A/N:
Hi friends!
Welcome back to RWBY: The Selection! The story of everyone's quest for love (whether it's with Prince Jaune or not), featuring fights, cookies, conspiracies, and far too many lesbians. We're in the home stretch of classes before finals pick up on my end, but I've decided it's far too late to study anymore, so coming at you tonight is 4 chapters of one particularly exciting date :D Mild language warning here because it's Yang, but nothing too vulgar, don't worry.
Thank you to everyone who reviewed!
To RavellAqim, thank you for the reviews! And for the idea about a Glynda POV- oooooh ;) Zwei is biased but that doesn't mean he's not right XD, and thank you for your praise on the irony! I love some good old fashioned irony :D
To HelpingHand, thank you for the reviews! Listen, sometimes the Ace-Ops make dumb decisions XD XD We love them anyway. And I agree- Weiss does need to calm down. She's at a 110 when everyone else is at like a 15. She's so fun to write though, omg. And ha! Nice one :)
To SecondFox, thank you for the review, and welcome aboard! :D
Once again, please review with any thoughts/comments/questions/concerns/anything else that strikes your fancy! Also, anyone with RT first (or RT regular after Saturday) who wants to talk about the SCREAMING PANIC that was the three most recent episodes hit me up via PM because OH MY GOSH Y'ALL. Not going to lie, the first episode was a little overwhelming personally but this picked up FAST. That's all I'm going to say in the A/N. No Volume 8 spoilers here :D (half of this was written before the Volume was released anyway, but y'all should CHECK IT OUT because AAAAAAAAAAH).
Without further ado (because there has been a lot of ado) enjoy!
Chapter 58: Yang
Nothing confused Yang Xiao Long more than Blake Belladonna in a swimsuit.
Their names had both been on a group date card for Yang's third favorite date idea (right after clubbing and punching stuff): a beach party, and as both girls sat on the flight to the beaches of Chaude, a small island just south of the Isle of Tenebris, Yang could not keep her eyes to herself. The black straps of Blake's bikini stood out against her smooth, pale skin, and, in that moment, she wished it was just the two of them heading out for a beach date, without the other girls, without guards, and without-
"Hello ladies," Jaune announced with a wink as he walked on, Oscar trailing behind him. He pulled out a pair of sunglasses. "Sorry, I know we're not in the sun yet, but I am blinded by your beauty."
Yang rolled her eyes. It was too early for pickup lines…
"Do you like the beach?" Yang asked, leaning over to Blake.
She shrugged. "I used to go a lot as a kid. As long as I have an umbrella and a book, I'm happy." She held up Ninjas of Love, and Yang rolled her eyes. One day in Huntress training, while taking a water break, she had convinced Blake to give her a quick synopsis of her favorite book: Ninjas of Love. Apparently, it was a book filled with katanas of all shapes and sizes. At first, she had suggested that Ruby would like it, since there were so many weapons, but Blake had quickly corrected her.
Unlike Blake, Yang was not a frequent beachgoer. This was not for lack of interest, but for lack of opportunity. The only good beaches on Remnant were in Vacuo (or the surrounding islands) or on Menagerie. Even though she had grown up on the island of Patch, the autumn weather was always too cold for swimming, even for daredevils like Yang, so the shock and joy that the blonde-haired girl felt when their plane finally landed on the island of Chaude was overwhelming.
"Holy shit..." Yang whispered, still suffering from her broken censor. When she stepped off of the airship, she was greeted by a wide expanse of sand and a beautiful, blue sea. The sun beat down on her, warming her skin and making her smile. Yang had always thought she'd do well in Vacuo. Even if that kingdom was technically at war with the rest of Remnant, at least they had good weather.
"Welcome to the island of Chaude," Jaune announced. Yang and Ruby exchanged grins. "It's got water, and sand, and-"
"Surfing!" Reese shouted, and Yang followed the girl's finger to a stack of boards by a small ice-cream shop. Just like that, the race was on. Reese, Yang (dragging Blake), and Ruby (dragging Crescent Rose) sprinted to the boards, leaving Jaune, Oscar, Velvet, and Weiss in the dust
Yang had never surfed before, but, as a Huntress and a natural athlete, she was sure it would be a breeze. Ruby hopped in the water first, splashing and laughing and clinging to the board for dear life. Reese was right behind, hopping on the board and swerving in and out of the crisp blue waves like a pro.
Blake blinked. "Wow. That's impressive,"
And just like that, Yang was in too. She swam out deep, following Ruby (who was more content to use her semblance to zip around and use the surfboard as a paddleboard to actually try surfing) to where the waves curled and crashed, and, with some well-trained upper arm strength, she pulled herself onto the board and stood up.
