Makeup? Check. Hair? Done. Dress? Stunning.
Miltia looked at herself in the mirror for what must have been the hundredth time that evening. A part of her was still in disbelief that she cared this much about something so stupid and pointless. Then again, she never would have expected being in this kind of situation to begin with.
Growing up with her alcoholic sister an raised by a former huntsman turned criminal, a school dance was the last thing Miltia could have expected to attend, much less get excited for. Neither she nor Melanie had had time for such things. They had dropped out of high school to pursue a much more practical, and if she were to be honest with herself, a much more fun career path.
They had lien to spare thanks to the work they did for Junior. It was how they had been able to afford the dresses purchased in Vale earlier today. It was how they afforded time at the hair salon. The manicures. It was all thanks to those little "finder's fees" that Melanie insisted they take for themselves every time they hit up some little local gang or business owner. They had built up over time. Having extra lien to spend on whatever they wanted was always a good thing. However, the deeper purpose behind stashing money away stemmed from their past. From a time where they had lost everything and for all intents and purposes had no future. They should have died at Mountain Glenn. It was only by the hands of another that they still drew breath.
While they both trusted Junior with their futures and their lives, it never hurt to have a contingency plan just in case something went wrong down the line. In case by some twist of fate Junior died, or something happened to his business. Something had indeed almost happened when Yang showed up that night. All three of them could have been left with nothing had Junior not also been wise with his lien. And for the twins, that outcome was simply unacceptable. She knew she wasn't the most book-smart girl in the world, but she still had her wits when it came to life. When it came to self-preservation.
Miltia heard the bathroom door open, and soon enough her elder twin stepped out. "Damn, you look hot," Melanie said from behind.
She knew that, but it never hurt to hear it. The red lace strapless dress she currently wore extended to just above the knee to expose a good amount of her legs. Melanie had also insisted that the dress she chose have a rather low cut in the bustline in order to showcase her natural assets. Miltia had initially protested, but a quick reminder that it was not for her benefit had quelled such thinking. She liked the dress if she was being honest. It was longer than her usual favorite attire, but it was also tighter below her torso, and hugged her waist and thighs. Not ideal for combat, but perfect for a night of dancing.
Glancing away from herself, she saw Melanie's reflection in the mirror. "Thanks," she said as she turned. "So do you."
Where Miltia's dress had a few similarities to what she usually wore, Melanie's was anything but the norm. A floor length black dress clung to her figure, accenting every curve on her body. A high slit on the left side showed off a tantalizingly high amount of flesh that went nearly up to her hip. This was nothing like what she usually saw her sister wear. Melanie had absolutely splurged on her eveningwear for the dance. She looked glamorous. Like a movie star attending a red carpet event. She wanted to impress everyone else at the dance. She wanted to show them up. Odds are she would accomplish that goal tonight.
"Damn right I do," she agreed as she came over to stand by the mirror as well. Standing nearly shoulder to shoulder, the two girls continued to appraise themselves in the full-length mirror. "So what time are we going?"
"I told Jaune to come at seven."
She had not seen the boy for much of the day. Not when there was so much preparation to be done. Besides, he would have only gotten in the way.
Miltia was fully aware that they were expected to stay on Beacon Academy grounds for their stay at the school. The reason, which had come from both Junior and Miss Goodwitch, was for their own safety. After being the target of a terrorist attack, the man did not want their lives at risk by being alone and exposed in the city. Jaune was aware of this as well, and he was under the same orders. Had she told him that she was going into Vale today in order to purchase a dress and prepare for the dance, he would have very likely tried to stop her.
He was still such a good boy like that. He was still indeed her innocent little huntsman. Miltia smiled, despite the use of her twin's nickname for the boy. Despite everything, Jaune was still the same honest and caring guy he had always been. That little slice of innocence and normalcy in her otherwise chaotic life. He still liked to follow the rules where he could. Even with those forged transcripts he had purchased from Junior the day after they first met, he had still done it with good intentions. He had wanted to be a huntsman. A hero. One who helped others in need.
And that was exactly why he would have stopped her today had he known the truth. He would have told her that she was beautiful no matter what, and that she did not need a fancy dress for the dance. Jaune, however, was unaware of the truth. Miltia had told him that she and her sister were going to Vale in order to see a physician for an appointment to get her on birth control. Jaune's face had paled at the remark, and he could only nod. She knew that was territory he did not want to get involved with. She also knew that he would happily and readily agree to being on the pill. After their first time had involved no protection, it was something that was on both of their minds every time since. Miltia was still relieved that she had not gotten pregnant as a result.
While they had indeed gotten their hands on said birth control, the primary reason for going had been the dresses.
Melanie brought up her scroll, sighing before putting it back. "Five minutes."
Five more minutes to prepare. Five more minutes to fuss over the little details. She wanted to look as great as she could. Having never gone to any kind of school dance before, this was a once in a lifetime kind of experience for the girl. She sincerely hoped that she would not be here at Beacon a year from now for an opportunity to attend a second such event.
"Oh shit," Melanie said suddenly before stepping away from the mirror. "Almost forgot."
Miltia turned with a slightly concerned expression. She hoped nothing was wrong.
Meanwhile Melanie had moved over to one of the dressers which she had claimed. If they were going to be staying at this school for a while, they did not want to do so living out of a suitcase. Having their belongings neatly placed in drawers and a closet helped them feel a sense of stability in this new environment.
After a little bit of rummaging, Melanie came back with two small items clasped in her hands. "Here," she said handing one over to Miltia.
