Author's Note: Wow this is late. Sorry about that. Had that good old writer's block.
Also, to Anonanon: No spoilers :P
Also also, re-uploading this due to some issues I found.
Anywho, Enjoy this super long chapter! Announcements at the end!
Cinder was exhausted.
After a painfully long therapy session filled with tears from talking about her past, it was finally time to go home. Raven paid the session fee, bid farewell to and received another big hug from Glynda, and the pair headed out - All while their hands were still connected. It was not until the two entered Raven's car that their hands separated for the first time in several hours. As her boss started the vehicle and pulled out of the parking spot, Cinder glanced down at her now free hand. After having her fingers intertwined with Raven's for that long, it almost felt... strange not to be holding anything. Maybe... they could hold hands again... That would be nice...
"Hey, Cinder?" Came Raven's voice, interrupting the younger woman's train of thought.
Cinder looked up and turned to her boss. "Yes?"
"You wanna get something to eat?" Raven wondered.
Cinder blinked. "As in... together?"
"Well yeah, that's why I'm asking." Raven clarified. "It wouldn't be anything fancy, just some fast food or takeout or something. I know a few places with drive thrus if you don't wanna go out in public. You got anything you feel like?"
"Not really." Cinder mumbled. "But... I'd rather not have to be in public right now if that's okay."
"Sounds good to me." Raven acknowledged. "The less I have to deal with the fake smiles and happy-go-lucky attitudes of those fast food workers the better."
Cinder let out a small chuckle. "Tell me about it."
After a brief silence, Raven spoke up again. "What about pitas? I haven't had one of those in a while."
Cinder thought for a moment. The only times she usually ate out - not counting Nora - were Mistrali takeout with the redhead. Otherwise she tried to stick to cooking her own meals. It was normally cheaper that way. "That's fine." She agreed.
"Alright, pitas it is then." Raven noted, flipping on her turn signal to alter their course.
Surprisingly, the restaurant ended up being much closer to Cinder's apartment than she expected. It was actually part of a plaza she had been to before, as the small grocery store she regularly visited was there as well. Maybe if this was good she could come back sometime. As Raven pulled the car into the building's drive thru, Cinder was able to get a look at the menu. There were a lot of options...
"Is there anything you recommend?" Cinder asked as she continued to scan the menu.
"Well I usually get the Ricey Pita, but the Tropical is also pretty good, same with the Sizzler if you like like spicy food." Raven explained.
I like spicy food. Cinder thought to herself. The tingling sensation on her tongue, the fire burning in her stomach... It was such an... exciting sensation. "I will have a Sizzler then."
Raven offered a smile. "Good choice. You want a drink too? Cause you're gonna need it."
"I can handle my spices just fine." Cinder assured, in a slightly sassier tone than she meant to use. "But a water is fine."
"Guess we'll see." Raven jested, shooting a slight smirk over at the other woman.
Pulling the car up to the speaker next to the menu, Raven ordered her food. Cinder opened her mouth to do the same, but her boss continued to do it for her... which was nice of her, but odd. She may had just come from a therapy session, but she was still perfectly capable of ordering for herself... or at least mostly capable. Once the orders were placed and Raven had payed at the first window - Cinder attempted to cover for herself, but the older woman insisted - she pulled up to the second one to collect their food.
"So where do you wanna eat?" Raven wondered after being handed the bag of food. "We could go back to the bar, maybe look for a free bench in the park if you're feeling up for it, or hell we can just find a parking spot and eat in here if you want. I don't really care either way."
Cinder thought for a moment. She did not not want to make Raven drive back to the bar just so they could eat in private, nor did she really care to be out in public - for obvious reasons - but eating in the car seemed like a fine option. Sure, it was not exactly the most practical setup, since there was nowhere aside from their laps to put the food, but it was far from unusable. "Can we eat here?" Cinder requested.
"Sure thing." Raven agreed, pulling the car out of the drive thru.
Thankfully it did not take long for them to find a spot, as the plaza was not very busy. It was past closing time for a good number of the establishments after all. Once the vehicle had been parked and shut off, the pair dug in. Upon first biting into the pita, one thing immediately came to Cinder's mind; where was the spice? Raven had said it was going to be hot, and even said she would need water, but so far she was tasting no such thing-
"Hmph!"
Holy shit this thing is spicy. And that was saying something, considering how much Cinder enjoyed spicy food. Though that of course was not a bad thing. The pita was absolutely delicious, which meant she would definitely have to come back someday soon. Then she heard snickering from next to her.
"Told ya." Raven smirked, trying to hold back a laugh as the younger woman took a drink of her water.
"Shut up!" Cinder whined. "It just wasn't spicy at first!"
Raven then quirked a brow, a slight smirk still present on her face. "Did you just tell your boss to shut up?"
Cinder froze, suddenly aware of what she just said. "I... uh..."
"Is this how you talked to your old boss?" Raven wondered.
"Gods no." Cinder laughed. "No one would survive that."
"Sounds like a bitch." Raven observed.
Cinder let out a slightly nervous chuckle. "She's the kind of individual who you always wonder if they're standing right behind you."
"How pleasant."
"It's not as bad as you think." Cinder tried to assure. "She's just a very... formal person, and someone who's bad side you would unquestionably want to stay off of."
"You ever have any contact with her?" Raven asked after taking another bite of her pita.
Cinder shook her head, her gaze slightly falling. "I haven't spoken to her since before the accident. She stood up for me at the trial... in her own way... but after that... nothing. Like everyone else."
A grimace quickly found its way onto Raven's face. "So she's just another piece of shit that abandoned you then."
Cinder blinked, not expecting the reaction. "What?"
"Well you worked directly under her for six years, and like you said she defended you at your trial, yet she just ditches you after it's all done?" Raven scowled. "I don't know about you but to me that's a pretty shitty thing to do."
Cinder opened her mouth to respond, but could not find the words. As much as she wanted to defend Salem, she was unable to. It was true that her former boss had done a fair amount for her - trusting her with running the entire engineering department for one - but in the end, she was only that; her boss. Her employer. Out of all the years Cinder knew her, they never talked about their personal lives, never saw each other outside of work - at least intentionally - hell, she never even invited her over for dinner. As much as she did want to admit it, Raven was right. Just like everyone else in her life, Salem had abandoned her.
"I suppose that's true..." Cinder mumbled.
A few minutes passed by in silence, as the pair simply went back to eating their pitas. There were a couple times where Raven's gaze briefly shifted to Cinder - unbeknownst to the younger woman - but she never said anything, at least at first. Seemingly sensing her employee's downcast mood, she decided to change the subject.
"So uh, how'd you find the session?" Raven wondered.
"It was... surprising." Cinder answered after a moment of thought. "I thought Glynda would be... intrusive... but she did no such thing today... Instead she merely asked questions about my situation and... what happened with the accident. Sure it was not exactly the easiest thing to discuss, but in the end... there was no judging. She just... listened."
"Well, Glynda is a licensed therapist after all." Raven noted. "She knows that in order to properly help you, she needs all the info first."
"Right..." Cinder acknowledged.
"Oh and speaking of getting all the info, since you didn't mention it in the session, how long have you been suffering from insomnia?" Raven asked.
"For as long as I can remember." Cinder informed with a sigh. "It only ever got better when I started dating. First it became less frequent when I was with Neo in high school, but it started back up once she broke up with me. Then... Then Emmy came around... and it was like I had been cured. Every morning I was able to wake up from a full night of sleep with her in my arms... I thought I would never have to deal with that bullshit again, but as you saw yesterday, that's not the case."
