Cloud nine was a place in time that currently Weiss and Yang had resided in for days now and there was no way that they could leave it. After the girls night had occured, Ruby and Blake had called them out. It was hard not to. It wasn't like Weiss and Yang could deny anything. It would be hard to explain why Weiss and Yang had been cuddled up the next morning with Blake and Ruby already awake and well aware of their predicament.
It was safe to say that Blake and Ruby were definitely the first to find out about them finally getting together. Not that it wasn't a big deal, but it was more of a relief to say the least. A relief, that the two wouldn't end up playing some sort of weirdly intimate game with one another without actually recognizing the other's feelings.
Blake had congratulated the two and was genuinely happy that they had gotten together. While on the other hand, Ruby had done the same thing, but in an exaggerated manner as she had hugged the two and asked when their wedding would be. Yang of course had to quickly shut her sister down, saying it was far too soon for such events.
Now the four of them, plus Sun, were in the car on their way to a location that Blake had left unspecified. Blake was driving with Sun as the passenger. Ruby, Weiss, and Yang sat in the back with Ruby reluctantly and regrettably in the middle.
What was regrettable for Ruby was the fact that Yang was constantly making googly eyes at Weiss, and she had to be in the middle of all that.
"Yang, your staring is really creeping me out," Ruby whispered, poking at her sister's side.
Yang let out a tiny yelp, being drawn back from her daze. "You know I'm not looking at you."
"Staring at Weiss doesn't make it any better!" Ruby added.
Weiss simply snorted, it was hard not tooverhear their not-so-secret conversation.
"So what? I'm not allowed to look at my girlfriend?" Yang stated loudly.
Now Blake, Sun, and Weiss had seemed to chuckle at the fact, while Ruby groaned is dismay.
"That's not what I'm saying!" Ruby sighed loudly and dramatically. "You guys are too lovey-dovey and I don't want to be in the middle of it!"
"But what if I just love you, sis?" Yang wrapped her arm around Ruby and rubbed her head with her mechanical arm.
"Ahhh! I take it back! Stare at her all you want!" Ruby wildly flailed, causing Weiss and Yang to duck and dodge her wild arms.
Everyone in the car laughed, including Weiss, who let out a hearty laugh. Sun seemed to gasp loudly and turn his head toward the back seat. "Weiss! You sound adorable!" he exclaimed, as this was his first time really hearing Weiss.
"You sound like Ruby," Blake chuckled. "You should hear her talk."
"It's not that great." Weiss rolled her eyes with a smirk, decidingly looking out the window in a nonchalant, yet smug, manner.
There was a collective squee that filled the car as everyone, especially Sun, was excited to hear Weiss for the first time.
"Hah! This is great! Weiss, why did you even stop talking in the first place? You've got a great voice!" Sun commented in his happy state.
While he had meant no harm with his words, his curiosity had caused the entire car to go silent as everyone had turned their attention to Weiss. Said girl had slowly turned her head to see her friends, sans Blake, expectantly looking at her as if she were to answer that question right then and there.
Weiss knew the answer. She always had, but now that her voice had returned, she knew that sharing it would let them know the answer. But she wasn't ready to speak about that. About her life and what had really gotten her to go silent for years. Yet there was only one person she really wanted to know her story. The girl who had always listened to her in whatever shape or form she could. Yang. Her girlfriend.
But in a car full of friends, she wasn't ready to let so many people know. So she kept silent, small hints of red taking over her cheeks as they stared.
"Heeeeey! Don't worry about that, Sun. Let's just be glad that she is taking the time to do what she wants and is comfortable with. No explanation needed!" Yang loudly stated, gathering back the attention of everyone, while winking at Weiss.
Her savior. Each other's saviors.
"Right… oh. Look's like we're here." Blake parked the car, everyone now shuffling out of the car, looking rather confused. Weiss walked up to Yang and held her hand, squeezing it gently. Out of all places for a road trip, Blake had chosen...
"The hospital?" Ruby walked to Blake and held a hand on her shoulder. "If you're pregnant, you could've just told us, you know."
"Waaaaaah!" Blake and Sun collectively shouted in surprise. Ruby had completely missed the mark on that one. Weiss and Yang just laughed. At least that ceased their fears a little.
Weiss and Yang didn't care to admit too much that the hospital had left them with an uncomfortable feeling. It was hard not to feel bad in a hospital; even though they had come out of it stronger than ever, it was a place that most people would rather not return to.
"I didn't get you…" Sun began, before Blake had cut him off with a glare.
"Nope. We're safe."
