A/N Part 2! Now we get to see how our lovely Baked Alaska established itself. After this, I've got a pretty funny Cinderruby one coming up next that I'm sure you'll all like.
For those who are wondering, I'm setting this fic in basically modern North America. I'm making Vale a town somewhere in New York state, just to clarify. Now... Enjoy!
How We Meet Pt. 2
2 Weeks after the 'Vegas Incident...'
"I think this piece goes here? And... then the leg goes ov-er here?" A perturbed Yang replied to the mismatched directions before her.
Neo looked up from her kneeling position on the floor, pink eyes showing an equal amount of confusion. "Or... does that go here, and this goes up, there? God, why is this so confusing?"
'Piece, this, that, there, here' You're probably wondering what all of these jumbled words represent. Well, if one was to take a closer look, one would get a better understanding of the predicament our Yellow and Pink duo found themselves in.
Screws, shelves, boards, an unintelligible manual, and two befuddled girls took host to the living room. A half-assembled mahogany monstrosity resting before them. See, during their extended time in Vegas, Yang and Neo did a slew of cool things, and one of them had been a game of blackjack that ended up netting them an insanely large smart TV.
After other unmentionable things in Vegas, the girls decided it was time to leave. So with their massive prize with them; Yang and Neo returned to their small, quaint apartment they called home. Immediately they unboxed the TV, tossed the tiny old one to the side, (the old one wasn't actually that small, just the new one was really that big) and laid the new one in the same spot the old one had sat on. Only the small, four-legged coffee table looked like it was about to implode under the TV's massive weight, so Neo had brought up the idea of purchasing a home entertainment Center for the TV to rest upon. Yang had been all for that idea, and had her own idea of going to IKEA to make said purchase. The blonde's excuse being that she had always wanted to go (which she did), the prices were cheap (which they were), and that it was on her bucket list, (which was odd).
Neo had followed along. One short trip in a rental car later, they had successfully returned with the biggest and most badass mahogany entertainment stand humankind had ever conceived. It's name? 'TITHROWTON'. Yang assumed that was Swedish for 'Awesome' or something along those lines.
But back to the action. Currently the stand sat half-constructed in front of Yang, dressed in black sweats and a yellow halter top, and Neo, dressed in a brown v-neck and white jeans. Yang had been in charge of reading the manual and assisting Neo with where each piece goes where, while the multi-colored girl was in charge of the hardware and double checking everything .
Things had been going very well, until they reached the shelving part on the right side. Each shelf consisted of... well a shelf with two rails that got screwed to the frame to keep said shelves in place. But in order to install the rails, you had to remove the retaining frame and gauge where the rails should go. In order to remove the retaining frame, you had to tilt the entire object at a 45 degree angle to get access to the screws underneath. That wasn't it! To properly tilt it, you had to remove each of the legs on one side to get a good grip while tilting. Otherwise, the whole thing could lose balance and cause World War Three.
Yeah..this thing was stupidly complex.
It didn't help that the screws used some crazy, unheard-of voodoo-magic pattern on the heads that could only be turned by the shoddy screwdriver it came with.
"Looks like we gotta lift it again." Yang stated. She looked to Neo, waiting for her to do something. The pink and auburn-haired girl replied back with a disgruntled expression.
"I have to go under there again?" She whined.
Yang chuckled, "It's not like I'm gonna drop it on you."
Neo frowned, "Saying stuff like that doesn't help."
The blonde looked back in mock hurt, "What, would you rather have... I don't know, Cinder do it?"
Neo gave Yang a quizzical look, "If Cinder and Ruby were building this; they would've been done like, an hour ago."
Now it was Yang's turn to be confused, "You're saying they could do it faster?"
"Yep."
"Whhyy?"
"Because." Neo grinned, "C'mon, let's be honest here, they'd build it as fast as possible so they could bang on it, as fast as possible."
