Heart of Glass 11
"Seriously, how do you guys fight on these?" Ruby asked as she almost tripped for the eleventh time since her departure from the dorms towards the ball room. She had never used heels before, and although both Weiss and Blake had told her how to wear them, she still had to pretty much travel hooked to Blake's arm for support, which she wouldn't mind at all if she were in boots.
"It's all about balance, Ruby." Weiss said, looking herself in a handheld mirror. The heiress wore a fairly conservative white dress that was partly see trough near her neckline. Ruby glared at her partner. Balance, right. She knew about that, otherwise wielding Crescent Rose would be impossible. This was different, uncomfortable.
"Woah!" She once again tripped, and nearly fell face first into the asphalt, but Blake was there to wrap her arms around her waist and stop her. The cat faunus wore a dark purple dress that cut open on the lower half and revealed one of her legs.
"Easy there, Ruby. Do you need a cane or something?" Now Blake decided to be cheeky; not when they were worried sick for her.
"I got one right here." At this, Blake smirked. Perfect counterattack.
"Wow, that one's new. And I was so confident in my body." Ruby blushed, mostly from embarrassment. She couldn't tell if Blake had said it jokingly or not.
"Sorry. You're… fine, Blake," Now it was Blake's time to turn crimson, but she kept her smile.
"I was just joking, you know? But thanks." The cat faunus looked at her with amber eyes full of genuine happiness, and Ruby couldn't help but look away while feeling a tingling in her stomach.
"We're here. And just in time to meet… meet…" Weiss began, but stopped upon seeing something. Blake and Ruby turned forwards, and the Red Reaper nearly burst out laughing.
In front of them was team JNPR, all dressed for the occasion. However, Jaune was somewhat… different. Instead of a tuxedo or dress shirt, he was wearing a white dress that barely fit him and left his arms and shoulders exposed. And he certainly looked ripped. His training with Pyrrha and Cinder had paid off, at least that's what Ruby thought.
"Hey guys." Jaune answered meekly. That was it, it was too much. Without a hitch Ruby began laughing.
"Oh my… HAHAHAHAHA!" she let herself fall to the floor, laughing like crazy.
"Ruby!" Weiss said, indignant because of her partner rolling on the dirty floor.
"But… it's just too much…" Ruby said, laughing. At this display from his best friend and dork partner, Jaune whimpered slightly, like a hurt puppy.
"There, there," Pyrrha patted his head. She wore a more usual, yet still beautiful red dress. Blake and Weiss chuckled slightly along with Ren and Nora. "I think it's lovely."
"So how did this happen, exactly?" Blake asked, helping Ruby off the floor.
"Yeah. What's your game Arc? Aren't you enough of a laughing stock?" Weiss asked, somewhat mockingly. Pyrrha glared at her before Jaune stepped up.
"I kind of lost a bet." He said, scratching the back of his head.
"What bet?" Before Jaune could answer, Pyrrha stepped up.
"Oh, nothing. Just a stupid thing we came up with. Regardless, he lost, and now he has to do it. Arc honor, right?" Pyrrha beamed at Jaune, who simply sighed in defeat.
"Oh come on, Jaune! You look lovely in it!" Nora added, releasing Ren for the first time since team RWB met that night, and giving Jaune a light twirl.
"You do look pretty, in a way." Ren admitted, looking Jaune over. Ruby once again snickered, before losing her balance.
"Princess Jaune. Has a nice ring to it."
All heads turned to a new voice coming from their left. Male or female, jaws dropped looking at the newcomer.
It was Cinder, wearing a red and gold dress with an off shoulder neckline. Her neck was adorned by a black choker and her hair was down, flowing down her back. A cut in the lower part revealed one of her legs partially. She eyed them with a smug smile while putting one hand on her hip.
"Super sis?!"
"T-Teach?!"
Upon seeing Jaune and Ruby's slack jawed reaction, her eyes narrowed slightly.
"Surprised?" That was exactly what Ruby was wondering. Her badass super sis, a huntress who set fire to Grimm and pushed trough life with a frown on her face and an attitude that took no shits was now dressing up and smiling? She expected this from Yang, but never from Cinder.
"You-You never dress up!" Ruby pointed out. "I thought you would not come!"
"Well, I am capable of having fun, you know? Especially when it involves getting people to turn heads." She said strolling next to her little step sister and looking her over.
"You on the other hand, look nicer than I expected Ruby. You two help her?" she asked her teammates.
"Pretty much. It was… a journey." Weiss said.
"But we made it." Blake added, tightening her grip on Ruby's arm.
"Hey! It wasn't that bad!" Whined the Red Reaper. Cinder scoffed.
"Knowing you, Ruby, I can confidently say it was." With that said, the older huntress turned towards Team JNPR, giving them a nod of approval before turning to Jaune. Upon landing her eyes on the boy, she put a fist in front of her lips.