"I understand that."
Cinder blinked. "You... do?"
Raven nodded. "I've been suffering from that shit since high school. That's when I uh, started drinking a lot more than I should've."
"And... are there any ways you know how to deal with it?" Cinder wondered.
"Well aside from drinking, which was a terrible solution by the way, the only time I lived without it was during... my last serious relationship." Raven explained, unable to meet her employee's curious gaze. "When I was with them... it was like I never had it at all. Every night I was able to sleep soundly." Then she sighed. "At least I could... until I learned that she never loved me..."
Wait... what? "How... were you with someone that didn't love you?" Cinder inquired.
"Oh, right. It wasn't just me and her, there was a man too. It was a uh... polyamorous relationship if I'm not getting that wrong." Raven informed. "It sounds a little complicated I know, and honestly it kinda was, but to put it simply; I loved both of them, the guy loved both of us, but she... only loved him. We tried to make it work, but as you could probably guess, it didn't."
"That's... unfortunate." Cinder mumbled. "I'm so sorry you had to go through that... I know how difficult it can be to love someone who doesn't love you back."
"Well, what happened happened. No sense crying it over it now." Raven grumbled.
Cinder did not end up responding, but she got the feeling there was much more to that story than Raven was letting on.
And thus ended their less than pleasant conversation. Once the two had finished their pitas, Raven collected the trash and deposited it into a nearby trashcan before returning to take Cinder home. The ride was spent in slightly awkward silence until they arrived at her apartment. Once the car had come to a stop and she had unbuckled her seat belt, she turned to the older woman.
"I... I realize it wasn't exactly easy to get me to see Glynda, and I'm still unsure of what I think about it... but... thank you, for everything."
Raven offered a small smile. "Don't worry about it. We all need a little help sometimes."
That we do. Cinder thought to herself. Bidding farewell to her boss, she exited the vehicle and made her way up to her apartment, where after stripping off her clothes, she promptly flopped down onto her bed, not even bothering with putting on pajamas. Her bed might be cheap and lumpy, but Cinder was tired enough to not give a shit. It was good enough.
It was time for bed.
Lying awake on her lumpy mattress, there was one thing going through Cinder's mind:
Fuck you insomnia.
Normally waking up in the middle of the night was not all bad - all things considered - as at least it served as a reminder that the nightmares were not real, but unfortunately that was not the case on this particular night. No, tonight she had been woken up from a dream that was actually rather... nice, albeit a tad strange. What made it worse was that Cinder was never one to remember a large number of her dreams - even the nightmares - so the fact she could recall the one that had just been interrupted was quite irritating.
It started with Cinder opening her eyes, finding herself in a park, sitting on a lawn chair under an umbrella. At first it was nothing special. She had dreamt of similar pre-accident situations many times before, so being able to see herself without the burns was no surprise. The surprise came when she looked over and saw her boss sitting in another chair next to her. Not Salem, not any of her previous bosses, but her current boss. The strangest part was not even having Raven in her dream - Cinder imagined it would happen sooner or later - it was the fact that she was there all while the younger woman's burns were not. Then it got even stranger when Raven looked over at her and... smiled. It was not a tired smile, nor a half smile, but a full smile. A bright smile. She looked rather pretty, though that did not make it any less weird. If Cinder did not know it was a dream before, she definitely did then.
But of course, that was not all.
When Cinder turned back to face forward, she was greeted with another... interesting sight, or rather a couple interesting sights. The first came in the form of a volleyball game that pitted two couples against each other - Vernal and Weiss, and Yang and Neo. Vernal and Yang certainly looked like they were much more into it than the other two - they did seem like fairly competitive individuals - but everyone was still having fun. She watched the blonde score another point before her girlfriend quickly jumped into her arms, meeting her in a loving kiss. It honestly made Cinder smile, as she hoped their out-of-dream relationship was at least a bit like that.
While the sight of the two couples battling it out was quite amusing, there was another view that Cinder was able to see was a bit more... bizarre. On the other side of the small field she found Nora flying kites with two people she absolutely did not expect to see with the redhead: Ruby and Pyrrha. Even though it did not exactly make Cinder happy to see those two in her dream, her... dream self seemed perfectly fine with it. She even smiled and waved, as if she was just as good of friends with them as she was with Nora. It was... odd, to be able to look at that pair without any ire. But seeing Nora with them... it actually made Cinder realize something; out of all the time she had spent with the redhead, she could not recall her ever mentioning any sort of other friends or even acquaintances that were not clients of hers. Maybe she could introduce her to the people at the bar sometime.
As memories of her dream continued to fill her mind, Cinder could not help but think about how nice it was to see them all so... relaxed, like none of their real-life problems mattered. She wished it could be real, their little... family outing type situation. But unfortunately that was not the case. It was merely a figment of her imagination. For now, Cinder needed to get back to sleep. She had work tomorrow after all. Or... maybe it was today. So she pulled out her scroll to check.
2:07 AM
Guess I have work today. Cinder thought to herself. And also a text from... Yang? The text was dated just over half an hour ago, but still... what exactly did she want this early in the morning?
Yang: Ignore this if it woke you, I don't wanna be a bother, but just in case you're already awake, I need someone to talk to. Can't sleep.
Cinder just blinked, unsure of how she should respond to the unexpected text. Something seemed... off about it. Ever since meeting her, Yang had always worn such a bright smile, had such a cheerful attitude - rivaling that of even Nora - but even the one message... it lacked all of that. Cinder could only wonder, had something happened? Was that why the blonde had the day off? No... that could not be it. Yang was just... tired. Perhaps from a party, late night clubbing, or something similar. It was two in the morning after all. So she typed out a response.
Cinder: If you haven't fallen asleep yet, I could use the company as well.
Surprisingly enough, Cinder actually received a response only a few minutes later. And it looked... a bit better than the previous one.
Yang: No Nora this evening? ;)
Cinder got the feeling she was going to regret telling her about that.
Cinder: She does not spend every night here Yang.
Yang: I know I know, just making sure I'm not interrupting anything.
Cinder: I assure you, you're not. Just a woman who woke up from a dream.
Yang: Was it a nightmare?
Cinder: Surprisingly not. It was actually quite pleasant. I wish I could go back to it.
Yang: I know that feeling pretty well. What was it about?
Cinder: Well it started like many others have, without my injuries. I found myself in a park, sitting under an umbrella, but rather than seeing people from my past, I saw everyone from the bar, Nora, Weiss, even Ruby and Pyrrha as they are now. It was interesting to say the least. Raven and I were sitting together, Nora was flying kites with Ruby and Pyrrha, and you and Neo were playing volleyball against Weiss and Vernal. I watched you score a point, and Neo jumped into your arms to kiss you. Everyone looked so happy, like there were no issues plaguing our minds.
Yang: Sounds nice.
There it was again. No cheer whatsoever. Cinder hoped that was merely the fatigue.
Cinder: Are you alright Yang?
The other woman did not respond immediately. In fact, several minutes passed with no reply. Maybe she fell asleep. Placing her scroll back onto the bed, Cinder went to pull the covers up to try to get back to sleep, but then the device buzzed once more. Opening the message, Cinder saw it was only three words.
Yang: Neo dumped me.
