrtenaster!"
"Bless you,"
"Ugh, my sword, you dunce!"
Ruby looked around, and then looked down, laughing to herself a little, slapping her forehead with her right hand. Weiss looked up at Ruby, snarling slightly, misinterpreting the laughter as being pointed towards her.
"What? What is it?" Weiss asked, annoyed. Ruby pointed down between them. The sword sat safely between them, the point of the blade sticking out between their legs. Weiss threw a still laughing Ruby off her, dusting herself off and tucking the blade back into her belt.
"It's not funny, Ruby! I could've accidentally shot you and stabbed you!"
"Oh come on, Weiss! It was pretty funny!" gasped Ruby, wiping away a single tear. Before Weiss could protest, Yang and Blake walked over to where Weiss was standing, chuckling slightly at the messy bundle on the floor that was Ruby. When Ruby finally caught her breath, Yang spoke up.
"Right, if you two love birds are quite finished, we need to get a move on. We need to get to get out of here, and fast. There's no telling how many more of them might come," Weiss was about to protest, but Blake and Yang picked up Ruby from the floor looked up to the nearby hills, backing back down the road cautiously, passing by a sign. In withering white lettering, it read:
"Welcome to Maryland."
oo0oo
The convoy travelled up a road that seemed to be abandoned. Even the only hint of man's presence was the broken tarmac against their feet. Not the skeleton of an old house, just the remains of trees, brown, dead grass and the road which spanned forever into the horizon. The girl's only companions to break the silence was the moaning of the Brahmin and the slight whistle of the wind. To people like Weiss, this seemed unnerving. But to Blake, Yang and Ruby, it was a mere comfort, a sure sign that they were on the right road. Weiss finally spoke out, nervous.
"Why are we here? There is nothing here"
"A couple of friends of ours live down the road a ways," Smiled Yang, thinking of the last time she saw Ren, Jaune, Pyrhha or Nora. They were about the same age as she was. They once rolled together as a larger trading convoy, until they decided that the nomad life wasn't for them, and settled out in Maryland.
"Who in their right mind would want to live out here?" Weiss said, now tense, as though expecting some unforeseen threat would appear from the slim woods and strike them down, which of course never did. This time it was Ruby who spoke up.
"What? You wouldn't want to live here?"
"NO! Would you?"
"Its kinna peaceful," Ruby smiled. However, Weiss had different ideas. Yeah, how about you replace peaceful with creepy? Thought Weiss. REAL creepy. Yang, on the other hand, secretly grinned, agreeing with her sister in thought. They hadn't run into any trouble since the raiding party, and Yang thought it was nice to do what her old friends did. Set up shop with the people you loved the most, and just spend the rest of your days with them. She turned to Blake, then Ruby. That seemed like nothing, but beautiful perfection to wake up every day and not have to worry about the world around you. Much.
"I'm sorry, Weiss. I'm gonna have to agree with Rubes here. Traders hardly pass through here, which means that any of the houses you find are probably untouched, which isn't too bad for business,"
"Like that house over there?"
Yang looked back, to see the charred remains of a farmhouse she knew too well. The group suddenly picked up their pace when they saw the familiar home of their friends. Knocking on the door, it was soon answered by a tall, lanky, dark haired man, with pink eyes. He smiled with a small, but genuine grin.
"Hello Yang"
"Hey Ren, long time"
Ren gestured inside, allowing his new guests in.
"Come on in. You're just in time for dinner. Nora's cooking some of her famous mole rat steaks"
oo0oo
Weiss held her stomach tightly, groaning in pain. While Nora Valkryie was an amazing cook, she may have been too generous when serving Weiss her food. She didn't want to turn it down: she was always told to finish everything that was put on her plate. Yet here she sat, two hours later, with her stomach painfully filled to the brim.
That's when she heard it.
