Chapter 11
The Bee's Schnees, the Cat's Pajamas, and the Whole ShebYang
(A/N: This is without a doubt the most ridiculous chapter I have ever written. And despite the title, there is no actual shipping (Weiss/Blake/Yang) in this chapter or the story. Yang however has a sense of humor, a naive and gullible little sister, and friends who are easily peeved and annoyed. I hope you enjoy. God bless)
Only the faintest sliver of morning sunlight peered through the closed velvet curtains, taped shut so as not to disturb the holographic screen hovering above the desk. Across the darkened room, a small figure sat nestled atop her gravity defying bunk bed with a crimson cloak draped over her. Bright silver eyes as wide as saucers were glued to the large scroll, and the young girl wearing her rose patterned pajamas with padded socks bounced up and down in excitement as what had once been childhood tradition had become an almost religious experience.
Saturday morning cartoons…
Amen...
After the credits rolled and faded to commercial, Ruby continued humming the theme song even while gazing longingly at a bowl of Pumpkin Pete's which was poured by none other than the captain himself. He placed the bowl in front of a tall redheaded girl who sat with her head down at a conveniently placed breakfast table surrounded by fallen foes. With great effort, she lifted the spoon in an unsteady hand as if it were the heaviest weapon she had ever wielded. And despite her bronze sword, shield, and chest plate showing scars of an intense battle, she perked up immediately after only a single of mouthful. She then went back to tossing grown men across a floating arena while the ingredients were briefly listed with over a dozen sugars and artificial sweeteners hastily mentioned.
"All part of a complete and well-balanced breakfast, kids!" Pumpkin Pete shouted into the camera, and no honorable pirate captain with an eye-patch and talking parrot would ever lie to children. Her sister and uncle said so.
Hearing her stomach growl in a mutinous manner, the caped-girl reached under her mattress, feeling through magazines, books, ammo, candy wrappers, and discarded dirty laundry before retrieving a bag of cereal with contents that hadn't matched the commercial's for a very, very long time.
Now a faded rainbow colored powder, she retrieved a chocolate chip cookie from the jar sitting in her lap as well as one of the expensive chocolates from the large box at her side that had been waiting for her when she awoke. She then dipped both into the bag scooping up as much cereal as possible. With eyes rolling into the back of her head, she engulfed the 'complete and well-balanced breakfast' and her body gave an involuntary spasm before she repeated the process as quickly as possible, shoving the chocolate into her gaping mouth and brushing the crumbs down below.
Sitting parallel to the leader from the comfort of her own bunk was Yang with her wild morning hair and now sporting a black top that completely covered her stomach, chest, and shoulders. All the while still hugging her figure of course. Watching intently, she thought back fondly to the time her baby sister had nearly lost a finger in what had been dubbed 'The Great Bite of October', which wasn't to be confused with the formerly great bites of August or September as those affairs had been demoted in order to commemorate the truly horrific event involving chocolate syrup and an insatiable appetite for sweets.
*sllllirrrrp*
While Ruby sucked on the peppermint straw for every last ounce of the strawberry milkshake that had also been waiting for her, Yang watched on with a pleased smile as her sister felt around the bed with chocolate coated fingers until she found a plate stacked with her favorite hamburger pizza, which Zwei was leaving alone since he had his own equally impressive plate that had been neatly cut up for him the night before.
Yang mentally patted herself on the back for thinking to ask the delivery boy if he'd bring them shakes from the Cerulean Cafe in exchange for an extra tip and more importantly, an appreciative 'thank you' courtesy of a lonely blonde herself who desperately wanted someone to share her's with. Upon his return however, he immediately passed out again partially due to seeing her unsuccessfully trying to take her top off, and because she asked if he'd help her slip into something a little more comfortable. Despite congratulating herself however and feeling much warmer than the night before, she still felt an occasional bitter chill as if the grave itself was in the room with her.
Sensing an easily perturbed heiress' vein protruding from her forehead, Yang followed her sister's waste and found piercing blue eyes glaring back at her, belonging to a small girl wearing an expensive looking nightgown while she sat cross legged underneath a canopy of sheets. Despite her intensity however, the blonde couldn't help noting the expensive bedspread laying on the opposite side of the room awaiting either a thorough cleansing or a sacrificial burning.
Yang was disappointed of course as she'd been counting on inheriting thousand count Vacuon cotton sheets this morning, but it seemed the white haired girl was either too stubborn and/or vindictive toward her to give them up, or perhaps the heiress' prudishness nature was simply for show and she didn't mind the 'defilement' that had occurred the night before.
"Sleep well, Weiss?" she asked innocently. "Have any interesting dreams? I know I sure did..."
Yang's crooked smile only grew with every silent death threat that was shot her way, but she finally reluctantly nodded as she had wasted too much time already. Her little sister's favorite cartoon opening was about to begin, and the last time there'd been an interruption it hadn't ended well. With the recently sharpened Crescent Rose under her pillow, not even Yang Xiao Long with Ember Celica's gold sparkling around her wrists was willing to press her luck.
"It's starting!" their leader squealed, readying her lungs while the girl beneath her merely inhaled through her nostrils. As much as Weiss pretended to disdain Saturday mornings and made a spectacle of covering her ears with pillows, the heiress secretly enjoyed seeing what she had been missing all these years.
In sync, the sisters fell into an awkward chorus along to the over the top theme music that half the dorm could no doubt overhear. Soon however their voices were drowned out by the perfect pitch of a angel that reminded everyone in the room why every sold out concert in Atlas had been because of talent, not her regal name and certainly not because of her father's poorly veiled charity events.
When the song ended, Ruby clapped in appreciation demanding an encore, but as soon as the cartoon began she brought her knees to her chest, absently taking bites out of the buffet she was surrounded by but just narrowly missing her fingers.
"We are so taking you to a karaoke bar for my birthday," Yang said, awed despite the months of hearing that voice whenever the girl showered or simply wanted to show off in front of her friends. And as Yang had noticed the occasional cute boy...
"It's nothing special," Weiss replied, glancing down and scowling at her unpolished manicured nails. Attempting humility but not meaning a single word.
"Anyway, that's what happened Rubes." Yang stifled a yawn for effect, not that her sister noticed. "We've all been pretty stressed out lately, and since you were in your 'home away from home', I decided to take our partners out clubbing to one of mine. As you can see the guys there played kinda rough but that's how we like it, especially Weiss as it turns out, but they weren't anything we couldn't handle. Your partner even got lucky last night..."
"Excuse you!?"
"Good for her…" Ruby mumbled, wearing a vacant expression. Too busy watching as three children with puppy noses climbed out of a water tower. She did however have the wherewithal pull her cloak tighter as the room's temperature plummeted.
Yang flashed a playful grin and proudly held up a handful of colorful lien. "Lucky as in she won big at the blackjack table, about five months of your cookie allowance I'd say. Turns out you're not the only one who can count cards, sis. Although…" she drawled lazily, "now that I think about it, she still hasn't told us what happened after she strolled into the VIP room with the two hottest guys in the club practically drooling over her. Or why they didn't come out for over an hour, all covered in sweat. Except for your partner of course. She was barely even glistening..."
"Training… Good idea… We need to get back to training…" their leader murmured, having shared her fears almost daily about her team getting rusty and out of combat shape.
The heiress' face brightened to a shade of red that shouldn't have been possible, making it impossible that Yang could've missed the thin smile Weiss thought she might've been getting away with.
