This is really uncharted territory for me here, and it took an embarrassingly long time to write. It's still far from perfect, but I tried.
36: Prom Night
"This is it," Gavin said, a hint of trepidation in his voice. He brought his borrowed car to a stop.
"This is it," Yang echoed, stepping out of the vehicle. The parking lot was full and well lit, and other attendees were streaming toward the school gym.
Gavin followed her, pausing to enjoy the view. Yang wore a long, tight pale yellow strapless dress that stopped just short of her ankles. Her characteristic oddly bright (yet supposedly natural) hair was brushed into some semblance of straightness and left loose, cascading down her back. A pair of short gold heels completed the outfit and brought her slightly above Gavin's height. "Did I ever tell you how stunning you look?"
"A few times." She leaned in and winked at her boyfriend as she adjusted his bow tie. "You don't look so bad yourself."
"Are your friends coming?" he asked.
"They're probably already here." She motioned toward the gym. "Come on, we only get one prom, so let's have fun."
Gavin took her hand in his own, quickly moving to follow. "I couldn't agree more."
"I'm still not sure how you managed to get us a limo," Blake commented as the vehicle in question pulled to a stop.
"I have connections," Weiss replied evasively as the driver opened the door for them. "After you."
"We have the same connections." Blake deftly stepped out of the vehicles on her flats. Those had been a compromise- if she had worn the heels she originally wanted to wear, she would have been half a foot taller than her date. The knee-length black dress had been her choice, however. Figuring out how to cover her ears in a visually appealing manner had been difficult- eventually, they settled on a small, narrow-brimmed hat made of black felt and trimmed in purple.
"I asked nicely." Weiss followed her out, equally sure-footed despite her much taller heels. Her dress was slightly longer and pure white, with cobalt blue accents. The choice of colours had confused Blake before she explained that cobalt blue was her sister's colour. She still had no idea how that was relevant and didn't ask. Along with the dress, she had a pair of white silk opera gloves that came up to her shoulders.
Her date couldn't help but scoff. "You? Asked nicely?"
"What? Why is that hard to believe? I used to do that all the time, except we didn't call it-"
Blake shushed her, cat ears twitching under her hat. She motioned toward a group of boys sitting on a pickup truck. "They're saying nasty things about us."
Weiss turned on her heel. "What are they saying?"
"Just ignore them," Blake urged her, regretting mentioning it. "I don't want to start a fight in the parking lot, not tonight."
The former heiress sighed, taking one of Blake's hands in her own. "You're right. Let them be intolerant. We're going to enjoy tonight."
The inside of the gym was calm and surprisingly mature. The gym was barely recognizable as such, with the walls decorated, floor covered, and new furniture lining the room. Most people were milling around a line of buffet tables, with some taking seats and a few brave souls approaching the dance floor. A pair of younger students sat behind the DJ booth, and several teachers were in attendance in addition to the few hundred soon to be graduating students.
Overall, the atmosphere was calm and surprisingly mature. Many of the attendees, of course, realized that the atmosphere would change as people started to loosen up.
Once he was reasonably sure that most of the attendees were present, the principal of the school stepped out, microphone in hand. "Good evening, everyone, and welcome to the 2015 prom- no, your 2015 prom. I'm so everyone wants to start their night right away, so I'll keep this short.
"For many of you, this will be your last school event. Soon you will be making the difficult yet interesting transition into adulthood, leaving this school and moving on with your lives. This is your night, so enjoy it!"
There was a chorus of polite applause, and he waited for it to subside. He did not catch Weiss whisper to Blake about how awful an orator was in comparison to Ozpin.
"Oh, and one more thing." He paused. "Tonight's Prom King and Prom Queen. Please stand up, Darrel Fletcher and Vicki Lee!"
There was another round of clapping as the couple stood and waved, smiling at the crowd. Some smiled back, some gave them dirty looks, some barely took notice. As the students began to mingle, the principal took the opportunity to slink away, leaving them to their own devices.
"Have you eaten yet?" Yang asked Gavin as they proceeded toward the buffet.
He nodded. "Yeah."
