The Broken Huntress: Chapter Ten
Blake held on for dear life as Yang careened down through the streets of Atlas. Thanking her lucky stars that Atlas was somehow capable of keeping the streets almost entirely clear of ice and snow, likely through some advancement in technology that wouldn't make sense to have anywhere else, given that Atlas had much longer winters than anywhere else populated in all of Remnant. Solitas was a frozen bloody wasteland.
After she had convinced Yang to stop and purchase them both some helmets, they whizzed around the city, Yang giggling to herself the entire time. It made her hold Yang all the tighter to hear such joy coming from her lover, every moment that Yang was happy was a moment that she would cherish and hold on to. After everything Yang had gone through in the last few months, she deserved every one of them. Yang eventually stopped the bike, letting her see exactly where they were.
"Is this an arcade?" She asked, staring at the establishment built into the shopping centre, taking off her new black helmet.
"Oh yeah, you and me are gonna be breaking some records, Blakey." Yang said confidently, removing her own as well. "Then you and me are going to go and have a nice lunch somewhere. We haven't gone on a real date yet and I plan to change that."
She squeezed the busty blonde affectionately, "Thanks, you, me, and an arcade full of children, how romantic." She said teasingly.
"I know, I'm the best girlfriend ever, you'll see." Yang lifted her right arm up and mock flexed, "And with this, I'm gonna destroy some strength tests."
Getting off the bike while rolling her eyes she gave Yang a look, "Isn't that blatant cheating?"
"I never said I was going to play fair!" Yang stuck out her tongue, setting the kickstand on the bike and wrapping her right arm around her waist. "Let's go!"
The inside of the arcade was dark by comparison to the bright whites of the glaring snow outside, they took off their jackets and checked them in with the helmets. They didn't want to broil in the congested atmosphere with all the rampaging children who laughed and screamed at the flashing lights of the multitude of games.
Yang wore a simple outfit today, tight brown leather pants that went very well with her old combat boots and a yellow tank-top that she covered with a short-sleeved button-down shirt that was only buttoned to just above her bust. It was a very casual attire that Blake was really enjoying, she really enjoyed it when she noticed that Yang didn't seem to be at all uncomfortable with her prosthetic being out for all to see. Blake herself had decided on wearing one of her old combat attires, it was comfortable and a safe bet for most activities.
After the pair had purchased some of the tokens for the different games, Yang looked to Blake. "So Blake, where do you want to start?"
"I wouldn't have the first clue, Yang. I've never been in one before, let's just follow your lead."
"Wait, never?" Yang seemed quite surprised. "Why is that?"
"I didn't have the greatest childhood, Yang. I always wanted to help with rallies and things like that, I never had the time. And I wasn't a popular kid, since, you know." She gestured to her uncovered ears, realizing that she went without the bow more and more often.
Yang looked mollified at that comment, "Sorry, I totally wasn't thinking about that. Did you want to head back and grab a bow? Did you bring an extra? We could run and get you a hat for the day too?" She rattled off ideas until Blake put a finger to her lips.
"Yang, its fine. I don't need anything but you right now. If I get uncomfortable we can do something about it. Let's have some fun, okay?"
"Alright, if you're sure, then good enough for me." Yang took Blake's hand in a gentle but firm grip with her prosthetic, "Come on, let's see if I can break one of these things!" the blonde said with glee, dragging the Cat Faunus across the arcade. The pair came to a stop in front of what looked like some sort of tall meter, there was a comically-sized, pink hammer next to a plate beneath the meter. "Oh, Nora would love this!" Yang picked up the hammer and slotted a token to start up the device.
"Please don't try and break it. Please?" Blake pleaded.
Yang just grinned manically and brought the hammer down on the plate, the machine started whirring and lights went crazy as sounds and other fixtures began to move about on the game.
'This seems a bit much for a game where you literally hit a button.' Blake thought for a moment. 'But then again, I can't complain about the results.' She thought as Yang had a child-like glee on her face as she watched the numbers climb until it stopped at 9999 and refused to go higher since the game only went to four digits.
"Hey Blake, look, it's over nine thousand!" Yang cheered.