"Heh." He awkwardly rubbed his neck and let out a small sigh of relief. There would be no explaining that to Ghira if that did happen.
Weiss and Yang chuckled at the nonsense happening before them. Blake sighed and shook her head, ushering them onwards. Everyone seemed to follow along behind.
"So…" Yang began again as they entered through the infamous double doors, "why are we here again?" Yang felt a hand encompassing and squeezing her own, and when she turned, she found Weiss. Yang simply rubbed her thumb against Weiss's own hand as they moved forward, offering each other solace.
Blake paused and turned to the group. "Please tell me you guys didn't forget about Pyrrha?" she asked bluntly.
"Pyrrha?!" The whole group seemed to gasp in unison, eyes all widening.
Blake nodded. "Yes, Pyrrha. She's awake, and surprisingly enough, she's pretty coherent. Her parents were the ones to notify Jaune, and then Jaune told me."
Everyone seemed to be at a loss for words. Pyrrha had been out for weeks. Jaune had hardly been seen at school, and when he was, he looked absolutely lost. At least, that was what Weiss could gather — she had tried to comfort or hang around Jaune, but he never seemed keen on sharing anything. No one could get through to him.
Until apparently a few days ago, Blake had heard the news first. And now, Jaune seemed more alive and well than ever.
"That's great!" Ruby seemed to genuinely cheer.
"Yeah, Jaune must be one happy dude!" Sun added.
Yang and Weiss simply looked at each other and smiled. A heavy, invisible weight suddenly seemed to lift off their shoulders, one they had nearly forgotten was there because they'd become so accustomed to the feeling. The final person that had been involved in the accident was now alive and well. A guilt that had been there for the longest time now seemed to finally wash away.
"What are we waiting for? Let's go see her." Yang seemed to now lead the way with Weiss by her side.
Weiss, too, was fairly excited to see how Pyrrha was. While everything wouldn't be fixed instantly — or maybe ever at all — at least the process of getting better could finally begin. And Pyrrha had all of her friends here, ready and willing to help her through every step. Just like everyone had been there for Weiss and Yang.
The group entered the elevator and kept a cheerful silence about them. The aura was no longer weirdly dreadful, but hopeful and elating.
"Fair warning, I think they're only letting a few people in at a time. I don't think we want to overwhelm Pyrrha with so many visitors," Blake noted.
"Do we know how well she's doing?" Sun questioned.
"From what Jaune told me, she remembers things before the accident. She doesn't remember the accident itself and… I think she might have trouble walking. According to Jaune and the doctors, it'll take awhile before Pyrrha is really on her feet again."
Yang seemed to outwardly sigh. She was relieved, but at the same time, it was hard to be especially with news like that. Either way, she should be glad that Pyrrha was on her way to recovery — it was just never easy for any of them to hear. A light nudge and nuzzle of comfort came from Weiss.
Just then the elevator dinged open to an all-too-familiar setting, the same lobby that Weiss and Yang had dwelled in before. But no hesitation was to be had by them as the group stepped out and walked straight toward the room that Pyrrha had resided in.
In a short time, they appeared in front of the door, the five of them happy as they could be for the situation. They just wished they had been warned beforehand so they could've brought flowers, cards, and gifts for their friend. But it wasn't like Pyrrha didn't already have enough recovery gifts from each of them — there simply just wasn't enough room for anymore.
Blake lightly knocked on the door, Jaune opening it and smiling. "Oh! You're all here. Hold on. Ren and Nora just need to say their goodbyes." Jaune glanced back behind himself as he held the door wide open for them all to peek in.
With that being said, Ren and Nora seemed to walk out hand-in-hand, and in good spirits, but not before running into the group that was already outside waiting. Nora seemed to dramatically sniffle, "Our daughter has such good friends." Ren simply shook his head, not bothering with Nora's shenanigans, but he couldn't deny that she was right.
"Oh, hey guys." Yang waved at them with her free hand.
"He—" Nora looked down at Yang's hand, seeing the way it was intertwined with Weiss's. "Heeey, you two." A devilish grin appeared on her face.
It looked like Nora was about to begin on some new shenanigans, but Ren tore her away from the group and back down toward the lobby. "We'll catch you guys later. I'm sure Pyrrha will be happy to see all of you," Ren told them quickly, Nora's smile huge as she gave them all a wave goodbye.
The group just chuckled and then turned their attention back to the now semi-opened door with Jaune in the way. He seemed to look at them all, but then turned his full attention to Weiss and Yang. "You know, I'm sure Pyrrha would be glad to see how you two are doing." He waved them in.
