A/N: Hey y'all! After having a great deal of discussion with friends who had helped me write up the first chapter of this, I realized we had enough ideas to make this a multi-chapter fic, so I figured why not? Once again, major shoutouts to Angie (meltthembitches on Twitter [She's the Yang] and weissrabbit on Tumblr; insanely talented artist) for being a major part of the establishment of the Yang and Cardin brOTP and to Hana (momoxtoshiro on and hanasaku-shijin on Tumblr; insanely talented writer) for helping to flesh out the ideas.

"I swear on Dust, Yang…"

The blonde had not stopped laughing for the past two minutes, as Cardin continued to grow a deeper hue of crimson with each passing second. Luckily, he had managed to get her into an empty classroom before she had bust her gut laughing in the middle of the halls. Her shaking hands held the cause of this whole blasted situation; a now rather crumpled piece of paper.

"I'm not kidding, blondie!"

The laughing stopped as she struggled to catch her breath. Her face was nearly as flushed as Cardin's but for a very different reason, as she wheezed heavily. He took this opportunity to snatch the wrinkled paper from her hand before she could protest.

"Come on, musclebrains," Yang said, between gasps of breath. "You gonna explain that?"

Cardin scowled, moving towards the door. Peeking his head out, his indigo eyes surveyed the corridor, ensuring that the coast was clear. Seeing no one in the approximate vicinity, he closed the door and walked up to Yang.

"If you so much as breathe a word of this to anyone, I will be the one arranging your funeral. Capiche?"

"You and what army?" shot back Yang, winking dangerously at him.

Ever since his arrival at Beacon, it's seemed like Cardin's list of people he could bully into silence had grown precariously short. Not that he planned to strong arm people into silence over much, but this matter… He'd rather not have anyone know about it. Not even Russell and the rest of his teammates knew. Yet here he was; talking to Yang Xiao Long, of all people, about it.

"Fine. I like boy bands. There? You happy?"

There was a silence between the two that seemed to stretch infinitely across time. Cardin swore that he couldn't even hear the sound of breathing. It was a glorious silence. And, like anything glorious for him as of late, it was merely his imagination as Yang's incredibly loud laughter rang through the classroom once again.

"Okay, that was kind of mean of me," admitted Yang as the two sat alone in Team CRDL's room. It was smaller than Team RWBY's and a large TV screen and couch took up most of the space that wasn't reserved for beds. Cardin had convinced the rest of his team to go out because he needed to talk to Yang alone. He just hoped those idiots would keep their mouths shut so he wouldn't get caught in some rumour that would end with his dismembered body strewn across campus by a certain grumpy kitty cat.

"Kind of?" snarled Cardin, as he gunned Yang down in the first-person shooter they were playing. "If anyone had been within ear-shot…"

"Calm your tits," laughed Yang, before grunting in frustration as Cardin effortlessly offed her in the game again. "Are you spawn-camping?"

"The kiddie gloves are off, blondie."

Yang put the controller down to look at Cardin incredulously. "What's up with that?"

Cardin, seeing that Yang wasn't appearing in his sights yet, put his controller down too. "What's up with what?"

"You always call me 'blondie'. Like, that's not even a real insult."

"And?" Cardin snickered. "You'd rather me call you dunce or ditz or—"

Yang punched him in the shoulder. "Haha, smartass. No, I mean…" Her eyes widened as she was struck by sudden inspiration. "Okay so boy bands."

The Huntsman groaned. "What about them?"

"Who's your favourite Achieve Man?" The blonde bruiser had adjusted her position on the couch so she was facing Cardin face-to-face. "Like, if you had to date one, who would it be?

"None." Cardin saw the look of dissatisfaction on his friend's face. He stared back for a few seconds before sighing. "Ryan."

A hint of a smile grew on Yang's face as she nodded. "You don't say… How about GrimmSync?"

"Justin," came the reply with a shorter hesitation. "Why exactly are you asking me this?"

"Oh, just wanted someone to gush about boy bands with. But there seems to be a pattern here. So, for completion's sake, The Backstreet Huntsmen?"