Cinder stared at the text, not knowing how exactly to respond. She knew for a fact that Neo was not exactly the romantic type, so hearing Yang was dating her came as quite the shock - especially considering what she was like when Cinder was with her. Back when they were in high school, it was the Queen Bee and the little crazy girl. They fucked around for a few months until Neo became... disinterested. Cinder then had to face the fact that she had developed feelings for the younger woman that were not being reciprocated. Then when given an ultimatum, Neo left without a second thought. Now she knew someone that might have gone through something similar, and she did not warn her... Even though she should have.
Cinder sighed. This was not a topic that should be discussed over text. She much preferred verbal communication anyway, as she did not quite understand the obsession some people had with texting. Instead of responding, Cinder navigated to Yang's contact and tapped the Call Mobile button. She only had to listen to the ringing tone a single time before the call was answered.
There was a slight pause. "Uh, hello?" Came Yang's soft voice, barely even audible.
"Hi Yang." Cinder greeted, not as quietly but still fairly hushed. "I apologize for calling, but I didn't really want to have this kind of conversation through texting."
"Oh, okay. That's cool." Yang acknowledged. "But just an FYI, I'm at Ruby and Pyrrha's place, and they're kinda both asleep, so I gotta keep my voice as low as I can."
"Of course, but why are you there?" Cinder asked.
"I uh, after Neo left me, I sorta... fell apart." Yang explained. "I got super drunk, ended up texting Ruby... She and Pyrrha came over pretty soon after. We talked for a bit, and they invited me to stay here."
"Is that why you took the day off?" Cinder added.
"Yeah." The blonde confirmed. "I was gonna come in, but Ruby made me stay home."
A slight smile found its way onto Cinder's face, even though the other woman could not see it. "Ever the caring one isn't she."
Yang let out an especially soft chuckle. "Yeah, that's my sis."
There was a brief pause before Cinder spoke again. "If you don't mind my asking, what... happened with Neo?"
A quiet sigh could be heard from the other end of the line. "Well which version do you want?" Yang wondered. "The short one or the long one?"
"Whichever one you're most comfortable with sharing." Cinder shrugged, to which she quickly realized the younger woman was unable to see her actions. She did not speak to people on her scroll very often anymore.
"Short version it is then." Yang informed. "We'd usually get together every week or so for our dates... or sex sessions more like... We never really went on proper dates... Anyways, a couple days ago was one of those times, but she never texted me to come over like she normally would. So I decided to just head over anyway. Then when I got there, she was... with someone else... Ended up just shutting the door in my face..."
The moment those words registered was when Cinder knew for certain that she should have warned Yang. Neo had never cheated on her when they were together, but her eyes were always... wandering. She looked at dozens of men and other women, but she never actually did anything. At least not alone. During their time together, Neo was always one for experimenting, be it with positions, toys, or... other partners. Even though Cinder never objected to any of it, having to share her girlfriend with another person did not feel... right. But at least it helped her learn something about herself; polyamorous relationships were not for her. Though this was not about Cinder, this was about Yang.
"I'm so sorry..." Cinder mumbled.
"You don't gotta be." Yang assured. "Just weren't meant to be is all. Should've made my expectations clearer..."
"No, it's... I should have warned you about her... what she was like back in high school..." Cinder clarified.
"What do you mean?" Yang asked.
Cinder took a deep breath. "When we were together, I thought she cared for me, as I did for her... but sadly that was not the case. To her, I was little more than a... joyride... and just like you I fell apart after she left me." She sighed. "Yang, I can't apologize enough for not telling you about my history with Neo, as your current situation could have been avoided if I had..."
A few moments passed without a response from the blonde, and Cinder began to think she fell asleep.
"Maybe, but maybe not." Yang finally murmured. "Even if you did tell me, I'm not the sharpest tool when it comes to relationships. Sure I wanted a little more, but I liked what we had... even though it wasn't that much to begin with. It was just... nice to have someone to be with every once in a while ya know?"
"Yeah... I do." Cinder acknowledged, knowing exactly how the younger woman felt. Being friends with Nora had really shown her just how beneficial someone's semi-regular presence in her life could be, while having been with Neo showed her how much it hurt when someone she cared about suddenly left. Unfortunately, as much as Cinder wanted to help Yang, but was unsure how. She did not feel like she knew her well enough to properly help her. Although... there were a couple people she knew that could be of some assistance. Or at least one person... depending on how open the younger woman was.
"Hey Yang?"
"Yeah?"
"Would you like to meet Nora?" Cinder offered.
There was a slight pause. "As in your escort friend?"
"That's the one." Cinder confirmed. "Now I'm not sure when it would be, as her work keeps her quite... busy, but I'm sure I could convince her to visit the bar sometime."
Another pause. "You're not trying to set me up with her are you?" Yang wondered. "Cause aren't you two... involved?"
Cinder let out a small chuckle. "I'm not trying to set you two up Yang. I just think she's the type of person you could benefit from being around right now."
"Benefit from being around huh?" Yang echoed, likely with a grin on her face.
"That is what I said." Cinder answered.
"Could be interesting." Yang commented before letting out a rather large yawn.
That reminded Cinder; it was nearly three in the morning. Both of them ought to be sleeping. "Sounds to me like we should turn in for the night."
"Yeah... that's probably a good idea." Yang agreed. "It was nice talking to you Cinder... and thanks."
Cinder raised her brow, which she realized the younger woman could not see. "Thanks?"
"For giving me someone to talk to at this hour." Yang clarified. "It was nice."
A smile found its way onto Cinder's face. "I'm glad I could help."
"We should text more often." Yang suggested. "Feels nice to have someone else to talk to outside of work."
"I'd like that." Cinder smiled.
"Well, if I'm at work tomorrow, I'll see you there. But if not, I'll try to text ya." Yang promised. "Night Cinder."
"Goodnight Yang."
Unfortunately once Cinder hung up, she realized she actually had to try to get back to sleep now. Great.
It took a couple days, but Yang was finally ready to go out, and for the first time in quite a long while, she was actually nervous.
Most of the day was spent much like the last two - hanging around, watching television, surfing the internet, even a bit of texting Cinder - but once Ruby and Pyrrha were home from work and the trio had eaten dinner, it was time to get ready for their night out. Thankfully Ruby had taken Yang back to her own place the other day to grab some clothes and toiletries - alongside Bumblebee, in case she wanted to go out of her own accord. Sure the one suitcase did not offer the most expansive collection, it was still enough. But before that, it was time to do something she had not properly done in several days: shower. So she grabbed her little travel bag, headed into the guest bathroom, and hopped in.
After Yang had done enjoying the initial feeling of the hot water cascading down her back, it was onto her first task; shaving - as she had not done so since Friday. She did not bother being as thorough as usual, considering she had no one to impress, but still did a general everyday kind of shave. Next it was onto washing her hair and body - which was something she certainly needed, since Yang had not exactly been the most... hygienic person since being brought to this apartment. She was likely not smelly, but she was also definitely not clean.
Once Yang was finished, out of the shower and smelling great, it was back to the guest bedroom to find a nice outfit to wear - or at least something that could compare to Ruby and Pyrrha. No matter how good she thought she looked, those two always looked better. Then she sighed. Stop thinking like that. Tonight is supposed to be fun. Walking over to the end of the bed, Yang knelt down and flipped open her overnight bag. She pulled out several articles of clothing, but nothing really... stood out to her. Within a few minutes, her bag was practically empty, most of its contents now on the floor. Great.
Then came a knock at the door.
"Yang?" She heard Ruby call. "You almost ready?"
