Big Issues
AN: To be honest, I thought I'd get a lot of backlash in the last chapter. But then again, you guys and girls could see that there were a lot of dreams. Especially with Yang's. Thanks for not flipping out about that. And thanks again to everyone who actually makes it through this story instead of quitting on the first chapter like most people do just because this involves gaining weight. I can see from the traffic graph.
For those you who may have seen the rant before, yes, I have removed it. For those it offended, I'm sorry. The story will continue as planned, just know that I am aware of the health risks with being overweight and the cure for what's forcing the characters here to gain weight is coming. Just remember that not everyone has the same view point, some people like others to be big, others like being big. As for me, I'm 5'9" 260lbs, I'm not exactly light myself. I have no room for discriminating someone on their size and actually do take issue against those who do. Remember, what you do with your body is up to you, not anyone else. If you love the way you are, fine. If you need to change how you are for whatever reason, fine. I don't care so long as you do you rather letting someone else decide how you should be.
On with the show!
Party Time!
Aside from the embarrassing wake up that Yang had this morning; her day was going fairly well. Her dress was clean and mostly wrinkle free as it hung in in her portion of the closet in her team's dorm, her shoes with it. She had everything ready for herself for when the dance would begin and had enlisted the help of Team DAIT for the final preparations. Balloons were filled and hung around the ballroom, streamers and banners were in place, tables were prepared, chairs were lined against the wall near the open area for dancers. And probably the most important part for a school filled to the brim with highly active teenagers, the tables that were soon to be loaded with food and drinks were ready and waiting for the food to be finished by the school's cooks and the few students they allowed to assist them, Talon was among their numbers.
Now all she had left to do was make sure that her little sister was in her dress. As much as the girl liked wearing skirts, she was not one who liked to wear a dress. Probably something in her family about producing tomboys, girls who looked good but ready and willing to kick butt at moments notice. Might be the reason that neither of them wore heels all that much, preferring boots or sneakers but Yang could put up with the fancy but otherwise useless footwear for a few hours. She just hoped that her feet wouldn't be hurting in the morning from them.
"Anything else?" Denko asks as he dusts his hands on his shorts after he finished moving a table. The party director looks around and took stock of everything, spotting Weiss placing vases with flowers on many of the tables and candles on the others.
"Nah, I think we're good. Let's grab some lunch before we get cleaned up for tonight." She had no shame about wearing her clothes from the night before at the moment, not like they really were dirty anyway. Besides, she only had ten minutes of shower time for the day and she wanted them to count, so it would be done after her hard work.
"Works for me, I'm starving. We barely had anything for breakfast."
"Just don't eat too much, we have big things happening tonight. You can eat all you want then."
"I've seen the menu; Talon wouldn't be quiet about it. She was really excited to get into the kitchen."
"Is she really a cook though? I know she loves her food but…"
"She loves all aspects of food. I guess it comes with the territory when your mom runs a restaurant and is the head cook there."
"You eat there often back in Vacuo?"
"Plenty of times, kind of a given when half your team grew up there. They like to go home and help out when they can."
"So, they could be cooks if they ever retire from being a Huntress?"
"That's Talon's plan eventually. Be a Huntress to explore the world, taste the various dishes from different cultures, learn their recipes, and eventually take over her mom's business."
"Huh, sounds like she's got her life planned out."
"Pretty much, but that's just a guideline for her."
"What about you? What are your plans?"
"Never really thought about it too much. I knew I could fight, that's why I became a Huntsman. But there's enough pain in the world as it is, maybe me going out there and fighting will help to alleviate some of that pain and allow others to follow my example of eliminating the pain. I know that there will always be sick bastards who just want to cause others pain but I hope that the rest of the world will stand against them together."
"That's… kinda deep." Yang comments looking down at the ground as they walked. "But no real plans for you?"
"Just go where the job takes me, do what I can to help while I'm there." He shrugs.
Yang sighs at that. "Sounds a bit like my plans… just go out and see the world, get wrapped up in as many crazy adventures as I can before I feel that I had enough before settling down."
"I know you have more than that." He bumps her shoulder with his own.
She sighs at him calling her out like that. Of course, he'd know about her other goals, they'd talked about that last night and before that when they were at Signal together. "Yeah. But I'm not letting that control me, not again."
"I'll keep an eye out for you if that helps."
"Thanks."
Ruby looked at her dress as she watched Weiss use a special dryer to get the wrinkles out of their dresses. She'd already gotten a lecture on proper storage of dresses from the heiress that sank her mood. At least Blake and Yang had come back, technically, Yang had yet to return to their room but she'd seen her sister at breakfast. Blake had run off to Vale to get a dress after eating that morning with Sun, Weiss had been kind enough to lend the cat girl her lien card.