"If I answer this, will you stop asking?" Yang nodded enthusiastically which only served to make her host groan. "Fine, Nick. We done now?"

"Well, it's just…" Yang's grin grew wider and Cardin's worries escalated. "You seem to have a type."

"Yeah, the type is women," he replied, growing more and more uncomfortable with this conversation. "I have a list of ex-girlfriends you can talk to, if you're still doubtful of that."

"I'm sure," laughed Yang, turning back and picking up her controller. "It's just that, all the guys you picked were tall, lanky, and blond. Kinda like someone we know."

Cardin froze. Was she referring to herself? The Huntsman did have some rather awkward feelings toward the girl who was essentially his closest friend but he knew she was head-over-heels for Blake. As much as he hated the Faunus, he learned quickly to stop hitting on her blonde girlfriend for his own good. But it was more than simply looks that attracted him to Yang; she was one of the few people who was willing to help him move forward. That and she was just like one of the guys. But hot.

"I… don't know what you mean."

"Sure thing, gay boy." Yang jumped excitedly as she picked off Cardin's gaming persona with a well-placed grenade. "Blam!"

"G-Gay boy?" It took a few moments for the dots to connect. "Wait, Jaune?"

"Well duh," said Yang, rolling her eyes. "Who else could I be talking about?"

"I don't know!" exclaimed Cardin, glaring at her. "Besides, you're way more gay than I am!"

"So you admit it!"

"What?! No!"

"Haha!" The sound of gunfire was quickly followed up by a triumphant cheer from Yang. "Get headshot, gay boy!"

It took every fibre in Cardin's body to restrain himself from launching himself at his aggressor. Instead, he settled for violently kicking her ass at a video game. Even a little ways down the hall, the cries of "Camper!" and "No fair!" could be heard crisply and clearly.

"No way."

"C'mon, musclebr—I mean Cardin!" Yang had snuck up on the orange haired youth while he had been working in one of the computer labs on campus. Luckily, everyone else in the room was listening to videos or music so they couldn't hear the blonde's begging.

"I guess I wasn't clear. No way… in hell."

"But you like them as much as I do!"

Cardin rolled his eyes, as he pushed himself back in his chair to look Yang in the eyes, her big lilac eyes wider than usual. He also saw them getting watery. "Are you trying to do the puppy dog eyes?"

"No," replied Yang, as she attempted to do the puppy dog eyes.

"Well, that's your answer," said Cardin, returning to his essay he owed Professor Port on Boarbatusk anatomy. Although it was difficult with Yang sitting on the desk next to his and kicking him idly.

"Cardin!" Yang drawled in protest as she took out the poster she had ripped from the hallway and draped it over the desktop's monitor. "They're coming to Vale for their new album tour! When will we have another chance like this?!"

"Next year," dryly responded Cardin, pushing the poster out of his way. "They drop a new album every year, Yang."

"Yeah but this one was really good!" Yang huffed. "Look, I'm going to the concert whether you are or not. I just thought that since you like them too, you'd want to go."

Cardin glared at the computer in front of him. The cursor blinked as if to taunt him. Being honest with himself, he really wanted to go. Besides, he really wasn't getting any more work done like this. The last three sentences were simply rearranged versions of themselves.

"Fine."

Yang pulled him to his feet and embraced him in a tight hug, driving the wind from his lungs. "I knew it!" she squealed as a few of the other students unplugged their earphones. Cardin did not like the suspicious looks they were sending his way.

Before he could push the blonde off of him, she had hopped into his seat and opened up an internet browser window. Cardin was just a little impressed at how fast Yang could type; he followed a strict 'search and destroy' typing style which meant essays took days longer than they had to. In the blink of an eye, she was already at the checkout for the ticket site. Spinning around in the chair, she looked a little too proud of herself. "100 Lien for front-row seats."

Cardin's jaw dropped. "Fr-Front row?!" He looked back at the poster she had handed him again. "Yang, the show is in a week. How the hell did you get front row seats?!"

