Disclaimer: RWBY and all affiliated characters/titles belong to Rooster Teeth, those wonderful geniuses.
Yang shook her head as she turned into her team's room. Of course her team had been spying on her, she knew they would be curious and her little sister was the team leader so what other eventuality was there? As she closed the door and turned about Yang was tackled to the wall by a small cloaked girl, her sister.
"Ooohhhh Yang I'm so happy!" Ruby had wrapped her arms around Yang's waist and was squeezing, wiggling herself excitedly back and forth against her sister's torso, "Was it super romantic? How did it happen? You have to tell us Yang." Ruby stepped back and grabbed Yang by both hands, forcibly pulling her over to the bed and setting her down. Yang laughed uneasily at Ruby's eagerness and caught Blake's eyes across the room. Blake was seated, cross legged on Ruby's bunk waiting patiently for the scene to unfold. Not finding any help there Yang searched for Weiss and found her on her bunk beneath Blake, she was sitting as demurely as ever, legs crossed slightly in front of her, back as straight as her rapier. Her glacial eyes were calm and unreadable, but she was too was paying rapt attention to the blonde. It looked as if her team was as interested as she thought they would be and they would not be giving her any privacy. Yang sighed and looked up at them all with a smile.
"Okay, well first Ren wanted to talk to me. He was being really protective of Nora and wanted to warn me about how I treat her and all that. I kind of got the idea of why boys were always so scared to meet Dad and Uncle Qrow." Ruby giggled out loud and retreated to Weiss's bunk, sitting down and pulling her legs up, wrapping her arms around her legs and resting her chin on her knees.
"So Nora wasn't in her room?" Ruby's eyes were alight with anticipation.
"No, Ren had gotten her to leave so he could talk to me. He told me she was in the library and I went to find her. She was in there, making a mess and dumping books all over the floor." Yang smiled and thought back to how she had found the girl, "It was really adorable, the books didn't exist but she was so determined to find them for Ren." Blake smiled lightly and reclined against the pillows of Ruby's bed, stretching her long legs out along the bunk. Weiss stiffened at the mention of the library.
"You two together are going to be so destructive." She tsked and shook her head side to side.
"Oh relax Ice Queen, we put all the books back." Weiss didn't relent her icy stare but remained silent so Yang could continue, "So we went outside," Yang looked at Weiss, "So we wouldn't disturb all the people studying in the library," and back to her sister, "We went outside and talked about this whole thing. About how unsure I am and I don't want to lead her on about things." Blake nodded her head in approval.
"That was surprisingly mature of you." Yang shot Blake a dirty look.
"I am perfectly capable of being a mature person about things." she let her face crack into an easy grin, "It's just so much easier not to be isn't it?" Ruby and Yang laughed but Weiss shook her head again.
"I don't know what Ren told you but if you play with Nora I will make sure you regret it forever." Weiss crossed her arms and gave Yang another hard glare.
"Weeiisss!" Ruby whined, "Stop it! Yang is not playing around. She's really serious about this. We had a real sister talk and everything." Ruby began playfully hitting Weiss with a pillow and the heiress did not take it well. After the second hit she stood quickly. Ruby's third swing hit nothing but open air and her momentum carried her flipping off the bed. She landed on her back at the white haired girl's feet, her hood flipped up over her eyes.
"This is serious Ruby." Weiss turned on Yang, "Nora is putting an incredible amount of trust in you. You need to respect that." Yang jumped up from her seat, matching Weiss's ice cold stare with a flaming anger of her own.
"I know this is serious Weiss. You don't think it's serious for me too?" Yang was raising her voice now, "This is a huge deal for me!" Weiss visibly backed down and Yang caught herself, "I'm scared Weiss. I don't know, I really don't." Yang softened considerably and averted her gaze from Weiss, "I really do like her and I want to figure this out. I want to know more about me." Yang returned her gaze to Weiss, "That's what Nora and I talked about. She wants to help me, she wants to be the one I figure it out with."