The younger twin recognized the item immediately. A pair of red and white decorative feathers complete with their clasp piece was handed to the girl. Miltia smiled at the familiarity of the old decoration. While her favorite dress may have again been in need of mending, at least this had survived. Luckily it went with her attire for the dance as well.
Fastening it to the left side of her head, she once more looked in the mirror. "Thanks," she smiled happily.
Melanie had attached her own white-teal flower piece to its usual spot in her hair as well. It offered a stark contrast to her black hair and dress, but it did help to accentuate her own pale, smooth skin. Wearing all black in general in place of her usual white and teal made Melanie look a great deal paler than usual. It did nothing to detract from her beauty, however. If anything it only made her seem even more exotic than usual.
She soon returned to admiring herself in the mirror. "Fuck, we really do look good."
Miltia was hard-pressed to disagree. They had gone above and beyond the requirements for a simple school dance.
"Think Jaune's gonna be able to keep his hands off you?" Melanie continued. "Maybe you should skip the dance and get straight to the after party."
Jaune getting his hands on her tonight was part of the plan. Just not in the way Melanie was insinuating. She wanted to dance with him. She wanted a romantic slow dance. The kind that would never be played in Junior's club. She had plenty of experience in dancing, just not the kind that she was looking for tonight. Jaune meanwhile claimed to be an expert dancer because of his seven sisters. One day she would like to meet these sisters. These girls who had created the most wonderful and perfect boyfriend imaginable. She wanted to personally thank them for their part in shaping the young man he had become.
"I wouldn't miss this night for a quick fuck," Miltia argued.
"I dunno, you seemed pretty horny after Jaune covered you in his warm white stuff."
Miltia's eyes widened as she spun to face her sister. "Melanie! What the fuck!"
"I was talking about that Aura thing he did," she said innocently. The knowing smile which accompanied her words betrayed the fact that she knew what she was saying and doing. She was simply trying to get a rise out of her sister. "Why do you have to be such a perv all the time, Mil?"
"Shut up. This coming from Miss Casual Sex herself?"
"Fuck you."
"Wow, desperate much?" Miltia smirked. "I mean, I'm your sister and all..."
Her sister sent a murderous glare in her direction. "Fuck. Off." The words were spoken slowly and deliberately. "Better?"
"Much."
"Don't make me out to be some creepy pervert."
"I mean..." Miltia said, intentionally trailing off at the end.
Melanie scoffed. "Just because I know how to have some fun doesn't make me a perv."
"Whatever. For your information I want to have a good time at the dance actually dancing." A moment passed before she held up an accusatory finger. "And I mean like, vertical dancing. Not that horizontal bullshit I know you were totally going to say."
"Yeah yeah, whatever," Melanie said dismissively. "Romance, dancing, all that good shit. Just be sure to save me a dance with him before the night's over, 'kay?"
Miltia nodded. It was a fair enough request. Truth be told she did feel a little bit bad that she had a date while her sister did not. While she was by no means going to share her boyfriend with her sister, a dance or two wouldn't hurt. Just as long as the girl did not take her usual teasing of the boy too far.
"Sure," she agreed. Miltia smiled as she spoke next. "You could always ask Ruby or Yang for a dance. I'm sure they'd love it since they're going alone too."
Melanie's eyes narrowed. "Fuck off. Again."
A soft giggle escaped her lips. "Didn't you have like, some nice long talk with Ruby the other day?"
"Not by choice."
Not by choice indeed. Miltia had all but kicked her sister out of the room in order to get some alone time with Jaune. Ruby had been Melanie's only option for entertainment. In all honesty, the girl did seem decent enough. She was wide-eyed and optimistic about the world. She was Jaune's friend too. Out of all the people here who they may potentially become friends with, Ruby was probably at the top of the list.
It was just a shame she was Yang's sister.
"So..." Melanie started. There seemed to actually be a small sense of apprehension in her tone when she spoke. "I never did really ask about that day."
"Hmm?"
"The bomb," she explained. "You getting hurt. What Jaune did. Whatever it was he did. What did it feel like?"
Miltia had a hard time rationalizing the feeling herself. She hadn't exactly been conscious at the time, but she still felt it. She knew what had happened despite not being able to explain it. She had felt Jaune inside of her in a completely different way. She had felt all of him. Every emotion. All of his pain. All of his joy. All of his care. Everything he felt for her, she felt. His Aura had touched hers. She had felt his soul touch her own. It was a powerful experience that was beyond description.
"It was..." she started to say.
"Orgasmic?"
Normally Miltia would have rolled her eyes at the lewd and crude suggestion. However...
Melanie saw that her sister had paused to consider the word. Her eyes widened in response. "No fucking way."
It was not literally orgasmic, no. However, with the level of intimacy they had shared before, and now this on top of it, it was hard not to describe what she had felt as pure bliss.
"For fuck's sake, I need to get me some of Jaune's white stuff," Melanie said knowingly.
Miltia's response this time was quick and concise. "Nope. Those magic hands belong to me."
"Oh come on. Just one time?"
"Nope."
"Bitch."
Miltia laughed. "Oh so I'm a bitch because I don't wanna share my boyfriend with you?"
"I'm not even talking about banging him!" Melanie argued. "I just wanna know what the Aura thing is like!"
It was intimate. Personal. For Miltia's body only. Was she being selfish? She didn't know. Surely if someone else ever got hurt he would use it on them as well. He would never leave someone to die simply because she wanted to be the only person to experience that kind of connection with the boy.
"Maybe I'll have to get hurt next time," Melanie continued. "Then Jaune can fill me up with his white stuff."