Yang burst out in a fit of laughter, not at the Cinder and Ruby aspect (that was actually kind of frightening) but at how cool her girlfriend is. "Have I ever told you how awesome you are?" Yang called out.
The multi-colored girl nodded contently, "On occasion. But seriously though."
"Haha, yeah, I totally agree. Remember that time we walked in on them and they were-"
"Don't even remind me." Neo grimaced, "Same counter they eat off of..." She shook her head an averted her gaze back to the task at hand.
"You lift, I'll screw?" She proposed.
Yang giggled, "Pfft, that's what she said."
"I know right?" Neo cheered. She didn't allow Yang to reply. Instead she got down on her knees on the far side of the half-assembled stand and instructed Yang to hoist her end up. The blonde simply shrugged and followed Neo's directions. With little effort the blonde raised her end with one hand. Now Yang wasn't some buff monster, but she did take pride in her physique. Her line of work, being a personal trainer, did have its benefits.
While Yang did her part, Neo did hers. Attempting to screw the legs back in place. Yang couldn't help but smile in adoration at the small squeaks and grunts Neo made in her efforts to assemble the components. It actually reminded her of something rather important; sort of.
Not really…
"Hey, Neo?"
"Blondie?" Neo said back.
"What does this remind you of?"
"Uh, that stereotypes about IKEA are actually true?"
"No, well yes, but that's not what I'm getting at."
"Well?" Neo asked incredulously.
"The first day we... Y'know, the day you started talking."
Out of Yang's view, Neo made an odd face. "Yang this is nowhere related to how we met."
"I'm trying to make this romantic"
"While we build furniture?"
"Just humor me."
######
High School. For some it's the best time of their lives. For others it's the bane of their existence. For senior student Yang, Signal High was a mix of both. It was enjoyable when her friends were around, but when they weren't? Not so much.
Now you're probably thinking, 'Yang? Without friends? Blasphemy!' Well, those who were not on a friend basis with the blonde, we're at least her peer. If that wasn't the case, then you were undoubtedly placed in the category of people who tried to get with her. Yang had developed a system consisting of three groups. Friends at the top, peers in the middle, and the weird guys who begged to go on date; at the bottom.
It would seem that today was a group three day, as Yang found herself dealing with the third guy in row. And it wasn't even lunchtime yet!
"Neptune, I told you, No." Yang sighed. Not even ten seconds out of morning class and this blue-haired deviant was already at it. Yang almost felt bad.
Almost.
It seemed Neptune had actually went the extra mile and dressed a little nicer than normal. Even throwing on some decent cologne too.
"C'mon," He reasoned, "Just one date?"
"Dude, no."Yang droned, crossing her arms across her Varsity girls Soccer shirt.
"Agh..." Neptune mumbled, "I get it. You're too busy, right? Well don't worry, the second you have time, you know who to call."
Yang facepalmed at Neptune's persistence. She just let the self-proclaimed 'ladies man' saunter off down the hallway, and out of view.
"Getting really tired of this..." She muttered to herself.
It was true. She wasn't fed up because of the constant asks and begs, but rather, the fact that pretty much no one looked past her looks. There was only her close friends who really understood her. The rest, didn't truly care.
Unbeknownst to Yang, fate was about to change that.
She did a quick turnaround and headed in the direction of her next class. Just as she made her first step; the faint sound of running emanated from the opposite direction. Yang turned again, her eyes being graced with a peculiar sight.
A short, like really short, girl was charging down the hallway. Her hair was parted between pink and auburn, clothed in a flowing white blouse and soft pink jeans. Yang couldn't get a good look at her face because she was moving so fast.
For a split second, the unfamiliar girl glanced up, slowing her running, and locking eyes with Yang. Lilac met an intriguing pink, and before Yang knew it; the millisecond stare broke, and the small girl froze in tracks. She was panting slightly from running, but still turned to address Yang.
