An update! Might be meh but at least it's kinda long. Thoughts? Also how's 2018 so far, fellas? ^^;

It was past twelve midnight already when Emerald couldn't even lift herself up because she was so drunk at the moment, so drunk she almost puked at Ruby who was the one helping her get up, but always to no avail.

However, Mercury didn't drink anything, just plain water. So that means he's completely sane and maybe he did that to fetch his roommate if she ever was out of her mind, and she surely did.

Drunk Emerald really wasn't a likeable situation, she's worse than Yang as far as he could tell from his own experiences with them. Mercury rarely ever drink, but when he does, he's always got high tolerance and was always sober. For him, that was a good thing.

It was never his and Emerald's thing to actually drink, but since it was Ruby's eighteenth, she decided to show the younger one how it's done which eventually ended up a disaster like this.

Everyone went home already, although tired from all the games and other energy-draining activies, overall it was a very enjoyable birthday party. Blake, Sun and Neptune grabbed a cab together, then Weiss got escorted by her personal driver, while Jaune's still a wimp who never got to drink a shot, so he drove a tipsy Pyrrha back home.

And with all of that, there was still no sign of their dad, or anyone who's older. In rare times like this, Mercury wanted to go home, because this is not a good idea.

He insisted on getting a cab instead, but Ruby was too nice to think of their well-being to offer their home for them to stay the night.

"You should probably spend the night here, Emerald couldn't even have her eyes open for a minute! She's that drunk." Ruby said, looking at Emerald who was snoring so badly at one sofa.

"Wow, am I like that when I'm drunk?" Yang can't believe how Emerald looked so wasted right now, but at the same time she finds it funny.

Mercury chuckled, "Em's worse, I must say."

"It's also pretty late, come on, it's okay."

"What about your dad?" he asked, because just the thought of their Dad suddenly barging in during midnight or the morning after makes him nuts, even though he hasn't met him yet.

"Don't worry, he's still on a business trip and he'll return next week." Yang said assuringly.

"Really?"

Ruby nodded once, "Yes, really."

Mentally slapping himself, Mercury knew he had no choice. This was the best option at the moment, especially with Emerald's current state, he wouldn't risk getting strangled by his roommate.

While Emerald had it bad, Ruby proposed on sleeping on the sofa just opposite her and not on her room this time. This girl's too kind and pure, Mercury thought. Knowing his place, of course he had to sleep on the other vacant sofa. After all, there were four, and the other left can be for Yang but she still went for her room.

"Goodnight, Rubes." Yang gave her sister a peck on the forehead.

"Goodnight, sis." Ruby said, almost faintly with droopy eyelids.

Yang slowly went for the upstairs, "Goodnight, Merc." she said, glancing back at him as she stopped on a track midway.

"Goodnight." Mercury replied simply.

She tightly held a railing on her side, her mind jarring whether to should say this or not, "Oh, and- hey, if you ever can't sleep, you can always come to my room. I have a spare comforter there, you know, plus my aircon's on." she added, awkwardly smiling.

Mercury seemed alright about it, so he only nodded, "Okay."

When Yang went up, that's when he decided to turn the lights off.

Finding the perfect sleeping position was always the hardest part whenever he's not on his own bed. He didn't want to admit it himself, but what makes it much harder this time is Yang. How can he sleep properly if she was practically just on the other side of the room? How can they let them stay over their house just like that? How can they trust them so easily? There were so many what if's bugging his busy mind.

An hour went by so quick. He continued to move, turning from one side, to the other side. Lifting a leg up, flexing an arm, name it. He was like a dying mosquito at this point, and he wanted to shout because he just can't fucking sleep.

So he finally decided to accept Yang's offer.

Mercury stood up, made sure Ruby was already sleeping before he went upstairs and headed to the first room which he's certain was Yang's.

There was hesitation at first. Maybe she'll get mad if he had woken her up, or maybe she's not yet sleeping. Either way, he took a deep breath before knocking on her door.

"Hey, blondie, I-" he began, but was immediately cut off when it opened. Surely, Yang was still up, "Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you up. It's almost quarter to two, and I'm still wide awake." Mercury tried to look away, almost gasping at the sight of her right now. She was wearing a white sweater that's exposing her left shoulder, partnered with black shorts. How can someone look so good yet so simple? Or maybe, his eyes were just playing tricks on him.

