Disclaimer: All characters belong to Rooster Teeth Productions

Co-Authored with ToxicExotic

Fire and Ice

To say that Yang could barely remember the last time she had seen both her girlfriends at the same time would have been a little bit of an exaggeration, but it certainly felt that way to her. For nearly two months, both Coco and Velvet had been laden with coursework and assignments so Yang had been having to make do with only seeing one at a time. And while she loved both of them individually, those moments certainly did not compare to having both of the girls around. Thankfully though, she had been able to sneak into their room occasionally to join them in bed, but that had been the extent of their combined interaction for nearly two months.

However, both of the girls had finally finished all of their work, so were free for an afternoon. So nestled up against a tree with both women at her side, Yang finally felt more complete than she had in awhile. Sure, Velvet was still focused on her camera, but Yang was more than happy to gently run a finger along the girl's ears while Coco sat beside her as they watched Weiss tutoring Flynt across the field.

"Mmm." Velvet hummed happily as Yang scratched the very tip of the long rabbit ear. "Remember these two?"

Looking at Anesidora as Velvet held it up to show a picture of two girls, one with maroon hair and the other with purple. "Octavia and Nezula, right?"

"Nebula." Coco corrected her.

"Right." She hummed. "Not really. Remember they didn't like FNKI or CPPR too much."

"Vacuo vs Atlas. Sounds about right." Velvet hummed, a sentiment that was quickly agreed on by Blake, who was sitting nearby.

The girl had been very quiet as of late, and getting quieter with every passing day. Yang knew why of course, and she had tried to talk to her, but the rapidly approaching visit from her dad seemed to have put the girl in a bitter mood. Of course, Yang knew it was just nerves, but she was deciding to let the girl calm down a little before trying to talk to her again.

"What about these?"

Velvet held up the camera again, showing a green haired girl and a grey haired boy. Yang recognised them instantly.

"Aren't they the ones who tried to crash the tournament? Before Arslan and Scarlett told Ozpin they weren't Haven students?"

"Mhm." Coco hummed. "Shame they just disappeared before it started. I never got to ask where she got that amazing outfit from."

"I wish I saw their weapons at least." Velvet commented sullenly. "Could have been something fun to use. Oh well."

"Give Rubes a week in the workshop and she'll make you a hundred weird weapons to have fun with."

"I genuinely believe she would." Coco chuckled. "Where is she anyway?"

"Blake?"

"Eating. Training wore her out."

"She did push herself pretty hard this time." Yang hummed.

"Good for her." Coco replied appreciatively, lowering her glasses at Weiss and Flynt as a flower bush was torn from its place with a loud rumble and flew towards the studying pair.

Not bothering to hold her laughter in as she watched her friend duck beneath it only to be showered with dirt. Almost immediately, the girl stood to her feet and began to shout at the atlesian boy. Only able to catch a few words, she turned to Velvet and raised an eyebrow.

"She's talking in atlesian." Velvet shrugged.

"Probably calling him an idiot." Blake grumbled. "Not exactly wrong."

"People go to extreme lengths to woo people." Yang grinned, unable to deny that it was stupid to fool around with gravity Dust.

"You keep saying that and Weiss w…

"HA!"

Yang cut off her friend as Flynt pulled a hand from behind his back to reveal a pure white flower that had likely been pulled from the flying bush. Holding out to Weiss, the girl seemed to freeze. Her shouting stopped and her body seized up as her head looked down at the plant. For almost a second, Yang was hoping the girl would take it; but just as she suspected, Weiss quickly slapped the flower aside and picked up her book before storming off. It only took Flynt a few seconds to follow her.

"Well…" Coco grinned and shook her head. "At least you were right about Flynt's feelings?"

"Nuh uh." Yang countered. "You see how she froze up? She normally just says no straight away."

"I don't know, Yang." Velvet smiled up at her. "You're usually rather spot on, but Weiss really doesn't seem that interested."

