Author's Notes: Hey everyone, sorry about the gap between chapters. Moving house was exhausting, and been busy with that and such. But, here is the next chapter. Hope it's okay, I rewrote this one like five times, and I'm still not totally pleased with it. But, we all get chapter's we're not pleased with, no matter what. Anyway! Enjoy! - Dave
Act One: Chapter Six: Trying Again
...
Peeking her head around the corner, bright blue eyes narrowed and flitting left to right, Eryka grinned devilishly. "Psst! Coast is clear, Agent Frosty. Over."
"Okay Eryka, thank you." Winter's voice deadpanned, Eryka rolling her eyes with exasperation.
"You didn't use my code-name."
"I'm not using the code-name." Winter's voice dryly answered. "Stop kicking me, I'm not saying it!"
"Hey, you're the military gal, I can't believe they haven't drummed that sorta thing into you." Eryka shrugged, yelping as she quickly hid behind the corner of the wall as one of the night staff paced down the hallway, out of sight.
"Okay, you novice, number one: You don't have to say "over" when I am literally stood next to you! Number two: I am not using your code name."
"Saaaaaaay it." Eryka stuck her head out around the corner, checking the hall leading to Goodwitch's office. Winter growled lowly, clenched teeth squeaking as they grated together. "Say it."
"No."
"Urgh, you are the definition of boring. If I looked up "Boring" in the dictionary, the-
"Yes yes, I've heard this all before from my siblings. "In the dictionary, there will be a picture of me next to it" Yes ha ha, very funny." Winter rolled her eyes.
"No. I dunno about you, but my dictionaries don't have pictures in them." Eryka dryly retorted. "So, tell me Wints, with your vocabulary books, are they all picture books? Ooh! Do they have pop up pictures?! Are you okay? Why are you breathing like that?"
"Just...trying to...calm...high blood pressure." Winter panted slowly. "Let's just get this over with, is it clear?"
"Yep! Has been for ages, but somebody wouldn't use my code name!"
"Stop it, you boob!" Winter smacked Eryka on the back of the head, the Vasilias girl whining and rubbing the affected spot. Winter poked her head around the corner, before stepping into the hall, briskly pacing to the locked office door.
"So, how'd you get Goodwitch's keys?"
"I have a spare set she gave me, for security reasons, et cetera."
"Ah yeah, security. Cos nothing's more secure than handing out keys to everyone! You get a key! You get a key! Everybody gets a ke-Mmph!" Winter's hand quickly squeezed over Eryka's ever moving lips.
"Please...for my health...silence." Winter whispered, before slowly letting her hand peel off of Eryka's lips. Winter turned back to flicking through the array of keys, mumbling to herself, before she found the correct one, slipping it into the slot and turning it slowly. A loud click echoed down the hall, signally that the door was unlocked.
"Yes!" Eryka grinned. "Open it open it, let's get outta this hall!" Eryka pushed Winter's shoulders, the Schnee's eyelid twitching, a blue vein stretching along her brow. Winter opened the door and stepped in cautiously, her military background causing her to check her corners, to keep her feet light and her wits crisp.
"Boom! This is a swanky office, man!" Eryka bowled in, humming to herself as she began rummaging through drawers. Winter stood in disgraced awe, eyes wide at the Vasilias girl.
"Am I going to have to remove your tongue?" Winter shut the door softly, Eryka throwing a folder over her shoulder onto the desk. "Eryka, stop it!"
"What's this? Files on students? Hmmm..."
"Eryka, no! We're not here to look through every student's personal information!" The white haired Schnee ripped the folders out of the blue topped girl's hands.
"Riiiight. We're here to look through Goodwitch's!"
"Oh this is a very bad idea. Why? Why did I ever listen to you?" Winter asked, pinching the bridge of her nose. Eryka shrugged, stepping around the desk and using her wide hips to nudge the wheeled chair aside. She bent over, going through the drawers, before raising an eyebrow. Winter paused her annoyed snarl to raise her own brow.
"Well...this is interesting."
"W-What? What could it possibly be-"
"Jaymes Ickford file. But it's not in the cabinet over there." Eryka slapped the heavy file onto the desk. "Also, why is she still using files and paper? She understands all this would fit onto a tiny hard drive, right?"
"Some people prefer to keep notes on parchment. Lest they get downloaded or hacked, hmm?" Winter raised her brow at Eryka, before looping a fallen lock behind her ear and gingerly opening the file. Eryka leaned her palms into the desk, arching her back to crack the tension out.
"Lovely noises for a spine to make." Winter quipped.
"Lovely noises for a spine to make." Eryka rolled her eyes, lathering her voice in childish mocking tones. Winter huffed and looked up at the Vasilias.
"How very childish." Winter shook her head.
"How very childish."
"I'm ignoring you now."
"I'm ignoring you now."
"Ery...wait, what?"
"What's wrong?" Eryka asked, sudden worry in her voice as she leaned over to see. Her eyes scanned the file, bulging out of her head. "Wait...really?"
"What in the name of Remnant is going on here?!"
Both the women looked up over the desk to the open door, to the blonde haired Professor, tapping her foot impatiently and staring irascibly at the duo over her glasses.
"Busted." Eryka huffed, Winter gulping and slapping her face into her palm.
...
Pyrrha woke up first, blinking as the world blearily came into focus. Or...the world being Yang's room, and a face full of golden hair. She smiled and hummed, shuffling closer, burying her face in the soft golden tresses as sunlight illuminated them like a rickle of treasure.
"Mmm, morning Jaune." She beamed, taking a deep inhale of the messy locks.
"Morning, P-money." Yang murmured, lifting her head, Pyrrha feeling the trove of woven hair lift away from her face. Lilac and emerald eyes met, though those green eyes suddenly began to shrink with shock. "Sorry to disappoint'cha!"
