Volume 2 Chapter 17: Head Over Heels

AN: Have you ever had an idea that you knew exactly what you wanted the general gist of it to be, but couldn't for the life of you decide on the petty and insignificant details? Yeah, that was this chapter for me. Up to and including the title. Wonder what I pick by the time this gets posted.

Well, here we are. It's time for the Beacon Dance. Nothing could possibly go wrong. Right? Right?

(Perspective: Yang)

This was it. Today was the day. Two weeks of planning – and oh dear Oum did those two weeks turn out to be so much more than she bargained for – and an indeterminate number of arguments with their very own Ice Queen culminated tonight. The Beacon Dance was only eight hours away from kicking off, and Yang had done her absolute best to make sure it was nothing less than perfect. Every detail had been accounted for: the theme, the colors, the music, the refreshments… how many doilies Weiss was allowed to have. She'd worked her ass off to ensure that nothing would be lacking, and that every person who attended it would have the times of their lives.

Of course, as far as Yang was concerned, she'd only ever done it for one person. Kassidy Smith. In many ways, Yang liked to compare her with some exotic, forbidden fruit: looked beautiful, was absolutely dangerous, maybe you needed to dig through a few thorns… but oh, so worth it. The woman that her days revolved around for what seemed like a few weeks now had never been to a formal dance before, or anything like that for that matter. As both her girlfriend and one of the two people in charge of organizing the whole dance, Yang felt it was her duty to make it absolutely unforgettable for K. Especially considering what Yang was hoping she'd get the chance to drop on her tonight.

She, Yang Xiao Long, was in love with her partner. Actual, honest love. There wasn't any other way to put or think about it, not anymore. Not after her weekly call to home Friday, and her dad of all people cut off her gushing long enough to challenge her on it. By Dust was that embarrassing. But embarrassment didn't change facts. It didn't change that Yang had no fucking idea how or even if she would've handled half of what Kassidy went through when she was basically kidnapped. It didn't change that, for one reason or another, they've been all but inseparable for the past couple weeks, even far past the point of reason.

Hell, she was reminded of that fact when she stood up to grab something off her bed. She hadn't actually slept in her own bunk ever since shortly before that ill-fated date. No, she spent her nights with Kassidy, each keeping the other company (and the room's other two occupants keeping things PG, much to the displeasure of her hormones). These days, her bunk was little more than a glorified bench or shelf, and right now it was holding several of her many, many hair-care products while she busied herself with looking her absolute best.

Her head snapped up and she froze whenever the lock unlatched on the dorm room's door. She was… not exactly modest, at the moment, and really didn't want anyone to figure that out. Sure, Weiss had promised to keep Kassidy away for the weekend to do her part to get the team's second blonde ready for the dance. Still, were they back already? Nervously, before the door managed to open, she called out, "Who is it? I'm kinda… not ready to come out!"

A put-upon sigh was her response, before the voice responsible for it called out, "It's just me, Yang."

Yang sighed in relief. It was just her sister. That was okay…ish. It'd have to do. "Okay, I guess if you don't mind, it's fine," she answered. True to her credit, Ruby opened the door only as far as it took to slip in, before nearly slamming it behind her. The way her eyebrows were drooping, however, made Yang pause. "Is something wrong, Rubes?"

Ruby stiffened a bit, nearly giving Yang a heart attack. "Ugh, yeah. I was hanging out with Weiss and Kass earlier." Yang rolled her hand, prompting her sister to go on considering that what she'd heard so far did nothing to ease her anxiety. "I figured… as much as Kass doesn't like heels, and how much Weiss was sure to insist that she wore some, that'd be one heck of an argument. Thought that if I'd hung around, I might find something that could even convince you to let me go in flats."

She couldn't help it; Yang busted a gut right there. Bending double to the point that she had to sit on the bed she was now sharing with K, she had to fight to get out, "Y-yeah, not happening sis, sorry." She managed to catch Ruby growl cutely and pout, which only made it that much harder to get her giggling under control. She had to take a few minutes to get it out of her system. Afterwards, still failing to bite back a chuckle or two, she managed to ask, "So, did they actually…?"

