Disclaimer: RWBY and all affiliated characters/titles belong to Rooster Teeth, those wonderful geniuses.
Yang glanced up at the sky, here in the city most of the stars were invisible, blocked out by the writhing power of civilization. The moon hung motionless over the bay, huge broken shards coming into view tonight. They cast their scattered rays across the water, dancing on the surface and playing in the gentle current. Yang inhaled deeply, feeling the salty air rush into her lungs and nostrils. On Patch, you could smell the ocean from virtually anywhere on the island and Yang missed the scent of seawater. She sighed in contentment at the familiar feeling and felt a squeeze at her hand. She looked over to Nora, walking happily beside her, eyes closed and taking long deep breaths.
"You like the ocean too?" Nora opened her soft, pale blue eyes and looked up to Yang.
"I love it here," a little smile, "I never came to the beach a lot before Beacon, but now that it's so close I come a lot," she closed her eyes again and lifted her chin to the sky, feeling the evening breeze against her neck. Yang watched as the breeze tousled her short hair, blowing it gently away from her face and exposing the thin curve of her neck. The breeze died down slightly and she lowered her head, opening her eyes again, "Ren and I like to walk on the shore like this, he says the sound of the waves helps calm him and I just love it."
"Does he really need help to stay calm?" Yang chuckled a little bit, trying to imagine the boy as anything but, "He seems so collected all the time."
"Yeah, he really puts a lot of effort into that though. Like, he meditates every night and does these breathing exercises too." Nora giggled and lifted her free hand to her mouth, "He's just a very focused guy I guess." Yang looked out over the ocean and thought about her girlfriend's surrogate brother. It was incredible to her that Nora was able to get along with her and Ren so well, because they were such opposites. Where Yang had found in Nora a girl very much like her little sister who she was able to swiftly come to terms with, Nora had picked someone who was the exact opposite of her constant companion. Ren was calm and collected and Yang was fiery and unpredictable. The boy was quiet and peaceful but Yang was just one bad hair day away from a total explosion.
"Nora," Yang turned from the sea and back to the little redhead beside her, "How do you do it?"
"Do what?" Nora cocked her head to one side, unsure of Yang's meaning.
"How do you put up with me and live with Ren so well? We're like total opposites." Yang kicked her head off to one side to throw her hair out of the way, getting it out from between herself and Nora.
"Well, Ren and I. We're family. I've known him forever and I couldn't imagine him being any other way than how he is. We grew up together and he's always been there for me. We both just get each other I guess and so it's never really a problem. I talk and talk and talk and he just listens to everything I say and really actually pays attention. And I guess he must like that too, because some people don't know what to do when he's so quiet, but I know he's always listening so I just say whatever's on my mind." Nora smiled and Yang felt like she understood their relationship a little better. They balanced each other out and understood where the other was coming from in a way that no one else really did.
"And what about me?" Yang felt a bubble in her chest, she hadn't meant to get into such a serious talk when they were just taking a walk with bellies full of pancake, but it had just happened. Now she was worried what Nora's answer might be, or how she might take the question.
"You," Nora poked Yang in the nose playfully, "You are just fantastic." Nora giggled and squeezed Yang's hand, "You know how to have fun the way I like, you can keep up with me at like everything," she turned a sly smile on Yang, "Well everything we've tried so far." and then let her face fell back to the happy smile she usually wore around her girlfriend. "You're really great and considerate and I think you like me like I like you. Plus, you're just drop dead gorgeous." Nora let go of Yang's and moved in closer to her, sliding an arm around her waist and nuzzling her head into Yang's strong arm. Yang let her arm fall over Nora's shoulder and pulled her close.
"Oh come on Nora, that's not fair," Yang teased, "I asked how you deal with me. I didn't want you to just make a bunch of stuff up." she squeezed the girl at her side, hoping desperately that not a word of what she had said was false. Nora giggled lightly and pushed into her embrace,
"I wasn't lying Yang." Yang grew a calm, contented grin and stroked Nora's shoulder. They walked like that for a little while, enjoying the cool evening air, the feel of the ocean and the breeze and each other. Then Nora piped up, "Yang, can I ask something?"
Yang hummed a soft noise of affirmation,
"It's kinda weird. So, if you don't wanna tell me yet or anything just say so. It's just, I've been wondering." Nora went on nervously, and Yang gave her a squeeze.
"Just go for it, what's up?" Nora breathed a sigh of relief.
"Why do you and Ruby have different last names?" Yang laughed lightly and Nora relaxed in her arm.
"Well that's just because we have different moms. I have our Dad's name and Ruby has her Mom's name." they approached a bench and Yang pulled Nora over towards it. The girl easily followed and sat down close to the blonde.
"Oh, your Mom and Dad got divorced? I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-" Yang laughed again and cut Nora off.
"No it's okay, really." Nora grasped Yang's hands and squeezed, "They didn't break up. My Mom, Raven, just left one day. Not a word to me or Dad, we woke up and she was gone. Never came back." A sadness entered Nora's eyes and Yang stumbled forward through her little speech, if she was gonna tell Nora, she might as well just tell her everything. "For a while it was just me and Dad. Uncle Qrow came over sometimes to help out, but then Dad married an old friend of his named Summer, that's Ruby's Mom." Nora moved a hand to Yang's leg and she stopped.