"Do you have everything else for tonight?" Weiss asks as she shifts the stream of warm air on the suspended dresses,
"Yeah." Ruby groans. "I have my stupid lady stilts."
Weiss raises an eyebrow at the odd word choice for her shoes. "You do realize that those shoes are meant to help you look better." That was a statement, not a question.
"You do realize that I'll be lucky to not break my ankle wearing them?" The younger girl retorts.
"They are not that bad."
"Maybe for you, you wear them all the time! Do you really like them that much or do you just like feeling taller?"
The snowy haired girl twitched at the mentioning of her height, the only friends she had here shorter than her were… Talon. Maybe Ruby was right about her wearing her wedges all the time, a bit of height compensation. Wasn't it bad enough that the younger girl was taller than her? Or had a bigger chest? Had a more durable aura? Even her physical strength surpasses hers with the way she swings that massive weapon of hers around with ease.
"Sorry." The small voice pulled her attention from her thoughts.
Weiss looks at the girl who was sitting on her bed and looking like a sad puppy. She had no idea how she could make anyone cave to her with that look. It didn't help that lately, the fat that had settled on Ruby just made her look like she had her baby fat back rather than the trained Grimm slaying warrior woman she is. Then again, it would be a mistake to see her as a helpless, chubby teenage girl- she was far from helpless and had really begun using her weight to counteract the weight of her own weapon rather than simply trying to control it loosely. Maybe it was good for Ruby to have bulked up with her fighting style but for Weiss, not so much as she relied on speed and precision over strength. But she had begun adding more kicks to her form to take advantage of the increased mass she had on her below the waist.
"You're fine." She relents, shaking the wandering thoughts from her head and returned her attention to the dresses.
"Do you think Blake will have her dress in time?"
"Probably, she said she'd try The Spinning Wheel since they've been doing great work for us so far." She turns the dresses around to inspect them.
"Like those things you insisted we get for training and missions?" Ruby tilts her head in confusion.
"Yes Ruby, those things are called girdles."
"Do you really think we need them?"
"With the way we're growing, I'd rather not have to worry about parts of me moving that shouldn't be. So, the support is needed."
"But I already wear a corset." Ruby fingers the red strings that were pulled tight across her belly.
"Your corset is more for fashion than actual support. It's just one more thing to wear that will help us with our Huntress work." Weiss explains.
"But yours is different from what I got."
"That's because our builds are different. Weren't you paying attention to the tailor? They've been customized to us specifically."
"So… it's like our weapons?"
Of course, she would bring a discussion over supporting garments to compare them to weapons. "You could say that with the way they are customized for each of us. But it's more accurate to liken them to your unmentionables. Do you really think you could wear one of Yang's bras?"
Ruby's eyes went wide at the thought. "Well… they don't fit me right, she's too big."
"Exactly my point. Just remember to wear your clothes correctly and you'll be free of excessive sagging and bouncing."
"Alright." The leader jumps from her bed to land on the floor with a thump. "Eep!" She quickly wraps her arm around herself tightly. She sees her partner eyeing her knowingly. "I see your point. I'm not used to all of the jiggling."
It was nearly sunset when Blake finished tying the teal bow on her head to cover her ears. As much as she wished she didn't have to cover her ears, if only to prevent the potential discrimination as most faunus do. But she did wonder how Sun would react if she went without it, remembering his first words to her, "I knew you would look better without the bow." The memory made her face heat up, especially with what happened last night.
"Do I really have it that bad?" She asks herself before beginning to apply her eyeshadow. She didn't expect any answer without continuing to talk to herself. Weiss had left earlier to ensure that things with the dance were prepared before it was supposed to start, dragging Ruby out with her so the faunus could prepare herself in peace. She had yet to see Yang since their talk the afternoon before but had been told that the blonde brawler had already returned, changed, and left for the ballroom before Blake had returned from her shopping.
It did hurt her that her teammate seemed to be avoiding her, despite the protests of her other teammates, but they also didn't part on the best of terms and they were apparently being kept busy. At least it should be easy to see her friend at the dance where they should be able to talk. That didn't mean that she wouldn't focus on her night with Sun, the boy was trying to do his best for her.
For her… the last time anyone really did something for her was when she was still with her parents. Then again, weren't parents supposed to help their children? But here was Sun, a boy who knew nothing of her when they had met beyond recognizing her as a fellow faunus, who spent so much of his time since they first met doing what he could to help her. She couldn't even see any sort of hidden agenda in him for being with her. It was just for her.