"Is that your strategy to get girls, Arc?" Jaune's head fell.
"Maybe some pretty girl in a tuxedo will dance with me," as he began to wallow in self deprecation, Pyrrha grabbed hold of his arm.
"I don't have a tux, but I would like to dance." She said, blushing slightly.
"O-Of course, Pyrr," he replied, embarrassed. Smiling at their cute interaction, Cinder stepped forward.
"Shall we go have some fun then? Remember that after this it's back to blood and tears in class," the group followed the older huntress and entered the ball room with a much more amicable and comfortable atmosphere.
That did not last. The very moment Ruby stepped into the ball room, she already felt the pressure of all the eyes on her, even if they were in her imagination. Nearly tripping on every step was not helping, but she was getting better. And she had Blake.
"Oh my goodness! You look beautiful!" Yang said from the reception post. She was beautiful, and tall, and well built, and had a nice white dress.
"Yeah, yeah. Can we get this over with please?" She asked, finally stepping up.
"Oh don't be like that. I'm just so proud of you!" Yang answered, going to wrap her sister in a hug before looking at Ruby's date.
"Glad to see you're here, Blake. Came for that dance that I saved just for you?" Yang asked with a smile, and Blake returned it. However, it was mutually sheepish, which Ruby found somewhat weird. Yang wasn't that awkward around people. And was she blushing?
"Well, I actually came with Ruby here," Blake said, pulling a strand of loose hair behind her ear. Yang's eyes widened while her smile fell a little before jumping back up to full strength.
"Wow. How did that happen?" she asked. Her voice sounded somewhat… strained.
"I wanted to make sure she came. And she's been a great help to deal with these," Ruby said, readjusting one of her heels.
"We're not actually going to dance, but it was better than coming alone,"
"What about Sun?"
"I… actually haven't seen him yet."
"He's probably with Neptune. Come on, let's enjoy the night," Weiss' tone sounded spiteful, and the girl stepped into the ball room proper with her eyes narrowed. Shrugging, team JNPR followed. However, when Yang saw Jaune, she took out her scroll.
"I gotta immortalize these," however, a hand lowered her scroll towards the ground.
"Really sis?" Cinder asked, crossing her arms.
"Come on! Don't tell me it isn't funny!" Yang said, clicking her scroll to take the photos from Jaune's dress.
"It's hilarious, but pictures?"
"It's probably for us, to remember the good times of Beacon. Right, Yang?" Ruby said.
"Yup. Don't tell me you don't have some funny pictures from when you were in Beacon," At this, Cinder's expression fell a little.
"Not really." She replied. Ruby looked at her, and noticed some sadness in her eyes. But her sister noticed her gaze and looked away.
"Well, let's make some now, with my two smoking hot sisters," Yang's boisterous claim was accompanied by a tight hug that brought all three sisters together for a scroll selfie. "Say cheese!"
Ruby smiled brightly, Yang wore a toothy grin, and Cinder just gave a half hearted smirk. Regardless, to Ruby the resulting picture was heartwarming.
"Let's go have some fun, Ruby." Blake said, pulling her date by the arm.
"Right. Remember the plan." Ruby whispered, before they lost themselves in the crowd.
"I'm gonna send these to dad." Yang said.
"Do you really have to?" Cinder asked.
"Yes, I do. He really misses you, and will be happy to know you're okay." Right. Cinder herself didn't tell anything to Taiyang. She had mostly assumed Qrow would tell him everything, but since her adoptive uncle was constantly on missions, she could not take him for granted.
Her feelings about Taiyang where complicated. When she first came home, he was somewhat reluctant to adopt her, but in the end he warmed up to the girl despite herself never once attempting to get closer to him. He was a loving dad trough and trough. However, after Summer died, he closed himself off completely.
He would spend his days in bed, watching TV and crying. He didn't care to cook, clean himself or even try to help Ruby and Yang with school. It was terrible. Cinder did not know what to do except do her best at school and try to care for Ruby and yang. Lucky for her, Yang was always very helpful. But it still was some time until Taiyang got back on his feet.
In the end, he went back to being a loving and supporting father to the three girls, but seeing how much his absence hurt Yang and nearly made her get herself killed looking for her 'real' mother, it was something she could hardly forgive him for despite his circumstances. After all, Cinder herself had suffered too, and she took it face on.
Cinder shook her head. She didn't need to think about that now. Now, she needed to relax and have some fun. Teasing Ruby could be fun, or trying to embarrass Oobleck with a dance.
"I didn't really say goodbye, did I?" She shook her head, and Yang glared at her.
"Nope. You still angry with him?" Yang said, putting her scroll away.
"Who said I was angry?" Cinder crossed her arms, trying to retreat from her sister, to no avail, as she continued the pressure.