The blonde sighed. "I'm uh, having a little trouble picking out something to wear."
"Want any help?" Ruby offered.
"Sure." Was not exactly the answer Yang wanted to give, as her sister had done so much already within the past few days, but fuck it. She did not want to spend all night failing to pick something out. As the door quietly squeaked open, she heard a sigh.
"Could've at least put your pajamas back on after getting out of the shower." Ruby groaned as she walked into the room and sat on the bed.
Yang paused for a moment, looking down to realize she had indeed forgotten to get re-dressed, and was currently in nothing but a towel. She managed a smirk. "Well it's not like you haven't seen any of this before."
Ruby rolled her eyes. "Doesn't mean I wanna see it now though."
"Aw, afraid you'll be too captivated by it?" Yang faux-leered. "That I'll have to talk to Pyrrha about you gawking at another woman?"
"You think Pyrrha and I haven't looked at other women before?" Ruby arched her brow. "We've talked a bunch of times about other women! And even looked at some together. It's actually more fun than I thought. There was even one time we talked about Weiss!" That caused Yang to raise a brow. Ruby grinned, cheeks tinting pink. "Pyrrha thinks she would look beautiful... bent low if you catch my drift, then she teased me for how flustered I got."
Surprised as she was, Yang still let out a chuckle. "Leave it to you to get embarrassed over a conversation with your wife about bending another woman over."
Ruby just pouted. "I'm gonna kick you out if you don't shut it. It's my apartment, I can do that!"
"You could, but you won't." Yang grinned, to which her sister just continued to pout. "Just get over here and help me."
With a huff, Ruby hopped off the bed and joined Yang at the center of the pile of clothes. "So is there anything you've got you eye on?"
Yang thought for a moment, looking around at the various articles around them. "I want something that says... I'm not loose, but my boundaries aren't harsh!"
"So... hot with a dash of slutty?" Ruby wondered with a smirk.
"Slutty?" Yang gasped. "When have I ever dressed slutty?"
"Halloween last year, Halloween the year before that, Halloween the year before that..." Ruby started.
"That's cheating! I have to dress slutty on Halloween!" Yang tried to justify. "Besides, I still wear more clothes than your wife."
Ruby let out a chuckle. "I'm pretty sure everyone wears more clothes than Pyrrha on Halloween, since she always wears those near-nude costumes and all."
"Ah yes, ever the exhibitionist that one." Yang added.
"I mean she's not quite an exhibitionist, she just loves the expression of the female form as she puts it." Ruby explained. "Did I ever tell you about the time when she convinced me to go to a nude beach while we were on our honeymoon?"
"Several times." Yang informed. "You told me before you two went, while you were there, when you returned to your hotel, and of course during your Honeymoon slideshow when you came home."
"Which was where you decided it would be completely appropriate to comment on how incredible my wife's naked ass looked." Ruby reminded.
"Hey, not my fault you had a fully nude picture of Pyrrha in there." Yang defended.
"It wasn't my idea!" Ruby shot back. "She said we should include something from that day!"
"And we all thank you for giving us that wonderful image of her glorious ass." Yang smirked.
Ruby sighed. "You're lucky she took it as a compliment while in front of our families."
"I'm lucky in a lot of places Rubes." Yang smiled. "Now come on, let's pick something before your wife starts getting impatient."
"You know she has endless patience." Ruby chuckled as the two got back to looking.
Thankfully it did not take too long, but eventually they were able to find a suitable outfit for Yang, consisting of a pair of navy blue skinny jeans, one of her favourite yellow tank tops - it had an orange flaming heart in the centre - and a black leather jacket. Grabbing the items - as well as a set of black underwear - and promising she would not be long, the blonde headed into the guest bathroom to get ready. After she was dressed, it was onto her makeup. Yang did not really feel like putting on anything special, so she just went with the usual purple eye shadow. Once that was applied, she took a final look at herself in the mirror, and actually managed a smile. This was the best she had looked in days.
"Lookin' good sis!" Ruby praised as Yang exited the bathroom and joined her and Pyrrha in the main area of the apartment.
"Right back at ya!" Yang grinned, complete with finger guns. She had not even noticed it before, but the other two women looked quite good as well. Ruby was clad in a red off-shoulder blouse and a pair of faded blue jeans, while her wife was wearing an embellished halter top and black skinny jeans. They looked so good that Yang almost started to feel self conscious from being around them.
"Are we all ready?" Pyrrha inquired. Both Ruby and Yang smiled and gave their respective thumbs ups. "Wonderful. Is there any preference on where we go this evening?"
Ruby turned her gaze to her sister. "Anywhere you wanna go?"
Yang thought for a moment. "I mean Junior's is always a safe bet."
"Sounds good to me!" Ruby agreed.
"Then Junior's it is." Pyrrha smiled. "Will you be joining us in Miló for the ride over? Or would you rather take Bumblebee?"
"I think I'll take Bumblebee." Yang replied. "I could use the fresh air."
"Very well." Pyrrha acknowledged.
Something told Yang her sister-in-law would rather have her with them, but she decided against pursuing that suspicion. Instead that was the end of the conversation. Yang donned her riding boots and grabbed her helmet while Ruby and Pyrrha put on their shoes, and the trio headed out.
While it was a fairly short ride over to the club, it was still nice to have the time completely to herself. The rumble of her bike's engine, the wind blowing past her, it was all so... peaceful, even with all the other cars around her. Sadly that peace did not last as long as she would have liked, as soon enough she was pulling into the clubs parking lot behind Miló. Though that did not mean Yang was unhappy, since before long, she would be having fun on the dance floor of a club she had not been to in quite a while. Neo never wanted to go out with her, and it felt a bit weird going to Junior's alone while she was involved with someone. But that was not the case anymore. She was now single and ready to... not necessarily mingle, but rather just enjoy herself. Once she and Pyrrha had found spots for their respective vehicles, they parked and met up as they approached the sizable building.
While the trio walked through the parking lot, Yang felt a tap on her shoulder. She turned to find Pyrrha staring at her, holding a... condom, which caused her to raise a brow.
"I know tonight is about us spending some time out together, but in case you find yourself in the company of a male companion, it never hurts to be safe." Pyrrha explained.
Taking the condom from her sister-in-law, Yang stuffed it in her back pocket. "Thanks Pyr, but why do you even have it?" She wondered. "You have a female spouse that isn't really attracted to men, and you two aren't polyamorous, at least the last time I checked... are you two poly now?"
"No Yang, we aren't polyamorous." Pyrrha chuckled. "But when you have single friends, some of whom are straight or bisexual, it helps to keep some handy."
Wait a second. Yang leaned forward to look at her sister. "Has your wife been getting people laid?"
"Nah, she's just making sure everyone stays safe." Ruby clarified. "I'm the matchmaker of this marriage."
"Who have you ever matched?" Yang challenged, barely withholding her laughter.
"Lots of people!" Ruby claimed, prompting Yang to look to Pyrrha for the real answer.
"She has tried to match several people, but sadly with little success." Pyrrha informed, to which her wife proceeded to pout.
"Traitor!"
Unable to hold it in any longer, Yang burst out laughing. Of course Ruby just continued to pout, especially when Pyrrha joined her in laughter as they approached the clubs front entrance.
"Guess that means no wing-woman for you." Ruby grumbled.
"Like I'd need your help." Yang smirked at Ruby before pulling the front door open for her and her wife. They both thanked her - the former more mumbled than the latter - and the trio entered the club.