Weiss was struck silent by Yang's outburst. Ruby had slowly picked herself up off the ground and was sitting calmly on the floor, listening intently to every word her sister said. Blake had sat back up during Yang's emotional tirade, she was literally on the edge of her seat, hands gripping the edge of the mattress for stability, rapt with attention. As Yang finished, the energy went out of her and her shoulders fell. The day had been emotionally draining for her, and this final outburst with her team and sister, basically her family, had drained her. Ruby stood and Blake hopped silently to the floor. Without a word the girls stepped forward and gently wrapped their arms around the blonde. Weiss caught the notion and joined in the team hug, resting her head on Yang's shoulder.
A single tear rose in Yang's eyes and she blinked it away, hugging her little family back and lifting her face to the ceiling to stop any more tears from forming.
"We are here to support you Yang, no matter what." Blake said gently from beside her.
"I love you Yang. I know we all do." Ruby closed her eyes as she nuzzled her head into the crook of her sister's arm.
"I'm sorry Yang. I just." Weiss paused, trying to find the right words, "I get so flustered sometimes and you're so headstrong, that I forget you don't have yourself completely figured out. I promise I will be here for you to talk to or talk at or whatever you need." They stood there for another long moment, all the girls arms wrapped around Yang in a loving embrace. They didn't know what Yang was feeling and they couldn't see her face to get any sort of read on her so they just held her, wanting nothing in return. After a protracted silence Yang finally spoke up.
"Thank you" she paused to save her voice from breaking, "Thank you so much guys. You're the best team I could ask for." She gave them all a final squeeze and they broke apart. Yang wiped at her face, despite having successfully prevented even a single tear from falling and then let out a heavy sigh. "I am so tired. Today has been a hell of day." They all laughed, easing the pressure in the room after the intensely emotional bonding moment. They then went about their business getting ready for bed. Ruby was still dressed in her full combat outfit but both Weiss and Blake were already in their pajamas. Yang took the first shot at the bathroom and Weiss and Blake both moved to their respective bunks. After a short while they were all in bed with the lights out, the room illuminated only by the gentle glow of the moon gleaming through the window. The moon beams fell across Yang's face and danced in the curls of her hair.
"I love you girls. I'll see you in the morning." Yang rolled over to shield her eyes from the moonlight and let herself drift away. Her teammates and sister each responded in kind, echoing the sentiment to everyone else in the room.
Morning came and Yang rolled groggily out of bed. She had been so exhausted that she had slept the entire night seemingly without moving. She fell heavily to the floor, groaning and stretching her arms out to the sides. She stifled a loud yawn with her hand and turned to regard the opposite two bunks. Weiss was already seated on the edge of her bed, brushing out her long white hair with slow careful strokes. Her hair was so soft and smooth, like liquid satin falling about her shoulders. Yang scratched the back of her head and felt her curls, soft and smooth under her fingers but nothing like the heiress's. How did she do that? Ruby emerged from the bathroom, a large cloud of steam billowing into the room as she gasped in excitement.
"Good morning. I feel like I'm finally awake." Ruby was wearing a towel wrapped tightly around her upper body, she lifted her hands and rubbed at her hair with another smaller towel. Yang laughed at her little sister's exuberance even this early in the morning.
"This is why I never got hot water at home." Yang laughed and headed for the bathroom, she really was happy that they never ran out of hot water here. She walked into the still fog filled bathroom, closed the door and stripped off her mirror was heavily glossed over from Ruby's scalding shower so Yang wiped at it haphazardly with a spare wash cloth. Through the streaks of clarity she was able to see herself a little clearer, bold yellow hair and pale white skin standing out starkly against the drab interior of the bathroom. She turned slightly, pushing one shoulder forward so she could examine her back side as well. Yang was perfectly content with what she saw. She had been fit before but the increased training regimen here at Beacon alongside her natural competitive spirit to do better than the others had toned her body down to a chiseled mass of muscle. Her legs were firm even at rest, the skin of her stomach pulled taut across her powerful core and her arms and shoulders had swelled with strength. She didn't even have to flex to see the muscles she worked so hard to grow and maintain.