"You know what, same. Don't worry, I'm not yet sleeping, I'm as awake as you." Yang wanted to smirk, her expression screams 'I knew it, you'll come' when their burning gazes met. So she gestured her hand for him to go inside, and he did without further ado.

"Is Ruby already sleeping?" she asked, walking towards her bed.

"Yeah, she had it easy. I think she fell asleep the moment she closed her eyes, I can even hear her faint snores and all."

"Really? That's so cute." Yang said, smiling, "So, why can't you sleep?" she asked, lazily dropping on her bed.

Mercury shrugged, glancing at the space beside her, "I don't know, maybe I'm finding a reason to talk to you."

"Shit, that's smooth. So what do you want to talk about?" there was this kind of playful tone in her voice as she spoke, patting the space she knew Mercury was eyeing at.

This is so not a good idea, he kept on reminding himself at the back of his mind, but this girl in front of him was so magnetic he couldn't just possibly refuse her. Despite all the second thoughts, he still sat beside her, leaning his back on the headboard while trying his best to look comfortable, "Blake talked to me earlier if that wasn't obvious enough. When I got out of the kitchen, you were already looking at me. Guess what she told me?"

Yang laughed, "Now is this a round two for seven minutes?"

Recalling his earlier talk with Blake, Mercury let out a sigh, "Honestly, she knows."

She raised an eyebrow at him, "Knows what?"

"That you like her more than as a friend." he looked at her in the eye, but she quickly broke the contact. That movement alone says a lot.

"Well, that sucks." Yang replied with a flat tone, biting her lower lip in disappointment.

He shouldn't have told that, because she obviously wasn't in the mood to talk about it. And to make up for it, Mercury quickly thought of a retort that will certainly come out more as a joke, "Fuck, she even told me that I was the right person for you. If only she knew how we've been faking it since day one."

There was a minute of silence, and Mercury could've sworn that was even colder than the temperature the aircondition had given them.

It was until Yang brought herself up in a sitting position, leaning back on the headboard as well as she curiously looked at him, "Do you still think we're faking this?" she asked with a soft chuckle.

Mercury gulped, not sure how to take that question, "What's that supposed to mean?"

"I don't know," she said, shrugging, "I just don't feel like we're even pretending." Yang carried her legs in front of her chest, embracing them as her chin rested on her knees.

A smirk then made its way across his face with the sudden notion, "So do you like me now or something? For real?" he couldn't help but ask, his tone was somewhat jesting but the seriousness was intact.

"I guess? Not like the way you think, though. I'll have to admit that I wanted to get to know you more, and be your friend. I hope you'll let me." averting her eyes at his, Yang meant every word that escaped right through her mouth. She always had this growing feeling for all this time, curiosity over his soul the more she gets to spend time with him.

"We're already friends, aren't we?" and he never failed to make her get so glued up to those deep, gray irises that possess so many allusions that Yang can't seem to point out.

"Friends, huh?" she chuckled, "You know, it's...honestly not that hard to like you." it came out more like a confession that wasn't meant to be said in the first place. A confession never meant to be heard, a feeling too fast to conclude.

"Because you like everyone, blondie." he quipped back, running a hand through his hair.

"No, I mean, I feel like we just have this something in common."

"And what's that something in common, then? I bet you've used that line to your bestfriend already."

"Not sure, but I'll figure that out." Yang pouted, "And hey, I might have said this to her but I'm serious. I think we share similarities I couldn't have ever imagined."

"Well, you better not fall for me once you find out." he snickered, but the yapping sound he just made quickly died away the second it came out. Yang knew his words might be a little too confident, but behind those were things he didn't want to talk about.

Fighting his occassional tendencies of suddenly spacing out, he added, "Kidding aside, I'm...I'm a mess. My life's a storm that's better kept buried, and hidden." although that was a bit vague on her part, Mercury was being ambiguous on purpose. He didn't want to feel anything that's real, anything that will make her stay.

After all, it was their deal, right? That once this is all over, Yang will never bother him. Ever again.

