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The Quiet Ones
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A few pictures worth.
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"—How do these even find me?"
In Team ENMY's dorm, Emerald scowled at a box of chocolates. She was about to throw them onto the growing mound on the table, when she turned it over for a second.
"Huh. This one's expensive. Wonder if I can return it to the store."
"Seriously?" Mercury asked, while playing games on his bed.
"If only they included a gift receipt. I swear, some people just aren't very thoughtful."
While the two had their exchange, Neo was busy drawing in her sketchbook. It was something she'd been working on since Yang bought it for her on a shopping trip a while back. As time went on, and her project neared completion, Neo started dedicating unhealthy amounts of hours to its finishing touches.
Bags formed under her eyes and trace amounts of fidgetiness could be seen from the caffeine. Still, despite the fatigue, she pressed on. This was important to her, more than few things she thought would.
Her hand reached for the coffee mug nearby, and found it empty.
A bit annoyed, she went over to the dining table, grabbed one of the chocolate bars, ripped off its wrapper, and snapped it between her teeth. Not savoring it for a second, only wanting to consume it for its sugar, Neo stuffed the rest in a blink of an eye.
She then, plopped down on her desk, and set to drawing again.
"Neo! I was actually going to eat that one!"
But the girl paid no mind to Emerald's complaints.
"Hm. She's been working on that a lot lately," Emerald watched. "Thought she was just doodling, but…You know what that's about?"
"Caught a glance once," Mercury replied.
"Yeah? And?"
"She almost stabbed my eyes out."
"I didn't ask about your eyes, dummy. What was in it? Some gory pictures or something?"
"Nah."
"Hentai?"
"Hen-what?"
As the two continued making random guesses, the door opened and Yang walked in.
"Hey, guys. So you found some in your mailbox too?"
The girl set a pair of shopping bags worth of Valentine's Day chocolates on the table next to Emerald's pile.
"Yang wins," Mercury commented.
"It's not a contest," Emerald grunted.
"Yeah, not anymore. Hey, are those truffles?"
"Whatever. I don't even go to class so—Hm?" Emerald took a closer look at Yang's chocolates. "Most of these are from girls."
Yang only shrugged and continued to stare at the pile.
She didn't really know what to do with them honestly. It would be a waste to throw them out, but it was too much to eat. More importantly, there was Neo.
Yang turned to her partner, half-expecting to be threatened with a mean look, but the girl only continued to busily draw in her sketchbook. Yang tried a few times to sneak a peek in the past, but every attempt usually ended with Neo biting her. It seemed she would only see it when Neo allowed her to see it.
Yang sighed.
And with a loud voice, she announced, "Valentine's Day can be so boring~!" she stretched. "So, let's do something fun."
"Oh, yeah?" Mercury sat up interestedly. "Like pick fights with all the dumb couples and smash their goo-goo faces?"
"No, Merc—is that your idea of fun? Okay, well. Anyway! It's late, but I wanted to celebrate the Lunar New Year!"
"Pass."
"That means shooting off some fireworks~"
"Still pass."
"But we don't have fireworks, so we have to use cannons from a decommissioned airship."
"And, why are we still talking about this? Let's go, blondie!"
Mercury hopped off his bed and started out the door. He didn't even know where to go, but that didn't stop him from running there at full speed. Emerald rolled her eyes and followed.
While her two teammates left, Yang hung back since Neo hadn't budged from her place.
"Hey, you. C'mon!"
Neo gave Yang a brief side-glance, but her pencil resumed its movement after a pause. Undeterred, Yang went behind her, patting her hands on her shoulders. Her chin rested the top of her partner's head.
"I really want you to come, Neo. Please~?"
Neo closed the sketchbook so Yang wouldn't see. A slight frown wrinkled her lips.
"You've been kind of off lately. Not anything by it…" Yang awkwardly scratched the back of her neck. "I guess, I'm just a little worried."
After being met with no response, Yang became more disparaged. She lingered a minute longer, before turning away.
When she did, a small hand grasped hers.
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X
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It was the dead of night when Team ENMY and FIRE Team snuck out an outdated airship from Haven Academy.
Unlike most modern aircrafts, this one was constructed almost entirely of wood. The engine was old, having been repaired and renovated countless times. The sails were worn and it relied on a rickety propeller for propulsion. It seemed more ornamental than practical in design—at least, in these times.
"How did you guys get your hands on this?" Emerald asked Inna, on the ship deck.
"Well, me and Yang know this kid takin' classes in the pilot course. They used to use this baby here fer teaching material. Y'know, practice flyin', tunin' up. But with the new models bein' developed, it's useless now to teach with this one. They're plannin' on convertin' her to civilian transport and strippin' her guns. So I figured it'd be nice to take her on a joy ride while she's still got some bang."
"Huh. Makes sense."
"I'll be honest. I didn't think you were the type to go along with this."
"Yeah, well," Emerald soured. "A lot of crap is about to hit the fan and I wanted a small breather before it happened."
"Don't we all. My team's got deployment orders bright and early."
"You sure you should be stealing an airship before then?"
"Are you kiddin'? It's the perfect time!" Inna swung her arm around the other. "What are they gonna do? Discharge me right before they need me on overwatch? They'll look the other way. 'Sides, we could all be dead by tomorrow. Sounds damn foolish to leave any opportune moments unexploited."
"Hm," Emerald smirked.