Now she was just being suggestive on purpose. Trying to get under her sister's skin. Well, it wouldn't work. Not on this night. Not when she had a wonderful and romantic evening planned with her boyfriend.
As if on cue there was a light knock on the door. It could only be one person. Normally Jaune would have never needed to knock on his own dorm room's door, but he had been specifically told to stay away while his date was preparing. Absence made the heart grow fonder, after all. And Miltia wanted to blow him away with her new dress before he escorted her down to the ballroom.
Taking a deep breath, Miltia wanted to move to answer the door, but suddenly felt a flurry of butterflies in her stomach. Why though? Why now of all times? It wasn't as if Jaune had never seen the extra skin that she was showing. He had seen more. He had seen all of her.
It had to be the dance. This stupid school dance that should not have mattered, and yet she still seemed to care about it. It was just a dance. They didn't even go to Beacon Academy. Not for real, at least. Who cares if other people saw her? In the looks department she knew that her risqué choice in eveningwear would blow all those children out of the water. Never mind the fact that she was only a year older than the first years. The point remained, however. She should not be nervous about this event. About a stupid little dance. About... another little slice of normalcy.
With her normal boyfriend.
"Fine, I'll get it," Melanie said with a huff as she moved over to the door.
Miltia shook her head lightly to chase the thoughts from her mind. It was fine. Everything was fine. The dance didn't matter. She didn't care about dumb things like that. She was a fighter. A criminal. No amount of pretending to be normal would ever change that. No nice boyfriend would ever wash her hands of the things she had done. The lives she had ruined. The blood on her hands.
"Hey, Mel," she heard a voice say a few feet away. There was a slight pause before continuing. "Wow, you look great. Never seen you in black before."
"Oh stop," Melanie said sardonically. "You're gonna make this one jealous."
She saw Jaune step inside, but the moment his eyes fell onto Miltia he stopped in his tracks. "Wow. Miltia. You look... amazing."
Miltia felt her face grow warmer with the compliment. This was so stupid! Why was everything so stupid? He had seen her naked, and yet she was blushing like a stupid school girl from a little comment like that?
Jaune looked good too. Very good. She had seen the clothes he currently wore many times before at Junior's club. The black pants and jacket he wore only made his already towering height seem even greater, especially when compared to herself. The blue tie brought out the beauty in his eyes. The gold double crescent lapel pin shone brightly to match his golden hair. All in all, he was a sight to behold. As the old saying went, clothes made the man. And right now he was a far handsomer sight than that Neptune guy could ever hope to be.
Or maybe she was just a little bit biased.
"Oh my gods, say something!" Melanie said suddenly.
Miltia hadn't known for how long she had been staring. She knew Jaune had complimented her, and then she had gotten lost in her own thoughts. Lost in the sight of her boyfriend. Wasn't that supposed to be a thing that only guys did?
"Oh, um, yeah," she said softly. Meekly. "You look really handsome, Jaune."
He smiled and shrugged, lightly scratching his neck nervously like he so often did. "Heh, thanks." His attention returned to focus solely on her once more. "But wow. You look great. I mean you always look great, Mil, but tonight you somehow look even extra nice."
She wanted to say that it was nothing and that she hadn't done all that much different, but that would be a lie. "Thanks."
"Okay, come on," Melanie said as she moved to grab her sister by the hand, dragging her over to Jaune. "You two can make kissy faces later, can we just go already?"
Miltia was surprised to see her sister so eager to attend the school event. She already had her purse and was ready to go. Why would she need it down there?
"Yeah, sounds good," Jaune said. He extended an arm out to Miltia. "Shall we?"
It was so lame, like something out of a romantic comedy movie. But because he had done it... "Sure," she said with a smile, and gladly linked her arm around his so that he may escort her down to the dance.
Ugh. This was so boring. When was the fun going to start?
Melanie had grown up in the night life. Parties. Clubs. Dancing the likes of which these children had never before seen. And they were indeed children. They all may have been around her age, but they had never experienced anything real before. They had gone to their fancy little huntsman schools for years now. Been given the finest weapons. The best training. They were humanity's precious little defenders. They were the kingdom's attack dogs. They were good little child soldiers.
What did they know about reality? About brawling in the gutter with thugs who wanted a piece of your turf? Hitting up a local shop keep and reminding him that he owed your boss lien? Breaking a finger here and there? Leaving men battered and bloody in the alley?
Grimm were at least mindless monsters. She had learned that much in her short time here at Beacon. Men on the other hand... men had minds. They had a sense of mortality. They feared pain and death. It made fights against them so much more dangerous. There were so many more stakes. One slip up and the man you were beating down would take your life in a heartbeat.
Or one huntress.
Melanie glared over to the girl in question. Look at her. In that simple little white dress of hers. Playing hostess. Standing behind a podium like she was such a big shot. Hi welcome to the dance! I hope you have a great time!
Sickening. Stupid bitch. These people didn't know the real Yang Xiao Long.
She did not know how much time had passed since arriving. Ten minutes? Twenty? Who knows. What she did know was that Miltia and Jaune were enjoying their time together. At first they had gotten a couple cups of punch while they scoped the place out. Good. They wouldn't be affected. Not that it mattered anyway. Miltia had a high enough tolerance so that it probably wouldn't matter. Jaune on the other hand, while still a rookie in comparison, had the body mass to negate the worst effects from just one or two drinks.
But some of these people... they had had three, four, five drinks or more! This was going to be fun.
Fishing out her scroll, Melanie checked the time. She had indeed been here for twenty three minutes already. Just how many dances were her sister and Jaune going to share? These weren't even the fun, cool kinds of songs that the DJ would play at Junior's club. They were mostly slow. Steady. Intimate. The kind of things that lovers could enjoy. Perfect for those two lovebirds.