"Cinder, Big Sis, Hotstuff, I hate to tell you this, but…" Yang placed a hand on her shoulder and smirked smugly. It made the older huntress fear what was coming. "… You're not as unreadable as you think you are. I've known you for a while now. So don't try to hide so much, okay?"
"I'm going to dance a bit. See ya later." With that, Cinder took Yang's hand off her shoulder and headed to the dance floor, but before she could to that, the huntress heard a sigh from behind her.
Ruby fidgeted as she drank another glass of punch. Things had been going well. She and Blake had accomplished Phase 1: enter the ball. However, instead of staying with her leader and chatting with her, Blake had run off to dance with Yang. She was left standing alone near the table, watching her own sister steal her date. Not that she cared, Blake could do whatever she wanted.
But she still left her alone, to eat and drink in her own awkwardness, feeling watched by everyone. Was her dress dumb, or pretty? Was she making a good show as the leader of RWBY? Or was she embarrassing them? All those question revolved in her mind like a door of the same type.
"Hey Ruby," said a disinterested and slightly tense voice beside her. She looked at her side, Jaune was there, still in his white dressed, standing still and with a deadpan look on his face.
"Hey Jaune," she replied with the same amount of emotion. Yet, she was ecstatic. Jaune always to the rescue.
"I guess you don't feel like dancing?" He asked, taking a punch glass towards his lips, trying his best to keep his dress covering his somewhat lanky legs.
"I mean, not really. Only if Blake asked, but she's over there, probably having a better time." She replied, with a similar deadpan expression.
"You're only comfortable with her?" Ruby was about to give a quick reply, but the answer did not come as fast in her mind. Why was she only comfortable with Blake? Maybe because she didn't feel judged by her. Despite their initial meeting, and how she sometimes killed her optimistic mood, Blake always talked without either spite or hate. She could get angry and sad, and lash out to others but… it never felt malicious. Not once.
She liked that. It was… simple, but hidden behind complicated feelings and expressions.
"I guess so. Why aren't you with Pyrrha?" She asked, looking Jaune over.
"Oh, well, I didn't actually come with her. No one did. It's why I'm wearing this." He said, pulling his dress up to cover his pecs a little more. Ruby chuckled.
"I see. So that was your bet. So why don't you dance with her?" He looked at her like she was crazy.
"What do you mean by that? She's Pyrrha Nikos, and I'm some guy in a ridiculous dress." he replied. She could see his self deprecation coming trough. Not on her watch.
"Jaune, I'm sure that she's delighted that you kept your promise, if only because it's you. So maybe, I don't know, go be with her. I'm sure that Pyrrha Nikos feels lonely too," The look on Jaune's face was worth her embarrassing speech.
"You're right," he slammed his glass on the table, without breaking it. "I have to find her. Thanks, Rubes!" She blushed a bit at the nickname, before going off.
She was alone again, staring at the dance floor. The song had ended, and Blake separated from Yang, except she could see Sun Kong staring at her from the other side. She was sure he was going to try to dance with her next. How come Blake got so many people with her? Why not Yang?
"Hey Ruby. Being socially awkward again?" She looked behind her, and glared at her older sister. Cinder smirked upon seeing her reaction.
"Not at all. Just enjoying the punch, and the food." She replied. She was glad to be back in talking terms with Cinder. Even if she still had reservations about how she acted at times, seeing her being normal and having fun, it put her at ease somewhat.
"You know the food here is trash, right? Ozpin probably spends all his budget on hookers. Or booze. Or both." Cinder picked up a small canape from the table, looked it over and put it down again, all with a frown.
"Or in weapons," Ruby replied. "The workshop is amazing," Her sister scoffed. Leave it to Cinder to see the bad on everything.
"If you say so." They set into a comfortable silence. However, she could feel Cinder eyeing her and the dance floor back and fort. Not her too…
"Why don't you dance?" she asked.
"I don't feel like it, that's all. Besides, these things would make me trip." She replied with a smile, tapping her heels on the floor.
"Yeah, you're not tricking me with that. You want to dance with Shadow Ninja over there, don't you?" Cinder's cocky smirk irritated her to no end.
She groaned, and then gave up. Cinder was too good at reading her. "Yes," she said. "But she already has people, and I'd rather she have fun with them." Ruby said. Her older sister shook her head before going behind her and grabbing her shoulders. The Red Reaper tensed.
"This is your night. Maybe think about yourself, once in a while. Otherwise…" Cinder let go, but Ruby did not run around.
"Otherwise…?" she tried to look behind her, but it was too late.
"I'll do it for you," A kick to her back, and she was sent flying straight towards Blake.
She hit a dark dress, and fell into something soft. Dazed, she looked up to find herself on top of her date. Her face ignited, with embarrassment as she looked into the cat faunus' bewildered eyes.