"Please," Yang replied and poked the bunny girl on the nose, causing it to wiggle adorably. "If those two aren't together in a couple of weeks then I'll…"

"You'll what?" Coco interrupted eagerly. "I'm ready to take this bet."

"Alright then." Yang smirked and looked over at her girlfriend. "If I'm wrong, you get my Rexars."

"Oh?" Yang knew Coco had always loved those aviators, but Yang had been lucky enough to snatch up the last pair before the store ran out. "I will aboslutel…"

"Wait. What if Yang is right?"

"Uhh…"

"Oh, I know." Velvet sat up with a mischievous grin. "How about, if Yang is right, she gets your Collins?"

"What?" The older girl said, aghast at the idea of giving up her favourite pair of sunglasses. "That's hardly a fair trade."

"Hey! My limited edition, extremely rare aviators are definitely a fair trade for your 200 Lien glasses."

"Please, I could get them from a reseller."

"But then they wouldn't've belonged to your loving girlfriend."

"You raise a good point." Coco hummed thoughtfully. "How about, in addition to that…"

The girl cut herself off, giving Velvet a quick look. After a second, she pulled out her scroll and passed it over so that the other girl couldn't see. Curious as to what the extra reward could be, Yang quickly took it and was unsurprised to see the words 'loser pays for velvet to do whatever she wants for a day' written on the screen.

Yang could definitely relate to Coco's desire for that. While they both loved the little rabbit faunus, it was undeniable that the girl's interest was definitely very different to theirs. While Coco loved her fashion, something Yang was also fond of, and Yang herself loved fighting and kicking back with a drink, Velvet was much more academic. Technology, computers, and studying were all things that Velvet held an interest in; yet, as much as they tried, neither of them had been able to really get into them. They always tried to make sure they did something Velvet enjoyed, but they both knew the girl would love to be doing things such as visiting the CCT tower and the numerous expos that were held in town.

Unfortunately, due to her more reserved nature, and there being two of them and one of her, she rarely ever told them when those were being held since she didn't want them to have to attend something they found boring. So, even though she really didn't need an excuse to want to treat Velvet, it was a few Lien that she would be more than happy to lose.

"Deal." Yang grinned at her girlfriend as she passed the Scroll back.

"Wait. What was it?"

"None of ya business." Coco grinned across at the girl.

As if to cement the fact that she would be giving no information, the brunette slipped her sunglasses back into place and leaned back against the tree. As a result, Velvet turned to Yang with dangerous eyes. Dangerous because of just how cute they were. Big, brown, and adorable, they were usually enough to get Yang to do whatever the girl wanted, but not this time. Since Coco had written it down, Yang knew she definitely had something in mind already so didn't want to ruin the surprise.

"Sorry, Babe." She said with a small shrug, earning a pout in return.

Determined to break it, she leaned in and pressed her lips against the faunus'. It didn't take long for the pout to disappear and be replaced with a smile. Seeing that little sign of happiness had always made Yang feel better, so pulling back she let Velvet's head fall back onto her lap.

However, watching as the girl's attention returned to her camera, Yang let her smile fade a little. Those moments, Coco at her side and Velvet on one of their laps, had become some of her favourite very quickly. The start of their relationship had been weird, with so much awkwardness of how things would work, especially since it was the first time Yang had been in a relationship, let alone been in one that had more than two people. However, much to her surprise, it had been rather easy. The awkwardness had not lasted very long, and they all quickly fell into a rhythm that worked for them. That, more than anything else, felt like proof to Yang that they were destined to be together.

Unfortunately, even that couldn't stop the worry from occasionally creeping in. Despite all the happy moments, despite how easy the relationship was, the fact that the girls would eventually be leaving her alone in Vale for a year was still in the back of her mind. Though she knew there was a possibility they wouldn't even still be together by then, she liked to think they definitely would be. As far as she knew, Velvet and Coco really did love her, and she loved them both enough that she could easily say that wouldn't change any time soon. However, most of their relationship had been spent with them all together, which they wouldn't be once they moved.

