"Nice day to meet up with your former enemy-turned-good, huh?" Yang stretched as she walked, the metal on her hand glinting in the sun. Blake elbowed her and she put her hands back down. "Sorry," She apologized. "Things seemed tense."
"It'll be fine," Luna assured her from behind. "Once you guys talk things out and hopefully sort out a plan, any hard feelings still left behind will be gone."
Yang glanced back at her with a teasing grin. "Now, where did this sudden confidence come from? Looks like Beacon's been doing a good job on you."
Luna looked away and tried not to smile. "I'm not that much more confident." She attempted to protest. Inside, she knew it was helping a little bit. But not enough to be significant.
"Aw hey, don't be embarrassed!" Yang assured her, motherly comfort replacing her teasing tone. "I'm proud you've come so far in such a short time. It takes a good leader to set up something like this."
"She's right," Blake added. "Doing something like this to help your friend shows a lot of maturity and responsibility, and you're handling it well."
Luna rubbed her arm, unable to dismiss her parents' praise. "I mean, it was because of Lily as well," She admitted. "But…thanks. I'm glad too."
The three of them had set out a short while ago to head out and meet up with Emerald and Lily. This would be the first of hopefully many, and they'd be discussing each of their shortcomings, making amends, and figuring out what to do in the future. Hopefully, it would lead to better things for the small family. Luna didn't want to see her friend hurting any longer.
Technically, Luna didn't have to come, but she knew Lily was going and had seized the chance to be able to see her again, though school would be returning in a few days anyway. She'd asked Blaze if she'd wanted to come too, but her sister had elected to spend the day with their cousins, Summer, April, and Li.
"I'm still surprised that Emerald even had a daughter," Blake commented, keeping her voice down among the crowds of Vale's city. She looked slightly downcast. "I wish we had known. We would have helped her with anything she needed.
"That's what you'll be working on fixing," Luna affirmed. "And I don't think Emerald holds it against you anyway."
After a moment more of walking, Luna spotted Lily and an older woman she assured was Emerald seated outside the café they'd agreed to meet at. As she approached, she offered a shy wave to Lily, who waved back.
"Emerald," Blake extended her hand. "It's good to see you again." Luna could hear the sincerity in her words. She hoped Emerald could too.
"It's been too long," Emerald shook Blake's hand, though Luna noticed slight hesitance. "Though, I suppose that's my fault, isn't it?"
"Hey, don't worry about that just yet," Yang replied, shaking her hand as Blake had. She glanced around. "I take it Ruby and Weiss aren't here yet?"
Emerald shook her head. "Not yet."
Yang gave a short laugh. "For someone with a speed Semblance, Ruby's never been great at being punctual. I thought Weiss and Penny would straighten that out in her, but they've never been able to.
Emerald chuckled; a slight hole in the tension.
Luna went and stood beside Lily. "Hey," She whispered. "How've you been?"
"Good," Lily replied a smile. "It's been pretty quiet without you guys though." She grinned. "Never thought I'd miss the chaos."
"Well, while we wait for the other two," Yang said to Emerald. "How about we grab some coffee? I'm happy to cover it."
"No, that's " Emerald started to decline but at a sharp look from Lily, seemed to relent. "Actually, that sounds nice, thank you."
Luna had a plan in mind for while the meeting was being held, not too comfortable with the idea of sitting around for it when it wasn't really her business.
"Hey, is it okay if Lily and I go for a wander?" She piped up. "I'd like to show her something."
Yang grinned at her. "Don't wanna stick around while the grown-ups talk, huh?" She chuckled and glanced at Emerald. "Are you okay with that?"
"Of course," Emerald nodded, offering a smile to Luna. "It's nice to finally meet you, by the way." She told her. "I haven't seen Lily this happy in years."
Luna shuffled her feet awkwardly. "She's a good friend," Was what she managed. "I'm happy to do anything I can to make her happy." Beside her, Lily looked thoroughly embarrassed.
Blake nodded at them. "Go have fun, then. Just be back in a couple of hours."
"Right." Luna turned to Lily. "Come on, it's not far." She resisted the instinct to gently grab her arm and pull her along as she often did with Cobalt.
She led Lily through the streets, knowing exactly where she was going just from memory. She'd been to this shop several times before and could make it there with her eyes closed if she had to.
"Tell your parents thanks for me, by the way." Lily commented as they walked.
Luna glanced at her. "What for?"
"Well, this whole thing, for one," Lily pointed out. "But also…" She sighed. "My mom's pay was docked. She's short on money. It was nice of your mother to offer to pay for her drink like that. I know it's just a small thing, but it's not a luxury we get very often."
Luna smiled at her. "Hey, it was nothing," She assured her. "Yang always pays small things for other people if they let her. It's an old habit."
Lily smiled back. "Well, I'm grateful anyway." She looked ahead. "So, where are we going?"
"We're almost…" Luna squinted at one of the signs sticking out over the footpath as the sun glared in her eyes. "Ah, there we are." She quickened her pace, Lily following, until they both stood in front of the shop.
Lily blinked up at the sign above the door. "The CFVY shop…wait, Team CFVY?" She turned to Lily. "They own a café?"
"Well, Fox and Yatsuhasi own a café," Luna corrected. "But the important thing is, Cobalt works here during the holidays. Aaaanddd if memory serves me right, he should be working right now." She grinned. "Thought you might like to visit your partner."
Lily seemed to light up. "Really? That's awesome!" She peered at the 'all are welcome' sign in the window. "I'm surprised I've never been here before. Then again, we never really go to public places often anyway."