"Having fun?"
The voice caught Melanie off-guard, and she turned to see that Yang had approached her. Great. "Sure, why not."
She caught a slight frown on the blonde girl's lips, but it quickly dissipated. "Just waiting for your turn I guess? Don't worry, it'll get better once you're out there."
Melanie followed to where Yang had motioned, and saw that she had meant Miltia and Jaune. "What's that supposed to mean?"
Yang shrugged. "Look, I don't know how those poly-relationship thingies are supposed to work or anything, and I'm not here to judge. But I'm just guessing-"
She didn't have a chance to finish that thought before Melanie cut her off. "The fuck are you talking about?"
"What?"
"No really. Poly what?"
"Oh, um..." Yang suddenly looked a little bit nervous. "Uh... Ruby said that you and your sister were dating Jaune, so I just thought..."
Both? Dating Jaune? Just what kind of degenerate did this bitch take her for?
"Well we're not," she said sharply. "Why the fuck do you care anyway?"
"Look, I'm just trying to be nice, okay? Jaune said you and your sister weren't so bad, so... I don't know."
Of course he did, because he was such a good guy. Trying to mend fences. Build bridges. All that shit. Jaune hadn't had his home wrecked by that stupid blonde bimbo. He hadn't had his sister beaten to a bloody pulp by her. He hadn't nearly had his life ruined because she wanted to have a little fun.
Fuck Yang Xiao Long.
"Yeah? Well fuck off. I don't need your pity."
Those had apparently been the magic words, and the friendly demeanor that the girl had been displaying was replaced with frustration. "Fine, whatever. Just stand over here alone all night watching your sister dance. See what I care."
"I don't see you with a date either."
"Yeah, I had a dance to organize. So tell Jaune and your sister to thank me later when it's over. Okay?"
"Whatever."
"Yeah. Whatever."
Yang left without giving Melanie a chance to retort. Not that she had anything more to say anyway.
She needed a palette cleanser. That little experience had left a bad taste in her mouth. What better thing to do that trick than a little school punch with an extra kick?
It would have no affect on Melanie. She could drink every one of these students, and probably most of the teachers under the table. Maybe not that Port guy. If his ridiculous stories were to be believed, he once drank an entire barrel of ale provided by a local tavern after saving the town from a pack of Grimm. If that was the kind of treatment huntsmen usually got from grateful civilians, then maybe Melanie would have to reconsider her opinion on the profession.
A glance over to her left showed that Yang had wandered off to go talk to that ex-terrorist girl. She wore a rather simple dress as well. Pretty much everyone here did. Only Melanie herself and her sister had gone above and beyond in that department. They had to. It was the only thing they had on these people. Aspiring huntsmen and huntresses who were being handed everything. Power. Knowledge. She knew she couldn't compete with all of that. But at least she could look better than them.
Speaking of girls who had everything, it seemed that the first victim had just revealed herself. And it was none other than the child prodigy herself, Ruby-fucking-Rose.
With such a small frame it was little wonder she was starting to look a little bit tipsy from the spiked punch. Ruby had probably never tasted a drop of alcohol in her life. If she had actually stepped foot onto the dance floor, the girl would have probably assumed that what she was feeling right now was just from dehydration. In any case, the girl went back to the well once more, and got herself another cup of punch. This wasn't going to end well.
After watching the girl take a long sip, Melanie approached her. "What's up, Ruby?"
She saw how Ruby blinked hard a few times. Feeling around behind her with a free hand, Ruby finally found the table, and then placed her cup down onto it. "Oh. Hi, Melanie."
Her motor skills were sloppy. Yeah. This chick was so gone.
"So... liking the dance thing so far? Pretty lame if you ask me."
Ruby nodded slowly. "Well, uh, I u-usually don't like dances and ssstuff." Add slurring to the list. "But I like punch!"
Oh I bet you do, Melanie thought with a smirk. "Totally. That stuff any good?"
She nodded again, this time more emphatically. "Yeah! Real good!"
It was cheap vodka, but it got the job done. It didn't need to taste good. It would be overpowered by the fruitiness of the punch anyway. No need to waste anything good from her personal stash.
Melanie glanced over to where Yang stood again. Her eyes narrowed a moment later before turning back to look at Ruby. "So, Ruby. Dance with me?"
Silver eyes widened with sudden clarity. "Um, I don't know how..."
"Come on, it's easy." The raven-haired girl grabbed Ruby gently by the wrist before giving her a soft tug. "Don't worry, I totally know how to dance."
Without being given time to protest, and not having the strength to do so even if she wanted to, Ruby was dragged by Melanie onto the dance floor. It was true, Melanie had danced hundreds of times before to every kind of song. With male partners and female. To fast-paced club mixes and slow romantic songs. The latter might not have been her preferred choice, but growing up in a nightclub made her well-versed to just about everything.
Pulling the girl close to her, Melanie felt her pulse begin to increase drastically. This was a dangerous game she was playing right now. A deliberate game. Another glance over at Yang showed that the girl had not yet noticed that she was dancing with her precious baby sister. She would in time. All she needed was time.
All around her she saw couples dancing to the slow melody. Some of them were probably lovers like Miltia and Jaune were. Others just friends. But just how many of them were frenemies like herself and Ruby were?
Ruby's body was still stiff in her arms, and the younger girl's hands were barely touching Melanie herself. She may have been drunk, but she was also uncomfortable with this level of closeness. She was indeed such an innocent little flower. And those were the most fun kinds to pluck from the ground.
