The first day back at school was always fun and exciting, Astra had noted throughout the years. The air was full of anticipation for the months ahead, very little work was ever handed out so that students could 'adjust' to being back, and you got to see all the people you knew again.
The second day, however, was a lot more mutinous. The enthusiastic energy faded as everyone settled back into a routine of classes and sleep and the real lessons started up again. So far, today had consisted of a plant sciences class that only Lily had seemed to enjoy, one of Ilia's more boring history lessons about stuff Astra already knew, and they'd just come back from a Grimm study class on plain old Beowolves.
Astra was, of course, still plenty excited for what the term had to offer, especially with first-year missions coming up soon, but she missed when everyone else had felt the same way. Of course, she had two great friends and a wonderful, lovely, amazing girlfriend to keep her entertained, so who was she to complain?
They were all together outside now, enjoying the sunshine and eating lunch that they'd grabbed from the cafeteria. Astra sat with Luna and was resisting the temptation to lean on her shoulder, worried that she'd make her uncomfortable. Since they'd started dating, they'd spent more time away from each other than they'd actually spent together. It was just too soon.
"I hope Blaze is getting a nice lunch." Luna sighed.
Astra peered at her curiously. "Your sister? Why's that?" Luna had mentioned different members of her family multiple times, but it was hard for Astra to remember every detail, as hard as she tried.
"It's her birthday today," Luna explained. "Before, we used to both take the day off from school and the whole family would hang out at our house to celebrate." She gazed sadly at the sandwich she was eating. "She turns sixteen today and it'll be the first time she's ever spent it without me."
Astra hugged her arm comfortingly. "Aw hey, I'm sure she'll be fine!" She assured her. She'd not grown up with any other family members outside of her mother, so maybe she didn't fully understand how either Blaze or Luna felt, but she was sure this wasn't too drastic of a problem.
"Oh hey, Luna?" Cobalt pointed out suddenly, staring at something in the distance. "I don't think you'll have to worry too buy about it."
All three of the others followed his gaze to peer across over to other side of the outdoor eating area. Astra and Luna both froze, gasping. Astra had never seen them this close before, but she'd recognize those women instantly, and could guess who the teenager with them was.
She jumped to her feet before even Luna did, hands to her face. "It's them…" This was incredible. There was no way. She figured she'd have to met Blake and Yang soon, but not this soon. This was all happening so fast. What would they say to her? Did they approve of her relationship with Luna? Did they think she was good enough? Did she think she was good enough?
Luna stood up beside her and waved with one arm to them. "Hey, guys! Over here!"
The figures turned their way and approached. Astra felt herself freezing on the spot. It was really them.
"There you are!" Blake greeted Luna as she came over, the other two close behind her. "It's been a while since we've been over here," She chuckled. "We got a bit turned around trying to find you."
Luna wrapped both of her parents in a tight hug, delight clear on her face. "What are you guys doing here?"
"You'd think you hadn't seen us in weeks," Yang laughed as she returned the hug.
Blaze popped out from behind her parents to explain to Luna. "You couldn't stay home for my birthday, so we figured I should come here!"
Astra fixed all of her attention on the younger girl. So, this was Blaze Xiao Long. Already, Astra could tell she was vastly different from her older sister. Taller, for one, even taller than Yang, but also with seemingly none of Luna's shyness or awkwardness. She also had short-cut blonde hair, in stark contrast with Luna's long black locks. But that energy. This girl was raring to go and looked like she might punch the first thing that came her way if she wasn't sure whether or not it was an enemy. Astra liked her already.
Luna looked thrilled. "That's amazing!" She gave her sister a quick hug, but concern fluttered across her face for a moment as she pulled back. "Wait, is this allowed?"
Yang waved her hand. "Don't worry about it," She assured her. "Coco owed us a favour, figured today would be a good day to cash it in."
Astra suddenly couldn't believe she'd never taken the change to ask the vice-headmistress about her experiences with teams RWBY and JNR. She'd have to do that later.
Blake turned to Cobalt and Lily. "It's good to see you again, Cobalt." She said warmly. "How is everyone?"
Cobalt beamed at her. "We're doing pretty good. Business has been great lately." He glanced down at his suit, which had been newly remodeled over the holidays. "My mother helped me make some adjustments to my armor; what do you guys think?"
Astra was amazed that he could just ask the opinion of these legends so confidently, but then, he'd probably known them since he was a little kid.
Yang looked thoughtful. "More cover in your vulnerable areas, that's good," She noted. "And have you re-enforced that stitching on the leather?"
Cobalt nodded, clearly trying to hide his pride at her approval.
Blake glanced at Lily. "How's your mother doing?" She asked, her tone gentler this time. Astra could tell she wanted to ask about Neo too, but figured she was holding back saying so out loud.