'You're an incorrigible liar,' her lips read, 'but thank you…'
Yang dipped her head as if to say it was nothing and turned her attention back to the opposite bunk. "Sorry about not taking you, sis. But you're not old enough and I've been saving this particular club for your sweet sixteen. And your sensual seventeen, and your erotic eighteen, and your naughty nineteen, and your..." She trailed off for a moment before wiping her mouth and shaking her head.
"Where was I again? Oh right, and I have no doubt you'll get as lucky as your partner did last night, or maybe even your awesome big sis for that matter." She sighed deeply. "Sometimes I amaze even myself..."
"Every body," Weiss sang quietly, "needs some bawdy."
"Every body, needs some bawdy," Yang repeated in arrhythmic chorus. "And you do realize don't you that I'm not the only one who's got a birthday coming up, Weiss..."
The blonde gave her a mischievous smile that quickly turned infectious, causing the girl to look away as whatever Yang Xiao Long had in store for her was going to be a combination of all things deplorable and indecent. And she just couldn't find her voice to complain.
Minutes later the cartoon faded to another commercial break causing Ruby to blink several times as if she were seeing spots around the room. "Which none of you can do legally either," she said, sounding mildly disappointed. But whether it was because of her roommates' behavior or the disruptive commercials remained a mystery. She did however give the shadowy figure underneath the blonde and the girl hidden beneath herself apologetic smiles as if to say sorry for them being corrupted by her sister.
"We're seventeen," Yang whined, pulling at her wild mane. "We're legally adults, and we didn't need permission slips just to be placed on co-ed teams. It's not fair that we can join the military or the huntsmen, die for our kingdoms, but still can't drink until we're eighteen."
"It's never stopped or slowed you down before," her sister grumbled, still glaring at the scroll with her face turning a noticeable shade of pink.
Needing permission to be on a co-ed team had been a point of contention between the sisters in the past. While Yang had been sharing rather enthusiastic fantasies about rooming with two boys since she could remember, she on the other hand had objected to being on a mixed team even before their father could, in spite of the countless hours Yang spent trying to convince her which she thought might've been insincere.
In truth Ruby still couldn't understand how Pyrrha and Nora could be so comfortable and relaxed around their male counterparts even if they were dating.
Even if they were close friends of hers, they were still boys...
As if reading her fifteen year-old-sister's mind, Yang let out a pleasurable sigh and winked. "Don't knock it till you've tried it, Rubes..."
Being the youngest of the freshmen class, Ruby still couldn't help feeling a tad self-conscious around most of the other students, but especially the boys. Unlike Signal the majority were a foot taller and had a hundred pounds of muscle on her, and seemed so different compared to the boys her own age that hardly shaved yet and that she was still coming to terms with finding perhaps more than just a little cute.
Jaune and Ren weren't cute however. They were legally adults and handsome young men just like how her teammates were beautiful young women. And just the thought of sleeping in the same too small a bedroom, fighting over bathing privileges, and occasionally changing in the same team prep room with two boys made her face flush. As well as make her skin feel slightly feverish.
Her parents' team had been co-ed so of course she and Yang had heard countless embarrassing tales of inevitable awkward moments that occurred when boys and girls lacked privacy for four years. And for Ruby, sharing everything she had from half of her dresser drawers to her very soul with three other girls, even one that had practically raised her, with the goal of forging a bond deeper and more intimate than words allowed was difficult enough without two of them being snuggle buddies and eye candy for her sister. And perhaps for herse-
Her face reddened even more and she caught her sister out of the corner of her eye still wearing that lopsided grin of her's, subtly motioning toward the photos from her vacation in Vacuo. Instead of falling victim for the trap however, Ruby merely gestured toward the day planner where she laid her own head at night with it's various motivational quotes and stuck out her tongue.
Yang skipped the one she was pointing at that looked as though it'd been scribbled in a desperate moment that read 'Lord lead me not into temptation' as it wasn't as fun or humorous as the one below it.
'Maybe it's not me, maybe it's the rest of the herd that's insane.'
In her teammates' mind those words encapsulated and defined their quirky young leader. But below that written in beautiful cursive handwriting and permanent marker courtesy of the girl's partner, 'God loves crazy people, that's why He made so FREAKING many of them.'
Yang stuck out her own tongue but couldn't help chuckling to herself, savoring her little sister's innocence while she still could. As well as just how easily distracted she was...
Ruby's head shot up once CRTN Network's host came back. "No- No- Now back to the show, f-folks."
The blonde's eyes drooped as she noticed the sheets below her sister rustling, and moments later a pale face poked out with its misty blue eyes brightened by the screen.
Weiss had felt her partner's apologetic gaze even through the top bunk, and had to cover her shame and avert eyes from the best friend they were lying to. It hurt, and Yang understanding what she was going through pretended to only be looking at the sheets she so desperately desired. But for the shadowy figure underneath her, amber colored eyes had been reading the leader's every facial twitch looking for anything that might give her away.
Nothing...
Laying atop the sheets and curled up in a ball, Blake's mouth opened wide with a massive yawn as she struggled to stay awake. Between herself and Weiss it was a close tie for who was the worst morning person on the team. For the faunus however who enjoyed her peaceful cat naps during the day, missing all of them and staying up late to gorge on food and cut up with friends was making this a particularly painful morning.
As usual she had fallen asleep in her black yukata. A traditional garment in Mistral which along with picking up traces of her partner's cadence was to support the belief that she hailed from an eastern territory instead of Menagerie, the home of faunus, outcasts, and traitors.
A keen eye would be able to spot in an instant that it was simply a reproduction made in Vale, but it's silk threads were to die for even if it was rather revealing of her long legs. Liking the garment so much, Blake had occasionally worn her partner's who despite owning close to a dozen never saw her wear a single one, and one day seemingly out of the blue gave them all away to make room on her side of the closet.
According to Ruby, their father had imported the brightly colored garments from Mistral in hopes that his eldest daughter would stop walking around the house in her bare minimals, but Blake suspected they'd rarely if ever been worn. And to say the roomy yet even more revealing garments of her taller, more endowed partner were comfortable would be an insult to them of the highest degree...
Yawing once more, she contemplated seeking warmth beneath the covers but even after all these months at Beacon it was still difficult for her to sleep with them confining her. Too many times in the wilderness had an unzipped sleeping bag or lack of covers bought her valuable seconds when a hungry Grimm wandered into her camp, finding other more convenient prey that wasn't quite able to escape quickly enough.
She had grown accustomed to nightly chills and was even willing to put up with her partner's wry remarks about the peculiar way she curled into a ball with only thin sleepwear and her yukatas to keep her warm. As well as her cheerfully pointing out how the short garments sometimes revealed more than just her long legs. Even the heiress flaring her aura hadn't troubled her, but all morning long every time Blake looked up at the caped-girl she couldn't help shuddering and holding herself tighter.
After she and Weiss had both gone to bed with their hair still damp from taking the longest, coldest showers either could remember, they had just started drifting off to sleep when Ruby screamed at the top of her lungs and sat up in a cold sweat holding her stomach in pain.
It was her worst nightmares to date, and even Yang who could've slept through an Atlesian air raid had woken and hurried to her sister's side asking if she was alright. Ruby of course had answered characteristically by silently spending the next several minutes climbing down her bunk refusing anyone's help. Then limped into the bathroom with Crescent Rose held closely as if afraid of monsters and took a shower longer than she'd been asleep for.
