Disclaimer: I don't own RWBY.
Rebecca and I slipped onto the dance floor as the first song started. Fortunately the first song was slow, traditional, and calm. In other words, something I could actually dance to. I carefully placed my hands in the proper positions on my partner as we started to slowly move across the floor. I glanced across the dance floor and caught sight of David and Dawn dancing together towards the middle of the floor. A little farther out, Nyx and Miranda spun in a circle together, Nyx letting the taller Miranda lead.
"Something wrong?" Rebecca asked.
"No, nothing," I said. "I'm just wondering where Lily is."
"She was talking with Drake last time I saw them," Rebecca said.
"Of course," I said. At this rate we were going to have to come up with a name for the eight of us when DMND and MRLD get together.
"Kevin? Are you still in there?"
I blinked. "Sorry, just...a little distracted. What was the question?"
"No question. You just seemed a little out of focus."
"Sorry, I'm back now." I stopped thinking and just focused on the dance and my partner. That was...actually easier done than said for once. She really did look amazing tonight, although I'm fairly certain I stepped on her feet at least once. A dancer I am not.
The first song ended, seguing into another slow dance so we stayed out on the floor. We could dance to this. So we did. The first...five songs? Ten? I wasn't paying much attention actually. Anyways, the first hour or so was a collection of these slower dances. They got faster and faster as the hour passed, but they never got too much for even an amateur like myself to lose track of. When the first hour ended and they switched over to a more energetic series of songs, Rebecca and I bowed out, heading back to our table.
"That was fun," Rebecca said, sipping her punch. "You're a better dancer than you give yourself credit for."
"Only on songs like the ones we were dancing to," I said. "I can slow dance. Anyone can do that."
"Yes, but you're pretty good at it."
"Well if you only have one dance you can do, you should at least be good at it," I said, blushing lightly. Relax Kevin! It's just Rebecca! Why am I so nervous? I glanced out at the dance floor. David and Dawn were busy making everyone feel inferior with their superior dance moves. Off on the left I caught a glimpse of Miranda and Nyx dancing as well. On the right, Lily was dancing with Drake. Well we do spend a good bit of time with DMND. I was starting to suspect we were about to spend even more with them. I could think of worse fates.
"So, um, food?" I suggested. The refreshments table was currently being ignored and we hadn't eaten yet.
"That sounds like a good idea," Rebecca said. We made our way over to the table and began to put together plates to take back to the table. I spotted a platter of those fruit pastries that Miranda had been eating earlier and grabbed two of them. They looked like the ideal dessert.
We made our way back to the table and sat down. "So..." I trailed off.
"So..." Well I suppose it was reassuring that she wasn't doing much better.
"Ah, you mentioned your family wanted to meet me," I said, trying to break the awkward tension. "What are they like?"
"Oh, well, there's my parents and my brother," Rebecca said. "My dad's a retired huntsman, he's the one who taught me how to fight."
"That sounds cool." I had to admit, having a super soldier for a parent did sound interesting.
"Yeah, it was. He has a bunch of pictures of his time with his team."
"And your mom?" I asked.
"She's a school teacher," Rebecca said. "Not like at Torch or Signal though. She teaches at an academic track school."
"What does she teach?"
"She teaches the sixth grade science course at South Vale Middle School."
"What about your brother?"
"Well, he's about eight years older than me," Rebecca said. "He takes after mom more than I do, so he's going to an academic college right now. He should be getting his final degree this year though."
"What's his major?"
"Engineering," Rebecca said. "He's planning to try and find work with the Schnee Dust Company when he graduates."
"Huh, sounds interesting."
"And what about you?" Rebecca asked. "What's your family like?"
"...You know I haven't seen them in almost four years, right?"
"I know, but I still want to hear about them."
"...Alright. Well, my dad died when I was nine, but he was... He was an amazing man. He was an engineer like your brother, and he used to work for the city we lived in. He was involved in the water department, so I learned everything I never wanted to know about pipes by the time I was seven."
"What was he like?"
"He was...dependable. He believed in a set of moral guidelines and he stuck to them. He was smart, strong, and generous. I... I still look up to him and he's been dead for ten years. A lot of people looked up to him. I bet a lot of people still do. He was...he wasn't an ordinary man," I said. "He was in a lot of ways larger than life. I know some of the reason I see him that way is because he's my father, but... He really was amazing."
"And your mom?"
"She's pretty amazing too. When my dad died, it was just her, me, and my little brother. It can't have been easy, but she stepped up and raised us by herself. I mean, not entirely by herself, we had some close friends who helped, but she did a lot of it herself. She kept us together through everything." I glanced aside. "I miss her."
"What about your brother?" Rebecca asked.