Lily looked much, much more reserved than Cobalt did as she answered. "She's doing okay. Still working overtime, but she'll be working on lowering her hours as soon as she gets her Huntress license." She glanced quickly at Astra and Cobalt. "And Neo's doing okay too." At Blake's brief look of concern, she quickly added, "Don't worry, they know. They're not going to tell anyone."
Blake nodded acceptingly. "That's good to hear. I'm glad they're both okay." Her yellow gaze turned to Astra, and Yang looked at her too, interest clear on both women's faces.
"And you must be Astra, right?" Blake asked inquisitively. "it's good to finally meet you."
"Right," Yang chuckled. "Luna seems to text you more than anyone else. You are her partner, I suppose. The connection there can often be…" She glanced at Blake and winked briefly, inciting a smile from her wife. "…Special."
Astra felt rooted to the spot. What did she say? What could she say that wouldn't sound dumb? Why was she so much more nervous than she thought she'd be? Was it because these were now not only two of Remnant's biggest heroes, but also her girlfriend's parents? And wait…why had Yang only mentioned that she and Luna were partners?
"Um, it's really nice to finally meet you guys!" She managed, forcing her worries down. "I've always been such a big fan of your work, especially now that- "
Before she could finish, Luna grabbed her arm. "I just remembered I needed to talk to Astra about an assignment I've got coming up!" She sputtered as Astra stared at her. "Can you guys give us a sec? You can uh…talk to Lily more about Emerald and Neo."
She pulled Astra a short distance away, far enough that Astra couldn't make out what Blake and Yang were now saying to Lily as the teenage girl bounced beside them.
She stared at Luna in confusion. "So, uh…what was that about? Do we have an assignment? She hoped not, because she certainly couldn't remember being given one. She had to start paying more attention in class…
Luna looked slightly stressed. "No, it's just…" She took a deep breath, her hands on her temples and shame on her face. "I haven't exactly…told them…" She avoided Astra's gaze. "…About us."
Astra blinked for a moment before it clicked. "Ooooohhh," She realized. "Because of my mother, right?" She nodded. "I guess that makes sense, I know she was never very…sensitive with either of them." She chuckled sheepishly.
Luna stared at her, guilt still swimming in those beautiful lavender eyes. "You're not…upset about it?"
Astra's eyes widened. "Of course not, why would I be?"
Luna looked away again. "I didn't want you to think I was ashamed of you…"
Astra pulled her into a hug before she could say anything else. "Hey, I don't think that." She assured her. "And even if you were, I wouldn't blame you. But it's totally cool that you're not ready to admit that you're dating the daughter of Neon Katt."
Luna sighed as Astra pulled away. "I will tell them though, at some point," She replied. "I promise."
"Don't rush yourself," Astra told her softly. "You'll tell them when you're ready. Until then, I won't say a word." She grabbed Luna's hand and squeezed it softly before letting go again.
The two headed back to the others, where Lily was still talking to Yang and Blake.
"…She's just really unsure about it all." Lily was saying.
"Hey, that's okay," Blake replied kindly. "She's bound to be after what she's been through, but that's what we're here to help her with."
"And I can teach her anything she needs to know to control her Maiden powers." Yang added, flaring up her eyes for emphasis.
Astra stared at the purple flames in awe. Never before had she seen Maiden powers up close, and even though Yang wasn't technically using them right now, she could only imagine the sheer power she held. Amazing. It was increasingly easy to see how this woman had helped save Remnant from Salem and her evil forces.
Yang turned to her and Luna. "You're back!" She greeted them cheerily. "Figure out your assignment?" Was that a teasing note in her voice, or was Astra imagining it?"
"Uhh yep!" She replied, forcing confidence. "I'd uh…forgotten about it," She lied. "Good thing Luna reminded me."
"She's always forgetting," Luna added. "So, I figured I'd remind her the moment it popped into my head. So, anyway," She turned to Blaze and grinned as she changed the subject. "Do you want us to show you around? A special birthday tour?"
Blaze's eyes lit up and Astra could've sworn they sparked with red. "Absolutely!" The young girl exclaimed, a wide grin on her face that flashed pointy canines.
With a small chuckle, Luna led the way as the group followed her around the school grounds. The whole time, Blaze stared around with amazement that reminded Astra of her own first experience with Beacon, but much more raw. She seemed especially excited when the team showed her the sparring grounds, both indoor and outdoor, and Astra noticed that the ground became warmer everywhere the blonde-haired girl stepped. She remembered Luna mentioning that Blaze's Semblance was the ability to heat things up, and that she'd set multiple things of fire, multiple times. This kid was going to wreak havoc on the battlefield, Astra was very sure of that.
She found herself very grateful for the family's arrival. This was the energy she'd been looking for; this was the kind of unexpected thing she'd found herself hoping for every day. Sure, Blake and Yang, especially yang, were very intimidating and Astra had no idea what they thought of her, but all the same, she was glad to check them off her list at the end of the day. A few legends down, many more to go.