Yang stretched over and turned the water on, much cooler than Ruby had had it and gave it a second to cool the pipes down before stepping in. She considered Team JNPR's morning routine for the first time ever. Was it different for them because there room was mixed gender? Ruby had just stepped out into the main living area, with all team members present and was not dressed at all appropriately for if boys were around. But then, Pyrrha was definitely too reserved to do even that. Jaune and Ren were both boys and so had only one area that needed covering and Nora. Well Nora probably wouldn't care what her teammates saw, but Yang was sure that Ren and Jaune had quickly taught her the importance of modesty. Yang blushed slightly, imagining Nora emerging from the bathroom, bra half on, asking after her socks and wondering why Pyrrha had turned as red as her hair. Yang turned the water a little colder and stepped in.
After her shower Yang emerged back into the room. Ruby was just finishing lacing up her boots, Weiss was already studying and Blake was staring out the window into the branches of the tree outside.
"Don't go leaping out after a bird Blake," Blake turned with a start and shot a rueful glare at Yang and then returned to staring at the tree. Yang laughed and shook her hair to one side. She sat down at her desk and started the arduous process of brushing her mane out. Ruby jumped up with a start and yelped in excitement.
"Oh my Oum, guys do you remember what today is?" Ruby turned between her three teammates. Blake had turned her attention to their leader but said nothing, Weiss was still nose deep in her book and Yang caught Ruby's eyes in the small mirror over her desk. "C'mon guys it's a huge deal! How are you not excited?" Weiss lifted her eyes from the text with a sigh.
"Why would we be excited for a test in Professor Goodwitch's class?" Ruby face fell and she spun to her partner.
"What? We have a test in Goodwitch's? Why didn't you tell me? Ohhhhhh, that's not good." Weiss sighed and tucked her finger in her book to hold her place before closing it.
"I did tell you Ruby. On Friday night when Yang went out. I said you should study but you said you had all weekend to study and then ate a pile of cookies, watched cat videos on your scroll and passed out by ten pm." Weiss sighed and Yang laughed.
"That does sound like you sis'," Ruby groaned and flung her hands up in the air.
"This is hopeless, And here I was all excited for Dr. Oobleck's lecture on the history of weapon personalization. Professor Goodwitch ruins everything." Ruby threw herself down on the bed and pushed a half-hearted scream into the comforter.
"Isn't she the reason you're at Beacon so early Ruby?" Blake sank to a seated position on the windowsill and cast a playful glance at her leader. Ruby rolled over onto her back and sighed.
"Yeah but she never takes it easy on me. I almost feel like she's the one it's hardest to impress."
"It won't be that bad Ruby. It's just on the different types of dust useage and the dangers of improper mixing in round creation." Yang looked over her shoulder as she worked the brush through a particularly stubborn section of hair.
"I guess…" Ruby trailed off, realizing that was something she could probably handle.
"Besides, when we finish we get to leave class so we get lunch early. We might even skip the lines." Yang finally got the knot out and continued brushing her hair, turning back to the mirror. Ruby sprang off the bed with joy.
"That means fresh cookies!" she squealed with joy and did a happy little dance in the middle of the room. Weiss shook her head with a sigh and returned to her text. Blake stood and moved to the door.
"Come on Ruby, if we go now we can run through our notes so you can finish faster." Blake grabbed her small book bag from it's spot by the door and reached for the knob. Ruby nodded in agreement and scooped her bag from the ground by her bunk and followed Blake into the hallway.
"Has she always been like this?" Weiss lifted her eyes from studying and found Yang's in the mirror.
"Oh yeah pretty much. All through Signal it was just like this, even when we lived in Patch with our Dad." Yang set the brush down and shook her hair out behind her. It fell in cascading waves down her back, rolling off her shoulders and tumbling past her waistline. She smiled and stood with a flourish, "So what do you think? Do I look ready to meet Nora?"