Yang watched her, expecting some reaction it seemed, "I don't think I'm getting the joke Yang."
Yang pouted for a moment, "Bah, never mind, it wasn't that funny anyway."
"Wow…"
Looking around, Blake and Yang noticed a young boy staring at the blonde like she was a superhero. He couldn't have been older than ten. "You're really strong."
Yang smiled at him, "Thanks buddy."
He looked at the hand holding the hammer, "Hey, what happened to your arm lady?" he asked innocently. Before Blake could even think of something to say to that they were interrupted.
"Gray!" Came an admonishing voice, they all looked and saw a woman hurry over and give Yang an apologetic look, "Gray, that is that is very rude." She looked back at Yang, "I'm so sorry." The woman said.
Yang gave them a soft, if somewhat painful, smile, "No, it's okay, really. May I?" Yang asked the woman, who gave a tentative nod. Yang smiled a little wider and kneeled down in front of the boy. "Hi, I'm Yang Xiao Long," the woman stiffened slightly from the name, "What's your name?"
"Gray Gambit." He said meekly.
"That, is an awesome name!" Yang said enthusiastically. "So, you wanted to know what happened to my arm." Gray nodded. "Well, I won't go into the details but, I got hurt really bad by a mean person, and some good people had to give me a new one. But that wasn't what saved me."
"Really?" he asked.
"Yep," Yang reached up and grabbed Blake's hand, getting her to kneel with the blonde. "This is Blake, and she saved me from the really bad person. And when I was really sad because of what happened, she saved me again." Blake looked over, not letting the shock of the statement show on her face.
"Wow."
"I know, she's super awesome, right?" Yang grinned, she ruffled his hair a bit with her left hand and pulled out their remaining tokens. "Here, you go have fun buddy."
After the mother and son duo had moved on Yang spoke, "Hey, can we get out of here? I think I wanna drive a bit more and then go for that lunch."
"Of course, Yang." Blake said in an understanding tone.
~~YBYB~~
After a fairly short ride due to the speed Yang insisted on driving, Blake and Yang sat side by side in a private corner booth of a fairly nice restaurant, Blake had ended up buying a soft, thin beanie to wear just so they didn't risk any problems over lunch. It consisted of some light small talk and some silly banter that felt like a bit of a deflection for what happened earlier I the arcade. Blake wasn't mad at the boy for his question, he was just a curious child, and no child had any reliable word filter. They were well into their meal when Blake decided to ask some more important questions.
"Yang, do you want to talk about it?" She asked.
Yang fiddled with her straw as she seemed to gaze at her prosthetic hand for a moment. When Blake thought she wouldn't reply Yang spoke, "I was afraid. Probably still am if I'm being honest with myself."
Blake didn't need to voice what Yang was talking about, "So what happened at the arcade?" she asked gently.
Yang shrugged, "Telling the kid that story just… reminded me of it. It made me a little uncomfortable to be there anymore. Too much noise, sorry about that."
Blake placed her hand on top of Yang's left comfortingly, "You never have to apologize for that. And I'll have more than words for anyone who says otherwise." Blake said dangerously.
Yang looked over and grinned, "You know you're still really hot when you get all protective, right?"
Blake blushed but soldiered on, "Don't change the subject, Yang."
Yang's face became thoughtful, quietly deciding what to say next. "I never talked to you about my therapy sessions did I?" Yang continued when Blake shook her head. "It was pretty rough at first, Sometimes I wouldn't talk, others I wouldn't stop, and then I might just scream and yell for no reason but because I could."
Blake just quietly listened, grasping Yang's hand a little tighter.
"I've been having nightmares ever since it happened. They've gotten so much better since, but… I still have them. But I guess you already know that. Swords bothered me for a bit too. I think it actually helped though that you use a sword though."
"Yang…"
"Even after I got the new arm I still felt broken. Like something didn't work quite right, you know?" Yang's gaze became determined, "But that was before. Not anymore, Blake. I don't want to cry about the past, I messed up but I'd do it again for you. And even though I'm afraid of Adam Taurus, if – when, I see him again, I'm going to make sure he can't hurt anyone again."
"Yang, are you saying…"
"No. I'm not going to kill him. At least… if I don't have to."
