22

Two Scoops of Sunshine

"I'm sorry guys." Ruby apologized in the hard vacuum of silence that followed her sister's retreat from the room they had occupied for the last hour or so. The lack of noise only further pressed down on the young huntress in training. She hadn't thought her sister would still be so angry about what had happened with Weiss though she supposed that Blake was what was really making her sensitive.

Ruby looked at her two teammates and almost couldn't bare the look of guilt on Blake's face.

"But she's right Ruby." Blake's voice was low and the woman kept her amber eyes on her fingers as they fiddle with Gambol Shroud ribbon in her lap, "I ran away. If it wasn't for coincidence I wouldn't have even-"

"Stop." Weiss spoke up next, her voice command and her eyes set in a stern look, "The why and how are irrelevant. You are back with your team where you belong and Yang needs to get over herself. I don't care what her issues are, you made a mistake and we can all forgive you for that. It's not like you weren't trying to do the right thing."

"Yeah Blake, Yang just needs some time to cool off. I think having Aunt Raven around is putting her on edge."

"You think?" Weiss quipped with a raised brow, "I thought she was going to start a brawl right there in Haven with the woman. And don't get me started on how agitated she's been since Raven left to make her arrangements the tribe."

"Well…" Ruby played with her fingers, eyes cast down, "I know she still loves you guys."

Weiss expression softened, "I know Ruby."

"How's your arm Ruby?" Blake sought to change the subject. It was immediately successful as the brunette perked up and pulled back her sleeve to expose the metallic limb. It gleamed red and black in the artificial light of the room. Ruby flexed the hand's digits one at a time starting with her pinky finger and working her way to her thumb before clenching them all into a fist.

"Wow, that's honestly pretty impressive. We had a few veterans from the war in the White Fang, a couple had prosthetics but this makes those look like hooks for hands." Amber eyes roved all over the device. Ruby felt a little awkward at having both her teammates staring at her arm and this warred with her desire to geek out about the technological marvel attached to her.

"Of course it's impressive. It's the cutting edge in Atlas technology. From what Ruby told me about it, her arm is completely unique."

"Heh, Yup. It's made with the same stuff as Penny was, by her father, so it's capable of transmitting Aura."

Blake looked a little confused, "I thought Aura covered prosthetic limbs just like our weapons."

"It can," Ruby replied, her grin growing, "But my arm is covered in aura like it was never gone. Other people have to project their aura over their limb."

"That's…. You realize how crazy that seems, right, Ruby?"

"Why would it be crazy?" The girl in question just blinked owlishly at her raven haired teammate. It was their ex-heiress that spoke up first as Blake seemed to be lost for words.

"Because, you dolt, if you had listened to the lectures involving Aura, instead of doodling or whatever it was you did, you'd know that Aura can only cover inanimate objects when someone with Aura projects theirs over it. An object having its own Aura would mean it was a soul, which is impossible."

"Penny had a soul. You haven't forgotten that have you?"

Weiss stopped dead in her tracks, "No. I have not."

With a sigh Ruby detached her arm and held it out for them to take. The white haired girl took it and turned it over, inspecting in. She felt the tentative push of a residual Aura in the object before passing it to Blake who discovered the same thing, "It was Aura. I could feel it." Weiss stared at her empty hands before glancing back at the red and black arm.

"Yup! That's my aura. It kinda…" Ruby made a strange pushing motion with her remaining arm, "fills it up."

Both of the other girls looked at her and then back down at the artificial limb, it was Blake again who found her voice, "Things like this could help a lot of people."

Weiss preened a little, "Well Atlas is the foremost researcher on technological advancements."

"Not that they share them." The white haired girls cheeks darkened as she looked away from the deadpan stare of her faunus teammate.

"Uh… so Blake! You didn't tell me you were a princess!"

"I'm not." Blake answered and Ruby earned a silent 'thank you' from her partner, "My father is the former and now new leader of the White Fang as well as the governor of Menagerie."

"That sounds complicated." Weiss chipped in with a note of sympathy.

Blake sighed, "It really is. But it's honestly great to know that the White Fang are once more on the path to peace."

"Will it be that easy?" Blake's eyes narrowed at Weiss as she spoke up but the ex-heiress held up a hand, "I just mean they have a reputation now. Terrible things have happened in their name and the world won't readily believe them. It's going to be difficult."

"Nothing worth having is rarely easy, Weiss. We know that. My people are prepared to do what's right now."