Left alone, Coco and Velvet might realise they like being alone together more than they liked being with her. Or they could stop loving her altogether. As much as she knew it was unlikely, it was still something that had worried her. The idea that she could simply be forgotten, left behind and alone, was something that had bothered her since she was a child. And as much as she wished those feelings would go away, they never did. Not completely at least.

"Hey." Velvet said quietly, reaching up to run a finger through a strand of blonde hair. "What are you thinking about?"

Looking down into the soft brown eyes, Yang contemplated lying for a second, but quickly decided against it. In all their conversations, every time this had sat down to talk about it, the one thing Coco and Velvet had asked was that she talk to them when she was feeling worried about something. And she'd promised she would. So, not wanting to break that promise, she let out a low breath and gave a small shrug.

"You two." She said with a side glance at Coco, who she knew was paying attention. "Just… I missed being with you both over these two months, and I missed you when you went on that mission before break." I let out a small sigh. "I really don't know how I'm gunna do a year without you."

"A year?" Coco asked with a raised eyebrow as her hand closed around Yang's. "It'll be a few months at a time since you'll be coming to see us during your breaks."

"I suppose." Yang grumbled. "Still a long time."

"I know." Velvet said with a reassuring smile on her face. "But we are still going to be in contact all the time."

"Exactly." Coco grinned. "We'll call you in the mornings, at nights, in the shower…" She leaned in close. "While we're in bed. Not a single bit of fun will be missed."

Despite her own thoughts, she felt a smile pull at her lips. Just as usual, Coco knew just how to tease a smile from her. As the smile pulled at her lips, Blake let out a frustrated breath and walked away, likely to join Ruby in getting some food. Chuckling a little and hoping her sister could help cheer her partner up a little, Yang leaned back into the tree and pulled Coco's hand up to kiss it.

"Thanks." She said in a quiet voice. "I'm just worried, you know."

"We know." Velvet said softly, reaching up to graze a finger along her chin. "But we are definitely not leaving you behind. These weeks have been hard for us too."

"Warmer weather has been making up for the colder bed though." Coco quipped, only to be tapped by one of Velvet's ears. "What? She knows I'm joking. She also knows that we both love her, and that we will spend every day until we leave convincing her of that if we have to. Right, Yang?"

"I do." She smiled and wrapped an arm around the older woman. "Sucks that you're probably going to have to do that anyway."

"Not as much as you might think." Velvet smiled, letting her hand fall back to the camera. Holding it out, she snapped a picture of the three of them. "Just more opportunities for pictures."

The little faunus quickly printed it off and gave it a shake before handing it to Yang. More than happy to accept it, she smiled down at how happy and relaxed the three of them looked. Pocketing it immediately, She leaned down and pressed a quick kiss against the girl's lips. Feeling at least a little better after her small down moment, she also gave the faunus a quick peck on the nose before sitting back and cuddling into Coco, determined to try and enjoy the last of their rare afternoon together without another depressive spike.

Weiss tapped her foot against the grass as she waited for Flynt to finish the paragraph. They had been sitting at the table for almost an hour and the boy had yet to actually make anything bigger than a cola can float for more than a few seconds without sending it flying across the field; and truthfully, part of her was thinking that he never would. They had been at it for two weeks, and he was still showing next to no signs of improvement. While gravity Dust was definitely very difficult to use, someone so adept with Dust in general such as Flynt should not have been having as much trouble as he was.

"Remember," She said, trying her best to muster as much patience as she could. "You want to be pulsating your aura for pull. The slower your pulsations, the weaker the gravity well."

"Got it, got it." He said with a nod.

Holding the purple Dust crystal over the lump of iron, Weiss watched as he activated his aura. Flynt's aura was actually something that interested her. It seemed to never be a constant colour, instead swapping between whatever colour he used as an accent that day. Sometimes it would be blue, others it would be yellow. Today though, it was a bright green. As she watched it slowly pulse around the small crystal, she held her breathe, at least hoping the iron wouldn't fly at her.