"I wasn't disappointed," Ruby confirmed. Then, however, she tilted her head and raised an eyebrow. "Or maybe I was? I dunno. But they definitely argued. Oh. My. Oum. Did they argue. I managed to figure out both how stubborn Weiss can actually be, and how much Kass doesn't want to wear heels."

"How bad was it?"

"Well, uh…" Ruby scrunched her brow, before having found what she was looking for in her brain. "By the time they were half an hour into the argument, Kass had Bob bring up a mortality rate table for people who wore high heels, and then started giving Weiss numbers on not only exactly how likely it was she would die, but she even organized it by cause of death."

Yang's jaw dropped, before she once again descended into a fit of giggles, this time actually falling off the bed and crumpling on the floor. She could hear, through her own laughter, Ruby chuckling at the memory also. Eventually, she choked out, "S-so, w-who won?"

She watched Ruby shrug. "Far as I know, they're still arguing. I kinda gave up after that point."

Yang managed to sit up and prop herself up against the side of the bed. "So, basically what I'm hearing it, if K isn't wearing heels tonight, then I'm literally never going to get her to wear them."

"Pretty much," Ruby answered, shrugging again. Suddenly, her little sister's face twisted into another pout. "Do I really have to wear these stupid lady stilts, though? I mean… I do have a 0.000063% chance of falling and snapping my neck tonight if I wear them… assuming my Aura doesn't protect me."

Yang would've laughed more if she could've, honest. However, at this point she was all laughed out, and could only offer a few chuckles at Ruby's statement. Proving that yes, she was still immune to The Pout (after all, she was the one who taught her how to do that), Yang said, "Sorry, sis. No flats tonight. C'mon, Rubes, this is a formal event. Yeah, I know you don't like it, but there's a certain dress code you need to abide by, and heels are one of them."

"I know! But, but… ugh!" Ruby whined. Her sister huffed and crossed her arms, before mumbling, "Feels like something I can exert leader privilege over." Suddenly perking up, however, Ruby asked, "So, speaking about dress code, you still have that white dress from Signal, right?"

"I do, but…" With Ruby's prompting, Yang went digging into the closet to pull out what she'd been hiding for the past week. While she was out shopping for other prom materials, she happened to spy it in a window, and knew immediately that it was absolutely perfect. A gorgeous yellow dress, a strap running up to secure it around her neck to support the complete lack of sleeves, and slits running along the calf-length skirt up to about her mid-thigh. The matching long gloves and heels were just icing on the cake.

"Wow…" Ruby breathed out. "It's beautiful. Oh, sis, you're gonna look amazing!" Yang turned to put the dress back, which left her completely unguarded for an uncharacteristic remark of, "You'll definitely be turning heads tonight," from her kid sister.

After a quick bout of surprised coughing, Yang managed to smirk at her. "Well look at you, little sis, getting all sly with me." Putting the dress back in the closet for the time being, she looked at it again with a small smile. "Though, there's only one head I'm aiming to turn tonight."

"I know what you mean…" Ruby said quietly.

"Oh, do you now?" Yang teased. She was content to leave the joke there, however, but the way that Ruby stiffened up and sucked in a sharp breath piqued her curiosity. "Sis, how do you know what I mean?"

"W-well, I, uh…" Ruby stammered. When Yang's expected gaze started turning into a glower, her resolve broke. "I maybe… kinda… uh… Sun might have asked me to the dance?"

You could actually hear Yang's eyes turn red as she stood there, fully processing what she'd just heard. After a terrifying moment, she spat, "Monkey boy went after my partner first, and now my little sis?! Oh, boy, am I gonna –"

"No! Yang!" Ruby whined. She shot up and tried to push her sister back down on the bed (having exactly as much success as you'd expect), all the while reasoning, "Ugh, this is why I didn't want to tell you! We haven't even gone out or anything yet, we've just been spending a bunch of time together in the evenings and talking about team stuff!" Having finally gotten her sister to calm down slightly, Ruby wagged her finger in Yang's face. "Bad sister! No preemptively murdering potential boyfriends before we've even dated! Besides," Ruby said, "you still have your own night to worry about."