"Ah!" Pyrrha reeled away, tumbling out of her sleeping bag. Yang snorted and laughed, waking Blake and Jaune.
"Mmm...so soft." The Arc boy blinked and blearily opened his eyes, humming as he stroked the cat ears, enjoying the purring...wait, cat ears?
Blake's golden eyes snapped wide as did Jaune's, both having curled up together in the night. "AH!" They both shouted, rolling away from each other.
"Oh for...Excuse me, but I am trying to sleep!" Weiss sat up, pulling her sleep mask off of her eyes, looking down at the mass of black and red currently coiled around her stomach. "Wah? Ruby!"
"Weiss!" Ruby exclaimed, sitting up sharply, silver eyes wide. Weiss frowned, deepening the expression when Ruby grabbed her elasticated mask off of her brow and snapped it over her cyan blue eyes. "You didn't see anything!" Ruby waved her fingers in front of the now fuming - and blind - Schnee.
Yang yawned and sat up, stretching her arm over her head, blinking away the sleep. Her mass of blonde hair was messier than normal, fresh with severe bed-head. She looked down at the undisturbed Valkyrie, sucking her thumb and still coiled up in her sleeping bag.
"Anyone gonna wake the Nora Burrito over here?" Yang smirked, thumbing to the girl. Ren sat upright, eyes wide, rigid as a board.
"Don't." was all he said, deathly still. "Hell hath no fury like a Nora woken."
"I want breakfast! Which meeeeaaaannns..." Ruby saddled up to Ren, begging him with a grin.
"Pancakes." He whispered, admixed with a sigh.
"Pancakes?!" Nora sat bolt upright, wide awake. "Well why didn't ya say so!"
"Aaaand she's awake." Jaune chuckled, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. He settled his back against Yang's bed, looking over as Pyrrha stretched her arms over her head, pushing her chest out and yawning till her eyes shut. He gulped. How? How could she look so beautiful literally just stretching?!
Her emerald eyes opened with a few slow blinks, and her gaze soon found Jaune's. Their cheeks aflame, they looked down at their laps, Pyrrha busying herself with rolling up her sleeping bag.
"Breakfast sounds great actually." Yang stood up. "I've got a whole new appetite all of a sudden!" The blonde picked up the box containing her arm and put it away on her desk, much to Jaune's chagrin. Blake stood and yawned, blinking, her ears flicking about a few times. Her usually well controlled black mane was all over the place, in gravity defying positions.
"I'm hungry." was all the Faunus said. She was never a great morning person. Jaune rose to his feet and offered a hand to Pyrrha, to which she accepted with a grateful smile.
"Ren! Pancakes, pleeeeeaaaase!" Nora bounced eagerly. Ren huffed and nodded, rolling up his sleeping bag before being literally shoved out of the room by a torrent of hungry Valkyrie and Rose. Weiss yawned adorably, a little squeak, as she took off her sleep mask. Stretching her arms out either side of her, she stood up out of her sleeping bag, popping her back as she cricked left and right.
"So, what's the plan for us today?" Weiss asked as Jaune rummaged around in his duffel bag, pulling out a pair of toothbrushes. He handed Pyrrha hers, turning to face Weiss.
"Dunno yet. Any ideas?" Jaune shrugged. The heiress tapped her chin, before having the large fist of Yang Xiao Long punch into her pale skinned shoulder. Weiss hissed and rubbed the affected spot.
"I say we chill, play some games, order pizza. Y'know, teen stuff!" Yang beamed.
"Oh not for you, Yang. We've got plans for you." Jaune said, turning to leave for the bathroom, Pyrrha stood staring at the head of her toothbrush.
"Well that was ominous." Weiss raised an eyebrow, Yang frowning at Pyrrha. That frown quickly shifted to a grin as the one armed brawler stepped up to her Invincible friend.
"Soooo, P-money, how'd last night go?"
"Huh?" Pyrrha snapped up from her daze. "I'm sorry, I wasn't listening."
"I asked how last night went. I wanna say well, but you and Jaune haven't even said a word to each other yet. Not even a good morning kiss. I mean, I would've thought you'd have your mouths glued together by now."
"Oh no." Weiss face palmed. Pyrrha quirked a sad smile, looking at the toothbrush.
"Not as much as you'd think." She sighed. Yang furrowed her brow.
"But last night...didn't you and lord denseness figure out...whatever the issue is?" Yang shrugged.
"It's not as easy as that, Yang..." Pyrrha smiled lightly. "...but, we did kiss..." biting her lip to hide the grin, her bright green eyes flit up to Yang's. "Aaaand, we've both made it perfectly clear how we feel."
"Well there ya go!" Yang grinned. "That's awesome! So are you two like, official or what?"
"Oh no, we're not together." Pyrrha shook her head. Yang frowned.
"You literally just said you kissed."
"Yes, but we're still figuring ourselves out and moving on from that night." Pyrrha shrugged, pinching the bristles of her brush. Yang huffed, squeezing the bridge of her nose with finger and thumb.
"Just...do it soon, yeah? The sexual tension between you two is killin me." Yang walked over to her chest of drawers, fishing out her orange vest and charcoal grey cargo trousers.
...
Ren - still clad in pajamas, much like the rest of the group - stood in the kitchen, over the stove as he flipped the fourteenth pancake, letting the dough brown either side. Nora was salivating, staring at the humongous stack on the plate. Zwei mirrored her expression, two ears poking up at the lip of the table.
"Wow, gotta say Ren, you go all out." Taiyang tilted his mug of coffee in appreciation. Ren gave a curt nod. "Doesn't talk much, does he?"
"Ah Ren's a man of few words, but he speaks volumes in Pancakes!" Nora drooled. Soon the others came hopping merrily down the staircase.