Did she really deserve such a good guy? With how she left her parents, the things she'd done in the White Fang… could she really atone for her past actions? Maybe… It was a major reason for her coming to Beacon to become a Huntress in the first place. Even Ozpin seemed to know her motivations and she only had that brief conversation with him after the attempted theft at the docks last semester.
Maybe she should take what she can get while it's available. Too many things have passed her by from her fears, this won't be one of them.
Sun Wukong didn't have much of a wardrobe. Never did, never planned to. But tonight, was something special, he made sure that his clothes were clean, broke out his new black shirt and even borrowed a tie from Neptune to wear. Honestly, he knew he could have gone further like finding a full suit like his buddy was wearing but not only did he not have one, he really didn't like it. It was just too… stiff and stuffy. Heck, he could barely stand his Haven uniform when he was back in Mistral.
Hopefully Blake would appreciate the effort that he did put in. He'd made sure to shower, combed his hair (as useless as that was), brushed his teeth twice, though he turned down the cologne that Neptune had offered- it made him gag just from the smell and he didn't want to subject his date to that.
He was outside the Beacon dorm for first years, waiting for Blake and fiddling with his tie. "Stupid neck trap." He mutters as he adjusts the cloth, trying to find a balance between comfort and wearing it correctly.
"I knew you'd look better with a tie."
He stops his fiddling and turns to see Blake standing just outside the doors and looking at him with a shy smile. She still wore her bow, though of a different color, and a purple dress with a slit up her right leg, and black mesh that exposed her shoulders, back, and some chest with a black collar. Her black pumps completed her look.
She walked forward and took his arm as he seemed to be stupefied by her appearance to do much, something that she found some joy in and the act brought his senses back. "Are you ready for tonight?" He asks, trying to ignore the feel of her soft curves by his side.
"Just so you know, Yang offered me a dance."
"Hm, I guess I could use that time to get us something to drink."
Blake's eyes snapped up to him. "You're not going to be mad about that?"
He looks down to meet her eyes as they kept walking. "Why should I? She's your friend, I can't be the only person you do stuff with, can I? That would just be… you know… kinda creepy."
Blake couldn't believe what she was hearing, but she pulled his arm tighter to her all the same. He was so different from Adam who insisted that she stay by his side so often, she had been blinded by her inexperience with love that she didn't question that. Even when he had occasionally lashed out in anger when things went wrong, sometimes hitting her, she rarely questioned him. Maybe it was the things he said afterwards to try to make up for it. But she had stood by his side, even defending his outbursts, for too long and that had taken its toll on her then. His possessiveness had become suffocating, no number of honeyed words and caressing could make up for the blows, the loss of people she cared for…
She was finally learning what it was like to find someone who cared for her and it made her really care for them. Not just her friends and her team, but for someone who was there for her when she needed help the most, and she was holding his arm. He was willing to go beyond his comfort zone for her, willing to wait for her open up on her own time, willing to follow her lead rather than pushing her into situations she'd rather avoid but still offering advice and back her up, even make her rethink her plans to be more manageable.
She rested her head on his shoulder as they walked, feeling him stiffen in surprise before slowly relaxing as they walked to the ballroom together in a comfortable silence.
Denko slipped in a side door to the ballroom, the sound of soft orchestra music coming from speakers around the room hit his ears. The smell of the food being set on the tables, ready for the attendees to help themselves to it. He saw Talon in her sky-blue dress that hugged her curves while leaving her arms and shoulders free and fully exposed. It ended by her knees with slits up both sides and had a white sash that wrapped around her hips and a length looped up and over her right shoulder before tying into the rest of it at her hips.
Anya was nearby, setting a large platter of dinner rolls on the table. As he expected, she wore a black dress similar to her sister but had full sleeves and reached her ankles while a length or red cloth crossed over her shoulders and waist with ends trailing behind to reach her knees. Both sisters wore a pair of black sandals with raised heels and straps around their ankles.
Itazura was already here, sitting on a chair by the main door wearing a far more elaborate cheongsam than usual. A deep orange with blue flowers decorating the long dress with a long slit to expose her bare legs. A white sash wrapped around her waist with a fancy knot on the back over her tail, and short white socks were inside her black flats. Even her usually messy hair was put up into a tight bun and held with a pair of ornate sticks.
Yet it was the mane of golden hair that grabbed his attention and he walked up behind her. Yang was serving as the greeter for the dance while Weiss made last second checks on everything else.
"I hope you enjoy your time tonight!" Yang chirps as a group of Atlas students walk by her small podium.
"What about you? Aren't you gonna stop working so you can enjoy your work?" He asks from behind and causing her to jump a little and spin to face him.
She still managed to surprise him with what she was wearing. Unexpectantly simple, she wore a short, white, halter neck dress with a grey hem and white pumps. No makeup, no real changes to her hair beyond a thorough washing, no jewelry. Just her being her.