"Relax, little huntress," she said softly. An equally soft smile played on her lips as she looked into wide silver eyes. "It's just a little school dance, right? Try to have some fun."
Those same eyes averted from Melanie's gaze as she answered. "S-sure."
How precious. This little girl had absolutely no experience at all with any kind of intimacy. Not even a simple dance with friends.
Friends.
As if.
"That's right. We're all friends here. You. Me. Everyone."
With Melanie in the lead, Ruby's compromised motor skills weren't having too detrimental of an effect on their dance. She was almost like a limp noodle in the older girl's arms. Putty to be molded to her liking. Someone to be controlled.
Melanie liked to be in control.
"S-so... why are we dancing again?" Ruby asked. "I mean it's nice and all but..."
With a smirk continuing to grace her lips, Melanie looked across the room to see where her sister and Jaune still danced. "Well, my sister and Jaune are a thing now." Emerald eyes focused back onto Ruby. "And only Miltia. Not me. Got it?"
Ruby nodded. "Oh. Right."
Melanie sighed softly before going on. "So of course she totally gets the first dance. And the second. And the third. So I gotta wait to get my turn with him. And then I saw you." Saw her she had, but she wasn't about to tell Ruby the whole truth. "So I just decided, hey, I'll dance with Ruby until he's free. I didn't wanna be lonely all night, ya know?"
The girl in red nodded once more. She had been doing that a lot. Probably the alcohol. "Yeah. That makes sense."
"And you looked lonely too. Poor little Ruby, sitting all by herself next to the punch bowl." She moved her face a couple inches closer toward the redhead. "That's not how you wanted to spend your first big dance, is it?"
"Uh... guess not."
Another look over to Yang showed that she had finally gotten the girl's attention. Lilac eyes were locked onto the dancing pair like a hawk that had sighted its prey. They burned with focus. Intensity. Threat.
Oh yes. Please make a scene here at Beacon Academy. Please show everyone just what kind of bitch you truly are. Ruin everyone's good time. Trash the place just like Junior's club.
So far though the girl hadn't made a move. But she was watching. Melanie had a captivated audience for her dance with Ruby. She wanted to give a good show.
"So are you having a good time now?"
Ruby shrugged. "I guessss. I've never danced before... am I doing okay?"
Just fine. Easy to move. Easy to control. Easy to dominate.
"You're doing great, Ruby," Melanie whispered. "Totally great."
At this distance she could smell the alcohol on Ruby's breath. She probably wasn't full-blown drunk, but definitely tipsy. Open to suggestion. It was probably why this normally shy girl had gone along with her in the first place. Her body wasn't the only thing that was easy to manipulate.
"Oh. Good. I didn't wanna be here. But this is... nice I guess."
It was indeed nice. Poor little Ruby Rose may have been a capable fighter. More than capable of beating Melanie herself in a fight. But she was an absolute lightweight when it came to her alcohol. She was light in general.
Ruby was small. Petite. The girl had a soft and slender body, but there was still a surprising amount of muscle tone underneath her dress. Her body had seen plenty of action. Just not the kind of action that Melanie had experience with.
From the perspective of one who didn't know her, Ruby was little more than a sweet and unassuming girl. Shy and docile. There was so much fun that could be had with a girl like her.
"Glad to hear it."
Melanie glanced over at Yang again, and shot her a knowing smirk. The blonde couldn't do a damn thing about her sister dancing with her. Not without looking like a bitch. And she couldn't stop what was about to happen next.
The song reached its end, and the pairs of dancers had begun to slow down and separate. Melanie herself had stopped a second ago, and it took Ruby a moment for her mind to catch up with her partner's movements. Soon enough the young huntress just stood there in Melanie's arms.
With a slight tilt of her head, Melanie spoke. "Thank you for the dance, Ruby."
"Yeah. It was kinda fu-"
Ruby didn't have a chance to finish her thought. Melanie dipped her head down and pressed her lips against Ruby's. The taste of fruit and alcohol hit her tongue as it pushed its way past Ruby's virgin lips, and took the girl in a deep, hungry kiss.
By the gods, this girl was beautiful. Absolutely beautiful.
She always had been, of course. Even in her usual clothes. But there had also always been a little bit of an edge to her. With her normal short red and black dress, thigh high boots and curved claws, Miltia was an intimidating sight to behold. Now, however, in this tight, form-fitting red dress she wore, all of her body's curves were accented in a way that Jaune simply could not ignore. She was amazing. Stunning. And she had eyes for him only.
Just as he only had eyes for her.
There were times he had to keep those eyes from wandering, however. Eyes above the neck, Jaune, he had to mentally tell himself. Look into her eyes. Not... not...
Of course he had no problem looking into those gorgeous green eyes that sparkled like gemstones. It was just the fact that she was wearing a dress far more mature than the students around them which caused his eyes to want to wander.
There was a solution to that "problem" of his. Hold her closer. Make it so that errant eyes could only look into hers. Jaune did just that. With one arm wrapped around Miltia's slender waist, he pulled the girl's body closer to him as they continued to enjoy the slow dance. Stomachs and chests pressed together, and in spite of their height difference their faces were now only inches apart. She did not seem to have any problem with this development, and smiled happily as she leaned her head in to rest it near his collarbone.
The feathered decoration she wore in her hair brushed against his nose as she did so, and Jaune had to turn his head slightly to avoid being tickled by it even more. As he did so he got a glimpse of the other teens dancing around him. The dance was a slow one with obvious romantic undertones to it, but from what he could see none of the other students were treating it quite the same way he and Miltia were. The fact that the two shared an intimate relationship mattered greatly in that regard. He had no idea if any of the other couples on the dance floor could say that they had the same thing.