"Good morning Dad!" Ruby pecked Tai's cheek, sitting down next to salivating Nora. "Eww, why's the table wet?"
"Good morning mister Xiao Long. I thank you for your hospitality." Weiss smiled and curtsied. Tai raised an eyebrow, leaning back in his chair to cross both boots on the table, one arm propped behind his head.
"Polite or what?" Tai thumbed to the Heiress.
"Weiss, my Dad's the last person to appreciate that sorta talk." Ruby deadpanned. Weiss huffed, pinching her brow. The Schnee took a deep inhale.
"Mornin, Tai!" She tried again.
"Mornin, Weiss!" he tilted his mug to her. The Heiress sat down beside Ruby, pulling her stool in at the breakfast island. Blake combed her mane back into a slightly more respectable mess.
"Morning everyone." Blake murmured, sitting opposite Ruby and opening her book. As she looked down at her legs, the head of Zwei popped up between her and the table. "Ah!"
"C'mere Zwei!" Ruby snapped her fingers under the table, quickly picking up the little dog. "Awwww, who's a little cutey?! Mwah!"
"Ruby, don't kiss the dog, we are about to eat!" Weiss sighed. Ruby stuck her tongue out at the Schnee, Zwei mirroring her. The table sat in comfortable silence for a moment, Weiss taking out her scroll to look through her emails, Ruby playing with Zwei and Blake happily reading. Blake looked up over her book at the tattoo on Tai's arm. She cleared her throat.
"Umm...what inspired your tattoo, Mister Xiao Long?" Blake asked. Tai looked at his arm and shrugged, giving her a smile.
"Call me Tai, kiddo; aaand, that's my emblem." he bobbed his shoulders, taking his feet off the table and leaning his chair back forward. "Any of you kids got tattoos?"
"No." Weiss looked shocked at the accusation.
"Nope." Blake shrugged.
"Uh uh." Nora shook her head.
"Good. Should hope not at your age." Tai smirked into his cup. The stairs creaked as Pyrrha and Jaune descended, murmuring between one another, before the Nikos hushed him, smiling brightly to the table.
"Goooood morning all!" Pyrrha beamed. She sat down beside Weiss, arms crossing on the table, quick to retract them. "Eww. Why is the table wet?"
Jaune stood over by Ren, pouring two cups of orange juice. Ren smiled and turned back to the pancakes he was cooking, as Jaune took both glasses over to the table, setting one down before Pyrrha.
"Here ya go."
"Oh, thank you!" She beamed brightly.
"What gives, Jaune?" Ruby frowned. "We not good enough for juice, that it?"
"I uhh..." He huffed and walked back over to the fridge. Ruby grinned and Weiss smirked, both fist bumping each other. Pyrrha took a swig of juice, the cool and tangy liquid hitting the back of her throat.
"So...the plan today everyone..." Pyrrha started, looking at Tai. His eyes widened and he nodded.
"Yeah, I uhh, I asked Pyrrha to help me beat Yang into shape." he shrugged.
"Oh. B-But, she won't wear her arm, Dad." Ruby mumbled. "Where is she, anyway?"
"Probably staying in her room." Tai mumbled, sighing heavily as he eyed Pyrrha. "I'm sorry Pyrrha, it was a waste of time asking for your help-
"No, actually. She's having a shower." Weiss smiled proudly. Tai's eyes widened.
"Y-You guys...got through to her?"
"Sometimes, Tai..." Blake lowered her book and smiled softly to him. "Us teens don't listen to our parents. Sometimes we need someone our own age to tell us how it is."
"Makes sense." Tai smiled. "I owe all of you so much."
"We're just helping our friend. You owe us nothing." Pyrrha smiled over her glass.
"Yeah! Zilch!" Nora exclaimed. Weiss sighed, dropping her cheek into her propped palm.
"I just hope she gets to grips with her arm. She's got the best replacement available, and I know, it's not the real thing, but...it's an arm, isn't it?" Weiss shrugged. "I don't know. Our team's incomplete without her...and, more importantly, we miss her."
"Mmm. It's not the same without her." Blake sighed heavily, a downtrodden look in her eyes. Jaune set a glass of juice in front of her, followed by Nora, Ruby and Weiss.
"Thanks Jaune!" Ruby beamed, head thrown all the way back to see him. Jaune grinned and grabbed her in a gentle headlock, playfully knuckling her head. "Ah! Dad, make him stop!"
Jaune let go, chuckling at her stuck out tongue as he sat beside Pyrrha. Tai thoughtfully looked at the table of friends gathered to help their comrade, and he beamed at them.
Then the stairs creaked. Humming a happy tune, Hair tied back into a bushy ponytail of gold, Yang happily trotted down the stairs, all of their eyes widening with glee at the cybernetic arm firmly in place at her right elbow.
"Morning guys!" She cheerily smiled. They all gaped at the new Yang, or...the old Yang. Happy, lilac eyes filled with that constant mirth and cheeriness.
"Yang! Y-You're...I..." Tai stood in front of his daughter, stammering. Yang shrugged, looking at her robotic appendage with a frown.
"I still hate it, but..." She smiled at her dad. "I can make it mine."
Tai hugged her, kissing her hair as he joyfully grinned into his Daughter's crown.
"I love you, Sunny dragon."
"Love you too, Dad." She hugged him back. "But uhh...my friends are all here."
"Right!" Tai quickly let go, clearing his throat. Ren set the final stack of pancakes down and sat next to Nora, huffing.
"Dig in guys." Ren said, as Nora quickly grabbed a handful of pancakes, slapping them on her plate. "Quickly too." He frowned at his best friend. Pyrrha took a pancake onto her plate and poured a dollop of syrup onto it. In her own little world, she didn't notice Jaune's apologetic smile, as he gave her knee a gentle squeeze of thanks for last night and her understanding.