Likewise, she saw that he wasn't as decked out as most of the boys tonight. A simple grey button-down shirt with a green vest over it, dark brown- almost black- pants and shoes with grey socks. He'd even slicked his messy hair back a bit.
"You clean up well." Yang smiles at him.
"Thanks." He looks her over again. "But you gotta tell me how you manage to look so innocent when you usually go for badass."
Yang giggles at his words. "I'll take that as a compliment." She gives him a hug, briefly bringing memories of the morning to their minds once more as their bodies pressed together.
"How long are you gonna be up here?" He asks again as they let go so she could greet another group.
She checks the clock over the door. "I have about ten minutes before one of the teachers takes over." She answers before her smile turned teasing. "You want to hit the dance floor that badly with me?"
He shrugs. "I'm just not really good with stuff this big. Having you nearby will help it bearable."
She stared at him with wide eyes, processing what he had just said. Apparently, he was here for her over everything else. At least above the party itself. That was sweet in its own way and she gave him a bright smile. "I get the picture. Go ahead and find a way to kill time until my shift is over." She gives him a playful shove to the shoulder, watching him laugh it off and drop into a nearby chair.
"Having fun?" Denko asks his sister as she yawned.
"Had a long night." She responds, waving away his question.
"Should I be worried about what you were doing?" He knew full well that when she had nights like that, she was getting herself into some form of trouble.
"With what I saw as a result so far, no. They are happy." She yawned again. "Where were you last night?" She turns the question back on her brother.
Denko shrugged. "Did some solo training, went with Yang into Vale for a few hours."
"Looks to me like you're even closer than normal."
"She's always been physical."
"I see the way she's been looking at you tonight so far."
"We had a long talk about some of her problems." He saw her looking for details. "No, I'm not telling."
"Fine." She crosses her arms in mild frustration.
"Oh-ho! Excellent work, Miss Xiao Long! Please, you've done so much to get this started. It's only fitting that you should be able to enjoy your hard work." Professor Peter Port steps up to the podium. The man was dressed in his usual teaching outfit, but the man had already been rather portly before the Issue began, now he was even more so- easily dwarfing Yang with his girth.
"Thanks Professor!" Yang says as she skips out of the way from being belly bumped. The unplanned movement and her choice of footwear did little for her landing and subsequent slip.
"Gotcha." Denko tells her as he'd been able to grab her under the arms before she really started to fall. The teacher was too busy greeting other arrivals to notice what he'd done.
"How about you sit for a while and rest your legs? Those shoes can't be that comfortable." Denko guides her to a table in the far corner. Yang sat down heavily, making her chest and belly bounce, and let out a huff of frustration.
"I've never really been a girl to go for these kinds of shoes." She says as she rolls her ankles, and prompting her date to look at her legs. "But I thought they'd be good for tonight."
"Then take it easy and relax. You earned it." He leans back in his chair and looks around. Nobody was dancing and the food was still being brought out. So, most people were simply standing or sitting around and talking, listening to the music and looking around.
"You know Ruby came in not too long ago."
"So? She was excited for getting her team here. It would be kinda odd for her to skip out after all of that worrying."
"Maybe, but I'm still worried about Blake. I haven't seen her since yesterday."
Some movement caught his eye and made him smile. "I guess you can stop worrying then." He nudges her soft shoulder and waves towards the door.
Sun strolled through the door with Blake latched onto his arm, both of them smiling, even as they saw the blondes and altered their course to meet with them. As they grew closer, the boys could feel the nervousness building in their dates, Blake squeezed a little tighter on Sun's arm while Yang grew tense.
"Looks like you two are having fun." Denko teases the faunus pair, causing them to blush a little but tighten their hold a bit.
Sun scratches the back of his head with his free hand. "It's been pretty great so far." Blake nods in support, not trusting her voice at the moment. They sat down across from the blondes, the white flowers in a vase between them and the other couple.
"Looks like someone got some sleep for once. Must have been pretty good to get rid of those dark circles you had." Denko comments, receiving an elbow in the ribs for his words.
"Um, yeah… we did sleep pretty well." Blake was too focused on the memories of the night before to watch her phrasing. Unfortunately for her, the rest of the table heard her clearly.
"Wait, WE? You two were sleeping together?" Yang leaned forwards over the table and nearly stood up. Their blushes deepened, confirming her query.
"We, um… didn't have much choice. It was kinda cold and we only had one blanket." Sun began to ramble, not exactly helping the capillaries in his dates face.
"The dorms aren't that cold." Denko was confused. "Since when would anywhere here only have one blanket?"