Since returning from the mission, Ruby at first had been relegated to taking baths out of a sink before she was able to take her first in their tub, but after a fit of stubbornness and ingenuity a chair had been placed in the bathroom for her to sit on while showering. Which had been much needed last night after sweating in the machine shop all day and falling asleep in her clothes. But despite having more than enough hot water due to Blake and Weiss' frigid showers, their leader's had possibly been even more bitterly cold as she had screamed and cried the first time her feet touched merely lukewarm water a few days prior.
While Yang had evidently set her bloodstained bandages, jacket, and t-shirt on fire while in her shower so as not to leave evidence for her sister to discover, Ruby's own bandages around her feet and other gruesome injuries had been thrown in the bathroom's wastebasket. But they'd quickly been hurled out the window as the smell had made Blake and Weiss feel terribly ill, and increasingly worried about the girl's health.
In the passing weeks what little of her rose scented aura the faunus could smell seemed as though it was slowly wilting and decaying, but for the moment at least she didn't seem to be in any discomfort or pain. For which Blake was immensely grateful.
Entranced by her favorite cartoons Ruby was in good spirits this morning. But just to make sure, her sister had gone the extra mile by presenting her favorite chocolates and jar of cookies, her favorite pizza and milkshakes, and most importantly her beloved red cape. Ruby also seemed to be more energetic than she had as of late, however Blake gave little credit to the sugar she'd been ingesting all morning as her tiny body was simply already accustomed to running on little to no sleep.
Their small leader couldn't keep going on like this forever. Blake knew it, and Yang and Weiss knew it even if they didn't want to admit it aloud. Everyday they silently grew more worried and afraid as the nightmares were becoming more frequent, and increasingly more violent…
Occasionally Blake would catch the girl absently running her fingertips across her stomach where she'd been clutching it the night before. She couldn't recall all of her leader's injuries as they'd simply been too numerous to count, but she would never forget seeing her pitiful, small broken body lying in a rose covered crater. Or those miserable yet wonderful days spent in the hospital together.
Rarely had any of the roommates seen beneath the girl's baggy clothes and bandages to see what horrors were underneath. Ruby had been rather shy about her injuries, never talking about them and even asked her sister, who she had even less reason to feel self-conscious in front of than her other roommates, to please look the other way the few times she had needed help getting dressed or undressed.
Yang's eyes had peeked of course to see how her baby sister's sluggish recovery was coming along, but she'd never mentioned how the girl's stomach may have looked as Ruby had always kept herself well covered. According to the tearful blonde however, if Ruby's bruised, burned, and lacerated back was any indication, it wasn't likely a pleasant sight.
Blake wanted to believe her leader's reflexive motions were simply due to an unprecedented stomachache from too many sweets being shoveled down her throat, but it seemed so unnatural to think of Ruby Rose, chocolate-holic extraordinaire as having a stomachache that it possibly worried her even more.
"Woo-Hoo!"
The faunus flinched as the sisters shouted at the top of their lungs to the theme of yet another cartoon opening, this time on the DSNY Channel. Her uncovered ears were reluctant to unfolded from the top of her skull, but they quickly pointed in the direction of an angelic voice across the room. It didn't take long for her heavy eyelids to droop and her stiff muscles to relax. While Blake occasionally caught herself humming along on Saturday mornings, she much preferred Weiss' solo renditions and had to catch herself before she could slip into blissful sleep by the improvised lullaby.
"I wish I had a money bin to go swimming in," Yang sighed, after the song had ended and the establishing shot was revealed. "With all the sand that's gotten in my bikini over the years I wouldn't mind finding some gold. Well, more than usual anyway…"
"Really?" Weiss replied nonchalantly, ignoring that last part. "The next time you're in Atlas you're welcome to come swim in mine."
"You have a money bin? That you do Schnee angels in?" Yang laughed, playing along while her sister stared blankly at the cartoon duck faunus on screen. Which as her irritated, cat-eared partner kept reminding them didn't actually exist in real life.
"Of course I do," Weiss stated emphatically, running a hand through her hair which was just as untamed as the blonde's this morning. "I even have my own lifeguard. And he's quite qualified for the job I'll have you know."
"Meaning he has six pack abs, a tan, and wears a speedo that-"
"Possibly."
"He ever join you for a late night swim?" Yang asked with a crooked smile that was anything but innocent, and didn't give the heiress enough time to respond. "Ever go skinny dipping? Don't be shy, princess. We've all-"
"That's none of your business," Weiss huffed, raising her chin but not even attempting to hide the wicked grin in the corner of her mouth. "But I'm sure I haven't done anything in my money bin that you would do, blondie. And I assure you that I still have infinite more class than you ever will."
Yang cheered in delight as her own words from the night before were thrown back in her face, but her giggles and praises of approval were quickly hushed by her sister who was leaning forward with about as much intensity as she would if a Beowolf was in her sniper sights.
Blake realizing that sleep was a distant luxury found herself in need of a distraction. With her body protesting she rolled over onto her back and dug underneath the pillow, finding the beauty magazine she had procured from her partner the night before when sweeping her supplies into the corner. For a reason she couldn't quite explain, something about the magazine's unusually pristine condition had caught her sharp eye, and asked to borrow it claiming she was considering changing her hairstyle to better cover her ears.
Yang had said 'yes' without even looking to see what she was being asked of her. Too busy gorging herself on pizza, and admittedly Blake had translated 'ygghssrrr' as an affirmative. Weiss having noticed the oddity of Blake asking for such a magazine, would occasionally give a curious glance across the room thinking she was being stealthful, but in the dimly lit room not even the slightest movements went unnoticed by the faunus.
Inside were all the types of people Blake had grown up despising, but particularly the girls. She had never thought much of models or those that got ahead in life simply because they were considered better looking, and had personally doubted they thought much either.
Being a scrawny girl digging through trash cans for her next meal had a peculiar way of making one resent those that had been dealt a better hand in life, as well as a prettier face. All her life Blake had been the girl that blended in with the crowd and passed over for someone else. Something she learned to use to her advantage.
Pickpocketing had been a way of survival and came second nature to her even in a land where faunus kept one hand on their coin purse and the other on their weapon, as well as an eye out for the local chieftain's men. He and his warlords, who preferred the title of nobles, held absolute power in their area of influence. And as a child and young teenager in the dilapidated port city of Kuo Kuana, Blake had seen countless luckier girls taken off the streets to serve one of the chieftain's many houses or groomed to be some noble's next wife. She had hated those girls the most. More often than not they were the illegitimate daughters of the nobles themselves. The lucky few their fathers didn't want dying in the streets...
There had been other less fortunate girls in Menagerie that used their bodies to get their next meal, but Blake had sworn that she'd rather go hungry. And occasionally she had, with poisonous belladonna flowers growing no less than an arm's reach away. A quick, painless death to fall asleep to and with an unprecedented full stomach. A personal favorite of the nobles for when their pretty faced servants were no longer required, or when an unwelcome child was born. And where the little known term 'belladonna girls' came from...
Blake's disdain and deep rooted bitterness only began to soften shortly after arriving at Beacon, when she met the model that put all of the other pin up and cover girls to shame. Yang Xiao Long was to put it mildly, a knockout blonde with everything a girl could want in ample supply. She was exactly the type Blake had condemned for being self-centered and as thoughtless as they were brainless. And their first short interaction together had only confirmed her suspicions of the girl being nothing more than a lost beach bunny.