"Yang, if you don't wanna tell me all this…" she trailed off and Yang met her eyes.
"No really, it's okay. You should know." Yang forced a half smile and barreled forward, "After Raven left things were really hard for us. Dad was sad and I was so confused. I thought she left because of me, I thought that I had done something wrong or that she was mad at me. Uncle Qrow tried to tell me that wasn't it. That his sister left for her own reasons and it wasn't anybody's fault," a hitch entered Yang's voice and she paused, "Things got better when Summer came though. She was like a real superhero. She could go out on missions with Dad, slay the biggest Grimm and be home in time to make dinner." Yang felt a sort of melancholy happiness creep into her voice while she spoke about Summer, "Then they had Ruby and I got a little sister and even Dad seemed to cheer up a lot."
"So your Dad and Summer are really happy together? She sounds a lot like Ruby." Nora smiled in hopes that they had reached the happiness in Yang's life.
"Yeah, Summer was really really great. While we had her, we were a family again." A tear leaked its way into Yang's eye. She quickly blinked it away and Nora caught herself, "She died when Ruby was still really little. I don't even know how much she remembers her. It took so long for us to be happy after that. Summer was just-" There was a small whimpering noise and Yang stopped. She looked up from their hands where she had been staring and found Nora's eyes, shining wet in the moonlight. She lifted a hand to her girlfriend's cheek and brushed at it with the back of her hand, trying to erase tears that had yet to fall.
"Yang.." Nora stopped to save her voice from breaking, "I didn't know." Yang snuffled quietly and pulled her hand back, trying to play off the emotions that had grabbed at her.
"It's alright. It was awhile ago now." She looked away, out towards the ocean, "It's still really hard sometimes though." Nora reached over and placed a comforting hand on Yang's shoulder. Yang leaned into the girl and rested her head on her shoulder. They sat in silence and stared out over the water, Nora's arm over Yang's shoulder and their hands clasped with each other in her lap.
"You're really strong, you know that?" Yang sniffed again and Nora continued, "You've been through so much, but you're the happiest person I know." Nora let go of Yang's hand and lifted the blonde's chin so their eyes met. "You're incredible Yang." Yang pushed forward and wrapped her arms around Nora, she tucked her head into her shoulder and Nora gripped her in a caring embrace. Nora rubbed her back, running her hand in wide slow circles. Yang wasn't crying but it was obvious her emotions were pretty raw and Nora was helping with that. After a long moment Yang pulled away and their hands fell together.
"I really like you Nora. You're being so good to me. With all of this." Yang forced out a half-hearted chuckle and Nora smiled her eyes shut. Yang looked at her in that moment, with the moonbeams bouncing off her pale white cheeks, hair blowing gently in the ocean breeze, smile wide to make Yang happy and eyes closed tight against the anguish she knew was on her face. Yang leaned forward and pressed her lips gently to Nora's.
The redhead let out a small noise of surprise but didn't pull away even a little. Yang could feel her lips, so soft and wet against her own and it was exactly what she needed. She closed her violet eyes and let herself fall into the kiss a little, relaxing her neck and pressing into Nora. Nora accepted her, taking her pressure willingly and pressing back. They separated and Nora opened her eyes.
"Yang?" her lips were slightly parted and there was a misty look in her eyes.
"You're incredible Nora." Yang leaned forward and kissed her again, shorter this time. They pulled apart and Nora had a foolish grin, one Yang recognized as her own from whenever the petite girl planted one of her small kisses on her cheek. Yang was glad to know she could have the same effect on her. Nora slid her arm back over Yang's shoulder and the blonde rested her head on her girlfriend's strong shoulder. The only noise was that of the waves lapping lazily at the shore and the soft gentle breaths of the couple on the bench.
For a long time they sat together, watching the waves roll over the sand and the moon make its slow arc across the sky. Yang couldn't believe how natural it had felt to kiss Nora, she was just so beautiful in that moment and there was no other way Yang would rather have expressed how she felt about her. The feeling of her lips, pressed against hers and the trust she knew that conveyed said all she needed to know about their relationship in that moment. Yang was so absolutely glad she had been brave enough to go after her, and smart enough to get it to this point without messing it all up. She slid a her hand out of Nora's and sat up, the girl turned to meet her eyes.
"We should get going, it's kinda late." They both looked up above them, the moon was over halfway done with it's trek over Vale.
"Yeah, let's head back." They stood and Nora slid her arm back around Yang's waist. Yang put her arm over Nora's shoulder and they started back the way they'd come. No one else had been out before and that remained the case. It was like Vale had agreed to give the couple this evening alone on the stretch of sand. They made their way back to the bike, parked in a now empty lot near the waterfront and saddled up. Yang eased the bike out of town and up the winding road back to Beacon. Tonight it felt like time was standing still and she wanted to preserve every moment with Nora so she took it slow. They glided up the road, skimming along the curves and sliding along the straightaways like a bird over calm water. They reached Beacon and found the school was quiet as well. The students seemed to have all chosen quieter activities for their time off. Yang rolled the bike into her marked spot and they stowed their helmets.