She chuckled. "Well, I haven't. You're going to have to wait while I stuff my face."
"That's alright." As his girlfriend began to amass a large pile of food on a plate, he looked around. Very quickly, he spotted a familiar pair. "Is that Weiss and Blake?"
Yang dropped another burnt breadstick on her plate and looked up. "Yeah."
"Did they go as a couple?"
"Uh-huh." She looked at the breadsticks for a moment before moving on to the tortilla chips. "Don't tell them, but I've been trying to hook them up with each other for weeks."
"Really?" Gavin asked, surprised. "I didn't know they were, well, you know, lesbian."
She shook her head with a wry smile. "It's a long story. Come on, let's go bother them."
With her plate now full, Yang led her boyfriend toward the table where her two teammates were sitting. Like her, they had not had dinner, and were in the process of eating food that looked better than what was on her plate. Or more tasteful, anyway.
Weiss greeted her formally. "Good evening, Yang."
Setting down the plate of food on the table with one hand, she slapped her teammate roughly on the back with the other. "Come on, lighten up, ice queen."
Gavin stood awkwardly before being pulled down beside his girlfriend, across from the other two. "So... I didn't know you two were dating."
"We're just going as friends," Blake insisted.
He gave them a knowing wink. "Sure you are."
"Do you mind?" Weiss snapped.
Yang laughed heartily between bites. "Come on, enjoy your date."
"We are not on a date."
"Kind of a date."
Blake looked at her... date. "It is kind of a date."
"Well, I'll leave you to it," Yang said, standing up.
Gavin smirked at them. "Whatever it is you're doing, have fun."
"Do you know how to dance?" Yang asked her boyfriend. She picked up a napkin and wiped her hands with it.
Gavin shook his head. "Not really."
"Well, fortunately for you, I do." Yang tossed the napkin carelessly away before grabbing her boyfriend and literally dragging him toward the dance floor.
"Do you want to try dancing?" Weiss asked her date after their loud teammate had left.
She chewed her lip. "I don't know. I mean, I don't really know how to dance."
The former heiress glared at her. "Yes you do. That excuse won't work."
She sighed. "I don't want to draw attention to myself... to us. I feel awkward here. I mean, everyone else has normal dates."
"Normal?"
"Normal in the context of Earth."
"Blake..." The former heiress paused. "Nobody really cares. Not many people are looking at you, and those that do probably won't think anything of it. One of the strangest things I had to get used to was that nobody is looking at me anymore. So just... ignore them, and enjoy yourself."
"You're right, that's-"
"Hello, Anna, Bella- I'm sorry, Blake," Vicki greeted, holding the hand of a tall, sturdy but handsome boy. A plastic crown sat atop her head. "I didn't realize you would be going together. Or, well, that you're, you know-"
"We're just friends," Blake said again. Realizing that her hand had somehow made its way around Weiss' slim waist, she quickly pulled it back.
"Right, sure," Vicki replied, rolling her eyes. She gave them a knowing smile. "Enjoy your night."
"Why does everyone think we're a couple?" Blake asked her date as the couple left and headed for the dance floor.
Weiss shrugged. She held out her hand. "Come on, Blake. Let's dance."
Reluctantly, the cat faunus took the former heiress's hand and allowed her to lead them toward the dance floor.
From behind the DJ booth, a familiar face gave them a wink before clicking on her microphone and making an announcement. "This is for a very special couple in the room- I think you know who you are. It's your time to SHINE!"
"She planned this," Weiss hissed in her date's ear as the familiar song began to play. She offered her hand to Blake, who took it and pulled her into position.
The tune sounded vaguely familiar to Blake's ears. "A Remnan song?"
"Yes- well, not exactly." Weiss replied after a moment, rocking her date back and forth before pushing her out. She pushed inward, turning around her partner. "Ray of Light, Aureo Zon. On Remnant."
The cat faunus allowed her date to lead, following along in the tristep swing. "You remember that?"
"She was my singing coach. Briefly." Weiss stepped forward, switching hands and spinning her partner. "My father greatly disliked her... eccentricities."