But that didn't taint whatever Yang's beliefs were, "We're both a mess. A beautiful mess. And if I have to dive in your storm, I'll go down deeper." she said with a comforting smile on her face, and that made him smile at her back, but bitterly.

Uncertainty was now clouding both of his orbs, as he tried to get rid of sudden flashbacks that he so desperately tried to forget. Those scars, of the beaten and the damned, he didn't want Yang to see.

He sighed, leaning his head back against the headboard so that he could stare at the ceiling instead, "You're saying that way too fast. You don't know me at all, Yang, but I guess I couldn't blame you." he may not be looking directly at her, but his inkling were all meant for her to understand.

"But why?" she quickly asked, her voice raising a bit, "Is it too late now to try, to know you better? Why do you sound like you're already pushing me away?" with the way she straightened her posture as she tried to meet his gaze, something tells Mercury that it won't be easy for him to just forget about everything once it's all done.

"Don't get me wrong. I just don't want you to feel any attachment towards me, if ever some inevitable things happen and I might just...disappear. For good." here he was again with his version of the truth and honesty, and he clearly heard her let out an irritated grunt after he spoke. Mercury remained looking at the ceiling, though.

Yang's lips then purse into a thin line, her palm curling into a fist as she punched him on his arm, "Please don't say that."

She folded her arms in front of her chest afterwards, frowning at him badly while he just chuckled, "Ouch, that hurt." Mercury pressed his hand on the spot that Yang had managed to inflict, shaking his head lightly.

Moments of silence came by, and the only source of noise was the one coming from the aircondition. Mercury had time to observe her room: it was pretty simple and typical for someone her age, band posters hanging on the wall, stacks of papers and piles of unopened books within a small shelf. Majority of the wallpapers were brown, but there were also some orange to add vibrance.

He wanted to assume Yang was a college dropout but then she suddenly began to talk, "I'm currently taking a Marketing course, in case you'd ask." it was as if she was able to read his mind and that was honestly kind of bizarre for his part.

Mercury nodded in response. He wanted to say he used to be a Film major until he got suspended for a month, apparently for public shaming a professor everyone of his classmates hated. One month is already long enough to have a good time, and having regrets was never his thing, in fact he did them a favor. Well, he will still pursue his course once the suspension gets nulled.

Suddenly, Yang's mood drifted from being too preoccupied with the prior silence, to something he could tell was gloomy, "Did Blake even told you anything about the time she left when I had the toughest time of my life?" her voice was low, but she was smiling bitterly, though her eyes were...sad.

"No, what happened?" normally, Mercury would've said just a single 'no' if it was another person, but he instinctively asked her what happened before he was even aware the following question had already escaped his mouth.

Yang started to narrate with a dreary sigh, "It was almost two years when it happened. I had this crazy, severe headache while I was driving my way home from school, riding my motorcycle and then the next thing I knew - I was being rushed to the hospital without my right arm."

Fuck, so that's why. Mercury took a deep breath as he tried to let that information sink in, but while doing so, he can't help but remember what happened to his legs in that case. His own pair of cybernetics that he still kept a secret from her till now. It was beyond terrifying just the thought of it, his body began to tense, until Yang's voice snapped him out of his trance.

She continued, "Blake was there at first, but after a week, she suddenly just left me. Left us. Left Vale. I know it's for her good, for her future because she just got accepted into a prestigious university in Menagerie, but she never told a word about it. We only found out after she already left. It's what she wants, what her parents want. Her dreams, and goals, it's already right there in front of her. I want her to be happy, but with her gone while I was stuck in misery having to cope up with stupid triggers and the loss of a limb, fuck it. It wasn't easy, I felt abandoned and shit. I needed her there for me but, she just left." her voice then becomes wobbly, and will crack at anytime. She closed her eyes for a minute, before breathing heavily as if doing that will put her emotions at ease.

Certainly seemed like recalling a distant memory, Yang unconsciously bawled her right fist into the bedsheet, and Mercury's vision won't let that pass, "And then after a year, I was still recovering from the trauma and adjusting myself with this new arm. She came back, and when she came back, she's already with someone. Just how stupid can I still be, hoping for her attention once again when she's obviously so in love with Sun? They can't be separated. I only met him actually the same day as I met you, it's funny, to be honest. I tried to feel normal but I can't, and you know what I'm so glad that I went to the gym that day. I've been spending weeks in shady bars or clubs, but it's not helping, I just feel much worse. I'm a wreck, I don't want to get into a relationship, I just want to feel being loved by someone...that's not Dad, and Ruby."