Jaune could only smile as he looked down at a head of black hair resting on his chest. "Having fun, Mil?"
He felt how her head nodded slightly against his body. "Mmhmm."
His arms briefly tightened around her to give the girl a tiny hug. "Good. I think we needed something like this after everything that happened. I mean I know it's not your usual kind of scene, but..."
Miltia pulled her head back from him and looked up to meet his gaze once more. "Doesn't matter," she said softly. "I like this kind of dancing too."
Jaune knew that both she and her sister were probably used to completely different kinds of dances and parties while working at Junior's club. Techno. Electronica. Songs with heavy amounts of bass and synthesizers were the norm for that place. Traditional slow dance music on the other hand? Waltzes? Jaune may have been experienced from growing up with seven sisters, but he was surprised by how easily Miltia had adapted to the music.
"Hey, Jaune?"
His attention focused back on her, only to see how her eyes darted away once they had made contact with hers. "Yeah?"
Emerald eyes focused on golden Arc lapel pin he wore. "About... what happened before..."
It was an unusual time and place to bring up such a thing, especially because they had done so before. However, Jaune was not about to stop his girlfriend from speaking her mind. "Yeah?"
"That Aura thingy you did..."
Conversely to how Jaune had tightened his arms around her only moments before, Miltia squeezed Jaune tightly as she spoke, or rather stopped speaking. For someone of her size and build she was surprisingly strong, and Jaune winced slightly as her grip on him increased.
"What about it?"
She still would not meet his eyes as she continued to speak. "You've been training it... does that mean you can do it whenever you want now?"
So far Jaune's lessons with Glynda had been about exploring the possibilities and limits of his Semblance. Aura Amplification as she called it, was useful for more than just healing himself or his comrades. He could focus his Aura in a single place on his body. With enough training he could potentially form an impenetrable shield on a certain portion of his body. He could turn his fists or feet into lethal weapons that could punch through steel. At least that was what Glynda had hypothesized. Without more testing and training, there was no telling just what the limits of such a Semblance could be. But whatever those limits were, the woman seemed eager to learn them.
For now he could perform basic feats with his Semblance. Including healing like he had done to Miltia. "Yeah, I guess. Why?"
"Um... no reason."
Jaune couldn't help but breath out a tiny laugh as the girl once more pressed her head into his chest. As if to hide her embarrassment. He wasn't about to let her off the hook that easily, however. "Come on, Mil. What's up?"
With her face against his chest it was hard to hear her soft words. "It felt nice..."
He remembered her words from their first night at Beacon. When Miltia had kicked Melanie out of their room before becoming extremely aggressive with him. It had been a stark contrast from her usual demeanor. From how she was acting at this very moment. She had told him how she felt his Aura touch hers. How close she had felt to him as a result. Not being on the receiving end of such a thing, Jaune could only imagine what it might feel like. Healing her with his Aura must have been a very intimate experience for the girl.
"So maybe... the next time we... you know." She still refused to meet his gaze. She was absolutely adorable. This hardened fighter, this criminal enforcer, could not muster the strength to look at him when discussing this intimate subject. "Could you do it the next time we..."
He knew what she was about to say. However, she never had a chance to express the words before being interrupted. Maybe it was better for the girl that way.
"You bitch!"
The loud scream tore through the room and over the sound of the music. Miltia's head rose from Jaune's chest and both turned to look at the source of the commotion. Yang was on the warpath. With burning red eyes and equally fiery golden hair, she was blazing a trail across the floor.
Straight toward Melanie and Ruby.
"Oh for fuck sake what did she do..." Miltia whispered.
Jaune had no idea. But much like Miltia, he could not help but feel that whatever had happened was all Melanie's fault.
Students all around the blonde girl parted, not wanting to stand in the way of her and her prey. No one had a death wish like that.
Looking back down at his girlfriend, Jaune made a fateful decision. "We should do something."
Miltia nodded, and the two set off on an intercept course between the two respective older sisters. Perhaps Jaune did have a death wish after all. Making the decision to stand in front of an unstoppable force would result in nothing but pain.
Pushing past the still and staring students, Jaune and Miltia were easily able to get to Melanie and Ruby a few seconds before Yang was. The raven-haired girl looked ready to fight, or at least dodge the impending attacks from the blonde. Hopefully it would not come to that.
"Yang!" Jaune shouted as he moved to stand in her way. Those red eyes were terrifying. It was like the girl he knew wasn't inside of that head anymore. "Yang!"
Bloodthirsty eyes focused on him. "What!"
"Yang, calm down." Jaune looked around and saw that while the music was still playing, no one was dancing anymore. "Come on. Calm down. What happened?"
"This bitch just kissed my sister!"
Oh. He hadn't been expecting that.
Jaune looked back to see an utterly unrepentant Melanie standing behind him. Ruby on the other hand wore a blush that was as red as her dress.
Someone was going to die here tonight. Jaune didn't think his Semblance would be able to stop that.
"Now move so I can kill her!"
Yup. He had been right on that one.
"Yang, please," he insisted. He could feel the heat emanating from girl at this distance. "People are staring. Maybe we can discuss this outside?"
"Fuck outside! Move right now, Jaune!"
"What, are they the only ones allowed to kiss here at Beacon?" Melanie asked as she pointed to Jaune and Miltia.
Jaune turned to level a finger at the older girl. "Melanie, shut up. Now."
Green eyes widened. He had never spoken to her like that before. However right now things were a lot more serious than usual. This was no time for screwing around.