Instead she gasped and her leg shot up into the underside of the table with a loud bang, the plates jumping with a clatter.
"Jeez! You alright?" Yang asked as she down at the table, reaching across the table with her cybernetic hand. She frowned as she tried to move the fingers, finding them very much unresponsive. "W-Wait, is it...do I...huh?"
"Ah, yes...I-I'm fine." Pyrrha laughed meekly, rubbing her knee under the table. Jaune winced as she frowned at him.
"Sorry, I didn't expect you to jump like that!" He whispered, taking his own pancake onto his plate. Pyrrha grumbled and rubbed the affected area, thanking the gods for Aura. Yang continued to get angrier with her lack of control over her metal fingers, shaking the arm like a plaything.
"So, I was thinking Weiss, we could...take Zwei for a walk later. Sound fun?!" Ruby asked brightly, eyes flitting to Yang occasionally and her worrying erratic movements.
"It does actually. Yes. We'll do that." Weiss smiled, tucking her scroll into her pajama pocket. A loud clatter alerted the table to Yang banging her arm on the counter.
"C-Come on!" Yang yelled as her hand stayed in a fist. "Work, dammit!"
"Yang, you-"
BANG! CRASH!
"Grr! This thing sucks! This is pointless and stupid! I should never have taken it out that box, I hate it!" She fumbled with the connector at her elbow, trying to rapidly take it off. Tears welled in her eyes as she struggled to undo it. "It's not my arm, and I want my arm back!"
The group all paused their chewing to look at her with soft empathy. Her frantic attempts to get it off grew even more needy, tears streaming down her cheeks. Ruby winced and gingerly reached for her sister over the table, jerking her arm back at Yang's desperate thrashing and hyperventilating.
"W-Why won't it work? Why me?! I-It's not me, and I hate it, I hate it! I...I don't want it!" Yang sniffed, still panicking as she tried to take the stubborn limb off to no avail. "Dad, I-I can't get it off! I want it off!" She held the arm out to him, sobbing. "I-I don't want it!"
"Hey hey, Yang, calm down, honey." He gently cradled her cheeks. "Take a deep breath."
Yang tried to quell her sniffling and hyperventilating. Lilac eyes filled with watery upset looked at her also upset Dad. She shook her metal arm, rattling it at him with a begging in her eyes that just killed him. He sighed heavily and eventually undid the clasp on her arm, slipping the appendage off. Yang immediately got up and ran upstairs, heavy footfalls rapidly climbing the house.
Silence. The room was eerily quiet as the teens all sat in reticence. Tai stared at the metal limb in his hand, before his hand paled with tightness, his teeth gritted, and he launched the arm at the trashcan. He too stormed off, shoving the front door open and walking outside, running his fingers through his hair. They watched him pace back and forth through the glass pane, until he dropped to his knees, hands held over his eyes.
"Well..." Jaune coughed into his fist. "That sucked." He dropped his fork onto his plate heavily, running his hands over his face with a loud groan. Ruby got up, pushing her chair out and made for the staircase.
"Indeed." Pyrrha murmured, dropping her cheek to squish into her propped palm. Even Nora poked her fork at her pancake, sighing heavily. Weiss got up, padding over to the trashcan, reaching in with a grimace and pulling out the silver arm, gagging as she swiped a banana skin off of it.
"Unbelievable." Weiss scoffed. The collective group gasped at her.
"Weiss!" Pyrrha held a hand over her heart. Ruby growled at the Heiress, who shrugged.
"There are injured people in Vale who would kill for this! No. No. I'm going to talk to her."
"If you dare!" Ruby stepped in front of the Schnee, growling, silver eyes flaring. "...if you dare upset her...s-say anything to make her cry...I...I-I'll..."
"Ruby..." Weiss sighed softly, placing a hand on the Rose's shoulder. "Come with me." She nodded to the staircase. Ruby blinked, but soon followed the Schnee as she climbed the staircase. Ren sighed heavily, standing up and taking the uneaten pancakes onto a single plate.
"We can eat the rest later, I suppose." He huffed, placing them on the kitchen counter. Blake bit her lip and closed her eyes tight, before opening them with newfound determination. The brave Belladonna rose to her feet, pacing around the door frame, grasping the banister on her way up the stairs. JNPR sat on their own, listening to the murmurs upstairs.
"So! H-How are you two?" Nora gulped, the wincing smile on her face portraying she already knew the answer. "T-Together-togeth-
"I'm going to go get changed." Pyrrha sighed, getting up out of her seat. Jaune's eyes widened.
"Huh?"
"Well, I brought my training gear with me, so I'm going to train. Go for a run. Clear my head a little bit." She huffed, gripping the architrave lightly. Nora stood up, beaming.
"Sweet! Oooh! We can make a day out of it! I-
"Alone...would be preferable." Pyrrha grumbled, before solemnly leaving the kitchen. Nora, downtrodden at the response, sniffed and stormed out of the kitchen into the living room.
"Well, this has been one great big disaster, huh?" Jaune scoffed, shaking his head to the ceiling. Ren nodded, looking at the doorway to the living room. He looked back at Jaune, mouth opening to ask-
"Go after her." Jaune deadpanned, Ren nodding curtly and disappearing into the living room, leaving Jaune on his own in the kitchen. He looked down at Zwei, the dog panting and wagging his tail. "Ah, at least you'll stay with me bud-
The dog instantly turned and trotted out of the kitchen.
"-dy...Nope. Sweet. Okay. I'll err...I'll just be here if anyone needs me." Jaune sarcastically spat at himself, before getting up from the table and leaving the room.
...