Once inside, the first thing Yang noticed was how loud the music was - which of course was not a bad thing, it was just... unfamiliar. After spending so long away from this place - and the whole party scene in general thanks to Neo - it was nice to be back. As the three women made their way through the main area, Yang drank in the scenery. The mostly good music, the neon and strobe lighting, the crowds of people... she missed this. Luckily it was not too busy, due to it being a week night, but there were still a fair amount of patrons filling the area. An empty club was boring, but an overcrowded one was just a pain - and not just from the number of people. There had been a number of instances where Yang had gotten her ass grabbed or breasts touched in a jam-packed club, which sucked, but it also meant she had a completely valid reason to punch some asshole or bitch in the face. So that was at least nice.
After making it through the crowds, the trio split up. Yang and Ruby headed to the bar to get some drinks, while Pyrrha went to find them a table, as she merely wanted a glass of water, having no intention of drinking alcohol tonight.
Upon approaching the large granite counter, the closest bartender - Junior himself - offered a smile. "Hey there blondie." He greeted. "Haven't seen you around here for a while."
Yang hoped he would not have noticed her absence. "Well uh, when the lady isn't much of a club gal, there's not much you can do."
Junior let out a chuckle. "You got that right." Then his gaze briefly shifted to Ruby before moving back to Yang. "But at least you got her out now, so it's not all bad."
Yang furrowed her brow. What did he mean by that? Neo had dumped her days ago, and the only person he saw her with today was Ruby... Wait a second. "Oh! No no, this isn't her. We uh, broke up recently. This is my sister Ruby. She and her wife are hangin' out with me tonight."
Junior's smile faded a bit. "Ah, sorry to hear that. But it's good to have you back. Tell you what, first round's on the house."
"Aw thanks Junior!" Yang grinned. "I'll take a Whiskey Ember then!"
"And one Strawberry Sunrise for me!" Ruby added. "Oh, and a water for my wife."
"Comin' right up." Junior noted before turning to start preparing the drinks.
Once the pair received their beverages, they gave their thanks to Junior and headed into the lounge to find Pyrrha. Fortunately their search was a fairly quick one, as they soon spotted her in one of the several empty booths near the edge of the area. She waved them over and the two slid into the booth - Ruby first, then Yang. For a brief time, the trio simply enjoyed their drinks, each other's company, and the atmosphere around them. Then as if by instinct, Yang began gazing around the area, looking to see if there were any particularly interesting people nearby. She knew that was not their purpose for being there, but it also would be nice to not just be a bit of a third wheel to Ruby and Pyrrha.
Then Yang saw them. Two girls, twins... dancing together... having fun. Both of them had straight black hair and seemed to be the same height, which did not bode well for her being able to tell them apart. Well, at least their hair styles were different. One had hers at shoulder-length, and the other had hers at waist-length. They were both wearing denim short shorts, but one of them paired them with a white singlet top, black thigh highs, and what looked like black ankle boots, while the other had a crimson sheer blouse and dark brown mid-calf boots. Even from a distance, Yang could tell they were absolutely gorgeous... and the way they danced... it was damn near hypnotic. At one point she could have sworn the one in white noticed her staring at them, because after that, their movements... changed, becoming more suggestive in nature. The two grew closer, their hands beginning to roam along each other's bodies as they- Oh my gods now they're grinding. If Yang did not have the level of self control that she did, her mouth would have dropped open. Though she could not say the same about the heat starting to build in her core. She must have spent close to five minutes just watching them, which was when the others at her table seemed to take notice.
"What are you looking at Yang?" Pyrrha suddenly asked, snapping her sister-in-law out of her trance.
Ruby scooted closer to her sister, trying to see what had caught her eye. "I think she found a hot girl to stare at."
"Better." Yang clarified before briefly turning back to look at Ruby. "Twins."
"Twins huh? Well are you gonna go talk to them or just stick to staring?" Ruby wondered with a slight smirk.
"I uh, I will." Yang tried to assure, keeping her gaze locked on the twins in question. Damn those two are hot. She could likely spend all night just ogling their asses alone.
"When? Next week?" Ruby challenged.
"Just... give me a few minutes." Yang answered, taking a sip from her spicy beverage. She was not quite ready yet.
Ruby sighed. "If you say that, you'll never go over there."
Yang opened her mouth to speak, but she knew her sister was correct. She said she would go in a few minutes, but that likely would not have happened. A few minutes would lead to a few more minutes, which would lead to a few more, then sooner or later, they would be gone... and Yang would have lost her chance due to mere hesitation. No... She was not going to let that happen.
"You're right Rubes." Yang smiled before standing from her seat, picking up her drink, and downing it, really putting a fire in her stomach. "If I don't come back, it means I've checked off one of my boxes." She added with a wink as she headed off.
Once the blonde had departed, Pyrrha looked to her wife. "She's going to try to have sex with them both isn't she?"
Ruby laughed. "Oh she definitely is."
As Yang made her way out of the lounge and onto the dance floor, she kept telling herself one thing. Deep breaths. It had been quite some time since she had met someone new like this - or in this case multiple someones - and it was a little nerve-wracking if she was being honest. You can do this. She told herself. All you gotta do it walk up to them and- Wait, where'd they go? Yang looked around the area, through the various crowds of people, but the pair was nowhere to be found. Which was... weird. They were right in front of her a second ago, but... now they were gone. It caused her shoulders to slump. Maybe it just was not meant to be. But... that was okay. Spending the night with Ruby and Pyrrha would not be so bad. So she turned around to head back, and found a sight she was certainly not expecting to see: the twins standing right in front of her, identical smirks on their faces.
"Hey there blondie." The one in white greeted.
"Enjoy the show?" The one in red asked.
"I uh..." Yang started, then she realized something. "Wait, you knew I was watching?"
"Was hard not to notice a hot blonde chick staring right at us." The twin in red commented. "We thought you were gonna start drooling at some point."
So they put on that little show just for me... A grin found its way onto Yang's face. Time to use that famous Xiao-Long charm then. "I mean the way you were dancing sure did surprise me, but it's gonna take more than that to make me drool."
The twin in white quirked a brow. "Is that so?"
Yang kept her grin strong as best she could. "That's right."
"Well then, how about you come join us in the private lounge?" The Twin in red offered. "See if we can... get to know each other."
Oh wow that actually worked. "I like the sound of that." Yang hummed.
The twins briefly looked at each other before their eyes refocused on Yang. "Try to keep up." They requested... at the same time, which was a bit creepy, but with their tone... it was also kind of sexy.
Following the pair off the dance floor, Yang found herself being led towards the back of the lounge, where they were met by a bouncer that stood in front of a staircase. They told him she was with them, and the three women were allowed through. As they ascended the stairs, Yang had to admit, this was pretty cool. She had heard there was a private lounge in this club, but had never laid eyes upon it before. It was exciting.
Once they arrived at the top, the twins continued walking, while Yang had to stop just to admire the area, because... wow. Black tile floor, various dark red leather chairs and couches surrounding glass coffee tables, a circular bar at the far end of the room, and a balcony that seemed to overlook the rest of the club - as she could hear the music that was playing in the main area. It was a real step up from downstairs - even though that was already nice. Maybe if this whole things works out, Yang could get the chance to come back here. If not... well she would still get to brag that she was able to see the luxurious private lounge.