"Wow… y-you're hot." She muttered in awe. "I-I'm Neo, c-can I kiss you?"
Yang couldn't even reply before she was viciously grabbed by her shoulders and yanked down into a saliva-ridden, lusting kiss. Neo then slammed Yang against a nearby locker, her hands working on-
######
"Ha-ha… Very funny. Now tell it how it really went." Neo remarked from the otherside of the entertainment stand.
"What?" Yang whined, "I'm telling the truth, just... embellishing a little."
"Tell it like it actually went, Blondie."
"Ffffffine..."
######
For a split second, the unfamiliar girl glanced up, slowing her running, and locking eyes with Yang. Lilac met an intriguing pink, and before Yang knew it; the millisecond stare broke, and the small girl tore around the corner.
"Hm." Yang contentedly hummed, "She's kinda cute."
Cute she was. And Yang wanted to know more.
Lunchtime rolled around, and Yang commenced her routine of seeking out Ruby to go get lunch together. She'd been spending and increasing amount of time with Ruby, as the crimsonette was slowly easing her way into the dating game.
Oh if Yang only knew. Knew that Ruby wouldn't meet anyone in High School, and would go on to meet an older woman...
But that's all in the future.
Let's focus on the present? Past?
Just as Yang exited the aft hallway leading into the atrium, she spotted that girl again. She sat alone on a bench near the front doors, book in one hand, and a miniature carton of chocolate milk in the other.
'I should say hi... wait... why?' Yang's thoughts locked up. Wondering why she'd voluntarily talk to this mystery girl. But, in all her mulling, Yang had absent-mindedly continued her path towards the girl, and was now standing a mere two feet from her.
"Uh, hey! I'm... Yang. Yang Xiao Long. Are you... new here?" Yang tripped over words. Totally not being used to introducing herself.
The girl looked up from her book, pink eyes looking plain. She reached for her drink and took a quick gulp, flashing the blonde a stoic expression and returning to her book.
Yang couldn't help but feel a little... shocked? That this girl basically paid her -Yang Xiao Long- no mind.
"What's, your name?" Yang prodded on.
The pink and auburn-haired girl merely shrugged, without even so much as a glance.
"Hey, I'm-"
"Yang! Over here!" The high pitch of her sister sounded from behind.
Yang reluctantly turned, and made eye-contact with her bubbly sister, waving her arms erratically. Yang looked back to the mystery girl, "Uh, bye?"
Yang didn't even get a shrug that time.
The blonde sauntered away and over towards Ruby, occasionally looking over her shoulder.
"Yang? Are you-"
"Who is that?" Yang said, cutting off Ruby's question.
Ruby tipped sideways, looking in the direction Yang was pointing. "Oh! Her? That's Neo. She just moved here. I think. Weiss was talking about her this morning."
'That's a cute name.' Yang thought.
"Why? Something up?" The crimsonette inquired.
"Nothing... no. Let's go eat." Yang stated, still not taking her eyes off of Neo.
Yang couldn't help it. This tiny, cute Neo, was the first person who actually didn't care about whomsoever she was. Heck, she didn't seem interested at all! It doesn't sound good, but for Yang it was the best news ever. All she had to do was get Neo to talk. Like a whole new experience.
An experience that would prove most difficult?
######
Day 1
Yang entered the atrium the following day. Hell-bent on talking to Neo. She grinned widely upon spotting the small girl sitting in the same spot from before, the only visible difference being the change in her clothing.
Being roughly twenty feet from Neo; a tall figure stepped in her path.
A tall blue-haired figure.
"Ugghh, Neptune... what do want now?"
"What?" Neptune shrugged, "Can't I say hi?"
Yang stood there, one hundred percent unamused.
"So..." Neptune's voice went pseudo sultry, "About that date?"
"Who said anything about-" Yang paused, remembering her so-called 'mission'. She shoved Neptune aside and looked to the bench, only to frown as it would seem that Neo had left.