The two stared over the edge, into the dark blue sky. A cool breeze tickled their cheeks and brushed their hair. Nothing but quiet mountains in the distance and shadowy forests below. As clouds drifted by, they reached a point far enough out of the city to cause as little problems as possible.
"LIGHTING HER UP!" Mercury yelled across the intercom from the gunnery station.
"There goes our resident child," Emerald groaned. "What is it with certain types and explosions?"
"Big, pretty, dangerous," Inna laughed. "What's not to like?"
"Spoken like a true gun nut."
Meanwhile, Mercury and the rest of FIRE Team loaded the first incendiary shells and launched them.
High whistles pierced the serene sky, like birds in flight. Roars of fire and carnage followed, raining from the detonation. The blooming flowers of orange and yellow dispersed the shadows. A quiet just about to settle when another barrage blasted into the air.
In that moment, the young men and women aboard remembered they were still children in a sense. Reckless delinquents, who hijacked an airship to set off "fireworks". Right before they had to fight their own respective life-or-death battles.
On the backend of the deck, leaning against the railing, Yang and Neo sat.
The petite girl was having trouble putting the last touches to her drawings. Somehow, they didn't seem enough. The images weren't as defined as she'd like. Reviewing them again, she wanted to scrap it all and start over.
Depression and insecurity set in. The odd sense of vulnerability wasn't an emotion she felt often. Not since she was much younger.
"—Thanks for coming, Neo," she heard a voice beside her say.
Yang stared up at the bright lights with a slight blush and a sheepishness to her voice.
"I don't really celebrate Valentine's. I don't know—chocolates and all that stuff. And I don't know what to call…us, but," the girl continued to struggle finding the right words. "Y'know—It means a lot that you're here. I…kind of did this for you."
For the first time since the fireworks began, Neo started watching the explosions as well.
Loud and all-consuming. It was a wonder how something so simple and fleeting could inflict such a sense of awe.
"Haha," Yang chuckled at the same thought. "Maybe, that's the answer to true peace. Fireworks. Just loud and bright stuff everyone can get shut up by."
The stars burst into shimmering comets, dancing in Neo's eyes. Their cracks and shocks made her heart pound. It was almost like they were blowing away her unnecessary thoughts, leaving them nothing but burning fragments.
She turned to the side and stared at the firework next to her. Yang, who seemed brighter than anything in the world.
Neo understood.
In truth, she finished her drawings long ago and was just procrastinating following through.
It was the first time she opened this part of her life. A part of herself she never shared, not even with Torchwick. Something she deeply regretted in retrospect.
Neo didn't want it to be too late…
She didn't want to be too late again.
"Hm?" Yang felt something slide into her hands. "Neo?"
The small girl leaned on her partner's shoulder and continued to watch the fireworks. Her hair conveniently hiding her expression.
Yang looked down at the sketchbook Neo handed her, slowly opening it.
She turned the first page…
Then turned the second.
Then the next.
Entranced by the images and the meaning they held, Yang felt herself being pulled along its story. The only thing existing in that moment were her eyes and the imagery unfolding before her.
Neo's grip tightened with every slip of paper. Any manipulations to her form was released, and her true appearance was exposed.
She didn't remember the last time she simply let go. It had to have been back when she was a child, since Neo last revealed her unmodified appearance.
Would Yang think she was ugly? Disgusting even? Would she back away the moment she looked next to her? Neo's head circled these questions again and again.
And then, she heard the sketchbook close.
Yang finished the story Neo drew about her life to this point. The abusive childhood she endured and the cruelty she suffered from others. They hated her because she was different. When she changed, they hated her more. They ridiculed her speech so she chose silence.
Neo didn't speak.
And Yang saw the picture book for what it was.
It was Neo's voice.
…
Yang closed her eyes and felt for Neo's lips. When she found them, she planted a soft kiss.
She didn't care what Neo looked like. It saddened her that something as simple as appearances could affect someone so much. Especially in someone like her partner, who was easily one of the deadliest, most terrifying people she'd ever met.
Yang opened her eyes, already accepting of everything her partner was. She didn't care what she would see, none of it would change her mind. Yang knew Neo for who she really was, and that would always be enough.
"Huh?!"
Neo's heart stopped at the reaction. Hurt, she tried to turn away, but Yang grabbed her.
"Wait, Neo! You're not…Um—" Yang paused in a way that was troubled, but also awestruck. "You're…really pretty."
Neo couldn't do anything, but look at her incredulously.
"No, really. I know what you drew, but just look in the mirror."
The small girl frowned and reluctantly conjured a mirror with her Semblance.
…
She couldn't understand the face staring back at her.
"I think growing up changed your appearance. So…yeah. I mean, I didn't care if you weren't pretty, by the way. You know that, right?"
But Neo ignored Yang, continuing to touch parts of her face to make sure it was real. Rather, her unmodified appearance was similar to her usual transformation with hints of maturity.
"Neo?"
She took back her sketchbook, wrote something, and held it up like a billboard.
I'M SEXY! ( °□°）
Yang couldn't stop herself from laughing. Rather than the circumstance, it was the sight of Neo's silly expression that brought her joy. The purity in the way this girl conveyed her emotions was missing in recent days.
And as quickly as the childish smile came, a hungry kind of look took its place. Neo bared her teeth, while gazing at Yang with a lustful grin.
"Huh? Neo, could you wait a second? You're kind of—There's people here! Neo! Hey?!"