Thankfully he seemed to be doing well. The iron bar lifted off the table slowly and rose up to hover just a few inches below the Dust crystal. Holding it there for a good thirty seconds, she finally gave him a nod which told him to lower it again. Which, to her surprise, he did. Though it wasn't much, it was a lot better than what he had done previously.

"Not bad."

"A rare compliment." He grinned effortlessly and placed the crystal down. "Finally done something right."

"It took you long enough." She smirked, causing the boy to laugh and return to the book.

In truth, Weiss was quite surprised by how not unenjoyable the study sessions were. When she had first accepted the request, the idea of tutoring the arrogant Atlesian was one she had assumed would simply lead to a few hours of sheer annoyance. And while that was certainly still the case of occasion, like when Flynt had almost killed them both, there were definitely moments where she found herself genuinely enjoying the boy's company.

It was very different to how she enjoyed the company of her team, or people like Pyrrha and Ren. Though she never pretended to be anyone but herself with all of them, she'd always felt a little weird being snarky with them. Ruby always seemed a little too sweet to take jabs at, Yang merely turned everything into a joke, and Blake's mood was always a little too quick to sour. Flynt however didn't seem to care. In fact, he actually seemed to like when they bickered. And definitely gave as good as he got.

Aside from that small detail though, there were definitely other things that made conversing with him fun. With him being from Atlas, she was free to talk in her native tongue which, while being fluent in Valic, always felt more natural to her. There was also their shared passion for music and Dust, and conversation usually took a turn towards one of their experiences performing. Weiss had even laughed at one of Flynt's stories of when he'd been playing at a jazz bar in Mantle before a fight broke out, to which he had simply picked up the tempo to match it.

"So," he said as she leaned back against a glyph. "Be real with me. How bad do you miss steckerlfisch?"

Weiss let out a small sigh at the mention of it. "So much." She breathed, remembering the last time she'd had it while back home. "You would think that Vale, being a port kingdom, would know how to cook a fish."

"Tell me 'bout it." He groaned back, turning the page but clearly not paying attention. "Me and Neon have been searchin' since the Vytal tournament, but not a single place 'round here does anything close to home."

"Mhm." She hummed, knowing the feeling. "The closest we have is Guren's."

"Really? I ain't tried there?"

"It's mediocre at best." She shrugged.

"Gotcha. So what kinda girl are ya?" He said, Weiss catching the interest in his voice. "Mondfisch or Engelsflossen."

"Krabbenlabor." She replied. Just as she expected, the boy raised his eyebrow in surprise. "What? Just because I'm rich, that doesn't mean I have to enjoy the fancy places. Krabbenlabor tastes better than any of those places for much less."

"Well, I definitely can't deny that." He said as his stomach rumbled.

"Besides." Weiss sighed. "I know the owners for both Mondfisch and Engelsflossen, and I would rather not give either of them any money."

It was true. Just like her father, the owners for both restaurants made frequent use of faunus labor on their ships; and while that wouldn't have bothered her too much in the past, it definitely did now. Just like with learning how to be a better team member and a better friend, Weiss liked to think that her time in Vale had made her a somewhat better person. Or, at the very least, opened her eyes to what practices shouldn't be supported.

"Yea… Rumors about them ain't too good from what I hear."

Weiss merely gave a nod and pointed to the next object she wanted Flynt to lift. A glyph appeared and pushed Jaune's old armor along the table. With the boy's constant training with Pyrrha paying off, he had finally decided to cast off the rather shoddily made chestplate in favor of something a little more sturdy that suited his skills. Of course, Ruby had been more than happy to help him with the forging, and he had gifted her the old one in return to do with as she pleased. Since Ruby was her partner, Weiss was more than happy to assume that extended to her too, and had commandeered its use.

"Alright, enough of this fishy conversation," She said, suppressing the grin at one of her expertly made puns which she was oddly happy had made the boy chuckle. "Next object."

"Easily done." He replied with a smug grin.

Sure enough, the Atlesian repeated the same process he had with the lump of iron. With the chestplate being both bigger and heavier, Weiss had expected them to meet another hurdle, but the boy finally seemed to be getting the hang of it since he raised it up with both control and ease. Trying to see if he was ready for a little more, she coughed to get his attention.