Her head darted to all sides, people were looking at her.
She got up in less than a second.
"Blake! I'm so sorry! Let me help you!" she said, lifting the faunus up with one hand.
"Wow! Ruby it's alright! I forgive you." Blake said, using the opportunity to pull Ruby closer. The Red Reaper froze in place when there was no distance left between them. She had to look up a little, but otherwise their faces were level with each other.
"W-What are you going?" she asked.
"Well, you're my date. It's only natural that I dance with you. I was just finished with Sun too, so you came in just in time." Blake smirked, and Ruby couldn't help but blush and look away. A new song, a slow one, began.
"I-I don't know how to dance Blake. I'll look like an idiot," she complained, but the cat faunus only laughed.
"Well, just a few minutes ago I couldn't either. But I learned on the fly. In any case…" Blake pulled, and Ruby followed, trying to stick close to her. "… We'll look like idiots together."
Cinder watched from the second floor as Ruby and Blake danced slowly. Her little step sister tripped a lot, and often times stepped on the cat faunus, but they always laughed it off. It warmed her heart, to see her sister enjoying herself so much.
"So, I guess mission accomplished." Yang said, leaning into the guardrail.
"Yup. I had to kick Ruby out of her shell, but better than breaking her out of it. Don't you think?" Cinder smiled at her step sister. She and the blonde had a few hours before set up a plan to make sure Ruby danced with Blake. It had come as a surprise to both of them, but Yang especially.
Yet, the brawler took it with stride, and she smiled every time she let her eyes on her dancing little sister.
"So you went for plan C. Shame." Yang said, letting her palm hang upwards.
"So you'd rather I used plan A? We still have time." Cinder asked with a glare.
"No, no. I'm glad it worked out perfectly. Still…" Yang looked away, all her energy disappearing in an instant.
"Something wrong?" Cinder asked. For a moment, she thought about putting a comforting hand on her sister's shoulder. Her loss of energy was very unusual, unless she hid her true feelings behind a happy mask. Which she often did.
"Not at all." Yang said, recovering her usual smile. Cinder frowned, but decided to let it go.
"Alright then. So… why aren't you with your date?" Asked the older huntress.
"Good question. Why aren't you? You look like a… a… deadly lady that could show you a good time and set you on fire." Yang said, pointing at her from head to toe.
"That's a… specific description. But anyways, I don't have one. No one here can even lick my heels," she said with pride. However, Yang only huffed. "It's true." She added.
"Sure it is. Well, same for me. No one really deserving of all this," Yang said, using her hands to signal her whole body. Cinder smiled. She liked her confidence.
"We don't need anyone. Just each other." she added.
"Damn straight! Two sisters against the world!" Yang lifted her hand with a big smile. Cinder had to roll her eyes, but in the end conceded.
"Right you are," she gave Yang a high five, which the brawler took in stride. "Where's Schnee anyway?" She asked, looking around the ball room. Not a single piece of white her. Which was disappointing.
"She seemed kinda down," Cinder raised an eyebrow as Yang once again leaned against the guardrail.
"And why is that? I thought a high class girl like her would love this." Asked the huntress.
"Neptune rejected her," So that was it? Cinder had to scoff.
"Wow. The white rich girl got rejected once in her life. Live and learn." She said, crossing her arms.
"Don't be like that Sis. Rejection hurts, you know." Yang was now frowning at her. Why? Why now? Why about this?
"Listen Yang, we both have been trough enough to know what real pain is," Yang's frown deepened.
"It doesn't matter. No one should have to go trough that. How about you learn to have some empathy?" Yang raised her voice, or at least it seemed like that. The music of the ball room made it difficult to tell.
"Right. Empathy. Well, I guess I better find her." Cinder said, turning around.
"Why?"
"To set her straight. That girl has got to stop crying about mundane stuff and save those tears for the real tragedies," Cinder said. At this, Yang laughed while shaking her head.
"If you're worried about her, you could just say so."
"I'm not worried. Just annoyed."
"Right. Try the balcony. That's where couples and the rejected go to have some alone time."
"Thanks. Have fun," with that, Cinder left Yang alone in the second floor.
She did not care about Weiss. She was just a spoiled brat that didn't know about the ways of the world. The Schnee needed someone to tell her how it all worked, so she wouldn't be a hinder to her team.
A/N: Sorry for the short chapter and long wait! I split it up because this part and the next did not have much to do thematically. I should post the next one soon enough. As for the delay, again, sorry. College is starting soon and so my anxiety is trough the roof, which at times blocks my writing.
As always, let me know of any mistakes.
Next chapter, the CCT infiltration, along with some moments between Pyrrha and Jaune, and Weiss and Winter.
That's all for now. See you next chapter!