"That's good, Blake. I…. You have my support." The cat faunus' eyes widened considerably.

"Me too!" Ruby shouted and performed a one-handed tackle of her teammate.

"Thanks, you guys, that means a lot to me." Blake said with a relieved sigh as she struggled to get out from under the tiny huntress in training.

With an amused smile Weiss stood up, "It's late. I'm going to tell Yang it's okay to come back in here, it is her room after all." She turned around and left the room, ignoring the pleading amber eyes that begged for her to remove her partner from nearly suffocating her teammate.

Ruby looked at the faunus in her arms, "Seriously though Blake, I think that deep down Yang is really happy to have you back."

"I-"

The door opened once again as Weiss walked in once more and shut the door quietly behind her. Her pale cheeks were slightly darkened as she looked at Ruby and Blake who looked at each other and then back at the girl.

"Ruby." The ex-heiress said calmly, "How long have they been a thing?"

"Uhhh they?"

"Yang and Jaune!"

Ruby gasped, "They're a thing?!"

Weiss slapped her palm to her face, "Well why else would they be sleeping in each others arms!"

Another gasp, "They're sleeping together?!" Both girls decided to ignore the choking sound coming from the faunus in the room.

"Not like that, you dolt. They're…. Just come see for yourself." She strode forward and grabbed the younger girl by the arm and pulled her back out to the living room.

She felt a pang when her silver eyes were laid on the pair sleeping on the couch. Yang had both of her arms wrapped around one of Jaune's and her head eyes resting on his shoulder. His cheek was gently resting on the top of her head.

An unfamiliar feeling welled up again inside her chest, a tight pain. Ruthlessly she squashed the feeling down and focused on how she was going to relentlessly tease her sister about this. How dare she not tell her about this development?

But instead of waking up her sister she retrieved a blanket from their room and placed it over them.

Yang didn't need to know how much of a terrible sister she was.

Yeng felt something shift and a cold breeze on her skin. Grumbling she attempted to right this glaring wrong by reaching out to drag the covers back over her. Her first problems was that her hands were latched onto something warm and soft. With a slow turn of her head she saw a shock of blonde hair just a shade darker than her own staring her in the face.

Her heart almost stopped beating in her chest and tried to leap to it's death out of her throat. It was something the blonde was unfamiliar with. Sure, she'd had boyfriends before, but this was a different feeling. This felt like something deeper. Yang nuzzled against her companion once again and relished the feeling of security she got from being with Jaune.

She'd also never slept with a boy before and wasn't that something that brought up quite a few suggestions. Some of those thoughts brought color to her cheeks and she unconsciously tightened her grip on his arm.

Jaune must have felt her stirring as he started waking up too. She felt him go still as his breathing stopped and he tentatively opened one eye and met her lilac orbs which were a scant few inches away from his.

Deciding to share the misery of her embarrassment she put on a shit eating grin, "Hey there lover boy."

Oh she was sure that there was something wrong with her as she took pleasure in seeing his mouth open and close several times as he fought to say something. Let it not be said that Yang Xiao-Long didn't leave her man speechless. And there was something else as well, her man. She had a man, a boyfriend and her stomach fluttered at that thought.

"Morning Yang." Jaune stammered.

Placing a small peck on his cheek Yang replied, "Morning to you too."

"So, uh, last night happened."

"Yup."

Jaune pulled out his scroll and checked the time, blinking at the early hour indicated on it, "Ugh. So early."

"I know. Wanna get some grub?"

"Eh, sure." He made to get up but pause when she felt her hands clamp down on his arm, he raised an eyebrow at her, "Uh, Yang, I can't get up if you don't let me go."

Yang stuck her tongue out at him, "I'm never gonna let you go." His cheeks immediately went red as he looked away, using his free hand to scratch the back of his head.

"You don't gotta worry about me going anywhere." His reply was low but she caught it and it did wonderous things to her heart. With that, she let go and stood up, stretching out towards the ceiling. Yang winked when she caught him staring at her form and could admit to stretching in a way that maybe accentuated what she considered her greatest assets. It felt great, to her, being desired by someone she liked.

In all honesty she felt great, she hadn't slept that well in forever and he just made her feel so safe. Like she could share her vulnerabilities with him and it would be okay. That was probably what she liked the most about him. He was safe, loyal, and cared about his family. If she had a list of desirable traits those would be at the top.