"Good. Now keep it in place and continue to push it from below. Slowly extend the duration of your pulsation while decreasing how frequent they are…"

"'Till it's a constant." He finished for her. "I remember that much."

She gave another nod and watched the boy perform the exercise. While the armor jittered a little in place, he quickly succeeded in getting it back under control and made the full transition. With his hand underneath the armor, she held up a hand and he cut the stream of purple light and let the armor drop, smoothly hooking it around his arm.

"Not bad." She said, not wanting to praise him too much since any compliment seemed to only increase his ego.

"Please, I'm practically a pro already." He replied and flicked the crystal into the air.

Her face turned to an immediate scowl. "What have I told you about treating gravity Dust like that?" She said firmly.

"Relax, the crystal's expended already." He smiled and pointed it at a nearby flowerbed. "See."

"Flynt do…"

She made to stand up, but the Dust was already active. A large, uncontrolled gravity well expanded from the gem and hit the flower bed. The sounds of stirring dirt reached her ears as the flowers and bushes were ripped from their place and flew towards them. Ducking low, she barely avoided the shrubbery as it soared overhead, showering her white hair and clothes with dirt and worms. Barely a second passed before she jumped to her feet.

"HOW MANY TIMES MUST I TELL YOU?" She yelled angrily and brushed a worm from her fringe. "GRAVITY DUST IS NOT SOMETHING TO PLAY AROUND WITH!"

"Oh come on." Flynt replied and dropped the crystal, which she caught with a glyph to prevent more damage. "It was whiter than your hair, how was I suppo…"

"Because gravity Dust doesn't lose its strength as the crystal diminishes!" She snapped. "It said so in chapter one."

"Okay…" He fiddled with his fedora nervously. "I may've skipped that part." Weiss' eyes narrowed. "Hey, I told ya book learning was never my strong suit."

"I'm starting to think your only strong suit is being an idiot who likes to show off." She snarled. "What the hell were you even trying to do anyway? Prove a point? Well congr…."

Weiss was cut off at Flynt pulled a hand from behind his back to reveal a pure white tulip that had likely been resting in the flowerbed only seconds ago. It was a simple action, one that many boys had done before him, but this one caused her to stop like none of the others had. It confused her at first. How could it not when most of their sessions usually ended in a fight? However, while that was usually how they ended, a majority of their sessions consisted of talking that she usually found fun.

Is that why I'm usually so annoyed at him? She asked herself internally, her eyes locked on the flower. Because he keeps ruining the mood?

With those thoughts stirring through her head, she felt her palms begin to sweat and her heart begin to pick up. That hadn't even happened with Neptune. No, she interrupted herself, tearing her eyes away from the tulip to look at Flynt's face to see a hint of confidence in his eyes. The boy is an arrogant ass.

Finally composing herself, Weiss slapped the flower aside and seized up the book she had let him study from. Brushing first from it, she stormed toward the hallways that led to the cafeteria, determined to get some distance between them. However, she barely made it halfway when she heard his voice call out towards her.

"Weiss!" She ignored him. "Hold up."

"No." She spat back at him, not bothering to slow her pace.

"So you don't want an answer to ya question?"

"I don't want anything from you right now."

"We both know that ain't true."

That finally succeeded in getting her to stop. Turning on the spot, she gave the boy an unamused look and crossed her arm. "What on Remnant are you talking about?"

"Oh come on." He flicked some dirt off of his fedora. "I see how you look at me while we're talkin'. Why can't ya just admit you like spendin' time with me?"

"Because you spend half the time acting like an arrogant ass." She swore angrily.

"Well forgive me for tryna impress you."

"That is not how you impress me!" Weiss growled, feeling more annoyance that she normally would at that all-too-common reasoning. "That is how you make me feel the need to add a paragraph to my Dust app called The Flynt Rule. Big, bold letters saying DON'T PLAY WITH GRAVITY DUST!"