"You may want to put on more than a bra and shorts." Weiss snickered without looking up from her book. Yang huffed and blew a lock of hair off of her forehead, "I don't think you two are quite there yet, are you?" Weiss giggled and looked up for the rare opportunity of seeing an embarrassed and flustered Yang Xiaolong, mumbling under her breath about of course she was gonna get dressed, can't the princess just say she looks good, Oum was she frustrating. Weiss giggled again and returned to her studying. Yang quickly dug out her school uniform slipping on her skirt and regulation blouse. She sat down and started pulling on her long stockings when Weiss sat up and cleared her throat.
"I really wanted to apologize for last night Yang." Yang looked up from her legs, Weiss was serious here. Her eyes held none of her mirth from earlier, "I was out of line, I shouldn't have assumed you weren't taking this seriously." She set her book to the side and focused on the blonde.
"I get it. I'm not really serious about much. But, I wouldn't play with someone's emotions like that." Yang finished pulling on her second sock and sat up, meeting the heiress's gaze, "I really care about Nora Weiss, and I really wanna see if I can do more than that too. I need to see if what I'm feeling about her is real and if that's who I am." Weiss nodded her in confirmation and stood.
"I mean what I said last night, I'm here if you need me." She tilted her head slightly to the side and gave Yang a warm smile. Yang quickly pulled on her flats and stood to meet the other girl.
"C'mon let's get to class." They made for the door and were more surprised than they should have been to find a certain redhead standing there waiting for them.
"Wow, you take like forever to get ready don't you?" Nora giggled and she and Yang shared a quick hug.
"It takes time to look this great." Yang whipped her hair out behind her and brought her shoulders back, pushing her already ample chest out further. Nora giggled again and moved to Yang's side.
"Well that I certainly appreciate it." She grabbed Yang's hand and Yang blushed slightly but gripped her hand right back.
"Alright, and it's a school day, and we're going to class, and we're all gonna be real mature about this and just act normal." Weiss began rattling off to herself as she walked down the hallway, ignoring the freshly minted couple as best she could. Yang and Nora chuckled a little at their friend's embarrassment and headed slowly down the hallway after her.
"So the rest of your team already head out?"
"Yeah, Pyrrha gets up at something like four am every single day and goes for a 'jog' around the entire school and then does laps in the pool. She always showers in the gym and just meets us at class." Nora sounded tired just talking about the other girl's insane workout regimen.
"Damn, that's incredible. Every day?" Yang considered the prospect and realized she did not have the mental fortitude for a routine like that.
"It's crazy right? She tries to be quiet when she leaves but she always wakes me up. I usually end up reading comics on my scroll until it's actually time to get up.." Nora smiled and took the steps first, holding Yang's hand up above her head so they would both fit on the narrow stairs and still be holding hands.
"You've been up since four? That's not natural Nora." Yang laughed and slid in front of Nora at the base of the stairs, pushing the door open for the two of them.
"Ehh, I'm used to it by now. I get through a lot more stuff that way." Nora spun in front of Yang and skipped backwards, grabbing both of her hands with hers, swinging them back and forth between them. "What about the fearless Team RWBY? What's your morning routine?" Yang grinned at Nora's adorable antics.
"Well Weiss or Blake is always up first. They're both really quiet though so it never wakes me. Then Ruby usually gets up after, but I think Weiss wakes her up because she never used to get up before me. I'm usually the last one awake but I take the longest shower so it kinda works out that way."
"You're just a big sleepy ursa aren't you?" Nora let go with one hand and poked Yang on the forehead before falling back to her side and walking like a somewhat more normal person, "I like to sleep in too but I just wake up now because Pyrrha has me in this pattern." Nora smiled and looked out around campus.
The school's paths were much more crowded now than they had been the night before. Every student in Beacon was out at this time, making their way to their morning classes or getting in an early breakfast before their day started. Yang didn't feel the same tension or prying eyes she had the night before and it relaxed her. In the crowd they were just another couple, happily starting their morning with each other. Yang felt a squeeze on her hand and turned to look at her happy partner.
"You worried about people?" Nora's face was bright and cheery but her voice had an edge of worry to it.
"No, not really. Kind of I guess. But I don't care. Like you said, they're all just jealous I got you and they can't." Yang smiled and slid her arm around Nora's shoulder, giving her a light hug and then letting her arm fall back to holding her hand. Nora smiled and leaned into the hug easily.