"Dammit Neptune." She turned to the boy, nothing but annoyed, "You got to the count of five."
Neptune somewhat got the message, and made his hasty retreat.
######
Day 2
Like dejavu, Yang made her way into the atrium -again- to get her chance at talking to Neo. Odd as it was; the multi-colored girl seemed to disappear after lunch. Which made the blonde's window of opportunity small. Just like Neo herself.
This time, Yang felt like her plan would succeed. Now just fifteen feet from Neo. But as if the fates had a bone to pick with her; yet another figure blocked her path.
"Yang." A smooth voice made himself known.
The blonde narrowed her eyes in annoyance, "Mercury."
"Lemme get right to it. There's a party at Blake's house this weekend. Wanna go, you and I?"
"Mmm, lemme think about it." Yang glared, "No."
"Oh come, on. You know you want me." He stated.
Much like yesterday, only this time with more anger, Yang grabbed Mercury's shoulder and tugged him aside, revealing that, once more, Neo was gone.
"I'll take that as a - whoa! What the hell?!"
Yang had grabbed a passers-by drink and chucked it at Mercury's shirt. Staining what seemed to be an expensive article of clothing. This wasn't the first time Mercury had tried to court her, hopefully her actions made it the last.
It was the last. But only from him.
######
Day that felt like 806 but was really 3
Today, Yang trudged into the atrium. Some of her zeal for talking to Neo, lost.
Still, Yang spotted the intriguing girl reading her book in the same spot as always.
Yang approached, this time getting within ten fee before, yet again, another figure blocked her path. It elicited an enraged undertone. The blonde cursing to herself.
It was Neptune.
Again.
"You never gave me a chance to-"
"Neptune." Yang seethed through her teeth. "I'm giving you three seconds this time."
"C'mon, like I said; one date."
"One."
Neptune backed up a bit, "You'll see what I mean."
"Two."
"Look let's not get all- ow! What the...?"
Yang didn't even get to three. But it wasn't her hands that had made Neptune shrill. She looked to see the blue-haired boy covering his head. A book resting by his feet.
A familiar book.
"If she wants to be left alone; then leave her alone." The most interesting voice ordered.
The blonde averted her gaze left, and came in contact with...
"Neo?"
The multi-colored girl didn't address Yang yet, "I got another book, if you want it."
"No, no, I-I'll go." Neptune hurried off, completely confused by the girls at this school.
Yang couldn't believe it. Neo? Doing that? For her?
"Thanks?" Yang said, confused.
"You have something you want to say to me, right?" Neo inquired.
"Uhh, I don't get it. I talked to you the other day and you ignored me."
Neo stepped down and picked up her book. She fixed any damaged pages and tucked it under her arm. "I did. I knew who you were. 'Yang: the popular girl'." Neo made a wide armed gesture. "I don't care about popularity. Hence why I didn't day anything. But after seeing you brush those dudes away to try and talk to me... was kinda cool." Neo explained, tilting her head to one side. "You got something to say right?"
"Oh, yeah! I do, look..." Yang paused, losing herself in Neo's cool stare.
"You wanna... go get lunch? Like, right now?"
Neo gave it some thought, admittedly, she couldn't deny the fact that Yang did uphold her label so to speak.
"Okay." Neo affirmed.
"Sweet!" Yang cheered. "C'mon, quick."
Neo grinned at the blonde girl's behavior.
If there was one other thing Neo had to admit, it was...
'She's kinda cute.'
A/N 'TITHROWTON' – NOT-WORTH-IT, lol. Seriously, I spent the majority of my Saturday assembling that exact same thing. Oddly enough it was my GF's idea to go to IKEA. Yay… but poor furniture aside, that's how we get to Baked Alaska! Yay!
Up next? Well, I think it's time Ruby introduced Cinder to Taiyang and Uncle Qrow, hm?
Thanks for reading everyone! I'll see you soon.