Yang closed her eyes, breathed deeply, and counted to ten. She opened her eyes, nodded, and tried to calm her nerves some. "Yeah, I guess you have a point, sis. But still," she added, standing to her full height and laying her hands on her sister's shoulders, "if he does anything you're not comfortable with, come find me, and I'll make it clear you're not available for the night. Not only am I sure K will understand, I'm pretty sure she'd help me."

"That's what I'm worried about," Ruby grumbled. Yang watched her sister stomp back across the room before sitting on the opposite bed in a huff. However, she'd barely sat down before the report of a high-caliber round – Ruby's message tone – got both their attentions. Ruby happily snatched up her Scroll, read through the message, then split into a grin. "Oh, thank you, Weiss! A real lifesaver."

"What is it?" Yang asked.

Ruby cleared her throat, then read out, "Finally won my argument with that insipid barbarian. Currently at a salon working on her nails. If the gods favor me, I might even be able to get her hair acceptable in time for the dance."

"Oh boy, this is gonna be good," Yang chuckled. Taking the opportunity to stand up, she started making her way across to the dorm's bathroom. "Speaking of hair, we need to get to ours, Rubes."

"Oh…" Ruby whined. "I hate all this fancy-pantsy… dancy… stuff. Why can't I just go in my hood?"

Yang laughed again, before rubbing her sister's head. "Oh, c'mon, Rubes, it's only for one night. Gotta impress Monkey boy, right? Come on, we need to get our hair done now if we want it to dry in time."

Oh, I hope everything turned out alright with K. Knowing those two, she and Weiss might have actually gotten into a fight to the death over what she'd be wearing tonight. Yang's brows furrowed as she leaned further back in her chair. While I'm busy worrying, I hope everything turns out alright with Ruby. Ugh, sure, I guess Sun is an okay guy… but this is my baby sis we're talking about here. Seriously, how did that even happen? They had to have been getting together while I've been busy with K, no other way I wouldn't have noticed.

Still, Yang had to admit, even if having more people in her life meant more worries, it was worth it. Before Beacon, Ruby had been damn near her entire world. Sure, she loved her dad and her uncle, and she had friends at Signal as well, but nothing could even compare to her sister. But now… now, Ruby wasn't her whole world anymore. Don't misunderstand, her sister still is and will always be a huge part of it. But now, there were other people who were incredibly important to her. From Jaune and Pyrrha, to Ren and Nora, to even Weissicle; Yang had truly made friends here that she would carry for the rest of her life. And, of course, that wasn't even considering the girl she was waiting on now…

A few frustrated grunts came from down the hallway, making Yang snap her head around and stand up. Sure enough, just rounding the corner, was her very own kid sister. Alright, maybe it wasn't Kassidy… but the scene was just too adorable, as it tended to be whenever Ruby was around. Assuming, of course, the poor girl doesn't sprain an ankle. Wobbling up to her and leaning on the wall for support, Ruby groaned, "Ugh, can we have a serious talk about how Weiss fights in these?"

"Oh, you look beautiful!" Yang squealed, rushing up to both hug her and provide some additional support before Ruby toppled over. Seriously, her sister did not know how to wear heels. It didn't help that Ruby was currently flailing around to try and get out of her grip. If she kept that up, her hair would get ruined before she even got to the dance. Yang couldn't have that, so she simply tightened her hold long enough to drag her sister over to the couch. "So," she prompted, "you ready for the dance?"

"Yeah," Ruby sighed, finally able to escape the blonde terror that was her sister, "I think so. Kinda just waiting on –"

"A smokin'-hot blonde?" a voice called from the hallway. Sure enough, the very object of Yang's desires (of strangulation) rounded the corner, and Yang… well, I mean, at least he's wearing a collared shirt. Has to count for something, I guess? Sun walked into the room, stopped long enough to silently ask permission from Yang, then strode up to Ruby to give her the flower he'd been holding. "A rose for a Rose," he joked. Ruby giggled. Yang wasn't amused. They were awfully close to each other for people who had purportedly never done anything together, even if they'd been hanging out a whole bunch recently. She was interrupted from her ruminations, however, whenever Sun walked up to her.