Weiss rapped her knuckles on the door, the response coming in the form of the lock twisting with a mechanical click. Ruby sighed and raked her fingers through her red tipped locks. Weiss, firming her upper lip, knocked on the door again.
"Leave me alone!" Yang shouted, the rejected Schnee huffing and pinching the bridge of her nose. Blake stepped closer to the door, lightly knocking her knuckles against the wood.
"Didn't you want pizza aaand...to hang out today?" The Faunus' soft tones tried to be chipper, a plastic smile on her face, quick to melt into a frown. "Yang...please let us in."
"Guys...please." Yang sniffed. "I'm all broken...a-and useless...you need...you need to get a new team mate. It's over for me."
RWB gasped among themselves. Weiss softened, welkin blue eyes filled with hurt. Ruby however, leaped at the door, hammering away without rhythm with her knuckles in quick fire bursts.
"Yaaaaaang! Yang let us in!" Ruby yelled as she assaulted the door, Blake lowering her chin to her collarbones, hugging her upper arms. "Please..." Ruby begged, the pounding on the door melting into weakening pats. "Pleeeaaase." Ruby slid down till her knees knocked against the floorboards, forehead pressed into the door.
Silence reigned for what felt like forever. In reality, only a brief few seconds had past, before the lock on the door unlocked. The collective eyes of RWB glanced to one another, before Ruby wasted no time in clambering to her feet and pushing the door open. Yang was still walking back to her bed when her fractured team stumbled in.
"We're not giving up on you. Never in a million years!" Ruby whispered, afraid if her voice were any higher it would crack and tumble, a torrent of tears following. Blake nodded, stepping around Ruby gently, a hand smoothing along her shoulder on the pass.
"The only way to truly heal our wounds, isn't time. It's surrounding yourself with people who love you. People who would..." Blake bit her lip, shutting her eyes tight. "D-Die for you." She hoarsely whispered with a crackling to her tones. "You all taught me that. Otherwise I wouldn't be here. I'd have...run off somewhere, on my own."
Yang looked up at her partner and sighed, sitting heavily on her bed, pinching the bridge of her nose. Weiss however, frowned and set the cybernetic limb down on Yang's legs. Yang growled and flicked it off onto the floor with a clatter, much to the Schnee's chagrin.
"Yang!"
"Stop it, Weiss!" Yang shouted, instinctively going to cross her arms, the limb tumbling and falling into her lap. She frowned harder and her lilac eyes watered slightly. "Like I said, it's over for me. You guys need...you need to look after yourselves. You need a new teammate." Ruby shook her head, her silver eyes brimming. Blake too sniffed, cat ears flicking. "Who knows...maybe Goodwitch'll find you someone whose name begins with a Y. Saves changing the team name, I guess." The broken brawler mumbled.
"That's not going to happen, Yang!" Ruby threw her fists down by her hips. "We're a team!" She sniffed and whimpered, eyes streaming admix hiccuping gasps. "No...w-we're a family! Y-You're my sister, Yang! Weiss, y-you're my sister, Blake, you're my sister too! I love you guys, and I don't want it to end because of this!" She cried, sobbing openly into her hands. Blake comforted her the best she could, patting the young leader's shoulder.
Weiss simply stared at Yang.
"What, ice Queen?" Yang frowned at her. Weiss scowled back, equally. She bent down and picked up the arm.
"Let's try this again. You're going to put it on-"
"Like hell-"
"YES YOU ARE! Not for you, not for me, not for Blake, but for your sister!" Weiss snapped, eyes scarily seething. "We care about you, Yang, don't you get it?! I don't..." Weiss huffed, looking back at Yang with a different gleam in her eyes, calming herself down. "This really isn't easy for me...speaking from the..." Weiss swallowed thickly, gesturing to her heart.
Yang stared solemnly at her knees, a icy, gooey guilt settling in her gut as Ruby sniffed, wiping her eyes, beginning to calm from her bout of tears. She looked back at Weiss as the Schnee sat beside her on the bed, the feather light girl barely indenting the mattress. Weiss sat her hands atop her thighs, biting her lip.
"I have two siblings. Winter and Whitley. I adore Winter, but I never see her. And Whitley? He hates me. And I can say I'm not overly fond of him. My family is wealthy, but it seems to think money can fill the holes in relationships. My mother...she drinks. A lot. She thinks I don't see it, but I'm not a fool. And my Father? Well. Let's just say he doesn't like to lose..."
The team all looked at Weiss as she finally opened up in a way they had never seen before. Swiping a fallen lock of snow behind her ear, Weiss sucked her lip and carried on.
"...growing up in an environment like that, where the only time I felt cared for was when Winter would visit, was hell. I know...I can be a hard person to deal with. For that, I'm...s-sorry." She forced the word out, like saying it was poison to her lips. "I don't mean to be, but it's a part of me that I'm trying so hard to beat out. It's thanks to you, my team that I've gotten better in that respect."
Yang looked at Weiss, a lop sided smile gently creasing her features.
"Guess you can't judge a book by it's cover, huh?" Yang shrugged, voice low. Weiss smiled at her lightly, pinching the fabric of her baggy pajama pants. "I'm...missing a part of me, Weiss. A part of me is gone, and it's never coming back."
"I know." Weiss said softly, sitting cross legged on the bed to face Yang, looping messy hair behind her ear. "What happened to you won't heal like our injuries will, and it's...it's not fair." Weiss frowned. Yang nodded, looking at her legs, and the arm on the edge of the bed. "I have a scar."
"Huh?" Yang raised a brow. Weiss shrugged.
"I know it's nowhere near the same. But, I do." Weiss bobbed her shoulders once more, running her index finger down the length of her facial scar. "I hated it. I thought it was ugly, and it made me very self conscious for a long time. I still hate it...but then somebody told me I looked beautiful for it...unique even. Hearing that, changed the way I felt about it, truly!" Weiss smiled to herself, Yang raising her brow, startling slightly as Blake sat beside her, Ruby beside Weiss.