"Yang, Adam isn't someone to be taken lightly."
Yang placed her prosthetic overtop of the hand Blake had on top of her other hand, "I know Blake, I won't make the same mistake again. He'll wish that he killed me because I'm just that much stronger because of this. And besides, I won't have to face him alone. I'll have you there to back me up."
"Oh, Yang."
"Hey," Yang raised her hand to wipe away tears Blake didn't realize were falling, "No more crying, it's time for us to soar."
Before Blake could say something about how cheesy that line was, Yang leaned in to give her a scorching kiss, ebbing away her fears with every caress.
~~YBYB~~
Weiss sat quietly, her eyes closed as she listened to the musician currently on stage. Smiling lightly as she followed the soft jazz that being played, definitely a trumpet. Then she heard Neptune laugh.
A small frown replaced her smile as she opened her eyes narrowly and stared of at the direction she'd heard his voice. Over at the bar were the Mistralian boy was supposed to be getting them some more drinks, she could see Neptune openly flirting with a pretty waitress. The girl looked like she was enjoying the attention, though then again, she might just be fishing for a tip. But the way the blue-haired boy leaned casually on the bar, it seemed like he might be there for some time.
"Idiot." She sighed quietly.
Really, it hadn't been a terrible afternoon. She had legitimately enjoyed Neptune's company as they went from talking around and simply talking, to come to this small, but surprisingly good music bar. But then Neptune had to be Neptune. As she went about her… date? Could she even call it that? She had come to a stark realization that Neptune was all around good guy.
Except for his incessant need to flirt.
Neptune wasn't boyfriend material. At least not yet. He still seemed to be going through this phase where he needed to prove… something, whatever that means. And if she was being honest with herself, Neptune seemed to just be a pretty good friend that she might be able to harmlessly flirt with, just not do anything with. Sighing as the wonderful trumpet petered off, she got up from their shared table and walked out of the bar to get some fresh air, the atmosphere was becoming a little too stifling.
Hands on her hips, she looked up to the sky and took some calming breaths. She'd just have to go back in and let Neptune know that this, whatever they she thought it was, wasn't going to work. Dust, maybe she just wasn't ready for a relationship anyways. Why rush? Because Yang and Blake hit it off so well even with the terrible circumstances?
No, she didn't need to rush. Maybe Neptune wouldn't be so unreliable in the dating department when she was. But it just wasn't going to work right now.
"Having a rough night?"
That voice sounded vaguely familiar. Weiss turned and was shocked to see a familiar face. "Flynt?"
The dark-skinned young man grinned as he sauntered out of the bar, trumpet in hand. "Weiss Schnee. I wouldn't have guessed you'd be in a place like this."
She frowned, "What is that supposed to mean?"
Flynt raised his hands in surrender once his trumpet was holstered to his thigh, "Sorry, that didn't come out the way I meant it to. I guess I should say I didn't think you would know this place was here." Gesturing to the bar.
Weiss flushed a bit, "I, um, didn't know actually. My… friend brought me here."
"And," Flynt came up alongside her, "What did you think of my humble watering hole?"
"It… it's honestly a very nice place. Smaller than what I've had the luxury of being at, less stiff than them, as well. I like it. Especially the jazz. I haven't listen to any good jazz recently, I really enjoyed the… trumpet…" she gazed over at Flynt as he grinned. Her gaze fell to his weapon of choice. "That was you wasn't it? Gods, I'm such an idiot sometimes."
Flynt laughed at that, "Wow, Weiss could I get you to say that again? Man, now I wish I had recorded that." He snickered as Weiss gave him a half-hearted glare when she noticed the mirth in his eyes.
"You can be so insufferable."
"Alright, I dig it." He agreed, "So, why are you out here alone when you say your friend brought you here?"
Weiss crossed her arms defensively, she chided herself quietly but it was too late to take it back, "I don't really want to talk about it."
Flynt didn't respond immediately, taking his time he walked ahead of Weiss, "Okay, I won't bring up fact that the pretty boy at the bar pretty much stood you up. His loss, I say."
Weiss looked at his back, "What?"