"You comin' blondie?" One of the twins inquired from their seats on one of the leather couches. Yang was not quite sure which girl it was, as she was too busy admiring the area.
"Oh, yeah!" Yang answered with a smile. Quickly walking over to the occupied couch, she plopped down next to the twin in white.
"So, you got a name?" The twin in red wondered.
Yang blinked, only now realizing they did not know her name, nor did she know theirs. "Xiao-Long. Yang Xiao-Long. And yourselves?"
"Melanie." The twin in white introduced.
"Militia." The twin in red followed.
"Well it's nice to properly meet ya." Yang smiled, to which the twins nodded. "I gotta say, the way you two were dancing earlier was... really somethin' else."
A slight smirk found its way onto Militia's face. "We've found it's a pretty effective way to tease people who're staring at us."
Yang let out a small chuckle. "You got that right. In fact if my sister-in-law hadn't snapped me out of it, I probably would've spent all night just watching."
"Guess you're lucky she did then." Militia noted.
"Otherwise you wouldn't be here." Melanie added.
"Very true." Yang acknowledged. "I'll be sure to thank her for giving me the chance to hang out with you two fine ladies." She grinned.
"Is hanging out all you plan to do here?" Melanie wondered, slightly narrowing her eyes.
Yang shrugged. "Depends on where the night takes us. We could just end up staying here and talking, having a nice time and stuff. Or who knows, I could end up taking you both home." She made sure to wink for emphasis.
Militia scoffed. "You couldn't handle the both of us."
"Maybe, but there's a home cooked breakfast in it for ya." Yang offered.
Melanie quirked a brow. "You expect to win a threesome with food?"
"I mean, it's really good food." Yang assured.
"Even if it is, there's no way either of us is going home with someone we just met." Militia informed. "For all we know you could be a criminal."
"Well what do you wanna know?" Yang inquired. "I'm a pretty open book with most things. Though before you ask, no, I'm not a criminal. Only law I've ever broken is speeding." She merely received a nod from the twin in red.
"Are you a cook or something?" Militia asked.
Getting right into it I see. "As cool as that'd be, nah. I'm working at a bar not too far from here." Yang clarified. "It's my mom's bar actually."
"Where do you live?" Melanie inquired.
Man this feels a bit like an interview. "Well I've got my own apartment. It's not the biggest place around, but it's home."
"What do you drive?" Melanie continued.
"Motorcycle." Yang answered with a smile. "I call her Bumblebee." Sadly that did not warrant the best response.
Militia raised a brow. "Seems pretty childish to name your vehicle."
Yang let out a chuckle. "Aw come on, you're telling me you've never wanted to name your car?" To which she received no reply, causing her gaze to fall slightly. "Guess not..." What followed was a few moments of silence, which made Yang wonder she had just screwed things up for herself. She sure hoped not. Then the next question came, and it was one she hoped would not be brought up - the topic was not exactly one she wanted to talk about right now.
"Tell us about your love life. Is this a regular thing or a... special occasion?" Melanie asked.
As much as she did not really want to, Yang thought for a moment, wondering how exactly she should go about describing it. She had only been in one proper relationship in high school, with a guy named Sage. He was cool, and they had a good thing going, but sadly it did not last due to Yang becoming... distracted after Blake confessed to her. They had tried to keep their relationship on track, but it was no use. That confession was the first time she had ever thought of Blake as more than her best friend, and it ended up destroying her relationship with Sage. Then after that she pined for Blake for the remainder of their time in high school, even though she had gotten with Sun before Yang was even single... Maybe deep down she hoped they would break up... as horrible as the thought was. Then after they graduated and those two left for Menagerie, the only thing Yang had that was even close to a proper relationship was the occasional fling. Sure they were fun and all, but they always left her feeling... empty.
Then she met Neo, and suddenly she did not feel so empty anymore.
It happened at a party. Yang was doing her best to socialize - as by that point she had become quite the loner - and some guy had started flirting with her. It was nice having someone take a semi-genuine interest in her again, though it was short lived. And that was not a bad thing. It turned out Neo had been watching her for a while, and when she noticed someone else flirting with her, she decided to take the blonde for herself. And so Yang went home with her, they spent a... somewhat intense night together, and thus began their relationship. If one could even call it that.
"Hey, Remnant to blondie." Came Militia's voice, pulling Yang from her thoughts. "You gonna answer at some point? Or are you just gonna keep staring off into space?"
Yang blinked, realizing she had just been sitting there while the twins stared at her. "Oh, yeah, sorry." She mumbled. "I uh, I've been in a couple real relationships, but they weren't exactly serious. Other than that it's just been flings here and there."
"So was your most recent connection only that? A fling? Or was it one of those real ones?" Melanie inquired.
"It was a real one." Yang answered. "Or at least I thought it was..."
"What do you mean by that?" Melanie pressed.
Yang sighed. "I... thought what we had was more than it actually was. One day I go over there to see about going out on a nice date, and I... found her with someone else." She then let out a sad chuckle. "Guess I was nothing more than a booty call to her..."
Another few moments of silence followed, until Militia spoke up. "So what happened after that?"
Damnit. Yang hoped she would not have to go into detail. "Well I uh, went home and drank a bunch..." She noticed both twins narrow their eyes, which only served to make her feel worse about it. "I know it wasn't the best way to handle things, but it at least helped for a little while. That is until I drunk-texted my sister, causing her and her wife to come over and check on me. After that they took me to their apartment, and I've been staying there for the past few days."
"So if one of us were to go with you, we'd be going to someone else's apartment?" Melanie questioned.
"No no! I have my bike with me, so we'd be going to my place." Yang clarified. "Or yours, depending on which you'd prefer... I don't really mind either way."
Once again, the twins briefly looked at one another before turning back to the blonde. "Can you excuse us for a sec?" Militia wondered.
"Oh, yeah of course."
And with that the twins stood from their seats before heading over towards the bar, which was where they spoke for several minutes. It made Yang wonder what exactly they were talking about. Were they talking about who was going to go with her? Or whether she was even worth the time? Or maybe... they were discussing ways to get rid of her... Whatever it was, she just hoped it was not that last one. If Yang was being honest, she thought things were going at least fairly well, but... perhaps that was not the case at all. She sighed. Guess I'll just have to wait and see.
There were several times where the twins looked back at Yang - which only served to make her more nervous - but thankfully their talk did not last too long. After seemingly coming to a decision on... whatever they were talking about, Melanie came back to join the blonde, while Militia stayed back at the bar, just... watching them. Yang really hoped she was not about to be kicked out of the private lounge.
"So it's cool if we do this at your place?" Melanie wondered.
Yang blinked. Did she hear that correctly? She was not just hearing what she wanted to hear... right? Well you should probably answer the woman at some point, 'cause she's kinda staring at you. "I, uh... sure, yeah, that sounds great." yang stammered, managing a smile. Really puttin' that Xiao-Long charm to use. Melanie smirked in response. It made the her happy knowing she did not screw this up.
"Then let's go blondie."
Weiss awoke to the sound of a scroll rattling against the wood of her bedside table. Someone was calling her.
With her face still buried in pillows, she reached over to her night stand, fumbling for the device, wanting to cease the noise. Where is that wretched piece of technology?! Eventually locating it, she shifted onto her side and opened her eyes to check who was causing this annoying buzzing... and promptly being blinded by the screen. She silently cursed herself for forgetting to dim the brightness the prior night. After adjusting it, Weiss was clearly able to see who was attempting to contact her, and it was... Winter? What was she doing calling her at... two in the morning?