She'd been proven wrong in just their second meeting however, when she discovered that her soon to be partner had a baby sister that she adored more than life itself. Those few fleeting minutes together had admittedly felt to Blake like hours as the blonde shared seemingly every thought came that between her ears. Which just so happened to have been her precious Ruby, who had just turned fifteen only a few weeks prior to being accepted into the world's most prestigious school for training elite level huntsmen and huntresses.
Blake had found herself ruefully endeared by the seemingly oblivious girl who spouted harmless nonsense, but also a little nauseated that she could be so cheerful all the time and perky even early in the morning. She hadn't exactly been wanting to like the somewhat ditsy blonde whose very presence demanded attention, especially not one that either flirted, teased, or made terrible jokes with every breath of her wide open mouth.
Their third fateful encounter had been alone in girls locker room. Blake had stepped away to check her bow for the eighth time that morning when she discovered Yang fresh out of the shower, apparently wanting to look her best before being hurled into a Grimm infested forest.
Blake had kept to herself the snide comments about the girl not wasting any time in taking off her clothes, as well as being the first of many at Beacon to discover certain intimate details about the blonde like the lack of visible tan lines and the peculiar location of a heart shaped birthmark. In the middle of getting dressed however, Yang had asked if wearing a bow so tightly bothered her ears. And if it hadn't been for a particular brutish blonde blocking the bathroom door while posing like a skimpy underwear model, Blake would've run out of Vale as quickly as possible mere hours before initiation.
The ruse of being an ordinary human hadn't even fooled the so-called 'ditsy' blonde for any more than a minute. In fact she'd been just as oblivious to the charade as she'd been to standing in front of her half-naked, or so she claimed anyway. The faunus liked to think she had been the one to choose who she'd be sharing her soul with for the next four years, but she suspected it had been the other way around. Blake certainly hadn't been the one to suggest being the heavy breather's bunkmate…
She still believed the majority of models were airheads, something her partner didn't deny, but Yang had made an offer that Blake simply couldn't refuse, not after her secret had been discovered in less than a day. If she picked Yang to be her partner, she would keep Blake's secret from even her sister and her own partner, and would teach the outcast every trick she knew with hair and a makeup brush to better hide her faunus heritage. But Yang made it known from the very beginning that she preferred Blake without the bow, and that cat puns were some of her personal favorite.
Since becoming partners, Blake had actually begun caring about her appearance beyond just which of her previously plain black outfits and bows she'd wear. Before she had worn even less makeup than her leader who couldn't care beyond a light coat to appease her sister and partner. Blake however had become something of an addict when it came to mascara and eyeliner as the tilt of her eyes were somewhat reminiscent of a cat's. But much to Blake's surprise and chagrin at the time, Weiss had unknowingly been invaluable to her disguise. She was even more proficient with a makeup brush than Yang, who while an expert after pouring over countless beauty magazines still had much less experience compared to the heiress.
Yang didn't believe in imperfections, but that was all Weiss could see, and admittedly Blake couldn't help thinking the worst of people. But Yang as they believed, had absolutely nothing to hide or be ashamed of.
Her partner didn't subscribe to dozens of fitness, fashion, beauty, swimsuit, cosmopolitan, celebrity gossip, and slightly more risque magazines because she needed tips from so-called professionals. Yang quite simply had an objective appreciation for beauty both male and female, though she did have a particular interest in the male physique.
While Blake wanted nothing more than to hide in shadows, her best friend thrived on being the center of attention and the life of a party, and didn't have to try very hard to get what she wanted. She had already won the genetic jackpot when it came to curves and muscles that would make any huntress in-training jealous , but she had also inherited a golden tan, perfect hair, soft skin, and everything else a teenage girl would kill for. All that however paled in comparison to the radiant soul she freely shared with everyone, but only intimately with her sister and the girls that had become her sisters.
To Yang, anything artificial that covered up one's natural beauty or detracted from it was simply sinful. Clothes, makeup, and even jewelry were meant to highlight one's beauty that was unique only to them and draw it out, not replace or take away what that person had to be proud of. To some it may have sounded shallow, and admittedly in the beginning it had to Blake as well, but slowly she had came to understand her best friend. Yang loved people, and she honestly wanted to see their inner beauty on the surface just like how her aura made her shine like no other. And how her sister and friends looked in her eyes.
Having your aura unlocked and active meant wearing your soul on your sleeve, but depending on the person it also meant having an unnaturally natural beauty about you, and Yang's followed her like a halo from the sun. People got to see for themselves the real girl beneath the perfect body, and soon realized she was somehow even more stunning. By constantly sharing her aura, you couldn't help but feel warmth and unmistakable happiness whenever Yang stepped into the room. And you also couldn't help acknowledging how wonderful of a person she truly was, even if her sense of humor and boisterous personality could be insufferable to live with sometimes...
There had been a reason Blake had at first mistaken Yang as a lost bunny looking for her beach. By Yang's own admission she was proud of her body and didn't think she had anything to be shy or modest of. She was an unabashed 'beach girl' having lived and gone to school in an old repurposed lighthouse on Patch's southeastern shore. And like most other students she'd worn her swimsuit under her uniform to save time, and perhaps to put on a little show for the boys. She'd still occasionally wear her bikini under Beacon's uniform, mostly because she owned more bikinis than she did actual undergarments, but her almost daily sunbathing in the courtyard had been disallowed after the schoolwide distractions she'd caused. So instead she had moved to the more roof of the student dorm for privacy, and made sure to let everyone know it.
And the girls in this magazines had absolutely nothing on her...
Blake continued to flip through the pages of the magazine with a bored expression, looking for something in particular. It was well over two hundred pages full of swimsuits and summer outfits from earlier that year, the only season her partner dressed for. However like most other fashion or beauty magazines, there were models wearing what resembled huntress attire but didn't appear practical in the slightest. Just because aura was a form of armor didn't mean that much skin should be exposed, unless you were Yang of course. Then again team RWBY always was much more fashionable than it was practical, and her partner did have a saying about girls kicking butt and having theirs look good at the same time. Which she'd often comment on to all of their chagrin.
Making sure the heiress' was occupied by the bright cartoon, Blake found what she was looking for. Tucked in the middle of the magazine away from prying eyes was a folded paper stained by chocolate fingerprints. She unfolded it with as much care as had been placed in keeping it otherwise pristine, and found the series of drawings that were just as odd to her as they'd been the night before.
The sweet-tooth artist was just as obvious as the blonde haired subject. An awe inspiring page filled with Yang posing in multiple positions similar the models throughout the magazine, with her chest puffed out as she ran a hand through her golden locks viewed from low angles. All the while wearing, or more accurately spilling out of, her favorite yellow bikini that was always sure to make every head turn.
Blake frowned as she couldn't help being reminded of the woman's photo from only hours prior, or the oddity before her. While Yang keeping pictures of herself was nothing out of the ordinary, having her little sister draw her while posing rather suggestively in a bikini was very peculiar.
Unless she'd been bribed, which given the fingerprints she obviously had been, Ruby's occasional drawings of her sister and teammates always revolved around them either fighting Grimm or posing dramatically with their weapons. When the young leader put her mind to it she could create near lifelike portraits, but while they did wear admittedly less than practical huntress gear, she never focused much on their physical beauty as much as their weapons and emphasizing them as the fearless huntresses she looked up to and admired.
Here however, Ruby had somehow captured her sister's body and soul perfectly. Her every curve, muscle, asset, and even every lash of her flirtatious winks were as well crafted by colored pencil as Ruby's work on Ember Celica. Blake half expected to feel the girl's aura radiate off the page, and rolled her eyes as she could practically hear her teasing voice asking if she liked what she saw.