"You have a Dust app?" He said, curiosity overtaking his voice and causing her eyes to narrow dangerously. "Not the time. Got it."

Weiss simply stood there and watched the boy shuffle awkwardly. The fact that he had basically just admitted that he was trying to impress her had not gone amiss, and in truth was probably the most annoying thing that had happened that day. It always annoyed her when people tried to impress her because it always showed they thought she was beyond them; but it annoyed her more with Flynt than any of the others. The fact he had always been straightforward and honest had been the aspect of his arrogance that she actually liked. It not only showed her that he didn't have her placed on a pedestal, but that he had a confidence that many seemed to lack.

"Alright then," He sighed and produced a clone in front of himself. Stepping into it, he emerged with pristine clothes and a yellow tie where his previous green one had been. "I've tried Neon's way, but that shit clearly ain't working. Time for Kobalt's."

Raising an eyebrow as the boy's stance became a lot more confident. Standing up straight, he put a hand on his hip and gave her a firm look.

"I don't chase girls, or try to impress them." He said with a wave of his hand. "They say no, I leave it be. But I like you. Not for bein' the heiress, not for being gorgeous; but because you have fire and passion. For Dust and music. Both of those are important to me."

"If Dust was important to you then you wouldn't be treating gravity Dust so reckle…"

Weiss was cut off as she saw Flynt's hand move with startling speed, releasing something into the air. Annoyance almost flared within her as she saw it was a gravity crystal, but a second later she felt herself being pulled forward by a perfectly executed gravity well. Thin and narrow, only around her waist so that she could still breath and not so strong that she couldn't easily counteract it with minimal effort. Flynt too was caught in the well and pulled forward until they both met in the middle, Flynt's hand catching her waist and holding her firm.

The enticing smell of his aftershave filled her nose and almost made her hum. Taking a second to compose herself, she looked up to see Flynt's brown eyes glancing down at her. The whole action caused her breath to catch, and though she should have pulled away, she didn't.

"You're a good teacher so your first lesson was enough." He said in a calm voice. "I told you I'm good when I get hands on with Dust; but I wanted to spend more time with you, so Neon told me to let you feel in control. But… I may'ave took it too far."

"And wasted my time."

"Ouch." He chuckled, unfazed by the insult. "Time with me ain't exactly a waste."

"Your opinion of yourself is so high you would make an acrophobic sick."

He shrugged away the insult, just as he usually did.

"Come on. One date." He said with a grin. "I know ya like me enough for that."

Keeping eye contact with him, Weiss finally pushed herself away and let out a sigh of her own. In truth, she was half tempted to take him up on it. They really did have a lot in common, and she couldn't deny that she liked how he challenged her both intellectually and in terms of personality. However, unlike Neptune, she could believe Flynt was serious and wasn't sure if she wanted to explore what she felt. So still unsure how to answer, she took a step back and turned to walk away.

"I'll take that as a no." He said, the disappointment in his voice evident.

Looking back, she gave him a small glance. Still unsure of her feelings and wanting some time to think on it, she shook her head and continued to walk away.

"I'll think about it." She called back.

Not even bothering to look again, since she knew his ego was about to soar, she pushed open the door to the cafeteria. She had expected just another day of boring tutoring followed by some time with her team, maybe helping cheer Blake up since she had been fretting more and more about her parents arrival. What she definitely hadn't been expecting was being asked on a date and considering saying yes.

Letting out a sigh at the confusing thoughts ahead of her, she slowly made her way over to Ruby and Blake and sat down. Earning a look from the both of them, she simply pulled a cookie from Ruby's plate and leaned back against her glyph again, making it clear she didn't want to talk.

Raalm's Notes

Hello all. Not much from me today, just some catch up with Weiss and Yang this chapter. It's been a while since we had a focus on their stories, and I do like all the characters to be rounded out, so I hope you enjoyed this chapter. There are big things coming for the final arc though, so I hope you look forward to those :)

Chapter 48 - Aggravation will be up on the 5th of November :)