Spitting out those lengthy lines, for Yang it felt like a weight has been lifted off her chest. Emotions were building up inside of her, but with Mercury around, who was just there beside her silent, listening to her intently felt unusually...comfortable. He's someone who wouldn't judge her for being her, for feeling things she wasn't supposed to feel in the first place, and for everything she's done. Deep down, she was just so glad for his close presence that it's actually making her stomach twitch for whatever reason.

Mercury took this as signal for him to finally say something. Still unsure of how to absorb everything he heard from her, he clicked his tongue, "So, were you mad at Blake because of what she did?"

Yang blinked once, then twice, "At one point, yeah. I was so mad at her, but that doesn't mean that I hate her, and then we became dormmates again like the old times."

He flexed both of his arms upwards, until they landed on the back of his head, "I get why you're mad. Unreciprocated feelings sucks, don't you think? But you still seem to like her till now."

"Because apparently, I'm Yang 'stuck in bestfriendzone' Xiao Long. And you know, feelings don't disappear right away."

"You'll never get over her if you keep on being like that."

"Like what?"

"Making yourself do things that's not taking you anywhere, not making you any better."

Tilting her head on the side so she could get a better view of his nice angle, Yang let a smile form on her lips, "That's why I had this stupid deal with you, right? At least, I can somehow see myself improving bit by bit and with you being around, just feels different."

Mercury jokingly narrowed down his eyes at her as he crossed arms, "Why? Because we're of the opposite sex and both sharing the same damn bed?"

"Ugh, you know what I mean. Don't be a smartass."

"It runs in my blood."

"Fuck you."

Glancing at the wall clock just above her door, he realized how time seemed to fly with her voice the only thing he actually liked hearing right now. And even at the current hour, Mercury finds it strange how they were both so awake like it's an active daytime. Despite the room temperature, maybe it was their body heat that still keeps them up.

He let out a sigh, a long and heavy one, "I guess honesty hour's always at midnight, huh? Were you drunk?"

"Excuse me? I just don't want to embarrass myself in my own house. I don't want my sister to see me like that." she said in defense, shaking her head lightly.

"You know what, honestly, I was just here for the thrill and all. I never knew you'd eventually tell me a part of your life story, and I never thought we'd be this close to each other's faces, and I never-"

For the second time around, Yang slammed her lips against his, closing the gap between them. Mercury quickly returned the affection by kissing her back, and in no time she was already on top of him. Her hands were cupped to his cheeks, while his were pinned to her waist. The kiss was passionate but there was also this needy feel to it, perfectly mirroring what they were trying to find in each other right now - warmth, understanding, intimacy.

"Wait, we're not going to do this tonight. Not in your room, not in your house, not with your sister around." Mercury softly chuckled as they parted, pulling away from her first. He smirked when his gaze met hers, chuckling at her flustered expression.

Yang bit her lower lip, realizing what she had just done, "Right. I know, I'm sorry, it's just a spur of the moment kind of thing." she muttered, looking away as she awkwardly removed herself from his lap, sitting beside him then quickly grabbing a pillow to cover the shade of red now flushing her entire face.

He took a deep breath thinking what could have possibly happened more if he wasn't quick enough to stop both their sexual exploits, "I may want to do this with you right now, but if you can't set up rules, I have my own."

"Mind sharing it to me then?"

"No doing it unless you're in my place."

That earned him a cocking eyebrow at his direction, "Wait, what the hell? Since when are you censoring your language? I can't keep up with you."

"I'm a man of etiquette and honor. I don't break the rules, I make them." he proclaimed a bit too haughtily but in a very mocking way. Mercury was sure that he looked too cool for it, that he can imagine Emerald cringing at him because of that.

Yang bursted out laughing, "Damn, you're so - Shut up!" she threw her pillow on his chest, and he can't help but snicker because of her reaction, which he finds so cute.

"Don't worry, it'll happen."