'Don't flatter yourself. You're good, probably the best, but you're not THAT good...'
'Wanna bet?'
'Not particularly no...'
Blake shook her head before the Yang in her mind could respond again. She knew how this not so imaginative argument went, and who would be its eventual winner by forfeit.
While Ruby was naturally shy of saying such things, she knew just like the rest of the world that her sister was a knockout, and that there wasn't a soul that could rival her's. She appreciated her the same way as Blake and Weiss had come to, perhaps having all gained the blonde's objective appreciation for beauty even if none of them particularly practiced it. Yang certainly had more than enough confidence and self-esteem to share with them.
Glancing down one of the pages that she'd found the paper inbetween, Blake reread the article that requested aspiring young models as well as artists to send their portfolios to the address listed, and for the models to also include their measurements. Blake looked back at the drawing and what was written at the very bottom in gold ink with a heart dotting every 'i'.
'Thought you'd like to know that it took my baby sister less than fifteen minutes to draw these. All the while sucking on a candy bar to keep her from bit- complaining about having to shade her big sis's best assets. Including but not limited to my ravishing pair of size-'
Blake skimmed through the braggadocious paragraph of all her partner's measurements that should've been considered embellishment of the highest order but didn't contain the slightest fib. Which annoyed the envious wiry girl just as much as it ruefully impressed her.
'P.S. And just so you know, I'm WAY hotter in person...'
She grinned wide while shaking her head, doing her best not to snort at such an astounding claim yet understatement. She couldn't help wondering if this was some sort of an idea for extra income during the spring and summer. Beacon didn't allow jobs and endorsements during the school year, and rather frowned upon its female students modeling, clothed or otherwise.
Shade or Haven Academy would've allowed it without hesitation, and likely would've even encouraged something more risque of her to bring them notoriety and hopefully increase the enrollment of seventeen year old boys. They'd have her knocking on doors as a recruitment officer in a bikini if they'd had the chance.
Despite still only having a very slight objective appreciation for the types of girls in these kinds of magazines, Blake couldn't blame her partner if she was considering modeling once the school year was over. Only a fool, or someone as bitter as she'd once been, would ever criticize Yang's figure or pass on her being on the cover of the next best selling swimsuit magazine. Blake wouldn't have even been surprised if she'd already modeled without her family's or the school's knowledge.
There was also Ruby's often overlooked talent to consider. She was already a master engineer and a huntress prodigy, but she had more than enough artistic ability to make a living drawing Grimm while hundreds of miles away from them.
Blake also knew how the sister' current income situation was like. Putting up the money for two girls at Beacon Academy hadn't been easy on their father and uncle, or themselves. Perhaps it was just a part time job that her partner was considering, but something inside her insisted that there was more to it.
Ruby safe. Hundreds of miles from the nearest Grimm. Yang… I know what you're-
"Team PKMN! Gotta kill 'em all!"
The faunus jumped, hitting her head on the top bunk's unforgiving wood frame as Ruby cried out. She looked around the room seeing black spots, and realized she'd been tuning out the cartoons and ignoring her roommates out for the better part of half an hour. Guilt sunk in her chest as it had been her duty to be examining her leader's face, watching for tells that would give her away. Instead however, she'd been looking at scantily clad models as well as her partner posing in what Weiss would've considered hardly decent underwear.
Yang planned this. I know she did. And she must never know. Or else I'll never hear the end of it...
"Say something," Weiss hissed as the theme song ended. Since 'PKMN' had been one of Ruby's favorite cartoons since she was a child, she'd seen every episode at least half a dozen times. And since it was a rerun from last week it meant that interruptions likely wouldn't be responded to with violence. Probably. Hopefully...
Before Blake could find her voice thinking Weiss' comment was directed toward herself, Yang thankfully cleared her throat. "Don't know how else to tell you this, Rubes, but I'm pregnant."
"Okay…" her sister mumbled, eyes transfixed as a young huntsman in-training and his mouse faunus partner killed a Grimm with lightning glyphs.
"It's shocking to all of us I know," Yang said dryly. "You can imagine Blake and Weiss' surprise when I told them they're both going to be mommies."
Snickers came from below the blonde's bunk, but across the room, the Ice Queen's eyes pierced through them both. Their only saving grace was an uninterested grunt from the oblivious caped-girl.
"You want me to go into vivid detail of how it happened, sis?" Yang asked nonchalantly, smirking at the heiress and kicking her long legs, barely missing her partner's head. "Or would you like your 'best friend forever' to explain why I'm having gorgeous blonde haired, blued eyed kittens in roughly nine months?"
Blake stifled her shrill cries and wiped tears from her eyes as Ruby's cluelessness to her sister's off kilter humor was almost as amusing as Weiss' desire for blood and the steam coming out her ears.
"We'd be glad to reenact it for you if you'd like, but I've also got visual aids for show and tell..." Yang held up her scroll for Weiss and her preoccupied sister to see. Videoed from the vantage point of where she was sitting now, three girls fell into bed together with clothes along with weapons being stealthily removed by the blonde. Yang claimed stripping them had been effortless due to all the experience she had disarming opponents and helping her younger sister into pajamas when she was too sleepy or injured to do it on her own, but her not so innocent look while saying this hadn't fully convinced her friends.
*twitch*
Soft moans and labored breathing filled the small room, and slowly two cat ears peeked into the blonde's view, attached to a faunus that was no longer amused. In the video, their faces were buried under a mess of black and blonde hair while limbs and perspiring bodies fought for dominance on a bed that was much too tiny for the three of them.
It had all been playful and innocent fun the night before, intertwining their souls for comfort after such an emotionally exhausting night. It had been an intimate moment to be sure, sharing their literally selves unable to hide a single thought or feeling from each other, but Yang's warped sense of humor and this video painted another picture entirely. One that neither Blake nor Weiss particularly appreciated...
Blake gave her unaware leader a nervous glance before shooting her partner a murderous glare. "If that video ever gets out, we will kill you."
"Slowly..." Weiss reiterated.
Yang hummed in delight, falling back onto her bed kicking the air. She continued watching the scene play out, thoroughly pleased that she had centered the scroll perfectly with her lazy toss. Now she had the perfect home movie to amuse herself with, and of course tease and threaten her friends. But more importantly, she had a wonderful memory captured forever. It would never match the real thing of course, but by turning the volume up and listening past the familiar moans and groans and heavy breathing, she could just make out the most wonderful words in the world escape from three pairs of lips.
'I love you.'
After her friends had nearly gone eighteen years without saying them, much less hearing them, Yang herself didn't know the next time she would hear those beautiful words. She knew she wouldn't have to wait forever, but patience wasn't one of her virtues. Watching and listening closely to the audio however, even her cheeks began to turn a little pink as someone let out a husky moan.
"Sounds like somebody was enjoying themself," she chuckled.
"Speak for yourself!" snapped the monochrome pair in unison.
"I am actually," she said with a smile, winking at her partner while motioning with a bare foot toward the magazine in her hand. "See something you like?"
"Huh!?" she shouted, perhaps a little too loudly.
"Your ears." Yang lifted her hands mimicking a cat's as if she'd forgotten she had them. "You said something about wanting to wear your hair differently."
"Oh! Um, yeah…" Blake carefully removed the magazine from view. "I mean, I don't know. Umm…"
She trailed off as Yang turned her head. Blake followed her but froze as soon as she saw that the team leader no longer had her attention turned toward the cartoon. She was staring straight toward them, or more specifically, the scroll that Yang chose only at that moment to lower the volume of before actually pausing. On a particularly awkward looking frame at that.