"Hey," he started, "Ruby said she'd told you about us… y'know, hanging out a lot. Figured that since you didn't blow up the school trying to kill me, you… maybe don't disapprove?"

Well, the guy's utterly terrified of what I might do to him. As he should be. Yang nodded her head, then explained, "Look, I'm kinda pissed that you didn't talk to me about this. However," she interrupted, quelling Sun's paled stammering, "I trust Rubes and, much as I hate to admit it, you've shown to not be a terrible guy so far. So, yeah, I'll go ahead and let my sister give you a chance tonight." Leaning in and letting her eyes flash red, Yang growled, "Do I even need to talk about what I'll do to you if you hurt her in any way?"

"U-u-uh, no ma'am, I'm all clear on that front!" Sun reassured.

"Yang!" Ruby whined. "How can I enjoy tonight if you've already scared my date half to death?"

"I guess I'll just have to try my best," Sun reassured. He offered his arm to Ruby, led her out one of the side doors, and immediately got wrapped up telling a story about Scarlet.

Yang could do naught but stare out after them, before finally collapsing back into the chair in a huff. So, so much has happened over the past few weeks, and despite intentions tonight wasn't promising to be a walk in the park either for her, even if you didn't include the guy taking her little sis to the dance. She needed a distraction, and she needed one now, before she got so terribly upset from worrying about Ruby and K and the dance and –

She was once again interrupted by a few frustrated grunts, followed by a soft thump. Yang shot up once more, wondering if this was who she was hoping it was. Her hopes were confirmed when the voice she'd been waiting to hear from all weekend long started groaning. "Ugh, stupid… heels. Stupid… tights. Stupid dress. Stupid… everything! Damnit, why did I let Weiss talk me into this stuff again?"

"I'm pretty sure," a robotic voice reasoned, "you'd get your answer if you simply rounded the corner." Sure enough, the uneven, irregular clacking of heels resumed slowly.

Yang forgot how to breathe. Kassidy's hair all but glowed, flowing down her shoulders in a cascade of voluminous, curly golden locks that she couldn't help but feel a pang of jealousy towards. Weiss had obviously managed to convince Kassidy that makeup was a good idea again, but unlike last time the object wasn't to hide her scars. Instead, the jagged trophies of battles past were actually incorporated, accentuated. Even with the blush, and eyeliner, and everything else, her scars seemed not just to belong, but to tie the whole thing together. Kassidy's face positively radiated, every little detail all but screaming, 'Do not worry, for I have seen it all. It will be okay.'

For all the fact that her partner was terrified of water, Kassidy looked like she was wearing the ocean. The one strap encircling her neck flowed seamlessly into a deluge of blues, perfectly hugging a figure that one could drown in as easily as the actual seas. Sure, Yang teased her about it constantly ever since Kassidy had finished, ahem, growing, but her partner's figure was nothing to sneeze at. She had fully grown into her own, and while she wasn't as well-endowed as several of their more ridiculous classmates, it again just seemed to belong, like it was perfectly her. And… really, wasn't it?

From under the two-thirds thigh length skirt shot out a pair of legs clad in what seemed to be the sheerest blue Yang had ever seen, that just seemed to go on and on and on and –

Yang had to catch herself here, forcing herself to take deep breaths to try and beat both her blush and her hormones into submission. Her girlfriend might not have been the belle of the ball most days, but Yang was happy with and for her regardless; she was Kassidy, and that was more than enough for her. Right now, though? The makeup and fashion gods themselves must've helped her get ready for the night. And yet, even with how stunning her partner way, Kassidy still managed to carry with her an air of danger, adventure, and excitement. Even more so than usual, her partner's presence massively dwarfed the woman it came from.

Kassidy looked up at her, and their eyes locked. The woman that Yang loved stepped forward… and then promptly toppled to the ground, a bouquet in her hands flying as she tried and failed to right herself before crashing onto the floor. Yang gasped, would've laughed if it didn't involve her partner maybe twisting an ankle and ending the night right here, and dashed over to help her up. Kassidy thanked her, before muttering something about cursed shoes. When they both stood right back up, Yang couldn't help but notice they were the exact same height. Equals.