I gave a sad smile. "He's my younger brother by three years. He's annoying, loud, obnoxious, messy, and a massive pain in the butt. I miss him most of all I think. We drove each other crazy, but at the end of the day, we always watched out for each other. We even had a motto that we called the Brothers' Code. 'No one messes with my brother. No one but me.' I hope he's okay."
"I'm sure he's fine," Rebecca said, putting her hand on mine. "You'll see him again, I'm sure of it."
"Thanks."
The dance dragged on. There was a second round of slow dances which got us back onto the dance floor for a bit, but when they ended we retreated to our table again. We talked about various things, ate, and just let the time pass. Suddenly the music switched to a much louder selection of aggressive songs.
"Oh! The show's about to start!" Rebecca said. "Come on, let's get up to the balcony for a better view!" She grabbed my hand and started pulling me towards the stairs.
"What show?" I asked.
"David!" Rebecca replied. "He'll be starting any minute now!" She pulled me up the stairs and over to a spot on the balcony that over looked the dance floor.
She was right. Down at the center of the room, David was just starting to get moving. Even Dawn took a step back as he got up to speed. For the next half hour all anyone in the room could do was stare in awe as David demonstrated exactly why he was the king of the dance floor.
"Is that even anatomically possible?" I asked as David pulled his next move.
"I...think so?" Rebecca said tentatively.
"I don't even... How is he flexible enough to pull these off?"
"I have no idea..."
"I see why you wanted to watch this..."
"Yeah..."
The music finally slowed to a stop and David followed suit. There was a moment of stunned silence, then the whole room broke into applause.
"That was something I never thought I would see," I said. "I'm glad I did. How does someone his size even...?" I shook my head helplessly. "Wow. Just...wow."
"I know. I've seen him do this five times now. It never gets old," Rebecca said.
"I didn't even know you could dance to that song," I said. "I've seen people work out to it, but dancing to it? Only David."
"He's certainly impressive."
I glanced around the second floor of the club, noticing an external balcony as well. "Hey, do you mind if I take a step outside?" I asked. "I just...I need a moment to clear my head."
"Sure," she said. "Go ahead."
I stepped out.
I put my arms on the railing and leaned out to look down on the city. "Why is this so hard?" I asked, pressing me face into my hands. "Why do I have to like these people so much?"
I wanted to go home. That was all I ever wanted! I didn't want to make friends in this world! I didn't want to have a team of people like MRLD! I didn't want people I'd be willing to give my life for! I just wanted to find my way home! Nothing else! Friends were just another inevitable source of pain when I did find a way home. I didn't want them!
Memories came unbidden to the surface. Old memories. What you need isn't always what you want, I could almost hear my father's voice.
I didn't want friends and I definitely didn't need them either! I needed to find a way home! "Why can't I just do it alone?" I asked. "Why do I have to care about these people?"
"Kevin?" I whirled to find Rebecca staring at me. "Are you okay?"
"...No. I'm not."
"Can you tell me what's wrong?"
"This! This is what's wrong!" I pointed at her and then myself. "I'm not from here! I want to go home! I didn't want to make friends here! I don't want anyone else to leave behind!"
"Kevin..." She reached out for me but I shied away.
"No! That's the problem! The more you try to help, the worse it gets! The harder it becomes for me to think about leaving Remnant! Ruby was bad enough, the thought of leaving her when I find a way home hurt enough on its own, but now? Now there's Dawn, Miranda, Nyx, Drake, all good friends! David and Lily, team mates and friends who I'd fight and die with without a second thought! And you, a team mate, a friend, my partner, and someone who I'd be willing to die for! I didn't want this! I didn't want any of this! I just wanted to be alone so I could leave without any more pain!" I broke down into tears. "I didn't want more people to leave behind," I sobbed.
"Kevin..."
I took a deep breath, forcing the tears back. "I'll...I'll see you later," I said. "I just...I can't be here right now." With that I activated my Semblance and vanished.
A/N: Well. As Yang would say, that was a thing.
To Cyborg, ties are evil. Whose idea was it that we should put nooses around our necks? Seriously, that person needs to be shot.
To the anonymous guest, the hat thing was partly to show a bit of Kevin's personality, and partly because pretty much the exact same thing happened to me. Much like Kevin, I always wear a fedora with a suit. And yes, it's a fedora, not a trillby. Trillbies are another type of hat a lot of people mistake for fedoras, and they look stupid on anyone who doesn't have the physique of a stick figure. Kevin may be lightly built but even he can't pull off a trillby, especially not since he put on a lot of muscle at Signal.
That's all for now. There's going to be one more chapter to the dance, and maybe one more to serve as an interlude, and then it's off on their first mission!