He felt a hand grip the front of his shirt, and felt as though the fabric might rip at any moment under the stress. "Look, Jaune," Yang said through gritted teeth. "I like you and all, but if you don't move this instant I will make you move."
Of that he had no doubt. However... he couldn't just let Yang assault Melanie like she wanted to. Flashbacks of the night he had first met the twins came rushing to the forefront of his mind. A ruined club. A shattered dance floor. Was history about to repeat itself? Not if he could help it.
Focusing his Aura all he could, Jaune prepared to make his face into an immovable object.
The hit never came, but words did. "What seems to be the problem here?"
Jaune saw how Yang's fire had gone out at the sound of those calm, smooth words. Figuratively and literally. Crimson eyes returned to their normal lilac shade, while blonde hair no longer burned with the fire of a sun.
Both Jaune and Yang turned to see the source of those words, and saw a tall man with silver hair approaching them.
"H-headmaster Ozpin," Yang said.
The Headmaster of Beacon Academy was here? Well, it had been a nice run. But after what Melanie had just done, he was sure that the three of them would no longer be welcome here.
"Now, now," the man said with seemingly no trace of anger in his voice. "Whatever quarrel is going on between all of you is surely not worth coming to blows over, is it?"
Jaune wasn't exactly sure about that. If Ozpin knew the truth he might just take Yang's side on this one. Then again the man might only care about making sure that this evening went smoothly.
In any case, the disaster had been averted. Perhaps only temporarily. Yang was not about to continue causing a scene in front of the Headmaster of the school. There would be no violence here tonight.
"Right," Yang said uneasily. And not at all convincingly. Grabbing her sister by the hand, she pulled her to follow. "Come on, Ruby. Let's go get some fresh air."
Jaune couldn't notice how Ruby stumbled as she was dragged away by Yang. He would need to ask about that later on when things calmed down.
"Mr. Arc."
Jaune was stirred from his thoughts and looked over to the man who regarded him curiously behind a set of glasses. "Yeah?"
"I do hope you are enjoying your time at my academy so far." There was still no trace of anger in his voice. Nothing that seemed to indicate he knew or cared about the details of what had just occurred. "There is something I wish to discuss with you in the next few days. For now though the staff and I must deal with replacing some... tainted punch. Enjoy the rest of your evening."
As quickly as he had come, Ozpin walked away. Odd. Very odd. Did he really not care about the incident that had just taken place? Were they not going to be kicked out of Beacon? And what exactly did Ozpin want to discuss with him?
Whatever the case was, students began to return to normal and resumed their own dances and conversations. Soon enough Jaune was left standing in the middle of the crowd with the twins.
"What the fuck did you do!" Miltia whispered harshly to her sister.
"What?" Melanie asked innocently. "Just having a little fun, that's all. Isn't that like, what we're here for?"
"Not making out with other students!"
"Oh but it's totally okay when you and Jaune do it?"
"Jaune and me are dating. You on the other hand only kissed Ruby to piss Yang off."
Melanie shrugged softly, and gently flipped a few errant locks of hair over her shoulder. "Guilty," she said a little too happily.
Great. Life was about to become a whole lot more complicated. Jaune had tried hard to convince Yang that the twins weren't all that bad of people. It had seemed like she actually believed it too. But now this had happened. Melanie had ruined all that progress. All just for a petty little bit of revenge.
Revenge on an innocent girl.
"You shouldn't have done that," he whispered harshly. "Not to Ruby."
"Whatever."
She made a move to walk away, but was stopped when Jaune grabbed her arm. She spun around to see anger in his eyes. "No. Not whatever. Like it or not she's still my friend. And when things settle down you're going to apologize to her."
For long seconds hard green eyes stared into equally intense blue. Jaune wasn't letting his gaze waver before the normally intimidating girl. He was pissed. It didn't matter that Melanie had in the past, and still could kick his ass. She had crossed a line tonight.
Miltia, almost playing the role of a mediator, stepped next to both of them and placed a hand on each of their arms. "Guys..."
"You can hate Yang all you want," Jaune continued. "After what she did, I get it. But not Ruby. She didn't hurt you. Got it?"
The elder twin scoffed, looking away from Jaune before speaking. "Fine. Whatever. I'm fucking out of here anyway. Lame-ass fucking dance."
Melanie ripped her arm away from Jaune's grip and stormed off. Neither made an attempt to follow.
"What's her problem?" Jaune asked.
With a small frown on her face, Miltia shook her head. "I dunno. I don't think she's been having a good time at Beacon so far."
It was understandable. Jaune was used to rules and structure growing up. He had a loving and supportive family. While he hadn't attended a combat school before, he was used to being in a class environment. For the twins, however, Beacon must have been stifling to them. Things like curfew, mandatory classes, and being unable to leave the campus must have been torture for their free spirits. For Melanie especially.
"What should we do?"
Miltia shrugged. "Dunno. Probably just give her a little space for now. I'll try to talk to her tonight or something."
It was as good of a plan as any. Melanie needed to cool off. With her gone from the dance hopefully there would be no further incidents.
He only hoped that they'd be able to enjoy the rest of their evening despite the mood being ruined.
Yang was furious.
It was taking all of her strength and will not to let her hair burst into flames once more as she and Ruby stepped out into the open air. If the cool evening was supposed to cool her off, it was so far failing in doing so.
That bitch Melanie had just kissed her sister. Spitefully. Deliberately. Yang was by no means an expert on Ruby's romantic life, but she knew for a fact that the girl had no romantic life. That had been her first kiss. Stolen by that criminal. She knew why too. All to get to Yang herself.