Sitting up and tapping the Accept button, Weiss raised the scroll to her ear. "Hello?" She managed before letting out a yawn.
"Good morning Weiss." Winter happily greeted. "I'm sorry for waking you, but I wanted to wish you a happy birthday."
As she wiped the sleep from her eyes, a smile found its way to Weiss' face. That was right, it was her birthday. She was now twenty three years old. "Thank you Winter, but why are you calling at this hour? Surely you haven't forgotten the time difference have you?"
Winter let out a chuckle. "No I haven't forgotten. I was simply awake for work and thought it would be a nice idea to call you."
"At two in the morning?" Weiss wondered.
Winter sighed. "I realize it's not exactly the most ideal option, but... I'm unsure if I would have gotten another chance to talk to you today."
Wait... that couldn't be right... Winter was flying out to Vale today to attend the party... wasn't she? Weiss opened her mouth to ask what her sister meant, but then she heard her girlfriend begin to stir. Turning around, she watched Vernal roll over, rubbing the sleep from her eyes before looking up to glare at Weiss.
"Take that shit in the other room will ya? I'm tryin' to get some sleep here." Vernal grumbled before flipping onto her other side.
"Was that Vernal?" Winter asked.
"It was." Weiss confirmed before softly chuckling. "I think you woke her up too."
"Damn right you did." Vernal added, muffled by her pillow.
There was a short pause. "Oh, do tell her I apologize for that." Winter requested.
"Of course." Weiss nodded, even though her sister was unable to see it. "Just give me a moment." Putting the call on hold, she slipped the scroll into her pajama pants pocket before leaning down and planting a quick kiss on Vernal's cheek. "Winter says she's sorry babe." She only received a tired mutter in response.
Hopping out of bed, Weiss suppressed a hiss as her bare feet made contact with the cold wood floor. Having had nothing but hardwood and tiled floors back in Atlas, she really wished they had carpet, at least in the bedroom. Well, either that or she should stop forgetting to wear socks to bed on nights where they did not have sex. Vernal hated when she forgot to take them off, so much so that she made a no socks or no sex rule. Weiss was not quite sure why she hated them so much, but she was sure she had her reasons, so she went along with it.
After exiting the bedroom and closing the door as quietly as she could manage, Weiss made her way into the living area and plopped down on the couch, all without the lights on. Sure she could turn them on, but she wanted there to be no chance of waking up her girlfriend again, because a tired Vernal is a grumpy Vernal. And a grumpy Vernal was not exactly a fun individual to be around. But with the lights off that should not be a problem, so long as she did not make too much noise.
Once she was settled, Weiss pulled her scroll free from her pocket and took the call off of hold. "Winter?"
"Still here."
Weiss breathed a small sigh of relief. There had been a few occasions in the past where Winter had to suddenly leave because of work, so she was happy she was still there. After all, she did not get to talk to her sister very often, and had only seen her once since moving to Vale due to her busy schedule. "So... what exactly did you mean by you're not sure if you would've gotten the chance to talk to me again?" Weiss asked.
Winter did not answer immediately, which somewhat worried the younger sibling. "I... will not be able to fly out to Vale for the party..." She confessed. "A few people were let go recently, and I've had to help make up for their absence, and..." She sighed. "I'm so sorry Weiss..."
Weiss' shoulders slumped, but she tried to stay positive. "It's... it's okay Winter-"
"No, it's not okay." Winter objected. "I promised you that I would attend your party, and I accepted the extra work, thinking I could get enough done before today... but I couldn't. I should've fought harder to ensure that I could take that day to visit you... and now I can no longer keep my promise..."
Weiss let out a small sigh of her own. Out of every person that would be attending her party, her sister was easily the one she was most excited about. This was supposed to be the day where after months of only hearing about her, everyone would finally get to meet Weiss' big sis. And in turn Winter would properly meet the rest of her friends- no, the rest of her family. But... not anymore it seemed. Part of her wanted to blame her sister, but she knew that would not be right. Winter's job at the SDC was not exactly an easy one, and those bastards always found it necessary to constantly give her more shit to handle. It was infuriating to hear about how her work not only practically destroyed her social life, but now was affecting her ability to visit her own sister.
"Winter... I know this visit is important to you, it is for me as well, but it's not the end of the world if you can't make it." Weiss assured.
"I am well aware of that, but this is your birthday." Winter stressed. "And I didn't want to miss it. Not again..."
That was right. She was unable to fly out for Weiss' birthday last year as well, unfortunately for very similar reasons. But that did not mean she never came, which gave Weiss an idea. "Then we'll celebrate it another time." She suggested. "Once your work calms down a little bit, you can take some time off, and come for a proper visit, rather than for only a single day."
There was another short pause. "Are you sure?"
"I am." Weiss confirmed. "I don't mind waiting a little longer to see my sister. Plus this way I'll be able to spend more time with you, rather than just for the party."
"Very well." Winter accepted. "Then if I don't get the chance to call again today, happy birthday Weiss. And I love you."
A smile quickly spread across Weiss' face.
"I love you too."
Yang awoke to a cold bed, which... sadly she expected. She tried blindly fumbling around the bed for her companion, but she found her grasp wanting. It caused her to sigh. Slowly opening her eyes, she could see the sunshine dulling through her curtains, but as she suspected, Melanie was nowhere to be found. That was okay though. Maybe... maybe she had somewhere to be. Yang did not recall her mentioning anything about her employment, so perhaps that was it. At least she hoped it was... rather than her doing something wrong.
Pulling herself up and out of bed, Yang began picking up the clothes that had been tossed around the room the prior night. At first she only found her own, which was not surprising. Skinny jeans... check. Tank top... check. Leather jacket... check. Underwear... check and check. While she picked up her stuff, she also looked around to see if Melanie had left anything for her. A scroll number, some kind of note, hell even her panties - Ruby once told her that was actually something people do - something. Yang sighed once again as she leaned down to pick up her white singlet top off the floor- wait, what? She did not own a white singlet top, or any singlet tops for that matter. Standing up, she held the article in her hands, wondering who it could belong to. Then it hit her. This is Melanie's... And if her top's here... then she's gotta be here too... Well, unless she decided to leave without a shirt... or steal one of mine.
As if on que, Yang heard the sound of her bathroom toilet flushing, and smile suddenly spread across her face. She's still here. Then the blonde realize something. And I'm still naked. Throwing her dirty clothes into the hamper, she threw on a pair of fresh panties and a purple T-shirt before quickly heading to the kitchen. It was time to do what she did best... or pretty well, at least when compared to Pyrrha or Summer. Still gotta talk to those two about doing another cooking contest. Yang thought to herself as she began taking out ingredients and cooking utensils. Now hopefully Melanie wanted to stay for breakfast.
Just as Yang began preparing the meal, which consisted of scrambled eggs, pancakes, and sausages, she watched her companion emerge from the bathroom in only her underwear from the prior night - a white strapless bra and black tanga panties. Yang had not really gotten the chance to admire them the night before, but hot damn did she look good. Once she saw that Melanie had noticed her staring, she smiled.
"Mornin'." Yang beamed.
"Hey." Melanie greeted as she approached the kitchen and leaned up against the counter.
"Sleep well last night?" Yang wondered, making sure to keep an eye on the cooking food.
"Well I would've if a certain blonde oaf didn't constantly try to roll over onto me." Melanie deadpanned.