A mischievous grin played across her face. "I have my ways, musclebrains. Let's just say I'm a heck of a good negotiator and leave it at that. Now pay up, big boy."

As he slowly pulled out his wallet and then the cash, he stared at her incredulously, his face rather pale. "Yang, I swear on Dust if you did something illegal for this…"

Pocketing the money in her coat pocket, she winked. "Relax, its fine. Just have some good contacts, that's all."

Cardin handed her back the poster, rolled up, and sat back down in the seat as she ran off. He returned to staring at the blinking cursor of his document, as Yang had graciously closed off the ticket site. But there was no way he could think about how many hearts a female Boarbatusk had now; his own was now pumping blood to the beat of his favourite song.

Cardin was nervous and stamping his right foot to try and shake it. He was standing at the airbus terminal and checking his watch. Yang wasn't early, like he was. He was sure she'd show up on time but what if she didn't? What if this was all some cruel joke that she was playing on him? Pretend to befriend him to learn his darkest secrets and spread them around school while robbing him in the process? He had looked up the price of front-row tickets online afterwards and they clocked in at a lot higher than Yang had taken from him. He couldn't trust her but it was too late. She had taken his money and left him here alone, while she informed the entirety of Beacon about his love for—

"Yo, Cardin!"

Yang's audible greeting was quickly followed by a heavy punch to the shoulder, as she handed Cardin his ticket. "Hope I didn't keep you waiting too long, gay boy."

Cardin really wanted to try and smack some sense into her for continuously insulting his masculinity but he wasn't brain dead. So he settled for a seething glare, which succeeded in only making the blonde roll her eyes. Before he could give her a strongly worded rebuttal, the sound of an arriving airbus drowned out his thoughts.

"Just in time, eh?" laughed Yang, pulling him by the arm into the line to get on. While Cardin was wearing his usual wear, minus the armour, Yang was decked out in The Achieve Men gear, including two giant foam fingers. "Oh right, you can use this since you don't have concert stuff," she said as she passed one of the ridiculous overpriced souvenirs his way. He made it a point to ignore the curious stares from other passengers but none of them saw anything other than a boyfriend being dragged along by his girlfriend to see some shallow boy band.

A few more fans of The Achieve Men packed onto the bus, all looking a little younger than Yang, probably closer to her sister's age and all of them were girls. A handful of them even began gushing with Yang while Cardin merely sat back and looked out the window. Sure, he was excited to not only be seeing The Achieve Men in concert but also to have front row seats. However, there was still that lingering pride he clung to; that need to be feared and respected. He had no illusions; what little dignity he had would be washed away by this event if word got out. And all it took was one stray remark from Yang or someone else from Beacon to show up…

The sudden halt of the airbus drew Cardin from his inner thoughts as the doors opened. A smiling Yang bounded up and dragged him off by the arm, accompanied by the slew of other girls who were all eager to get going to the concert as well. He muttered a complaint under his breath, to maintain his guise as an unhappy boyfriend along for the ride, but felt a small smile tug on his lips. He had wanted to see The Achieve Men ever since he first heard of them and now he was going to. He shuddered with excitement as he did his utmost to not stumble as he continued to be dragged along.

As the duo sat down in the enormous theatre, they smiled to each other. Cardin was still more than a little nervous as to how Yang got these amazing tickets and prayed that he'd be going home tonight with his kneecaps intact. "They're always amazing live," Yang yelled in Cardin's ear, so she could be heard over the clamour of pre-teen girls screeching and waving large Bristol board banners.

But sight and sound weren't the only senses that were in overdrive at the concert. Cardin smelled way too much perfume for his tastes; preteens really shouldn't be stealing their mothers' perfumes. As he gagged, he picked up on the taste of the stale air, not helping his developing nausea. Yang just laughed at his reactions, which did help with the upset stomach. Then her words clicked and he put one and one together. Cardin was no genius but he was pretty proud of his deductive skills.

"How many of them have you slept with?"

Yang's lilac eyes were as wide as saucers when she heard Cardin's insinuation. It was such a crude and insensitive thing to say but there was no judgment in the question. The orange-haired boy was genuinely curious. "None of them, you creep!" Yang responded, glaring at her now frightened friend.