"Oh, it's a great little place," Luna assured her. "Best coffee in Remnant." Pushing the door open, she led Lily into the quaint little shop, several flavours of coffee bursting in on her. At the counter, a familiar red-headed man looked up.
"Ah, if it isn't my favourite customer," He greeted. "Is that someone new you've got with you?"
"Hey Fox," Luna replied cheerily. "This is Lily, Cobalt's partner."
Recognition fluttered across Fox's face at the name. "Aahh, the fabled Lily. Cobalt talks about you a lot," He told Lily. "It's good to finally meet you."
"You too." Lily nodded respectfully, before seeming to realize there was no point and looking embarrassed. "Anyway, uh, we heard Cobalt might be here?"
"Yeah, he's out back," Fox replied. "But there's actually someone else here I think you'll " He was cut off by a loud gasp from the other side of the café. Luna barely had time to turn and look before a colourful blur slammed into her, almost knocking her over and wrapping her in a tight hug.
"Astra!" Luna gasped in delight, hugging her back. "I can't believe you're here!"
Astra pulled away from her, though she kept her hands on her shoulders. "I can't believe you're here!" She replied breathlessly. "I'd never been here before, so I thought I'd check it out and- oh!" She broke up with another gasp, finally seeming to notice Lily. "Lily! You're here too!" She squealed, stamping her feet lightly. "The whole team's back together and it's not even second term!" She grabbed Luna's hand. "Come on, I've got the best spot."
Fox chuckled as Astra pulled Luna to the other side of the shop, Lily following behind, shaking her head affectionately.
As Luna sat beside Astra in the booth she'd seemingly been sitting at earlier, she kept a hold of her hand. It felt good to be near her again, after a week and a half without even being able to see her face in person. She couldn't describe how much she'd missed her, especially when she'd yet to tell her parents about the relationship. She wasn't ashamed at all, but she knew that Yang didn't have the…fondest opinion of Astra's mother. She'd already joked about how intense it must be to have her daughter as a partner and Luna didn't want any worse jokes if she'd told her they were dating now. Nevertheless, it was good to see her again.
"So, what are you guys doing here?" Astra asked once they were comfortable.
"Our parents are meeting at the moment," Luna explained. "But I wanted to show Lily this place while we were here, so we could see Cobalt before school goes back."
"We certainly weren't expecting to run into you." Lily chuckled.
Astra wiggled in her seat. "I had no idea Cobalt even worked here," She admitted. "But I'll be coming back here a lot anyway. This place makes the best little cakes!"
"You can thank Yatsu for those," A new voice replied. Luna looked up to see Cobalt, casually dressed for once, and wearing a cute little apron and nametag.
"Hey," She grinned at him. "Not on break yet, huh?"
Cobalt shrugged. "I can fix that," He turned his head towards the kitchen. "Yatsu!" he called. "I'm taking my break!"
"Twenty minutes!" A deep voice called back.
"Great." Cobalt plopped down in the booth beside Lily. "So, what's going on?"
Luna shrugged. "Oh, you know, just our parents sorting out history."
"Not mine," Astra chipped in. "I was just exploring. But I told you that already."
Cobalt chuckled. "Right," He glanced at Lily. "So, meeting's today, huh? You think it'll go okay?"
Lily sighed. "I hope so. My mother was really nervous."
"Hey, it'll go fine," Luna assured her. "Mine were a little nervous too," She chuckled. "I can tell, 'cause Yang's been cracking jokes all morning. She only does it this much when she's worried about something. But they'll be okay, and everything will get better afterward."
Lily nodded. "Right. There's no reason to think anything could actually go wrong."
"Man," Astra sighed. "I wish this weren't such an important thing, 'cause I would have really liked to go out there and meet them." Her eyes sparkled. "All of Team RWBY and two Maidens? It'd be amazing."
Luna squeezed her hand. "You'll get your chance, don't worry." I'll just have to let them know we're actually dating first.
The conversation was interrupted as Yatsuhashi came over and laid four steaming mugs on the table. "Thought you lot could use some treats. On the house, don't worry."
Cobalt grinned up at him. "Aw, thanks Yatsu," He replied, affection clear in his eyes. He glanced at Astra and Lily. "You guys are gonna love these. I promise you you've never tasted better."
Yatsu ruffled his hair. "Come on, kid, don't lie to them." As he walked away again, Cobalt turned back to the group.
"He's being modest in front of customers," he whispered cheekily. "But he's never like that at home."
Astra sipped at her mug, her eyes lighting up. "Ooh, well he wasn't kidding!" She exclaimed. "The stuff I make from a tin at home never tastes this good."
The team continued to talk and joke with each other within the next twenty minutes and Luna relished the time, even if it was brief. After Cobalt got back to work again, Luna and Lily continued to converse with Astra, poking fun at Cobalt as they watched him attend to the occasional picky or rude customer. Luna hadn't expected to see her whole team again before Beacon's second term started, but she was glad she had. She'd not bee sure how she'd adjust to being around them again after two weeks apart, but this event assured her of just how quickly she could fall back into familiarity with them.
She found herself hoping that Team RWBY and Emerald were able to feel at least almost as comfortable now that they were talking again. Sure, they'd never been close before, but they'd still been through a tough time together, and Luna knew that could be enough to form a bond in anyone. Hopefully, they were rekindling that bond now and would be ready to work together to help Emerald start a better life, one that would see her and Lily being treated better by society.
It was only a hope, but one Luna clung to, and one she had a feeling would blossom into reality. Just as she and her team had each other's backs, she had faith that Team RWBY could do the same for Emerald.