"So...what are you saying, Weiss?" Yang shrugged, licking her lips. Weiss blew out a breath, welkin eyes meeting lilac.
"You can embrace your...cuts, your scars, your marks, your missing limbs. You have so much to give still, so much to live..." Weiss picked up the arm, licking her lips. "...please, just...try again. Because I don't want my friend to give up their dreams over this." Weiss said, her voice so strained, so kind.
"I got stabbed." Blake shrugged, itching her cheek, Yang looking at her with watery eyes, Blake taking her hand and giving it a squeeze admix a small smile. "I'm okay. But, I did. See?" Blake lifted her baggy white top, showing toned pale flesh, and a paler spot of hardened weaved tissue. She let the top drop back down to the hem of her black pajama pants. "It's ugly...and a reminder of what happened. For that, I hate it too. But it's...it's there. It's a part of me now."
Blake picked up the silver arm from Weiss' palms, looking it over, golden eyes flicking to Yang's. "Out of all of us, You've suffered the most, Yang."
"Blake." Yang breathed, leaning her head into the warm Faunus' shoulder. Blake rested her head atop Yang's, sighing contently. "I'm sorry. I should've...I could've...I should've done something differently!" Yang growled at herself. Blake hushed her.
"I look back at that night and see a thousand different outcomes, different paths..." Blake tilted her head back up, cradling Yang's face in her palms. "But when you're in that moment, all of those paths aren't there. You just...do what you feel is right, whether it is or it isn't. I got run through with a blade, and it led to you losing your arm."
"I just...I saw red, Blake. I was scared...and angry...I was afraid. Afraid I was going to lose my partner...my best friend." Yang sniffed, her eyes swimming with emotion. Blake smiled and hugged the blonde tightly.
"I thought the same."
Yang huffed heavily, deflating her bravado. She sucked her lip, before taking the prosthetic into her hands. Lilac irises flit back and forth over the alien arm, before setting it down on the bed and standing from the mattress...
...
Pyrrha tugged her spandex shorts up her legs in the bathroom, frowning the whole time. Smoothing her crimson red vest down her curves, and tying her hair up into a ponytail, she stared in the mirror, her frown growing all the more. She needed to just get out for a little while. On her own. Just burn her frustrations out of her body, feel that familiar burn of her muscles, feel the lactic acid pump like poison in her aching muscles.
She exited the bathroom across from Yang's room, pausing for a brief moment to listen to the tearful conversation between a fractured team. The whimpering talks only fueled her state further, Pyrrha blowing out a shaky breath and briskly walking down the stairs. Why? Why did this have to happen to them? Why did any of what transpired happen to them?
Pyrrha trotted down the steps bare footed, running shoes pinched between fingers and thumb. Red hair bouncing voluminously behind her, she bounded the last steps and padded into the kitchen, looping a fallen vermilion lock behind her ear. Sitting at a chair, she pulled her shoes onto her dainty feet, tying the laces with a moody expression. Pyrrha very rarely frowned. She very rarely got angry. Recently though, it had been an almost daily experience. Along with depressing bouts of self loathing, and pining after her Blonde Knight who was making it very hard to move on from that night, she found that her smiles had lessened, and her scowls had exceeded.
She huffed and stood from the chair, shoving her scroll into her pocket and unlocking the back door. Lost in her thoughts, almost stepping on Zwei, staggering into the kitchen counter and possibly bruising her hip, she hissed and bit her lip, even more desperate to get out into the fresh air.
A sense of freedom washed over her, taking in a deep inhale of the crisp morning air, cold burning her lungs. Dull green eyes brightened exuberantly at the wide open land, the cooling licks of wind to her pale arms. Pyrrha loved to be outside, she truly did. To feel free, not trapped within four walls. A small smile graced her lips, stretching her arms up over her head.
CHOP!
Pyrrha paused, mid stretch, opening an eye to the sound. She scanned her surroundings, finding nothing but the house blocking the rising sun, and the luminescent woodland.
CHOP!
Pyrrha huffed, hands on her hips as once again the sound startled her. She stared at the treeline ahead, before turning back to the house. The curiosity biting at the back of her mind got the better of her, padding around the front of the house, squinting at the sudden brightness of the beating sun. She shielded her eyes with her arm, adjusting her vision to the grass-less clearing before the house.
CHOP!
A grunt accompanied the sharp splitting clunk, Pyrrha raising a brow to match her frown. The Vincible Girl paced briskly around the front porch, turning at the corner to see where the sound was coming from. Her eyes widened and her face grew hot.
Crocea Mors was leaning against the house and it's matching shield, a jet black Pumpkin Pete's hoodie draped over the top. A stack of split logs lay in a heap, the sweet aroma of freshly cut wood filling Pyrrha's nasals. Her blush deepened at the shirtless blonde knight, gripping a long wood Axe to his hip. Weathered jeans led up to a loose leather belt, then nothing but slowly tanning skin.
Her training regime for Jaune had paid off, before her was the evidence that he'd stuck to it even in her absence. His arms weren't the limp noodles they used to be. His chest had broadened, puffy pectorals and abs rippling like pebbles under tight silk. His skin glistened with sweat, taking on a slight reddish hue as the rising sun grew hotter and hotter.
Jaune balanced a block of wood on the stump and lifted the axe up over his head, driving it down to skim the edge of said block and send it skipping off a few feet away. He groaned and dropped the axe, rolling his shoulders. Pyrrha bit her lip, quelling the flood of blood to her cheeks, turning to walk back around the house, out of sight.