THUD! Sun had dropped his head to the table and Blake covered her face with her hands. "Um… guys? That's not exactly filling in any blanks." Yang asks with concern.
Blake dropped her hands to her lap to give Denko a very pointed look. "Your sister locked us locked us in an emergency Grimm shelter, took our weapons and scrolls and left us with nothing more than a cooler of food, an empty bucket, and a blanket."
Both humans blinked in confusion. "What?" They ask as one.
"You heard me. She even left a note for us to talk. Claimed that this was like playing Seven Minutes in Heaven."
Denko dropped his face into both hands mumbling under his breath. Slowly he looked up after a minute. "First thing to know, I had no knowledge of that, rarely do. Second, I guess she did succeed in getting you two together. Third, what do you plan to do about her?"
"We plan on going on a fox hunt." The faunus respond together with matching grins.
"Need any help?" Denko asks with his own smirk, Yang smiling next to him as she thought of ways that this could go down.
"I was thinking… we make her sweat a little." Blake's grin turned devious.
"Oh, you are cruel." Denko's smirk never wavered. "Then you'll get her somehow?"
"Maybe." Sun's tail lashed behind him.
"Go for it." The brother approves.
The music picked up a little more and some students made their way towards the dance floor. "Sounds like the parties started. You two gonna start dancing?" Yang asks, curious as to see how things will work out for her teammate.
"You don't want to get your dance in first?" Blake tilts her head a little.
"Nah, still resting my feet right now. Maybe later." Yang waves her off with a shooing motion. "Now get going with your date."
Blake turns to see that Sun had rose from his seat and offered a hand to help her to her feet with a smile. "Are you ready to dance?" He asks. She smiles and nods, allowing him to pull her up and guide her to the dance floor where she found that he was waiting for her lead.
"Don't you dance?"
"Maybe a little, but it's always to faster paced stuff." He shrugs.
Blake rolls her eyes before taking his hands and placing one on her hip and keeping the other locked with hers. "Try to keep up." She gives him a small challenge as she begins to sway and step with the soft orchestral music.
"And do my best to not step on your toes." Sun's smile wavered a bit as he stiffly moved with her, slowly smoothing out as the song went on.
Ruby stood alone on the balcony overlooking the dancefloor, glad that Blake had shown up and even had taken up Sun's offer to come to the dance together. She looked like she was having fun so far and that made her happy. Weiss was running around yet, trying to make sure everything was perfect, even trying to make a drooping flower to stand upright again. Ruby giggled a little at the futile attempts. Yang was with Denko, no surprises there. The two of them always seemed to find their way to each other.
But the punch bowl was looking very tempting now to soothe her dry throat. She just had to make her way through the crowd… maybe she could wriggle her way over to Yang's table in the corner.
"You're picking this up quickly." Blake compliments as a song slowly fades.
Sun gives her a cheesy grin. "Maybe I just needed someone to show me how."
"Wanna go another song or two before getting something to eat?"
"I could go for that." Sun adjusts his grip on Blake's hand and waist in preparation of another slow song, enjoying how soft her skin is under his hands. It was different from when they were in the pool together, there they may have been showing more skin but Blake was also a fair bit smaller than she is now. Being soaked in chlorinated water also changed how her skin felt. Yes, the only skin he could feel now was her hand but he was fascinated at the new experience of her smaller hand in his and how it felt right.
For Blake, she didn't mind Sun changing his hold on her. They had been moving a lot, if slowly, and the new placement on her back gave the previous warm spot some time to cool. He made sure that it was well within her set limits for touching her… though a select scene from one of her books came to mind and she had to squash that down. She was giving the boy a chance, not trying to take him to bed as her books tended to do. She wouldn't bet on him accepting her offer to do so any time soon either without a very good reason… like last night. But then again, there was no bed. She bowed her head to hide her slightly warmer face from her date, inadvertently brushing her bow across his nose.
Are you gonna take me home tonight?
Ah down beside that red firelight
Are you gonna let it all hang out?
Fat bottom girls you make the rockin' world go round!
Their eyes snapped open wide at the lyrics that caught them by surprise. Both of them gave embarrassed smiles to the other. "Do you know this song?" Blake manages to ask over the thumping drum beat.
"No but it does seem to be more our speed." Sun responds before taking the lead this time and moving with the beat.
"Yang Xiao Long!" Weiss was anything but quiet as she marched up to the table to the shocked blonde. "I don't remember approving of a song like this!"
"Weiss! Keep it down." Yang motioned for her teammate and fellow party planner to take a seat next to her. At some point Talon had sat at the table as well and was nursing a large cup of some drink.
"The music?" Weiss asks quieter.