The walk back to their dorm building felt like their first night all over again. Yang couldn't believe how lucky she was to have found Nora when and how she had met her. The girl was exactly what Yang needed, a fun loving ball of energy that could keep up with Yang but had the compassion to cradle her head on the beach. They weren't on a team so there were no strange anxieties about sharing a room, or being forced to remain with each other if it didn't work out. They were able to just be them and figure this all out.
"I'm a pretty lucky girl." Nora turned up to her girlfriend at the comment.
"And what makes you think that?" the blonde hummed and thought for a moment.
"Well, I'm at this great school, I've got awesome friends, my sister got to skip two years and be my team leader…" Yang stopped walking and contemplated the ground deeply, "Oh yeah and I've got you." Nora giggled and Yang squeezed her hands in her grip.
"No, that's not luck." Nora pushed at Yang playfully, "You had to work for me," she smiled with confidence and pulled away from Yang, crossing her arms pridefully. Yang rushed forward and swept Nora up in a hug, kissing her cheek. They remained embraced but pulled apart to see one another's faces.
"It was worth every-" Nora leaned forward and kissed Yang into silence. They held each other there in the middle of the path, Nora swept up in Yang's arms, lips locked firmly together. Yang slid one hand up Nora's back and let the other fall to just above her waist. Nora raised her hands to the back of Yang's head and pulled her in deeper. Their lips parted slightly and Yang could feel Nora's warm breath, her heartbeat in her lips and throat. They relaxed and pulled apart slightly.
"Don't do that to me around Jaune. He might have a heart attack," they both laughed at Yang's jest and fell back to each other's side, walking happily the rest of the way back to the dorm.
"So what happened to taking it slow?" Nora asked playfully from her spot on Yang's shoulder as they made their way across the darkened campus.
"I just couldn't take it anymore. What with you leading me on all the time." Yang let out a light chuckle and Nora squeezed her waist.
"Well I'll have to keep it up then." Nora rubbed her head into Yang's shoulder and ran her thumb in small circles against the blonde's firm core. They reached the dorm building and climbed the stairs hand in hand, Yang taking the lead and pulling Nora along behind her. They crested the landing and made their way to the adjacent doors. Nora turned on Yang as they stopped, a hungry look in her eye, "So I'm not gonna see you until tomorrow morning?" Yang laughed.
"Yeah, that's how sleep works" she went to smile but found her lips smothered by Nora's. Nora pushed back against Yang, forcing her into the wall of Team RWBY's dorm with a soft thump. Yang grabbed her by the waist and pulled up just slightly, leaning down into the kiss to make up for their height difference. Nora held the kiss and Yang wondered what she intended. She felt Nora's hands slide around her waist, one hand grazing up her back between her shoulder blades and the other just skirting the hem of her shorts. Yang bristled at the contact, goosebumps rising on her skin and then it was gone. Nora fell away from her with a slight gasp for air.
"Okay, I'll see you in the morning then." She spun about on her heel with a wide grin and darted inside Team JNPR's room. Yang dropped her hands from where they were still resting in the air, right where Nora's hips had been. She looked at the door in disbelief. Had Nora really just purposefully teased her like that? Yang shook her head, that was her job. She turned for the doorknob to her room and found it unlocked. She opened it slowly and poked her head inside, the room was dark except for a pair of mellow amber eyes on the bunk beneath Yang's own.
"You two are quite loud." the eyes darted up as Yang entered and then fell back to the text in her hands.
"Are you still reading? Blake it's like one in the morning." Yang pulled out her scroll and checked the time, it was actually already past two.
"Someone had to wait up for you." she flipped a small red ribbon over the spine of the book to hold her page and gently closed the novel, setting it on the shelf by her bed, "I'm glad your night went well." Yang went to retort and remembered how well her Faunus partner could hear.
"What? Do I have to leave campus every time I need any privacy?" she shot her partner a chiding but playful look.
"No, just not make out in the hallway." Blake gave Yang a small, brief smile and then rolled over to go to sleep. Yang laughed and shook her head before heading to the bathroom to get ready for bed herself.
A/N - I really hope you like this one because I've been dying to post it ever since I fleshed it out. 'Date Night' was originally supposed to all be one chapter but it came out a bit long (almost 7k words) so I figured it would be better to break it into the two very separate parts of their evening together. Their relationship is really on a roll now and neither one is looking back.
On a slightly separate note, due to many suggestions by friends, readers and fellow authors here on the wonderful I have moved everything over to Archive of Our Own as well. I will continue to post here as you are all so great and despite some complaints I've heard and a few problems I've had myself I really like how works. But, I understand that some people prefer AO3 and so I will post to both sites the same content on the same days. My Reddit posts on/r/RWBY will still lead here and this will still be where I focus the majorit of my attention, I just wanted to let you know if you prefer AO3 that I am also there now, under the same name and with the same content.
Thanks so much for reading this far and I hope you keep going, I've got a lot more coming out of this story and am still leading up to "Friends and Loved Ones". You all are the best!
-Zach