"Oh?" Blake found it difficult to make conversation while following along in the intense dance.
Weiss had a lot more practice and didn't suffer as much from that issue. She replied as she spun Blake around, "She was what might be called a free spirit... or a stoner deadbeat."
Another spin. "It's funny. My father said she'd never be anything but a failed prodigy, and now she's famous. Figures."
"So, what's the point?" Blake asked, referring to the story in general. "Being wild is good? Your father can be wrong?"
Somehow, she managed to shrug without totally ruining the dance. "No, I just felt like sharing."
They continued in silence, focusing on their intense moves. At one point, Weiss pulled her partner off her feet, briefly holding Blake in her surprisingly strong arms and earning a blush and a stutter in response. The song ended too quickly, and they found themselves walking off the dance floor, arm in arm.
Yang laughed as her boyfriend stumbled off the dance floor. "You really don't know how to dance, do you?"
"No, I thought about taking lessons but I didn't want to spend the money," he replied, still dizzy from the awkward stepping. "I didn't think you knew how to dance either."
She winked at him, leaning closer. "You might be surprised at what I'm capable of."
He matched the move. "Is that a challenge?"
Slowly, they moved closer, leaning forward until they could feel each other and their lips almost touched-
"Get a room, you two!" a rude voice interrupted. Startled, the couple quickly backed away and glared at the source of the interruption.
"Aaron, what the fuck?" Yang snapped at the boy.
He laughed loudly. "Just wanted to let you two lovebirds know that kitty cat and ice queen over there are definitely more than friends. In fact, I think they're going to kiss tonight, or maybe even have-"
Gavin glared at him. "Aaron, how much punch did you drink?"
"Quite a bit, I like punch."
"You know it's been repeatedly spiked, right?"
Aaron had a blank expression on his face for a moment as he thought about it. "Oh. Well... shit."
He stumbled off toward somewhere else, and Gavin turned back to his girlfriend, taking her hands in his own. "Where were we?"
Yang leaned in. "About here, I think."
"So, did you enjoy your night?" an enthusiastic voice chirped. Ruby strolled out into the parking lot, half-dragging a half-asleep Connor with her. "Guys?"
"Not so loud," Weiss complained to her partner. She turned to Blake. "What was in that punch, anyway?"
"Well, I'm sure somebody spiked it, and I'm sure more than one person had the same idea," the cat faunus replied. She had only had a few glasses of punch, yet could already feel the effects.
"Well?" Ruby asked, impatiently.
"It was amazing," Yang told her, still holding on to her boyfriend.
"It was... interesting," Blake said, reserved. She began to half lead, half pull her tipsy date toward the other end of the parking lot.
"It was pretty good," Weiss added. "I didn't know Blake was a good kisser. And she doesn't have sandpaper tongue. Sorry, is that racist?"
"Just ignore her," Ruby told Gavin and his brother. "So, uh, about Connor-"
Gavin grabbed his little brother, taking him from Ruby's arms. "Well, looks like my little bro's burned out. Hey, Yang, are you going to be my date for grad, too?"
She nodded, waving as she headed for the opposite end of the parking lot. "You betcha. See you tomorrow."
"Oh, and Ruby, thanks for taking care of my brother!" he called as an afterthought.
Almost at the other end of the lot, the crimsonette turned and waved back. "No problem! Thanks for taking care of my sister!"
Krazyfanfiction1: Yes, but Convergence is coming.
GreatWyrmGold: I have friends that play MOBAs- they play a lot more games than me, actually. I haven't really looked at any institutions outside of BC- we have some pretty nice ones here. But the possibility is... no comment.
Firehawk242: Really what?
mastermind: It depends which part of the country. Where I live doesn't get cold at all; it's a very moderate coastal climate. As for the military, it's a lot more complicated than that.
THECAL0099: For various reasons, no.
There are two more chapters left after this, then an epilogue. After that, approximately a month of hiatus, and then Convergence will launch. Convergence will be a lot more like Emergence than Aliens Among Us, and it will answer a lot of the questions people have been asking but I haven't been able to answer.