"Then how? You know they're good live and you magically got your hands on front row tickets at a crazy reduced price a week from the show!"

"You don't accuse someone of sleeping around over that, you moron!"

"Well, then," Cardin crossed his arms and a smug smirk sneaked onto his face. "How did you manage it then?"

Yang was quiet before chuckling softly and starting to play with her hair. "I uhh… I may have dated one of them when I was younger…" Cardin snickered which caused her to look up and glare at him. "I WAS FIFTEEN, YOU SICKO!"

Yang was about to deck him in the face when the crowd erupted into cheers, as the boys made their way on stage. The six members of The Achieve Men were of varying heights and builds, some even initially seeming to not fit the standard mould for boy band members, like the bearded Jack. They were also unusual in that each had a signature outfit, rather than dressing to match. As they smiled charismatically and waved to the crowd, Yang and Cardin both returned to their seats and joined the raucous cheering.

"How are you doing tonight, my roses?" crooned Ray, the glasses wearing frontman. The sound of preteen screeches flew back into his face, answering his question rather clearly.

"It's wonderful to be here in Vale City tonight," spoke Gavin, with an accent that Cardin identified as British, despite not knowing what British meant.

"We're gonna give you one heckuva show!" roared Michael, the one with curly hair. He was often marked as the rebellious one of the group, due to his 'intensive' language and devil-may-care attitude. Even as a fan of the group and genre, Cardin rolled his eyes at how overly clichéd and characterized the whole thing was. And yet, he still loved it because despite all the ridiculousness, the music was catchy as all hell.

Cardin felt a jab of an elbow and he turned to see Yang, in the exact same boat as he was, fake gagging as the boys ran through their introductions. He couldn't help but laugh which made her crack a smile too. However, the sound of a blaring synth roared to life, causing them to redirect their attention to the on-coming performance of the hit song "My Craft".

As the performance wound to a close, Cardin and Yang were giggling like the little girls they were in attendance with. The songs had been performed perfectly and the entire experience had really hit home for Cardin, since this was his first time at a live concert. Yang, while enjoying the concert herself, could not get over how invested her testosterone fueled friend got about the whole event. He was like Ruby in a cookie factory, but with an understanding of restraint. If anything, he liked the concert more than the blonde, which made her wonder why.

Before she could delve into that bottomless subject, she received a tap on the shoulder from a rather large man, covered in a great deal of tattoos. "You Yang Xiao Long?"

The gruff voice made her chuckle a little while Cardin saw him and immediately grew worried. "Yup, I'm the one and only," laughed Yang, flexing a little and flashing a bright smile the bouncer's way. He merely rolled his eyes.

"The boys… Sorry, The Achieve Men were wonderin' if you wanted ta talk to them backstage." He looked suspiciously at the now more composed Cardin. "Bring yer boyfriend too, if you want."

"Oh, he's not my boyfriend," laughed Yang, grabbing Cardin by the arm. "But we should really get going…"

"C'mon, Yang!" pleaded her friend, grabbing her hands in his. "When will I ever get to meet these guys if not now?"

"Hopefully never," muttered the blonde. Seeing that Cardin wasn't going to relinquish his grip any time soon, all she could do was sigh. The bouncer did not seem to be in the mood for letting them walk out on his bosses either. "Lead the way, tats."

"Well, well, well… If it isn't my old flame! How are you doing, my Goldilocks?"

In response to Ray's greeting, the fiery blonde glared at him with lilac eyes, with a faint red tint detectable in them. While he chuckled nervously, Cardin was snickering as he made a mental note of 'Goldilocks'. The rest of the boy band was in attendance along with Cardin and Yang's sizable guide and what appeared to be his identical twin brother. They even had the same tattoos.

"Good concert, guys!" Cardin said, his inner fanboy getting the better of him. His reaction made the guys finally take their eyes off Yang to see her friend.

"You get over Ray with this trash?" snarked Geoff, admiring his own manicured fingernails behind his shades. The other members of the band chuckled in agreement. Suddenly, all of the starstruck joy in Cardin's eyes vanished, replaced by anger.