We are so screwed...
Nervous laughter filled the room but died out just as quickly. While Weiss carefully retreated under her fortress of sheets, Blake slowly lowered herself back onto her bed and shrunk into the darkness.
Ruby took a deep breath through her nostrils. "So while I was downstairs making Crescent Rose and Ember Celica feel better, the three of you were doing 'Schnee angels' in bed together!?"
We are SO screwed...
"Yep!" her sister said heartily. "It was Weiss' idea actually."
*whimper*
Ruby shot her partner a dirty look that despite her not being able to see still caused her to shudder.
"She's the one that suggested we use her bed, sis. Something about her loving us and wanting to prove it."
Ruby covered her mouth, and slowly her scathing silver eyes fell to the dark bunk. Just as Blake was beginning to feel anxious under the steely gaze, it appeared that all the years of experience she had with her bawdy sister won out over whatever logic there may have been. Blake certainly couldn't see any.
"I CANNOT believe my sister seduced my two best friends into getting in bed with her!" Ruby cried.
Weiss made a choking sound while shaking her head violently from side to side. "That's not-"
"Alright, maybe I can believe it." She eyed the blonde savagely. "How long has this been going on behind my back!?"
"Well Rubes-"
"What's wrong with all of you?" Ruby sniffled, something falling from her eyes. "Don't you trust me? Were you afraid I wouldn't approve and be disappointed? Did you think I'd love you guys any less? I could never do that..."
*sniff*
Both Weiss and Blake flinched as her sorrowful words cut deep, making them wish she'd used Crescent Rose to cut their hearts out instead. Her head hung in disappointment, whether in them or herself the faunus wasn't sure. While Blake's immediate reaction was of immense irritation with Yang for her antics, it didn't go unnoticed by her that Ruby wasn't upset by what she thought she'd interrupted. A total misunderstanding that personally gave Blake a migraine, slight nausea, and an earlier than usual urge to kill her partner.
No, what upset and hurt Ruby was that her sister and friends hadn't told her of this fictitious 'relationship'. Thinking they'd been afraid she'd disapprove or perhaps think the worst of them, something that simply wasn't possible. Blake found it incredibly sweet of the girl, albeit in a very awkward and very mistaken way, but then Ruby opened her chocolate filled mouth again and somehow made the situation even more uncomfortable.
"AND WITHOUT ME!"
Blake joined Weiss in choking this time, but from the rocking of the bunk bed she knew her partner was relishing every moment of their discomfort.
"We had a deal, Yang!" she cried, pointing an accusatory finger. "In article fifteen of the 'Best Slumber Party Ever' clause, I am to be a part of all 'Schnee angels', pillow fights, girly things, and immature team bonding games! No exceptions!"
"Hey, take it up with your partner. She's the one who manhandled us into her bed. And you know full well that I can't resist a good 'Schnee angel'. Especially when I've had a dozen drinks and come home with guys, or girls apparently, rearing to go at it."
The monochrome pair glanced at one another with rivaling looks of shock and disgust.
My God, my partner really is an outrageous teasing bimbo...
My God, my partner really is an oblivious idiotic dolt...
Exactly! Wait… What?
Blake read the heiress' thoughts that were written across her scarlet face, and soon realized what it was she was troubled by, thus making her slender shoulders slump forward as she stared with an incredulous look that bordered on apathy.
'Really, Weiss?' She mouthed. 'THAT'S what you're upset by? Not Yang all but coming out and saying that her sister walked in on us in the middle of having a threes-'
"Why was Weiss dress up like me again?" Ruby asked, interrupting the faunus who broke out in a grin. She enjoyed this part of the story, mostly due to the look on both Ruby and Ruby's faces. "I kinda spaced out earlier."
It was also the third time this morning...
"Because she's a billionaire and heiress to the Schnee family fortune," Blake said coolly.
"And a celebrity who's practically royalty in Atlas," Yang added, causing the girl to beam.
"That's right!" She raised her chin up high. "I can't just be seen with the dregs of society, or in a filthy night club with a name like 'Every Body, Needs Some Bawdy' as Weiss Schnee. I'd be mugged or worse, on the front page of one of your trashy gossip magazines. Like the rest of the more affluent, sophisticated class that wish to keep their noses clean, we do it by throwing money around to keep people quiet and by pretending to be someone else."
"And who better than your underage sister," Blake remarked dryly.
"YEP!" Yang cheered, fist pumping the air. "And I mean let's be honest here, who wouldn't wanna kill the Ice Queen?"
Weiss narrowed her eyes at the blonde while Ruby slowly nodded.
"Makes sense…" she mumbled.
"Does it!?" her partner screeched.
Blake opened her mouth but was cut off by thundering above her head.
"I. Am. So. Proud of you!" Yang bounced up and down on her bunk unable to contain herself. "Don't worry, sis. After the night Weiss had, come your birthday you're gonna be a legend downtown. And once all the female friendly entertainment is over and we've all had our fun in the VIP room, I'm sure you'll get a special goody basket and walk out with at least a couple of the guy's speedos or G-"
"Especially faunus," Blake interrupted, raising her voice to get everyone's attention. "Ruby, we're her teammates but you're Weiss' partner. That means you've got a target on your back and a price on your head."
The caped-girl stiffened. She opened her mouth to argue but was interrupted.
"Please, just take my word for it." Blake paused to swallow something bitter down her throat. "Killing you would send a message to everyone associated with the Schnees. That none of their friends, business partners, or even acquaintances will ever be safe. And the two of you are partners, which means everyone knows that killing you would also mean killing a part of Weiss."
"The better part…" Weiss whispered, loud enough for only the faunus to hear.
Blake's intense eyes softened as they fell from the leader. Below, a dainty looking girl almost seemed to melt into the expensive white sheets as her face paled. She had been born with faunus cursing her name just as they had her ancestors. But to think someone would lay a finger on innocent little Ruby Rose, her best friend and the kindest person alive, just to get back at herself was enough to make her blood run cold, and her uncovered scar burn...
Despite the sudden drop in temperature, Blake could feel heat radiating off the bunk above her while Ruby simply looked down at her buffet, seemingly no longer having an appetite. Zwei climbed into her lap but she only absently played with his ears. All the while Blake's shadow shrank.
In her attempt to look as human as possible, Blake had inadvertently made herself a target, and an enemy that she couldn't help but sympathize with. Being mistrustful of humans was still only too natural for her after all her years in Menagerie and traveling the kingdoms and lawless territories with the White Fang. For almost an entire year she had been looking over her shoulder for Grimm masks and katanas, but it never occurred to her that her disguise might be too perfect.
Like her friends, she was now a target for any ordinary faunus who harbored a grudge against humans for what they felt was injustice, and who'd would stop at nothing to lay hands on a Schnee.
It hadn't been that long ago she would've called herself a traitor for sleeping in the same room as Jacques Schnee's youngest daughter and not taking advantage of such an opportunity. A quick slit of the throat, a silent retreat out the window, and she'd be a hero to generations of faunus. She'd be given a title in her homeland, and her old family would accept back her with open arms...