"Okay good. Not like anyone is gonna give us trouble though right?" Nora flexed her left arm where Yang could see it and Yang was more than happy with what she saw. Nora was a small girl, that was sure, but the bulge of muscle that pushed up from her arm showed that she worked hard. Yang squeezed Nora's hand and let out a confident bark of a laugh.
"That's right, and if they do, maybe you can break their legs." A dangerous gleam entered Nora's eyes at Yang's suggestion and Yang grinned with pleasure.
"Oh definitely." they both laughed and found themselves standing at their classroom door. Yang jumped forward with a flourish and grabbed the door for Nora. Nora giggled and stepped through with a wide smile on her face "Oh why thank you." Yang followed behind her and found the class mostly empty still. Some students were scattered around, but RWBY and JNPR were now the only two teams fully represented. Yang and Nora made their way down to their teams and took seats next to each other at the center of the eight person row.
"Hey, good morning Yang." Jaune waved excitedly over his head at them as they sat, he was only a few feet away.
"Morning Jaune," Yang gave him a happy smile and looked to the other two team members. Ren returned her smile and gave a slight nod of his head.
"Oh good morning." Pyrrha gave a small wave. Nora leaned around Yang and waved to team RWBY.
"Morning Blake, morning Ruby." Blake smiled politely and Ruby split into a grin.
"Oh, you two are so cute together." She giggled and tried to hide it under her hand, "Nora are you ready for the test next period?" Nora smiled at Ruby's compliment but immediately dropped to grave shock and concern at her second comment.
"What test?" Weiss shook her head and passed a binder of notes to Ruby over her shoulder. Yang laughed and took it from Ruby, passing it to her girlfriend.
"In Goodwitch's class. It's on Dust use and stuff." Nora took the binder and opened it with a tab on the side. The pages were filled with a tight neat handwriting. Carefully measured notes with annotations and highlights. In several places there were little colored dots that matched the tabs jutting from the side.
"Don't worry, I didn't know about it either" Ruby laughed and pointed to the binder, "But Weiss's notes are awesome, it's like a mini textbook. Nora looked at the enormous binder before her.
"Mini?" They all laughed, "Thank you Weiss." Nora leaned over and smiled at the stern girl at the end of the row.
"Just make sure you pass. I can't let that lughead next to you drag another person down with her." Yang crossed her arms in mock offense and blew a huff of air.
"I actually did study on my own, thank you very much." Yang looked over to her partner, "Didn't I Blake?"
"Oh yes, I think you sat down for a whole ten minutes with the text and then went to get lunch." Weiss loosed a derisive laugh and Ruby smiled.
"That does sound like you sis'," Yang shot Ruby an annoyed glare that immediately softened to an easy grin when a pair of lips met her cheek for a brief moment.
"You still studied more than me." Yang smiled and grabbed Nora's hand , running her thumb over the top gently. Nora smiled and looked down to Weiss's notes. Professor Port entered the class down at the front and waved to the students, he looked about the class which was now a little over half full.
"Ahh Mondays. Well, their loss. Today I'm going to tell you about a brave young man who saved an entire village from destruction by a flock of Nevermores. He fought with a simple weapon, an ax that…"
Yang began to tune out the Professor as he went into another tale of his own exploits, not so cleverly disguised as a history lecture. He usually made a point by the end of it but the story was mostly unimportant. She looked down at the notes Nora was studying, trying to at least refresh a little before the test. She felt a gentle squeeze on her hand and Nora scooted the notebook over a little so Yang could read better.
A/N - Everybody happy to see them together now? Great, awesome, glad to hear it. Let's hope it lasts…
I want to give a special thank you to the people whose encouragement keeps me writing this little trainwreck. Dongyrn, RealTerminal, Boombox94, noone297, Trewill91 and story-de're. You all are the best and you're the reasons I keep this one going.
I love to hear from everyone, so anything you see good or bad just let me know. Thanks so much for reading, I hope it continues to please.
-Zach