That was the easy part.
Immediately after Yang stood on the board, a huge wave came, knocking her into the water.
"Yang!" Ruby yelled, and she heard another voice cry out through the water.
"Yang!"
Blake was here too, holding a board and swimming out to Yang, concern on her face. Even in the water, she wore her bow.
"Just getting warmed up," Yang assured them, and she swung herself onto the surfboard again. A second wave came, causing her to wobble a bit, but she recovered. Yang grinned. This wasn't that bad. Just as she regained her footing, however, another large wave washed over the board, flipping Yang into the water with it.
Blake giggled as Yang resurfaced. She sat on her surfboard, one leg hanging over each end. "It's harder than it looks," she admitted, smiling.
"So is anything worth doing," Yang said with a wink, and she pulled herself up again.
Again and again, the waves knocked her down, and again and again, Yang pulled herself up. Finally, finally, she was able to stay on long enough to ride one wave, legs shaking, wobbling violently from side to side.
"You did it!" Ruby cheered, while Blake rolled her eyes, clapping slowly. Yang pumped in a fist in the air to celebrate her victory, and, in doing so, lost her balance, crashing into the water. Ruby and Blake both winced.
"Alright," Yang said, spitting out water when she popped her head up. "Mission accomplished. What now?"
Blake raised an eyebrow, smirking. "Umbrella and a book?"
Yang rolled her eyes, allowing herself to fall back into the water. She saw the white pellets of water where Blake sent a well-aimed splash above her head and grinned. If the rest of the Selection was going to be like this: group dates with Ruby and Blake, she could very well stay to the finals.
Reese was still surfing as the three girls paddled in, but The rest had gone to the beach. Velvet stood near the ocean taking pictures, and a few yards away, Jaune and Weiss had set up beach chairs. There was an umbrella between them, and Oscar sat on the sand beside Jaune, creating giant sandcastle.
Ruby's eyes widened. "He's building an empire…"
Yang shook her head, smiling. "Go for it,"
Ruby cheered and ran towards Oscar, kicking up sand as she did so. She collapsed beside him, and started constructing sand-Grimm to attack his castle, causing Oscar to panic and build sand walls for fortification.
"Umbrella and book?" Blake said, gesturing to a pair of chairs by an umbrella with a wink.
Yang grinned. "Only because you went surfing with me,"
Once settled in, Yang stretched out her beach chair, soaking up the sun while Blake relaxed in the shadows. As a Five, she had done more than her fair share of studying, and had no intention of ever reading a book 'for fun', but she could sit and watch Blake read any day.
Except Blake didn't seem to be reading.
She had her book out in front of her, but never turned a page. Her eyes were glued to the same spot. After a few minutes of watching Blake fixate on the word 'ninja', Yang spoke up.
"You alright?"
Blake looked up, startled. She seemed to have forgotten where she was for a second. "Yeah. Yeah, I'm just… you know. Hard to focus on reading."
Yang cocked an eyebrow. Something that prevented Blake from focusing on reading must've been very important indeed. "You want to talk about it?"
Blake sighed, closing her book. "Are you happy here?"
Yang shrugged. "Yeah. Huntress training is good. The girls are nice. And if I get to go on more dates like this beach..." she inhaled, drinking in the sunlight, "what's not to be happy about?"
"But do you ever think you don't belong here?" Blake pressed.
Yang paused. "What do you mean?"
"I… nothing," Blake looked away, "forget I said anything,"
As Blake returned to her book, Yang sat there, puzzled. What did Blake mean, 'do you ever think you don't belong here?' Did she mean that Yang didn't belong in the palace, that she was too much of a bull in a china shop to function in upper-caste society? Did she mean that Yang didn't belong in the Selection, competing for Prince Jaune's heart? And had she said that because she wanted Yang to be with her, instead of Prince Jaune? Or had she only said that to get Yang out of her way?
"Do you ever think you don't belong here?"
"I said forget it, Yang," Blake snapped.
Yang crossed her arms and turned away. Ruby had stolen Jaune's seat, and she sat beside Weiss, chattering animatedly, Weiss occasionally rolling her eyes or giving Ruby a look of disgust. Jaune was walking along the beach, his hand in Velvet's. Oscar was gone, his sandcastle abandoned, and there were definite signs of a struggle.
"Someone probably dragged him into the water," Yang thought with a shrug. She glanced at Blake, but her eyes were glued once again to her novel. Yang craned her neck and realized she had misjudged the word Blake seemed to struggle to read past.
Earlier, when she had glanced, it had seemed like Blake was unable to read past the word 'ninja.' But now, with a better view, Yang was able to see just why Blake was frozen. It wasn't the word 'ninja' that stumped her. It was the word 'love.'