She had seen hardened looks from a handful of her fellow faunus classmates when they thought no one was looking, and heard their muttered curses whenever the heiress or occasionally her teammates passed. But again Blake couldn't help finding herself the least bit sympathetic. She had caught herself occasionally glaring at the girl in a similar manner early into the first semester, but now she felt just as protective of the small, delicate looking heiress as Yang did for her sister. It made her sick to think this must have been how her friend grew up feeling while her family and company were terrorized by her kind, and how countless other humans were now feeling after hundreds of the City of Vale's own faunus nearly destroyed it.
"After what happened two weeks ago," Yang said suddenly as if reading her mind, hanging her head upside down to address everyone including her partner. "I think it's safe to say we're all targets now."
Blake nodded, although reluctantly. "Like it or not, we're partially responsible for over a hundred faunus deaths. Even if they were with the White Fang, a lot of my people don't believe they were entirely in the wrong. And it's just going to get worse now. No one trusts the faunus, and who can blame them…"
Yang lifted herself up but not before giving a weak smile and ruffling the top of her naked-looking head. Like her sister, she much preferred her best friend without a bow covering her 'adorable kitty' ears. But as much as she wished Blake would stop wearing them altogether, she thought perhaps now wasn't the time. Hundreds of citizens were dead and even more wounded, both faunus and ordinary humans. After decades of peace, tensions between the two were rising, and she was probably right. Things were only going to get worse with the Vytal Festival nearing.
When the golden mane was out of the way, the faunus saw her leader's comforting eyes and smile as though Blake were the one she was honestly worried about at the moment. But Blake only reciprocated out of politeness.
My people want you dead almost as much as they want Weiss, and yet you're the only one in the room who actually wanted to save them...
At the same time, Blake couldn't help catching the heiress out of the corner of her eye, running her fingers over the ugly scar that looked much worse this morning. Pretending to be playing with her hair but she knew better.
"You should especially avoid any wolf faunus on the bad side of town, Rubes," Yang added out of nowhere.
"Huh?" Ruby glanced up, instantly trying to read the stone-like face that was even harder to read than Blake's.
"Wolf faunus," her sister said coolly. "There are a lot of them downtown and they're bad news. I don't want you going down there again by yourself. In fact from now on, no one leaves the campus by themself. We use the buddy system. Clear?"
"Clear," repeated the monochrome pair, leaving out only their leader.
It wasn't unusual for Yang to pull rank on her little sister. When push came to shove it was clear who was the alpha and whose orders overruled whose, and who'd respond to insubordination with a fist that could take a Ursa's head clean off.
Ruby continued watching her sister's smiley poker face that was as unreadable as ever. The relentless warrior and ingenious leader that always came alive during battle had just lost her authority with her team, and perhaps wasn't happy about it. Just when the others began to think a fight might break out, Ruby nodded her head ever so slightly.
"It was one time and I was just passing through," she said calmly, speaking in a very un-Ruby-like manner. "And I have a question about Weiss."
Blake again shrank back while Weiss pulled the covers up, needlessly shielding her face from the silver eyes she could feel piercing her.
"She was wearing one of my corsets, my boots, my ammo belt, a perfect wig, rose scented perfume, and my cape which no one told me had already been fixed." She gave her sister a dark look at the mention of the beloved cape that she was currently wrapped around in. "How'd they know that she wasn't me and that she was pretending to be me and not me dressed as me?"
Weiss removed the covers from over her head and glared at Blake who was busy counting pronouns.
'Told you she'd ask,' her pursed lips read. 'Just because she's a dolt doesn't mean she's as dumb as she looks and acts.'
Once again Yang shrugged, kicking her legs over her ducking partner's head as casually as ever.
"Dunno know really. There's a lot of things that could've tipped them off. Like her warm and friendly personality for instance that goes so well with her snooty accent."
"Hey!"
"But I like to blame her perfectly manicured nails myself. Something you ought to look into, sis."
Ruby glanced down at her unpolished fingernails that were normally kept short due to chewing and constantly breaking them in the machine shop. But seeing some leftover chocolate she had somehow missed quickly stuck it in her mouth.
"Either way, Rubes, they figured it out and that's all that really matters." She gave her sister a caring look and Ruby couldn't help but nod back believing her. "We're still not a hundred percent and they had us outnumbered, and they turned out to be tougher than they looked. I got banged up pretty good but I ended up giving some big bad wolf faunus a nasty concussion and a broken kneecap. Before that though he said something about being an info broker, whatever that is, and said he'd be willing to make a trade. So he got off easy and I found out the password to the VIP room of my favorite club. Which means I won't have to flirt my way in or kick the door down anymore."
Something in her words caught the caped-girl's attention, and she ruffled her brow as if in deep thought before it was quickly interrupted.
"But don't ask me why Weiss decided to also wear your frilly, rose printed underwear. Which I approve of and I'm very proud of you for by the way."
Both girls' faces turned scarlet.
"I HAVE NO SUCH THING!"
"I DID NO SUCH THING!"
"Y'all wanna bet?" Yang held up her scroll which was still frozen on the three of them in bed together, but with a flick of the wrist she brought up a picture of a half dressed heiress doing her best to squeeze into a tight corset thinking she was alone. Her finger hovered dangerously close to the screen in a threatening manner.
"Trust me, I've got more. And in case you forgot, Rubes. I do your laundry, you've never been shopping without me, and I like snooping but especially after you buy things. We might reorganize the dresser every other week and my side might be a little bare, but about a third of the time we do share an underwear drawer together. Heh, I guess none of you take after your big sis after all…"
Hearing her perky voice caused Blake to choke back laughter at how shameless her partner could be simply to play along and keep everyone's attention. And after the heiress' shame passed and she could look her friend in the eye again, she squinted to read the faunus' lips. 'And neither is Yang…'
Blake watched as Ruby continued to study her sister's face, but once it was clear she wasn't going to get anything other than a cheeky grin and brazen jokes out of her, she turned back to the screen just as her show returned from a commercial, now reaching its climactic battle. Occasionally though she'd glance at her sister who'd only smile and give a thumbs up.
Normally an expert at reading faces in the dark, Blake was having the same problem as her leader when Weiss waved for her attention.
'Does she know we're making all of this up?' she asked somewhat hysterically. 'Is she worried we found something else from the broker? Is she upset that someone tried to kill me? Or is she completely oblivious while that blasted cartoon is going, and God help me, Yang actually knows what she's doing!?'
Blake blinked, surprised by her own lip reading ability. She turned toward the caped-girl careful not to look directly at her. Unlike her sister, it appeared Ruby had learned her lesson that someone in the room could see better in the dark than she could in the light. At the moment she was just as impassive as she was on the battlefield, but the knuckles of her hands turned white as one gripped her beloved cape, and the other her shirt just above her bellybutton.
'Yes,' she answered vaguely, noting the persisting abnormal stomach ache.
Weiss scowled. Her partner was the youngest team leader in the rich history of Beacon Academy. She was an expert engineer who could give the SDC's best a run for their money, and could master almost anything in a short amount of time due to her semblance, and forget it just as quickly all out of boredom. But just as her partner's mind being able to race hundreds miles an hour to keep up with her body could solve seemingly impossible hurdles in seconds was a blessing, it was just as much a curse. Which was a blessing for those who knew how easily distracted and exploitable that imaginative mind of her's was.
Taking a deep breath, Weiss crawled out from underneath her fortress of Vacuon cotton sheets while smoothing out her elegant nightgown. As her bare feet touched the carpet, she kept her back turned toward her partner and the screen, meaning she also missed Yang turning the channel just as the cartoon ended, as well as the silver eyes that glazed over.