"Not one I know. Sounds like something my dad would have listened to." Yang shrugs.
"Then how did it get in the playlist?"
"I dunno, we got some music and set it to shuffle."
"You are being so helpful." The sarcasm was cutting deep.
"Maybe, but they don't seem to mind the change." Denko points out to the dance floor where nearly everyone was enjoying themselves with the music. More than once they could hear a comment about how appropriate the song was for the Issue everyone was going through.
"Oh! That might be one of mine!" Talon chips in, drawing eyes from around the table. "You asked for some music from different times and places to help mix things up, remember?"
"Uh…" Both planners were drawing a blank before it dawned on them. "Oh, we never listened to the songs you gave us… we were… busy." Weiss concluded with Yang nodding beside her.
"There's not going to be anything bad in there, will there?" Yang asks, hoping to not be banned from future events like this over a wrong choice of music.
Talon tapped her chin as she thought about the list she gave them. "No, nothing bad. Just some of it is a little different from what you're used to." She directed the last part at Weiss.
The song came to an end with a few cheers and calls for a replay, while Blake and Sun may not have been among those calling for it to be played again, they had loved their time dancing to the music. The fact that it seemed so appropriate for Blake with her figure just sent them into a giggling frenzy as they made their way to the table with their friends and dropped into the seats.
"Well, it looks like you two are having a good time." Yang comments as the faunus caught their breath.
"We sure are!" Sun stretches his arms over his head as Blake nods and laughs next to him. His right arm pulled her closer by the shoulders, "She's even taught me to dance with the slower songs." He beamed proudly; Blake couldn't remove her smile even as she smacked his leg lightly.
"At least you like to dance." Ruby flops into a seat nearby with a cup full of punch and a plate full of sweet strawberries and cookies.
"You don't like to dance?" Weiss asks with some confusion.
"I'm not a fancy, dancey girl." Ruby stuffs a strawberry in her mouth to savor its sweetness.
"I hear that." Denko agrees, getting a smack to the shoulder from his date.
"C'mon! She looks great in her dress and she can dance… when she wants to." Yang berates him.
Denko raises his hands in surrender. "I'm just saying, neither of us like getting all dressed up and dancing around."
"Really?" Yang raises an eyebrow. Denko doing the same in return, though more in confusion.
"Yes?"
She grabs his wrists and hauls him to his feet. "I came here to dance and have a good time. Are you going to deny me that?" She had pulled his arms to either side of her to bring him closer, standing soft bulging belly to flat and hard stomach.
"I'm not going to have much choice, am I?"
"You have choices, what are you going to do?" Yang might have been aware that she was making a scene in front of her friends and sister but her focus was on the one guy she had wanted for a date tonight. Their eyes locked for a few tense seconds.
Then he smirked with a huff of a laugh. His arms twisted quickly to break her hold on her wrists. "What are you-?" She starts before his left arm began pulling her towards the other dancers.
"Just so you know, I'm not a dancer. At all." As they left, those at the table let out a breath they didn't know they were holding.
"Hey, Ruby?" Sun asks. The younger girl looked up with her mouth full of the red berries and unable to talk. "Um… what would your sister have done if he didn't dance with her?"
Ruby chewed and swallowed her snack. "Probably anything to make him regret it." She shrugs, not noticing the shiver that went up everyone's spines at the thought of Yang getting revenge, she could be bad enough when setting someone up for failure. Weiss playing Remnant the Game was proof enough with Yang's "help".
Yang allowed herself to be guided to the dancefloor but was confused when they kept going until they reached a far corner. It was open due to most of the dancers congregating towards the middle or the far side.
"Why over here?" She asks as she turns to face him correctly.
"I told you I don't dance. Why not do that out of the way?" He shrugs.
Yang puts a hand on her hip. "What? You expect me to dance for you?"
He holds up his hands in front of him. "I didn't say that, it's just that I thought you'd rather not have to worry about a dance partner who doesn't dance as much over here."
"Hmm…" As much as he was being an ass about this whole thing, he was still managing to be thoughtful of her. The song that was playing was a slow one with a steady beat. "Fine, then I'll show you how. This song is good for someone like you."
"But- "
"Nope!" Yang popped the P as she took hold of his hands and placed them on her waist before placing her own on his shoulders and began swaying to the music, forcing Denko to do the same- though very stiffly.
The next few songs went much like that, the only changes were how Yang changed the pace and how they held each other. He did smooth out his movements a little but he was still stiff as he 'danced'. Then a much faster paced song came on and Yang had an idea to get her date to move, she just hoped that he'd pick it up fast enough.
She threw a punch at his head, which he swayed around before standing upright with a confused look on his face. That was met with a teasing grin and a punch from the other arm that received a similar reaction.