"'His loss' I said. Who would stand up Weiss Schnee if she decided to show some interest?"
"Why, because I'm so rich that I can't possibly be interested in anything below the aristocracy?" She said with more bit than she had meant to.'
Flynt turned around, but he didn't seem upset with Weiss' tone, "No. Because the Weiss I came to know after a few short days is a pretty chill girl. And from what I can tell, she is unflinchingly loyal to those she cares about. She's a talented huntress-in-training, and you'd have to be at least a little dumb not to appreciate that."
Weiss blushed deeper with every compliment that came out of Flynt's mouth. "Thank you." She said quietly.
"Though, you're also a bit snooty sometimes. Definitely too stinking rich, and something else I can't seem to think of right now…"
Weiss huffed at his playful tone and grin, "You jerk!" said half-heartedly as she lightly smacked him.
"Hey, unnecessary violence, girl!" he chuckled.
Weiss huffed at Flynt as she turned her back.
She felt him lightly squeeze her shoulder as he walked by her. "Hey, I've got one more set before I'm done for the day. Come on back inside for a listen, I always save the best for last." Twirling his trumpet as he waltzed inside.
Weiss stood there, shaking her head as she realized that Flynt just spent his break cheering her up. With a confidant smile on her face she walked back into the bar and sat down at her table, now focused on the stage fully as Flynt went back up on the small stage to begin playing. Thoughts of Neptune drifted from her mind as she thought that Flynt stared at her the rest of his set.
She couldn't find any reason to really complain.
~~YBYB~~
Ruby laughed hard as she watched may make a fool of herself trying to ice skate. Having hailed from Vacuo, May had never had the chance to see ice unless it was in her freezer, let alone all of the snow that was a constant for the continent of Solitas.
"Well, let's see how good you are Miss Rose." May huffed as she tried, and failed, to stand after falling on her butt once again.
Ruby giggled as she slid gently across the ice to the downed May, "Well, I'm no Weiss Schnee, but, I do know my way around a pair of ice skates, Desert Girl." Ruby giggled as she held her out to the older girl. May gratefully grabbed her hand, then her face became diabolical as she yanked Ruby down on top of her, making Ruby squeal as they slid around on the ice.
May breathed deeply, "Desert Girl, huh? Okay, I know I was saying that it wasn't natural to have this much ice anywhere but… I don't think I have it in me to complain about the results."
Ruby blushed as he noticed her state, straddling May's thighs, while the girl still hadn't released her hand. Ruby was unable to come up with a response, she was far too shy to say something bold about it.
May must have thought that she'd gone too far as she let go of Ruby and managed to shimmy herself out from under the smaller girl. "Sorry, Ruby, didn't mean to make you uncomfortable. It just… kind of happened."
Ruby looked up and managed to shake her overloaded head, "I-it's okay, really. I just… I've never done, anything like this. I mean, I've skated before but I mean stuff like-." May pressed a finger to ruby's lips, causing a pleasant fluttering in her stomach. Ruby blushed hard as she almost opened her mouth to let the finger slip in.
"I get it. I just keep forgetting. You're just, really, really cute, Ruby." May said without a hint of shame.
Ruby say on her knees and mumbled a thanks for the compliment. Ruby got up when she noticed that May was shivering, "Come on, maybe we should call it a night." She held out her hand again, with May actually standing up. With Ruby's help, May managed to get the ices' edge.
"Alright, but let me take you home?" may asked. Ruby smiled and nodded.
Shortly after, Ruby and May were on a transit train to get Ruby home. Ruby smiled into her scarf when May laid her arm across Ruby's shoulders, the smaller girl shuffled closer and leaned into the hold, making May tighten said hold. It was a quiet affair as the pair watched the night pass by, the light thrum of the train as it moved along its mag-rail.
"Thanks for hanging out with me Ruby. I had a lot of fun with you, really." May said with a heartfelt tone.
"Your welcome." Ruby whispered.
After the train had stopped and the pair began the short walk to Team RWBY's apartment, Ruby decided to do something a little bold. She tentatively reached around May's waist and held onto her, much like May was doing with her shoulders, it just seemed like the thing to do. And if the way may tightened her hold even more, it was the right choice.