It had worked.
She was going to beat that girl into a bloody pulp when given the opportunity. Jaune's friend or not, Melanie was going to pay for what she had done to her little sister.
It was probably for the best that they had stepped outside. Yang did not want other people to see her in this state. A state where she wanted to punch something, anything. Sadly the only two people around were Ruby and Weiss. The white-haired girl had had no date as well, and after fussing around with some of the flowers and other decorations, had only sat on the sidelines watching others dance. When she had seen Yang and Ruby leaving, the girl was only too happy to tag along with them.
"Ow, Yang," she heard through the angry haze which clouded her mind. "You can let go now."
Yang shook her head in an attempt to clear the thoughts from it. Looking back she saw that her hand was firmly clamped around Ruby's wrist. It had been ever since she had led her sister away from the dance.
"Sorry, Ruby," she said. Yang looked her sister up and down as if checking for battle injuries. She knew, however, that any injuries she may have suffered tonight would be on the inside. "Are you okay?"
Ruby blinked hard. "Huh? Why wouldn't I be?"
"After you were... you were..." Yang did not want to give utterance to what had just happened. She decided to change the wording before going on. "After being kissed."
"Wait, what?" Weiss shrieked. "Someone kissed Ruby? She got her first kiss before me?"
Of course that's what Weiss would have gotten out of the conversation. Yang was still surprised the girl had not come to the dance with Neptune. She had seemingly had a crush on the guy.
Her sister looked as if she was blushing slightly in the night's sky, and looked away before speaking. "Uh... I'm fine I guesssss? It's not like it hurt or sssomething."
Why had she slurred that last word? Was she...? No. No way. Was Ruby drunk? What else had gone on in there that she was unaware of?
"Ruby. Say the alphabet backwards."
"Tebala!"
Yang opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out. It wasn't exactly what she had meant, but the fact that Ruby had almost managed to say the word "alphabet" in reverse that quickly was still impressive.
"How did she do that so quickly?" Weiss asked, giving voice to Yang's own thoughts.
The blonde had no idea either.
She moved closer to her sister, grabbing hold of her arms and looking closely into her silver eyes. There was a slight swaying of Ruby's body that she could feel in their embrace. Her eyes meanwhile did have a slightly dull and glassed over look to them. Yup. She was drunk. Maybe not too much, but she was still intoxicated nonetheless.
"I'm gonna kill that bitch..." Yang whispered.
Ruby gasped. "Why am I a bitch?"
"Not you, Ruby. The bitch who I can only assume got you drunk before... before..."
She still had a hard time saying the words. Her poor little sister had been defiled.
"Before what?" she asked innocently.
"Nothing." With any luck maybe Ruby would just forget the whole incident ever took place. Maybe the alcohol was a good thing.
"Yang? Can you let go of me now?"
"Oh no. I'm not letting you out of my sight for the rest of the night. We should really get you back to the dorm right now."
"But... I dun wanna puke on you..." There was such an earnestness to the statement that Yang could not help but smile, despite the circumstances. There was the downside of having too much to drink. And in Ruby's case it probably hadn't been too much at all.
"Okay," Yang said as she released Ruby from her grip. "Go over there in those bushes. But after that we're going back to the dorm."
"Bussshes?" she asked. "But there's guys sleeping there."
"What?"
Ruby pointed out to behind where Yang and Weiss were standing, and sure enough, there were two men in the bushes. Two men in Atlesian combat armor. Both unconscious. And hopefully nothing more than that.
"Oh shit..." Yang whispered.
A pair of soldiers were down. She had been so focused on Ruby that she hadn't noticed them or where they were. A look around finally revealed where they had wandered off to. They were right next to the CCT tower.
Were they guards meant to protect the place? If so, did that mean someone was now inside the vital building? And even if not, the fact that two soldiers had been assaulted was not good. Not at all.
"Weiss, go find a teacher and get help," Yang ordered.
The heiress nodded. "What about you?"
"I'm going to see if there's anything I can do to help the soldiers. Ruby, stay by me, got it?"
The dull sound of metal impacting on dirt filled the air, and Yang looked up to see the source. Ruby had not stayed by her. She was already over by her rocket locker which had just been summoned to their coordinates. Crescent Rose was out and deployed in all its glory.
"Come on! Let's go fight the bad guys!"
"Ruby! No!"
It was too late. Yang knew that there was no stopping the girl now. Drunk or not, Ruby wanted to play the hero. All Yang could do was make sure that she didn't get herself hurt in the process.
She followed her sister into the CCT tower.
Author's Note: So it's been just over one year since I first published this story. I had wanted to get this chapter out yesterday to hit the one year anniversary, but it wasn't going to be done in time. In any case, as always, I want to thank all of you for your interest and support of this story. When I first started it, I never could have imagined people would care so much about the Malachite twins. I was just writing a crack ship because I wanted to do something different. But after seeing so many people say things like they love my portrayal of the twins, and that they can't imagine anyone else's headcanon over my own, it's really inspiring to know I've created something that so many people enjoy. So thank you so very much for all of that.
Moving onto what may be a controversial part of the chapter. Make no mistake about it, Melanie is a bad person. She's spiteful. Lewd. Crude. She hurts people. She likes to have control over those who are weaker than herself. And that's what makes her so much fun! Using her body as a weapon, or weaponized sex, is right up her alley. Ruby was just collateral damage in her quest for revenge against Yang.
Questions, comments or concerns? Did you like the Rube getting lewded? Let me know. I'd love to answer any questions if I can.
Thanks for reading. I hope you enjoyed the chapter.