"Hey." Jaune mumbled, Pyrrha stopping in her tracks and peering back around the house's corner. He picked up the astray block, setting it onto the stump. He looked up at her, a slight heave to his labored breaths. Pyrrha smiled weakly, rubbing an itch behind her ear.
"Hello." She said, bouncing on her toes. "I umm, I was just going to go for a run."
"Oh. Okay." Jaune shrugged, swinging the axe up above his head and chopping down into the wood.
CHOP!
"Why are you chopping wood?" Pyrrha asked, wringing her hands. Jaune swiped rivulets of sweat from his brow.
"Tai was gonna cut some for the fire tonight. What with this morning, I figured I should help out in some way." Jaune mumbled, downcast, picking up the sliced blocks and throwing them onto the small pile.
"How thoughtful." Pyrrha smiled genuinely. Jaune nodded, picking up another block and setting it on the stump. "I guess I will see you later-
"We're all broken, aren't we?" Jaune said with a crack in his voice. Pyrrha froze, her eyes wide on him as he swung the axe up over his head and brought it down heavily on the block.
CHOP!
He sniffed and let the axe drop to the grass with a dull thud, looking up at her with such torn emotion in his blues, like the fragments of a shattered mirror, reflecting his warped ardour. She could see in his actions that he wanted to help no matter what, it was Jaune's nature, even if it was as simple as chopping firewood. But at the same time she could see the dulling light in his eyes almost go out completely.
"We...are a seriously broken bunch." he scoffed, running his fingers through his hair. He bent down and scooped up his white Tee, sliding it over his rippling muscles, much to Pyrrha's chagrin. "I really...deluded myself into thinking we were on the straight and narrow, you know? Like...what, Yang was just gonna wake up, slap on the arm and everything'd go back to the way it was? That Blake got stabbed, but hey, it's all fine now, no worries!" He lashed out, kicking his shield across the dusty front yard. Pyrrha flinched back at his shocking movements.
"How the..." He bit his lip. "How did I get through that experience without a scratch, huh? Was I not helping enough? Would there have been any difference if I was there or not?" he huffed, dropping to his knees and burying his face in his hands. Pyrrha instinctively dropped to hers, wincing at the harsh stones digging and nipping into the pale flesh of her knees. She propped a hand on his shoulder, squeezing it softly as Jaune mumbled onward.
"Weiss...she got hurt too. Because she was in the thick of it...Nora and Ren...Ruby, they've all got their wounds...and..." he sniffed, looking up at Pyrrha with the most broken, watery gaze she had ever seen on him. He suddenly wrapped his arms around her thin waist and pressed his ear into the swell of her chest, hugging her as tight as he could. "...You, Pyrrha."
"Oh Jaune..." She went rigid at the sudden hug, but quickly reciprocated, wrapping her arms around his neck and kissing the top of his head. His breath hitched and he lifted his head, sniffing, their eyes scant millimeters apart. He was panting and sniffling, Pyrrha smiling lightly as she scooped a tumbling tear off of his cheek onto her thumb. "You fought bravely. And you made a difference that I don't think you realize. Why, Coco and Velvet were telling stories of your bravery just the other day! And...when you helped me up after what happened to Penny. You told me that it wasn't my fault. That we cannot let them take anyone else, or tear us apart. It's only been recently I've had time to process what happened...to let what you said really sink in..."
"Over the last few months my life went from bad to worse. But you? You were the constant in my life. You kept me going, Jaune. You...you saved me. Goodness, you're still continuing to save me. Day after day you save me, over and over again. I don't think you realize how important you truly are." She stroked his hair, smiling lightly as her eyes became heavy and lidded, enjoying the warm arms still curled around her waist.
Jaune breathed out with a steady puff, the shakiness before no longer evident. He squeezed his arms around her waist and buried his face in her neck, sighing contently. Pyrrha herself hummed and coiled her arms around his neck, hugging the blonde just as tight.
"I'm sorry...bout last night, I mean." Jaune mumbled into the warm smooth flesh of her neck, his bristly chin tickling her jawline. Pyrrha recoiled out of the embrace with a confused look knitting her brows.
"Whatever for, Jaune?" She asked softly, still raking her fingers through his locks. Jaune sighed heavily and shrugged.
"The way we left things last night was...well, my fault. B-But I want to...make it right."
"How?" Pyrrha's heart began beating quicker and quicker, drums to the beautiful tones of his voice. Jaune's breath quivered and his arms withdrew from around her waist. Feeling an awkward and nervous shift in Jaune's demeanor, Pyrrha quickly kept him where he was by looping her arms around his neck again.
"Well, I was wondering...if you'd..." Jaune blew out a breath, his face bright red. "Do you...do you want to go out again sometime? Because I'd...well, I'd like to try again." Jaune said. Pyrrha giggled into her palm, the pale supple flesh of her cheeks bulging up under her warm and loving gaze.
"Oh Jaune, you know I'm clearly smitten with you. You don't have to be so nervous around me." She hummed. Jaune shrugged, rubbing an itch at his cheek, as if trying to scrape off the blush on his face.
"I know...I'm just really nervous about..."
"Us getting that close again. No, I know." Pyrrha sobered, returning to raking her fingers through his hair, nails lightly scraping his scalp. Jaune shivered and smiled at the sensation, shuffling to stop his feet from going numb under his weight. "But what is a life worth living, if you focus on the ifs? Let's just live, Jaune."
Jaune smiled at his lap, closing his eyes contently to the fingers threading through his hair.
"So to answer your original question...yes, I'd love to go out with you sometime." Pyrrha smiled, rubbing her nose against his. Jaune chuckled lightly at the tickling sensation. He grinned and looked up into her bountiful green eyes, gently cradling her chin between finger and thumb. The wash of despair that had stained his eyes before had run away with the flow of his tears, leaving only tranquility in his azure stare.