At first, she thought it was something she heard by accident, a figment of her imagination. But then she heard it again. It was coming from the couch opposite her. Ruby squirmed and mumbled in her sleep, occasionally letting out a soft groan or slight whimper. Weiss wanted to go and wrap her arms around her, anything to help the poor girl. It kept on going. Eventually, she had had enough. She picked herself up, and crouched next to Ruby, shaking her gently awake.
"Ruby…Ruby..."
"WHAT?! What?" Ruby snapped herself awake, breathing heavily, but slowing her breathing when she saw Weiss.
"You were having a nightmare," Said Weiss, masking her care for the girl with uninterested monotone. She looked into Ruby's large silver eyes, still half closed from sleep.
"Was I? Um, I'm sorry."
Every fibre of her being wanted to touch the small redhead, though her mind was telling her how much of a bad idea that was. Then again, she had been wrong before. Her mind told her these people would betray her: instead, they took her under their wing, nursing her back to health and treating her like one of their own. So, just once, she decided to do something she never thought she'd do: she listened to her body and crawled in next to Ruby.
"Wha-Wha-?"
"Shhhh". Weiss tucked herself behind Ruby and wrapped her arms around Ruby's belly. Ruby, however, didn't protest Weiss spooning her, though part of her wanted to.
"Just in case you have nightmares again," Ruby heard from behind her.
What Weiss didn't know was that Ruby was –for once – not having a nightmare.
She was dreaming about Weiss
And it was a very good dream
oo0oo
A pair of binoculars eyed a vertibird approaching close to fort Bannister, dark grey against the midnight sky. Were it not for the Schnee family crest painted on the side of the vehicle, the bird would have been a burning wreck at this point. Instead, it landed in the courtyard, and a tall man with a midnight blue suit, short white hair and a neatly trimmed beard strolled out, flanked by two men in mark II advanced combat armour carrying large miniguns. He looked over to the slightly smaller solider who stepped up to him
"Good evening, Mr Schnee. I trust you had a pleasant flight?"
"Skip the pleasantries, grunt. I am here to say your employer. Where is-"
"Right this way, sir," said the mercenary, his face unchanged by Mr Schnee's rude demeanour. They walked across the courtyard, passing sentries on the walls and soldiers firing at test dummies, through countless airlock doors, passing more frequent patrols until they reached the main office of Talon Combat Company.
"You have permission to enter, but your guards don't," stated the solider, his voice still unchanged, not showing any hint of emotion. Mr Schnee waved his hand, signalling his bodyguards to do as he said. With the swipe of a key card and the hiss of the doors opening, Mr Schnee finally stepped into the office of the commander's office. Straightening himself up, he spoke to the back of the damaged leather chair.
"Good evening. I shall get straight to the point. I have a contract for you. A few days ago, my daughter was kidnapped. I'm not sure by whom, but all that matters is that I get her back. If you accept this contract, I will pay you handsomely. 200,000 caps to prepare for this assignment, and an extra million upon the completion of the contract. If Weiss is dead, the contract is null and void. Do you accept this?"
The chair swivelled around to reveal a beautiful woman in a black dress. She had long, black hair and piercing amber eyes, the colour of fire.
"Of course, Mr Schnee. I'll have my best team, including myself, take care of this, as soon as possible"
Mr Schnee slid a photo of his daughter, Weiss Schnee, which the woman picked up delicately.
"Don't disappoint me, Cinder."
(Notes: Im sorry guys. Between moving into my new flat, and deciding between multiple plots, this chapter took longer than I expected, though I am happy about where the story is going. I wrote a different plot posted but then I realized it was kinna stupid, so I redid this chapter a little. I also wanted to develop Bumblebee and white rose as lovers, since it's something I want to happen but I haven't been focusing much attention to it. I'm sure you guys will like this chapter better now that I've edited it. Also, the last paragraph was supposed to be the beginning to chapter 6,but hey, this will give you something to look forward too. I still hope you guys enjoy it. Tell me what you think. Adios!)