Yang bit her lip as he stretched out alongside her and she admired his surprisingly broad shoulders. Physique wasn't really all that important to her, Huntsman and Huntresses tended to have great bodies. It came with the job. So, in fact, Jaune was toned though it mostly didn't show due to his choice in clothing.

The refrigerator held no answers to their hunger as there wasn't much left in it. Just a carton of eggs, some milk, and a loaf of bread. That and some of Uncle Qrow's beer. With a sigh Yang brought out the eggs and they set to preparing breakfast together. Figuring everyone else would be up soon they cracked all of the eggs into a pan and started cooking them up.

Her blood froze as a sound she was quickly becoming familiar with sounded out behind her. Turning around spotted a red and black portal hovering in the middle of the kitchen, a small distance from her. Her iced blood shifted to boiling in an instant and she felt a hand from behind rest on her shoulder, his comforting presence calming her somewhat as her mother, her biological mother, stepped out into their house.

"Hello Yang." The woman spoke simply, as if she didn't just transport herself into their home, "I need to see my brother."

"Then why not just go to him directly?" Her eyes were on the verge of turning scarlet.

"Because portaling into the room of a Huntsman is a bad idea. That and what happened last time. He tends to sleep…. In the buff."

And now Yang had an image in her head that she didn't want. Pinching the bridge of her nose she waved in his general direction, "Knock yourself out." Too bad she wouldn't do that literally.

With a nod Raven disappeared towards Qrow's room and Yang went back to making their meal but now the mood was ruined. A black ugly feeling was sitting in her stomach knowing that the mother who abandoned her years ago was just a few rooms away. She hated this. What she wanted was to confront her. To shout and ask questions and to finally get some answers to what happened.

A pair of hands rested her shoulder. Those hands traveled down her arms and linked across her front as Jaune settled his chin in the crook of her neck. His embrace was warm, a bright light that chased away the dark ugly feeling and she was once again reminded of what it was she liked about him.

She mumbled her thanks to him.

"My Dad does this when Mom has a bad day. It always works. I'm glad to see the Arc charm is still working."

She broke out in a laugh that cleared away all the negativity she had been feeling, "You're such a dork Jaune. Don't give credit for a smooth move like this to your dad."

"What and ruin my reputation and an awkward teenager? Never."

She could no longer contain herself and she laughed out loud once more, a single snort working it's way out that had her freeze and him descending into laughter as well.

"Ugh. Blondes." Weiss looked downright murderous in her sleepwear, leveling a glare of legendary proportions at the pair in the kitchen.

"Hey there Ice-Queen."

"Not until I've had my coffee Xiao-Long."

"Aw, someone needs to chill out."

Weiss scoffed as she went over to the coffee pot and started the machine up. A loud thump sounded from Qrow's rooms and the three of them just stared at the wall until they went back to what they were doing like nothing had happened.

Ruby drifted out of her room a few minutes later, "Mmmm food." The girl promptly sat down at the table, her head hitting the surface as she went back to sleep. Blake was the most normal when waking up when she came out fully clothed and awake. Scrounging around she found some tea, Ren's, and started boiling water while joining Ruby at the table.

"So. You and Jaune huh?"

All activity in the kitchen stopped at Blake's words, even Ruby sat bolt upright.

"W-well yeah. I suppose you noticed." Yang felt heat creep into her cheeks as she thought of how she had slept.

"Congratulations then."

"I've no idea what you see in him but if it makes you happy then i've no objections however," The ex-heiress spun and pointed her finger at Jaune. "If you hurt her you will answer to me."

It was all Jaune could do to nod at her ,"Awwww Weiss you do care!" Yang wrapped her up in a tight hug that had her sputtering denials like a hellcat as she fought to be released.

Raven came back out of Qrow's room with the man in question in tow. He popped in and grabbed a beer from the fridge and passed one to his twin.

Yang stared at the woman who stood there as if there was nothing wrong. She couldn't help it when she stalked up to the woman who idly eyed her. The blonde had to resist the urge to wipe that neutral look from her face. Her daughter was right in front of her and yet she had said almost nothing to her. That was unacceptable.

"You and I need to talk." Yang made it clear how many choices the woman had.

A/N: Holy cow I am sorry for missing last week. I had to go see my family for a week and it was kinda sudden. I felt really bad for not being able to get this up last week. I've been really invested in Volume 6 but now I've got to look at this and decide how much I'm going to let it influence the story I had already planned.

I hope you enjoy this piece, the setting of Mistral will probably last for a while yet as there are some things that need wrapping up and threads to start.