"Sounds good." Yang nodded as she and Weiss approached the door and headed inside. It had only made sense for them to go in first out of all of their group. They were a part of the accident, after all.
Jaune closed the door behind them, but not before telling the rest of the waiting group that they would get their chance too to see Pyrrha.
Pyrrha seemed to eye the duo as they had walked in. "Oh!" Her hands covered her mouth, noticing Yang's new arm, but at the same time she noticed both Weiss and Yang were holding hands, looking closer than ever. Her face went through a mixture of emotions before settling on a soft smile with light tears to accompany it. "Hello again." She wiped her face. "You two look good." She smiled weakly, and glanced over at Jaune, her own knight in shining armor that had stood with her through it all.
"Hey, Pyrrha," Yang softly began. "You don't look too bad yourself." She smiled at her as both Weiss and Yang approached the side of the bed. "How are you feeling?" Yang cautiously asked. It wasn't hard to tell how Pyrrha was feeling, it was obvious; light bruises and heavy eyes seemed to cover her face and body, but she was alive. And that was the best thing that any of them could ask for.
"Oh, you know," Pyrrha responded with a weak chuckle. "I'm better now knowing that you two are alright." She looked over Weiss and Yang. "Things have changed, haven't they?" Pyrrha seemed to mostly eye their intertwined fingers and Yang's new arm.
Yang nodded. "For the better, I think. Hopefully the same happens to you, for the better." Yang outreached her mechanical arm for Pyrrha to get a better look at it.
"This is… impressive. I didn't know you had connections." Pyrrha seemed to hint about knowing just how expensive an arm like that could be. Jaune also seemed to take a look at the piece.
"Looks like it cost more than I could ever afford," he mumbled.
"Yeah, I didn't know I had them, either. But apparently Weiss does," Yang answered Pyrrha with a shrug. She didn't want to overshare information that wasn't entirely hers to have a say.
Pyrrha looked up from the arm to Weiss. "And you… How are you doing?"
Weiss let go of Yang's hand and thought about signing for a moment, but she paused and opened her mouth. "I'm great, Pyrrha. It's good to see you are, too." She smiled. It still felt so strange to talk in front of people, especially those who were fairly new. But Weiss had to admit that Pyrrha was probably her second friend that she had made in Vale, if not one of the kindest. And she was pretty glad that she was okay, too.
Pyrrha's eyes widened, her head shaking as if she were trying to awaken from a dream. "Weiss, have you… always spoken?" She furrowed her brows, looking a little confused, unsure if her memory was playing with her or not. Jaune had, too, momentarily gasped in shock to the response. He had heard from his friends that Weiss had been speaking, but this was the first time he had actually heard Weiss with his own two ears.
Weiss shook her head. "It's a new thing I'm trying out," she responded softly.
Pyrrha smiled. "That's incredible news. So, I take it you two are..."
"Dating," Weiss and Yang said simultaneously, both smiling bashfully.
"Oooh, even in sync, too." Pyrrha chuckled. "Well, we'll all have to celebrate with some double, maybe triple, dates if we can convince Blake and Sun." Pyrrha seemed to become a little more upbeat.
"I'm down for that." Jaune nodded.
"I'm sure it's possible," Yang agreed. "Well, I think we'll let everyone else see how you're doing. Now that you're awake, we have all the time in the world to catch up."
Weiss and Yang were incredibly lucky and happy at the situation at hand. Pyrrha was okay, and everyone seemed to be getting what they wanted. The duo had left the room while Sun and Blake had been the ones to go in next.
They waited with Ruby outside and made idle chatter. But Weiss had remained her usual state of quiet, deep in thought as an idea popped into her head. An idea that she knew Yang would be on board for. She turned to Yang and signed to her, "I need your help."
With a questioning eyebrow raised, Yang nodded. Fully knowing by the smile on Weiss's face that it had to be good.
A/N: Hey all. I'm back. Sort of.
First of all, I want to apologize to everyone for making you guys wait. I promise there is still quite a bit left to this story. Chapter 21 and 22 are finished and I'll soon begin on 23. This story is my baby and I in no way mean to abandon it. If there is something in my life I want to finish, it is this. But sometimes life get's hard and you need to take a break from things, so here I am.
Second of all, I sincerely hope y'all didn't forget about Pyrrha! More things are to come. And I have to thank you guys, those who have commented, kudos'd, and just have let me take my time to myself to get myself back into this head space. I'm still getting there though. I'm not 100%, but bare with me. This story is not done. Thank you for your patience and I hope you've enjoyed this chapter.