"What are you doing?" Denko asks with some worry in his tone as he bent back to avoid a spinning backhand.
Yang's grin grew from teasing to dastardly. "I've seen how you fight." A stomp of her heels made him jump a little to save his toes. "You dance around me all the time when we spar." A high spinning roundhouse sailed over his head. "I'm sure you can make that work here." Another pair of punches made him weave around the fists.
Blue eyes widened as he thought on what she was pushing for. He began to notice that her 'attacks' were being timed with the music and with a pattern to how she swung at him to make him move. He grins as he truly caught on to her plan and began returning fire. The shock on her face was priceless before it melted into a joyous smile.
"Professor Ozpin, have you seen the good news this morning?" Glynda asks her boss and friend after she stepped up next to him.
"Which news are you talking about? There are many good things that happen around here." Oz gestures to the various couples in the room. Many of the couples having only been so for the day.
"I meant that Professor Peach is having success with her experiments to end this… Issue." She places a hand on her stomach, she only had her baby pictures to remind her of any time she was anywhere close to being this 'pudgy'.
The Headmaster glances to his Deputy and takes her in with his eyes. The normally stern woman had certainly grown, more than the students thanks to being older and having a slower metabolism and being a teacher also meant that she was often stuck behind a desk rather than out in the field. He was in a similar position, though more sedentary than she, but he hadn't more than doubled his weight as she had.
"Ah, yes. I've read the report on her findings. It does look promising that she'll be able to neutralize the chemicals making us gain weight like this."
The blonde looks up to him sideways. "I'd have preferred a reversal of this situation but ending it is preferable to letting it continue."
"True, but we are in a position where we can work it off just by doing our jobs." He glances to the sound of loud laughter where Dr. Oobleck and Peter Port were talking and the shorter man was letting out a loud belly laugh. "Well, maybe most of us." He corrects himself as he knew that Peter had always been husky in build when he was younger.
They looked proudly over the students that were dancing, eating, or talking around the large room, content that things were going well.
"What do those two think they are doing?" Glynda growls as she watches a pair of blondes throwing punches and kicks at each other in a corner. She barely stepped forward to deal with the situation when she felt a hand hold her back by her shoulder.
"Let them have their fun." Ozpin tells her when she looks back at him. "There is no malice, no force behind them."
"But they are causing a scene." She looks back at the blondes 'fighting' where she watched as Yang flipping over Denko's head to avoid a sweeping double kick from the boy. There were plenty of students who stopped dancing to watch.
"As do any entertainers. Let them have their fun. And do try to have some yourself." He explains before walking off to see how things are going somewhere else just as James Ironwood approaches Glynda and offers a hand and a bow for a dance.
Yang was having the time of her life, right now. Combining the thrill of combat with music and best friend together was giving her a love for life. It didn't matter if her body jiggled and shook in places it never did before a few months ago. It didn't matter that it wasn't a real fight. It didn't matter that she was at school. She was having fun and she had gotten Denko to dance against his protests that he couldn't. It all simply made her happy and it showed through her smile.
Denko supposed the night could have gone worse. He still could be doing that awkward shuffling that was called ballroom dancing. He could have gotten punch thrown into his face. He could have flat out refused to dance and dealt with an angry Yang… and her team… and her friends… and then his own team… Yet he found himself enjoying the celebration far more than he thought he ever would have, all thanks to the young woman with him that had found a way for him to 'dance'. Her bright smiles made him return his own.
Off to the side of the blonde 'fighters', Blake and Sun watched them with amusement as they danced in their own tamer way. Slowly the upbeat song came to an end and faded away to be replaced by a calmer, slower song that allowed the blonde pair to catch their breaths and Yang kept them in their secluded corner to dance some more, and Denko's shuffling steps returned.
"Don't think about it. I'm not dressed for that kind of action." Blake tells him with her head on his shoulder to hide her face from him.
"You can't deny that it could be fun." He grins while tightening his hold on her back a little.
"I only said about doing that tonight." She smirks as she could tell he was smiling at the prospect. The fact that she could see his tail go stiff when she said that was a good indicator of his surprise before it relaxed and swayed with them.
"Stupid lady stilts." Ruby whines after Weiss left her standing by the edge of the dancefloor. They had been watching their friends/family enjoying themselves, though Weiss had some disdain at the 'dance' the blondes had been doing. But neither of the two girls were dancing. Weiss claimed that she was too busy overseeing everything and Ruby… had a hard enough time just walking in her heels.
"Not enjoying yourself?" An older male voice asks, one that Ruby was familiar enough with that she didn't jump… or risk jumping in heels.