A devilish grin curled up the blonde's face as she lowered her hand and received a gentle slap from the faunus below. Not completely satisfied, she wiggled her fingers until she felt a plastic card slip between them. Bringing up Bumblebee's gas money, she kissed the red card as yet another bet had been settled, while another was on its way.
"It was terrible, Ruby!" The heiress covered her eyes as well as her heart dramatically. "Over two dozen bloodthirsty scoundrels wielding knives had us surrounded. They all wanted to cut me-"
"-and more importantly your cape," Yang added.
"-to pieces." Weiss suddenly stood up straight with her left foot forward, mimicking a defensive fencing posture. "But it wasn't anything Myrtenaster and myself couldn't handle. Though I suppose Blake and your sister weren't entirely useless."
The girl in the black yukata huffed but didn't say anything. Instead she just like all other eyes in the room were entranced by what they saw on the screen.
"Hey! Is anybody listening to me!?" When Weiss realized her many hours in acting classes were going to waste, she stomped her foot and turned around, and quickly scolded herself. She had very nearly missed the opening to 'RESL'. The largest pro-wrestling company on Remnant.
A hungry growl reverberated in the small room as Yang had a very deep appreciation for tanned, muscular men beating the hell out of each other in their underwear while covered in a mixture of sweat and oil, and fighting over oversized jewelry and an thundering audience's satisfaction.
Blake and Weiss claimed to 'tolerate' the barbaric sport, but they hadn't missed an episode since the first week of school. And while Blake had a 'RESL' themed calendar and several notebooks stashed away, Weiss had gone so far as to procure front row tickets the next time the show came to the City of Vale, as well as backstage passes for the four of them.
She maintained it was only so her partner wouldn't beg her when the time came, but that still didn't explain the stacks of eight-by-tens of the world champion under her bed.
"I am so letting the tag champs buy me a drink," Yang vowed in a deep, husky voice, watching as both of her men sent themselves and their opponents sailing off of a ladder and through flaming tables. "I would look good wearing nothing but two twenty pound belts of gold and leather. And maybe if they're lucky we can even try out a few wrestling moves. Just the three of us..."
Neither Blake or Weiss breathed a word. Only nodded their heads which were tilted to the side and one of them stealthily wiped the drool off their chin.
"I'll show them the meaning of a T-L-C match. Have I ever told any of you about my finishing moves?"
"Don't talk Yang," said the obviously distracted faunus. "But yes, too many times in fact."
"At least wait until commercial," Weiss said in a low, almost primal voice. "But for the record, I called dibs on the world champion..."
"YAY!" Ruby cried. "I just remembered! It's gonna be a six man tag-team main event! Champions vs challengers!"
Blake snorted and eyed the heiress who if she heard didn't react. Yang however simply reached down for a fist bump which was humorously swatted away, but eventually connected with to make the future tag match for the championships official.
"Don't worry, Blake," she cooed. "I'll share a belt with you. Can't speak for Weiss though..."
It took several seconds after the intro and everyone shaking their heads for them to look around the room. Weiss stared at Yang and Blake as if expecting one of them to speak, but seeing something evil in blonde's grin caused her to shudder.
'...and neither is Yang…' Her friend's words haunted her mind.
*gulp*
Noticing the shadow stretched across the room, Weiss' wide eyes slowly raised up to see a red cape billowing despite being indoors, and its rightful owner standing high atop the bunk bed slightly hunchback and grinning ear to ear.
"Ruby," she pleaded as her partner scooped up Zwei into her arms. "Let's be reasonable here. I apologize for impersonating you and for possibly creating a reputation for you downtown. I'm equally as sorry that you walked in on us doing 'Schnee angels' without you. But if we can just talk about this I'm sure-"
"SUPER CORGI SPLASH!"
Weiss screamed as the finishing move was announced and all three bodies collided, with her shoulders hitting the carpet.
"1-2-3!" Ruby cried, slapping the ground for the three count.
"AHH! STOP!" high-pitched wails begged, submitting due to the corgi's long tongue tickling her face.
Ruby raised her arms as theme music played in her head, but glancing down at the pinned opponent beneath her, she saw fear and watched as her furry tag-team partner scurried beneath Weiss' bed.
Wondering who had suddenly pulled the curtains, Ruby looked up to see the sun bouncing atop the opposite bunk bed. The other half of the future world tag-team champions was readying for her signature elbow drop, which had never failed to put away her pint sized opponents.
Blake waved goodbye to her friends as the bed atop of her threatened to collapse and crush her, but was too busy watching the opening match to care much.
Both Ruby and Weiss grabbed hold of each other, screaming and crying while they embraced.
"Ruby, I want you to know that I-"
"Weiss, I want you to know that I-"
And then as if in slow motion, the blonde bomber took flight. Smiling as everything had gone exactly as she planned...
(A/N: Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed. Without a doubt this is the most ridiculous chapter I've ever written, but I hope you enjoyed it regardless. Having to explain why someone was impersonating you and why your doppelganger, your sister, and your close friend were in bed together would be pretty tough to explain, unless you grew up with Yang Xiao Long and she knows every single one of your quirks. When she's indisposed with pizza, chocolate, cartoons, and wrestling is a pretty good time to tell Ruby just about anything. I especially thought it was funny that Yang would rather her sister think she caught them in bed doing something else rather than the actual truth. Which whether Ruby simply knows her sister too well or is just that oblivious is up to you.
I'm terribly sorry for the long wait. I honestly didn't expect this chapter to be this long, or take so long to finish for that matter. There have been a lot of unexpected events pop up the past couple months as well as a couple set backs. Thank you for your patience. I hope I rewarded you in kind.
Now is the moment I've been dreading for what feels like years. Back in December of 2014 I had been going through writer's block for an extended amount of time for another story I had been writing. Which is one reason "The Petals Scatter Now" was born actually. The book I had been trying to write just wasn't clicking. However that's changed the past year but especially the past couple months. It's grown by leaps and bounds, and (un)fortunately it's a story that I feel that I must pursue. Please don't get me wrong however. I am NOT abandoning this story or its narrative. "The Patchwork Prodigy" will simply become more of a side project. It will still be updated, I don't know how regularly, but given my delays as of late it's possible you may not notice much of a difference. The rough drafts for the next couple chapters are rather short after all.
I wouldn't be the writer/storyteller that I am today if the Lord hadn't blessed me with readers such as yourself. You have given me the confidence that I was sorely lacking, and experience I desperately needed. This story will still be updated, but I also plan on sharing at least the first three chapters of my other story with you hopefully sometime soon. It will be a RWBY/Supernatural crossover as well as an AU/OC. The characters and their relationships will share characteristics and some resemblances to my interpretations of Yang, Ruby, and Weiss while taking place in a world reminiscent to Supernatural's, but it is a completely original story and one that I have fallen in love with. If you've enjoyed the characters and/or storytelling of this narrative then I believe you may enjoy my book. Over the years I have used this story to feed my ideas, and then feed them back into my book. I hope you'll forgive me, and that you'll understand how much this pains me. Writing has become a great passion of mine, and one that I want to share with the world. Thank you for all you've done for me. God bless you.
Thank you, friends. Please don't ever forget that you are loved totally and unconditionally. There's no greater feeling in the world. People who feel loved, love back the most. And you have made me the happiest, most loved RWBY fanfic writer on this site. Thank you.
As always, thank you for your incredible support as well as for all of the followers, favorites, positive reviews, PMs, shout outs, and humble readers. All credit goes to my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, who has made this story possible and blessed me with all of you. God bless)