Yang froze. Oh gods... I did mess this up. "I... I'm really sorry, I didn't know I moved around so much... No one else has ever complained..."
Then a smirk made its way onto Melanie's face. "Relax blondie, I'm kidding. I slept fine."
Yang blinked. "You... you did?"
"Trust me, if you were keeping me up, I'd make sure you knew it." Melanie stressed.
After a moment Yang breathed a sigh of relief, thankful that she had not screwed this up. There was a chance she actually had something this time, so she had to make sure everything was perfect, starting with breakfast. Well, technically it started last night when she met the twins - which went... well enough all things considered - but she had to ensure everything today was perfect.
"So uh, you like anything extra in your eggs?" Yang asked as she returned her attention to the stove. "Salt, pepper, spinach, maybe some cheese?"
"Pepper's fine." Melanie answered.
"Oh, little spicy, consider it done!" Yang smiled. "Why don't you get dressed while I cook? You can borrow one of my T-shirts if you don't wanna hang around in your clothes from last night."
Melanie shook her head. "Thanks for the offer, but I'll pass." She answered before turning to head back into the blonde's room.
Just because she didn't wanna wear your clothes, doesn't mean there's nothing here. Yang told herself. I'm sure you would've done the same thing. She could only hope that was the case.
Once the food was just about ready, Yang took a quick glance behind her, hoping Melanie had returned, but... sadly she had not. It had been nearly twenty minutes... Was she still getting dressed? No... no one could spent that long simply putting on clothes. Maybe Yang should call out to her, make sure everything was alright. She briefly considered it, but ultimately decided against it, not wanting to give the impression that she was needy. Instead she chose to just finishing making breakfast. After that she would set the table, then call Melanie, so long as she was not already back by then.
As Yang distributed the now-prepared food between a couple of plates, she smiled. This was gonna be a perfect breakfast for a perfect day. She could picture it now. First, they would enjoy a nice meal together, get to know each other some more... It would be like a mini date. After that they would spend some time together, maybe go out or something, depending on what Melanie felt like doing. Yang did not have a preference. Though unfortunately they would not be able to spend all day together, as Weiss' birthday party was scheduled for later, and the blonde was quite excited. Not just because she was finally going to be able to give her friend the super amazing present she bought for her, but because it allowed her to spend some actual quality time with her friends and family - and she would not miss it for the world.
Picking up the filled plates and grabbing the appropriate utensils and condiments, Yang slowly turned - being careful not to drop anything - and was met with a sight she was truly not expecting: Melanie casually sitting at her kitchen table, quietly using her scroll. It caused her to stop in her tracks. How long has she been there? Yang wondered to herself. Perhaps she just wanted her to able to focus on preparing the meal. Or maybe... she did not want to talk to her... Yang quickly shook that less-than-pleasant thought from her head, trying to assure herself that it was surely the former. Taking a quick breath, she managed a smile and continued walking towards the table.
"Bon Appetit!" Yang grinned, placing the two sets of food on the table - one in front of Melanie, and one across from her place where the blonde would sit.
Looking up from her phone, Melanie examined the breakfast in front of her. "Looks good blondie."
"Well I hope you like it!" Yang beamed. "You got any preference for a drink? I've got water, milk, orange juice, I think apple juice, almond milk, though that's pretty much solely for my sister-in-law when she's over..."
"Water's fine." Melanie answered before picking up her utensils and beginning to eat, offering no feedback on how it actually tasted. With trying to stay optimistic, Yang just took that as a sign that the food was good. It must have been, considering she was eating the pancakes without anything on them - not even syrup.
Once Yang had gotten their beverages - water for Melanie as she requested, orange juice for herself - she returned to the table to begin eating. Upon taking the first bite of the scrambled eggs, her eyes widened in surprise. She knew she was a good cook, but these eggs alone were absolutely delicious. I think I need to start cooking like I'm trying to impress a girl. It really looked liked the idea of the perfect breakfast was actually coming to fruition - at least depending on if the rest of the meal tasted as good as the eggs. Unfortunately the perfect day did not seem to be working out as well. Not in the slightest.
Yang was planning to let Melanie just enjoy the meal for a short time, then get into some conversation once they were both closer to finishing, but when she looked up from her plate after near-devouring a good chunk of her food, her heart sank. The other woman was drinking the last of her water after cleaning her plate, but once her glass was empty as well, she just gathered the dishes and cutlery, got up, took them to the kitchen, and deposited them into the sink. After that, rather than rejoining Yang at the table, she made her way to the apartments front entrance and began putting her boots on. Was she... just gonna leave? Quickly jumping up from her chair, she hurried to meet Melanie at the door.
"Hey, so uh, I was hoping we could spend some time together today? Maybe go out and do something if you want..." Yang attempted to offer.
"Sorry, I've got somewhere to be." Melanie answered, not even meeting the blonde's gaze.
So much for a perfect day. Yang watched as her companion turned to leave, but she could not let it end, not like this. So she reached out to her. "Before you go, can I... text you later?"
Melanie just proceeded to open the front door."Thanks for breakfast blondie." She acknowledged before leaving, shutting the door behind her.
Once the other woman was gone, Yang just stood there, staring at her front door. This was supposed to be a perfect day... and now it was just... another day. Her body felt... heavy, so much so that it took a while just to get it to move. Then even when it did, Yang barely registered walking over to and promptly collapsing onto the couch. She almost had something good, a new start... but obviously not. It caused her to let out a heavy sigh. Guess it's back to square one...
Minutes ticked by as Yang lied on her couch, head buried in the cushions as she unsuccessfully tried to fight back tears. Why... after things were just starting to look up... must she continue to suffer? She could have had Blake, she could have had Neo, hell, she could have even had Melanie, but she screwed all of those up. It started with rejecting Blake back in high school, then not making her intentions clear with Neo, and finally... well, she was not quite sure what she did wrong with Melanie, but it probably had something to do with coming on too strong this morning. Either way, each of them were her fault, and how she was alone... yet again.
Yang really needed someone to talk to... Then a realization came. She did.
Slowly picking herself up from the couch and wiping the tears from her face, Yang made her way back to her room, where she grabbed her scroll - which she left in her jeans pocket from the prior night - and flopped down onto her bed. She switched on the device and navigated to her contacts, where after scrolling a bit, she found the one she was looking for: Cinder Fall. Not quite sure what to say, she tried typing out a message.
Yang: Hey Cinder, feelin good?
No... that was stupid.
Yang: You doing alright Cin?
Even worse.
Yang: Hey Cinder, I gotta admit I'm not in a great place right now and I know- deleted
Yang: Hey, wanna go out for lunch later? I need to vent. deleted
Yang: Hey Cin, how ya doin? deleted
Yang sighed, letting the device slip from her fingers. Maybe she should just take a nap until the party.
Hopefully that would help.
Author's Note: Alrighty! Announcement time!
For one, for those who have read Aftercare, so sorry I missed the anniversary (April 21st). I really wanted to finish this set of OLC chapters before then so I could return to Aftercare for its anniversary, but thanks to writers block, I missed it. :(
Though still, it's crazy to think I started that story over a year ago. Wow.
Now speaking of Aftercare, the next OLC chapter will be the last one in this "set" of chapters before I move back to Aftercare, so that's exciting! (At least for myself and those who are reading it). For those who haven't, maybe give it a shot. :)
And as always, your feedback fuels me!
P.S.
The next chapter's gonna be pretty long. Probably longer than this one. :P