Ruby was a little sad when she noticed that they were in front of the apartment door. With a sigh, Ruby disentangled herself, May seemed just as reluctant to be apart as well, much to Ruby's delight. "I… I had a really great time May. Thank you for… a wonderful time." Ruby's voice cracked a little.
"Hey, what's wrong?"
"It's just… something that Penny would say. I think she would have really liked you." May wrapped her in an embrace that was gratefully received.
"I bet Roy would have liked you too, Ruby."
"Thanks, May."
"It's my pleasure, Little Rose."
Ruby, tried to hold in her sob but it didn't work. She just held May tighter, "My mom used to call me that."
"I'm sorry, Ruby," may must have caught the past tense, "Do you want me to not say that?"
Ruby shook her head, "No, I, I like it. It just caught me by surprise."
May pulled back and looked down at Ruby, Ruby's eyes were transfixed on the blue-steel orbs that gazed at her with an emotion she wasn't quite familiar with, and they seemed to grow larger by the moment. And then Ruby was pressing her lips clumsily against May's as her eyes closed. May hummed him surprised approval as she returned the kiss with gusto. Ruby's lips felt like they were sparking with electricity, the warm thrum she felt was intense, an uncomfortable burning in her chest made her pull back reluctantly for air.
Gasping for breath, the pair gazed at each other eyes wide and dilated. "So," May started, "Does that mean you'll say 'yes' if I ask for your Scroll number?"
Ruby just nodded dumbly.
"Great! Um, so…" May pulled her Scroll from her pocket and Ruby managed to do the same, after sharing information, Ruby was about to open the door when May lunged in for another quick but fierce kiss. "So, I'll call you?"
"Yeah… Yeah, I'd really like that." Ruby opened the door, "I'll see you soon?"
"Definitely." May grinned.
"Great!" Ruby moved into the doorway, "Um, goodnight May, get home safe." May nodded and waved as she walked back from the door, not taking her eyes off of Ruby even as the door closed.
Ruby leaned back against the door for a moment just to process what had happened today. Then she balled her fists and squealed in delight.
"What all the racket about Ruby?" Came Yang's voice from the living room.
"Um! Um, nothing!" Ruby hastily said.
Yang appeared in the hall as if she had Ruby's Semblance, "It doesn't sound like nothing to me." Yang grinned, as she walked toward the door, easily nudging Ruby out of the way as she opened the door to see may only just turning around. "Hey, you!" she called out.
May froze and turned around, looking at Yang with a bit of caution.
"You hurt my little sister, I break you." Yang emphasized this by lifting her prosthetic arm and clenching her fist, the metal clinking dangerously with the threat.
"Yang!" Ruby yelled, utterly mortified.
"Y-yes ma'am!" May said.
"Good!" Then Yang slammed the door shut.
"I'm sorry!" Ruby yelled at the door, hoping May would hear her. Ruby then turned on her sister with a righteous fury, "Yang! Why did you have to try and scare her?"
"Because you're my baby sister, Rubes. It's Big Sister Code."
"Dust damn 'Big Sister Code!'"
"Ruby Rose!?" Yang admonished.
"Don't you 'Ruby Rose' me. I didn't go and threaten Blake when you two started dating. And I even saw you both naked! Together!"
"Come on, I did the same thing for Weiss."
"Yang Xiao Long, you will shut up this instant you brute!" Weiss hollered across the apartment.
"What are you talking about?" ruby asked.
"Yang, leave them alone." Blake said loud but calm.
"Weiss went and got herself some dark chocolate." Yang snickered.
Ruby got wide-eyed. "Weiss! You got chocolate and you didn't think to share!?" her anger forgotten, Ruby rushed to Weiss' side while Yang howled with laughter.
Blake sighed and tried to continue reading her book, missing Yang as she had been an excellent body pillow to lounge against. Weiss was sputtering, trying to explain that she didn't, in fact, have any chocolate to her hyperactive leader. All the while yang fell to the ground in tears from her laughter.
It was a good day to be a part of Team RWBY.
A/N: Hey all, I know it's been a while. I hope that it was worth the wait. Tell if you love or hate it, and thanks again for reading!
CS.