"First of all, he's not my boyfriend," Yang snarled, taking an aggressive step towards the now somewhat unnerved boy band. "Secondly, he's no trash. The only trash I ever wasted my time with was you creeps. I had hoped you would've matured but it seems like you losers are still acting like you're running the playground."

The bouncers tensed, looking to Ray for an order, who merely waved them off with a small smile. "Now, now, Yang dearest, no need for such rude remarks. We were merely joking around, is all." The glint in his eye vehemently disagreed. "But we should get to the reason why we're here… I need a date for a big premier event and you would do quite nicely." Ray's grin sent shivers down Cardin's spine as the pop singer produced a red rose from seemingly nowhere. He knew that smile too well; it was one of a spoiled and sinister man.

"I can do a lot of things nicely," replied Yang, the red tint glowing just beneath the purple again. "Not a single one of which I plan to do with you, Ray. So you can shove that rose right up your—"

The bouncers cleared their throats, as they moved in between the Beacon students and the pop stars. This situation was rapidly going from bad for worse. Cardin would have to be the thinker of the two for once, since Yang had some pretty bad blood with these creeps, especially Ray.

"Your bouncers are cute," he spoke up, drawing on a voice that was not yet forgotten to him. The bouncers might be tough guys, but The Achieve Men weren't. Cardin had bullied far scarier people to tears. "But can they go toe-to-toe with experienced Hunters?"

"What the hell is that supposed to mean, you dope?" asked Michael, watching Cardin carefully. But the teen saw it in the singer's eyes. Not just him but all of The Achieve Men had it in their eyes. The one emotion Cardin had mastered manipulating: fear.

"It means that Yang and I could clear you punks out in under five minutes without breaking a sweat, is all." Cardin's sneer was one that could strike terror into many a person and these spoiled boys were no exception.

"I-I thought you were a f-fan," laughed Ray nervously, toying with the red rose he still held in his hand.

"Not of you. Of your singing; something you would still be capable of doing in a wheelchair."

Even the bouncers were looking a bit worried, for Cardin's voice was calm and clear. It was a voice of truth and control. Yang picked up on the queue and hopped in herself, cocking Ember Celica as she shed the ridiculous foam hand. The sound of weaponry sealed it.

"Let's get going, Yang," said Cardin, turning his back on the pop stars. He was not a fool and was merely waiting for the signal.

"Get him!" There it was.

As the one bouncer leaped at Cardin, he crouched and put a hand over his left fist. Pushing and using his opponent's momentum against him, he drove his elbow into the gut of the bodyguard, halting him in his tracks. The scream of pain and gasp to start breathing brought a small smile to Cardin's face as his assailant fell to his knees.

The Achieve Men were all wide-eyed and scrambling to put distance between themselves and the teen who had dispatched their hired help in a second. Cardin just laughed while Yang crossed her arms menacingly. "Now, if I hear any of you creeping on my friend ever again… I'll have you singing out a straw. I'm sure that with the auto-tune, the difference will be barely noticeable."

There were some whimpers and vicious nods as Cardin and Yang left, both glad to be free of the scumbags who they had once seen as brilliant stars.

"I could've taken care of it myself, y'know."

Cardin nodded as the two were walking back to the airbus station, riding high on his display of masculinity. "Obviously you could've, Yang, but we only needed to scare them, not bury them six feet under. I saw that look in your eyes."

"Whatever… That was kinda cool though, I have to admit. Even a musclebrain like you can have their moments, it seems."

Cardin laughed at the half-hearted insult. "As can you, 'Goldilocks'."

The tough guy image he had portrayed only minutes ago was now in shambles as he groaned in pain from the punch Yang dropped on his shoulder.

A/N: Just so y'all know, this'll be a five-part fic so there will be three more chapters. This'll be my main writing project outside of some Arkos I'm working on for Valentine's Day until it's done so hopefully I should get it done by March. Fingers crossed. Thanks for reading! Comments and criticisms are much appreciated!