"I love you…r dress!" Yang's eyes flew wide open. Did she nearly slip up already? She needed to get back in control of herself, and right now. Grasping on what she could, Yang continued, "Holy crap, you look amazing, K!"

"Pfft, forget me," Kassidy said, "How did… where did you even get that? Oh my god Yang, I can't even…" Kassidy looked back up from having looked up and down her dress, then whispered, "You're fucking amazing. How did I ever get so lucky?"

"You dropped out of a tree and broke your foot on the right Ursa," Yang teased.

Kassidy slapped her arm lightly and blushed even through her makeup, then noticed something, bent down to reach something on the ground, nearly fell over again in the process, then came back up with a bouquet of exquisite wildflowers. Handing it to Yang, she sheepishly said, "I… wasn't really sure what you liked. So I kinda got all the ones I could get my hands on." Yang gasped and took the colorful bundle, and nearly missed Kassidy mutter, "Shame I couldn't pick more or better ones."

"Wait," Yang said. "You picked these yourself?"

"Well, yeah. A florist would've been too impersonal. I like getting people things that require effort. Shows that I'm personally invested in it, and that I didn't just mail order something off a catalogue." Yang was about to squeal and throw her arms around her when Kassidy sighed explosively and vented, "It's just… the first flower field I come across all day, and it has to be infested with Grimm. Took me forever to clear them all out and find enough flowers that hadn't gotten trampled."

Yang gaped at her. Kassidy had gone tramping through Grimm-controlled wilderness just to give her a gift that meant something to her, just to show how much she cared? She wanted to call tonight off. She wanted to throw herself on Kassidy, drag her back to their dorm, make out with her… and then probably do whatever K would let her get away with after that. But she couldn't. She didn't want to scare her partner off. This had to be done slowly, delicately, in the right way. So, Yang settled instead for a rib-cracking hug that was reciprocated with hardly a moment's pause. Smoothly transitioning to leave her arm linked with K's after a little bit, Yang slowly guided the two of them out of the lounge and towards the dance. "So…" she lamely began, instantly berating herself for starting off on such a weak foot. "I know that the past few weeks have been, err, hectic, to put it mildly. Fortunately for you, Weiss and I have done everything we can to make tonight unforgettable!" And, as far as she was aware, that was true. Weiss had promised to personally take over the administration of the dance itself, to allow Yang the time and space she needed with Kassidy.

"Well, I'll do my best to not ruin things," Kassidy reasoned. Looking over, her partner suddenly asked, "Was it just me, or did I see Sun come over here earlier?" She must have noticed how Yang had tensed, since she pulled them to a stop and spun her around to look into those hazel eyes. "Yang, what was Sun here for?"

"…little prick's asked Ruby to be his date," Yang reluctantly admitted.

Kassidy blinked. Then her gaze hardened. "Just let me know when you need me to hide the body. Assuming I don't get to the bastard first."

"Hey, hey, hey," Yang giggled, trying to draw Kassidy's attention. "Much as I might not be thrilled with the idea, we gotta trust Ruby. She obviously likes the guy enough to say yes, right? Besides, if something bad does happen, we'll handle it. Right?"

Kassidy took a deep breath, then nodded. "I guess you're right."

"Then c'mon," Yang insisted, bringing them down the street straight towards the dance. "Let's not worry about dumb boys tonight. We've got a wonderful evening ahead of us."

As Yang continued to lead Kassidy onwards, she could only hope that she had the guts and the composure to follow through on everything flawlessly. If she played her cards right, 'wonderful' would be a tame expression of tonight.

AN 2: Well, that was fun to try and do. Let's hope that next chapter isn't the same way. Also, I thought about it some, and for some reason I decided I wanted a RubyxSun pairing in this fic. No idea why. Hope it doesn't become one of those terrible ideas that should've been aborted at conception.

Coming up next: The Dance, from Kassidy's perspective.

AgentDraakis: Rule of Cool, man. Rule of Cool. Doesn't exactly stop me from calling them out on it, though.

FloriteFlower: Hence, why I started off the author's note last chapter with "not the ship". Wait, Mario Kart doesn't have accurate physics? The heck you say!