"Good talk." Jaune whispered, pressing his brow to hers. Pyrrha pulled him closer, via the arms circled around his neck. She grinned and pushed her forehead against his softly, humming a mellow tune. Jaune raised a brow, but continued to listen to her soothing tones, the vibrations of her throat reverberating in the small gap between them.
"Okay, you've been humming that all week...I recognize it but, I just can't put a finger on it..." And then Jaune's eyes burst wide open, his jaw slack, because for the first time ever, he heard Pyrrha sing. And it was beautiful. A gorgeous birdsong to his ears.
"I was cold in the dark...it was empty in my life...from the outside it looked so bright...but nothing felt right ...to me." Pyrrha sang, her cheeks aflame, her eyes shut as she clung to him, he being her lifeline.
"I saw a little ray of light come through...the tiniest of sparks came into view...and then..." Her soft, beautiful eyes opened to him. "...you made me hope again." her calm and sultry tones, smooth as velvet, comforted his ears. The extra meaning in her words would normally rebound off of his insecurities and uncomprehending nature, but now, with their feelings laid bare, he saw her compassion for him, conveyed in her tones, in the lyrics.
"I've been watching you, helping you...wishing that you'd see...that the girl you've been waiting so long for could be me." Pyrrha blushed and licked her lips, eyes flitting across his face, searching for his reaction, besides the stunned and slackened expression.
"The song from...the dance?" Jaune raised a brow, Pyrrha nodding, looping a fiery lock behind her ear. "Oh...Oh man...I-I never really paid attention to the lyrics...u-until now. Man, Pyrrha you have such an amazing voice!"
"Oh, well...thank you, Jaune. I umm...I don't sing very often. If you'd believe it, I get stage fright." Jaune's eyes widened and Pyrrha chuckled lightly. "I know, I know. Champion tournament fighter, buuuut with that, I can block the audience out and focus on my rival. When singing though...everyone's looking at you, and you're looking back at them. It's...silly really, but It's how I feel. That being said though...I'd do it for you. Because I trust you completely."
"Wow. Well, you're a beautiful singer, Pyrrha." He ran his rough fingertip along her jawline, cupping her cheek unconsciously.
"Mmm, well aren't you a charmer?" Pyrrha quipped, letting out a calming sigh. "You know what? I don't feel like running anymore."
"Oh. You sure? I mean, you're in your workout gear and all, I figu-
"I'm not running anymore, Jaune." She said slower, eyes pouring her green elixir into his blue gaze. "Not from this. Not from us. What umm...what about you?"
"I'd like to work on...u-us." Jaune licked his lips, nervously fidgeting as Pyrrha soothed his boiling skin, hands cupping his cheeks. "I know, we've got a lot of...baggage to figure out, but..." He blew out a shaky breath in the small space between the kneeling teens. "Yeah. I don't wanna run from this. Not anymore. Not after last night."
"Mmm. So...what did you have in mind, partner?" Pyrrha whispered, pressing her forehead to his, holding him close, feeling his irradiating heat. Jaune chuckled, closing his own eyes to just feel her. Experience her with his other senses.
"D-Dinner? Sometime, I mean. You know, maybe when we're back at school and stu-
"That sounds lovely." She hiccuped giddily, hugging him tightly. "It's a date."
"Sweet." Jaune chuckled with her, hugging her just that little bit tighter. "Mmm, it's a date."
"We'll have dinner...see how things go. Take it slow and steady." Pyrrha said softly. Jaune nodded, quirking a lopsided smile.
"Yeah. Works for me." He suddenly laughed nervously, Pyrrha raising a bemused brow. "M-Man, my heart's racing!" He scoffed, pressing a hand over his chest.
"Mine too." Pyrrha chuckled, standing up with a groan, rubbing and massaging her calves to elicit some blood flow to return. Jaune mirrored her, rubbing his tingling limbs. Pyrrha stood up straight, sobering with a sigh "I want to make things work, Jaune. I really do."
"So do I." Jaune smiled at her, flicking his numb limbs. "So...we'll take things slow...see if we can get over our problems together."
"Rather than alone." Pyrrha smiled brightly. "I think we can make it work. I...want to try."
"Then we'll give it a shot." Jaune grinned, dusting off his pants. Pyrrha smiled brightly, scratching the back of her head, when the front door of the house opened, gaining the attention of both teens in the yard.
First came Nora, her smile a megawatt beam, followed out by Ren, the stoic boy wearing the smallest of smiles. Ruby stepped out next, her red tipped Corvus locks billowing across her silver eyes. Blake stepped into the sun, her blackened tresses absorbing the light, yet her eyes reflecting in the brightest of golds. Weiss emerged last of all, the slight and welkin eyed girl closing her eyes and taking a deep breath of the fresh crisp woodland air.
Pyrrha and Jaune's eyes widened, and the tips of their lips curved in the most dazzling of smiles. Yang stepped out last of all, orange vest cradling her generous curves, charcoal grey cargo trousers rustling as she strode out into the blinding sun above, igniting her blonde locks into an effulgent halo of gold.
She lifted her cybernetic hand up to the sky, blocking the sun as she opened and closed her fist. Both teams looked to the blonde brawler, all smiling with affection and adoration. Yang blew out a shaky breath and dropped her new arm to her side, turning to the other seven with a small smirk.
"Okay..." She breathed. "Let's try this again."
Author's Notes: Okay! New chapter, yay! I don't really like it, but it's done and I can move on to the stuff I am proud of! That being said, I did like the conversation between RWBY. I frickin love Weiss! Anyway, I'll see you all next week! Remember to review and tell me if you find any spelling or grammar blunders. I was rushed and tired when I proof read this. See ya!- Dave