She turns to find her Headmaster walking up from behind to stand nearby. "Oh! No. Everything's fine." She looks to the floor as she began to fidget a little. "I'm just not much of a fancy, pansy… dancey girl."
"Well, you can't spend your entire life on the battlefield. Even if you may want to." They lock eyes briefly as he spoke.
Ruby turns back towards the dancers as she crosses her arms and adopts a cross look on her face. "Yeah, that lessons been floating around a lot lately."
"If you think about it, fighting and dancing aren't so different." He pauses to look out among the dancers, a pair of blondes were obvious examples right now and he knew the silver-eyed girl had seen them. "Two partners interlocked. Heh, although one wrong move on the ballroom merely leads to a swollen foot."
Ruby tries to look down at her feet but sees only her toes past her chest and belly. "Or a twisted ankle."
Ozpin locks eyes with the young Huntress again. "It's not everyday that friends are able to come together like this. Time has a way of testing our bonds." A gap opened in the crowd for the pair to see Blake and Sun smoothly dancing in each other's arms. "But it's nights like these that help keep them stronger than ever." Weiss could be seen mingling and talking to another student. "Nights like these are ones that we'll never forget." Ruby looks back to the partiers with a smile as she took in his words.
The sound of the door opening drew some attention to Emerald and Mercury as they entered later than most guests. "Oh ho! You're just in time! Things are getting rather lively tonight!" Professor Port greets the pair.
"Wouldn't miss it for the world." Mercury smirks.
The sound of someone slurping water through a straw cut through the speakers and drew the attention of nearly everyone in the room, followed by a satisfied sigh.
"Big girls you are beautiful!"
Sun and Blake had drifted over to Denko and Yang so they looked at the humans after that outburst, the four of them confused at the song.
"Walks into the room
Feels like a big balloon
I said, hey girls you are beautiful"
Many of the girls in the room began giggling, their dates unsure how to take things from here.
"You take your skinny girl
Feel like I'm gonna die
'Cause a real woman
Needs a real man here's why
You take your girl
And multiply her by four
Now a whole lot of woman
Needs a whole lot more!"
The giggling was still present but now that was being stopped by many of the girls dancing with the song that seemed far too appropriate for their growing waistlines. The beat was easy to match and catchy as well, something that both Sun and Denko were glad to catch onto as their dates pulled them into energetic dances once more.
"Get yourself to the butterfly lounge
And find yourself a big lady!
Big boy come on around
And they'll be calling you baby!"
Laughter broke out from that line but did nothing to stop the dancing.
"A watering hole where the girls are round
And curves in all the right places!
Big girls you are beautiful!"
The lyrics may have repeated themselves a few times over but no one cared as they enjoyed the song as they danced.
Denko was pulled tight against a smiling Yang. "I dunno about being four times bigger than normal but I like this song. Do you agree with it?"
The boy had to try to work through feeling her chest against his, feeling their heartbeats and her expanding lungs that pressed them tighter with every inhale. He had no words; his throat was locked as he looked at her expectant eyes and bright smile.
So, he nodded and she drew him closer in a hug that transitioned to a slow dance to go with the song playing at the moment.
Sun had drawn Blake into a hug of his own, she offered no resistance as she buried her face into his chest, calming herself by listening to his heart beating. "Think we should download that song for our scrolls?" He asks, only receiving a nod against his chest. "I think it's right though."
Blake didn't answer verbally. Instead, she tightened her hold around his waist as they swayed to the music.
"Think that was a bad song for tonight?" Talon pranced by Weiss, bumping her own plump hip to the heiress' wider hip.
"Hmph!" Weiss refused to dignify the chubby girl with an answer. But she had liked the song enough to recognize how well it fit their situation. Her eyes spotted a shock of blue hair among the crowd, keeping away from the dancers but she didn't want to talk to him if she could help it right now.
AN: I hope you all enjoyed the beginning of the party! Things are just warming up as I have some more choice music to play around with to go with their situation.
Music used was "Fat Bottom Girls" by Queen and "Big Girls You Are Beautiful!" by Mika.
The next chapter may be delayed as I have some family issues to help take care of and I'll be going on vacation starting next weekend. I'll do what I can to get the next chapter posted as soon as I can. I also want to get back into writing Empire Rising, I've been putting that RWBY/Elder Scrolls crossover fic off for too long thanks to work keeping me too busy to write there in my notepad. I also have some art projects that I haven't had time to work on and a requested story series that I'll only post on my DA page. So yeah, I have plenty on my plate as far as projects thrown on top of dealing with family and a full time job. At least I have been fully vaxed for COVID so that's a plus.
See you all next time for more Big Issues! Reviews and constructive criticism are welcome as I aim to improve my writing for your enjoyment!