Disclaimer: RWBY and all affiliated characters/titles belong to Rooster Teeth, those wonderful geniuses.
The bike thrummed along steadily beneath Yang as she eased it down the winding road from Beacon towards the gleaming expanse of Vale spread out before them. The Academy was a place of nearly constant motion, airships coming and going, students training, laughing, playing and loving each other everywhere, professors prowling about and making sure everyone stayed focused and behaved, and the sounds of combat ringing out from around the campus's many sparring areas. Vale was a thriving city, flush with commuters going to and from work, a pulsing nightlife, the traffics of industry moving from the port through the city and the general hustle and bustle that comes with housing such a large population.
Yang enjoyed these drives in between the two. Feeling the cool evening air rush against her and pull at her long hair, Nora's strong arms around her middle, so warm she could feel the heat through her light jacket, and the peaceful quiet filled only by the noise of her beloved motorcycle pulling them ever forward. The drive took maybe fifteen minutes to make, twenty if she slowed to the posted speed limits but she relished every moment of it. Even if they couldn't talk over the rushing wind, this was still a time for her and Nora to be alone together, just the two of them. Yang looked out over the lightly forested slopes of the hill and was struck suddenly by the sheer beauty of the tree tops crested by the gentle moonlight. It was incredible to think that such a natural, serene landscape could exist between their metropolitan landscape and a school specifically designed to train Huntresses and Huntsmen.
They pulled the rest of the way down into the city and up alongside the curb next to the restaurant. Yang steadied the bike and felt Nora's hand slide off around her, the hands stopped at her waist and Nora squeezed Yang's hip just a little and then pushed herself off of the bike. Yang pulled her helmet off and flung her golden tresses out behind her and Nora giggled. Yang turned her head at the noise and gave her girlfriend a quick once over, she was wearing skin tight white pants that hugged her firm thighs and gripped at all her wonderful edges. Nora slid off the leather jacket she wore on the bike and Yang watched on as she pulled her arms out, pushing her shoulders forward to disengage herself from the heavy material. The jacket came away, revealing the pink blouse underneath that Yang loved so much, with the little ruffles around the neck line. Yang was amazed at the regularity of Nora's wardrobe. She had all sorts of different clothes but they all fell into that same color scheme, which Nora said just made picking outfits easier because everything matched.
"You know we could ride the airship if you didn't wanna mess your hair up." she handed her the jacket and bright pink helmet with a smirk that told Yang she knew she had been watching. She grabbed the edge of the helmet and smiled, she saw it as a sign of how far their relationship had come, they were sort of committed now, intertwined into each other's lives as they were. Nora had been wearing Ruby's red helmet and Yang decided that just wouldn't do, she deserved her own, and she had bought her one as a surprise for their one month anniversary.
"Does my hair look bad?" Yang gave her a playful smirk and dismounted the bike, turning to stow both helmets and jackets under the seat. A pair of hands quickly found her hips again and Nora pressed her pelvis up against Yang's rear.
"Oh no, I like it messy." the tease came as a sultry whisper right in Yang's ear and there was a little nip at her earlobe. Yang grinned like a fool and pushed back against Nora's front with her waist, rubbing into the smaller girl. She leaned up off the bike and pulled Nora's hands forward around her middle, intertwining their fingers together.
"Oh that's good," Yang replied in an equally passionate tone, and then spun around in Nora's arms to face her, eyes half lidded. "Because it's harder to brush out than wrestling a Borbatusk." Her seductive visage broke out in a peel of laughter and Nora fell away from her, doubled over in humor. It took Nora a moment to recover and Yang smiled, easing the last of her own chuckles away, Nora was so adorable when she laughed like that.
"Oh Yang," Nora stood up and wiped at her face, "Oh, I love you so much." she stepped forward and gave Yang a light kiss on the cheek.
"I love you too Nora," Yang pulled her closer and placed her kiss on the girl's lips. Nora readily swung her arms around Yang's neck and held them together for a moment, smiling more than kissing. They pulled apart just enough to rest their foreheads on each other and gazed into the other's eyes.
"So are we gonna go eat now?" Nora asked with an innocence to her voice that betrayed the look in her eyes. Yang lifted a single hand from her waist and gently tucked a strand of hair behind Nora's ear.
"That is the whole reason we came down here isn't it?" She let her finger fall from Nora's ear to her nose and gave her a light bop. "That is unless you wanna just head back to the dorms?" Yang teased and Nora pulled back slightly, keeping her arms firmly around Yang's neck and shoulders.
"Now, now. We have to have some fancy dates too." she chided, "It can't all be pancake houses and Grimm fighting." Nora slid off to Yang's side and gripped her hand. Yang smiled contentedly, happy that Nora wanted to make tonight special as well, since it was their two month anniversary. She gave Nora's hand a light squeeze and lead her into the restaurant. They greeted the host and were shown to their reserved table near the back of the room.
The lighting in the main dining area was dim, cast by small lights embedded in the ceiling and shaded lamps at every table. The other patrons spoke in hushed voices and slow, easy music drifted through the air from hidden speakers. It definitely wasn't their usual kind of dinner but Nora was right, tonight was special and they needed to treat it that way. Plus, it was nice to dress up every once and awhile. Yang had wanted to wear a dress but seeing as they got everywhere on a motorcycle that seemed a tad impractical, maybe they should take the airship next time. She had instead opted for a pair of form fitting, but not quite tight dress slacks and a button down top which she left open a little at the top to put her gold chained necklace on display. The only ornamentation on the necklace was a tiny version of Yang's burning heart sigil in silhouette. Yang knew the necklace was a good excuse, but she had really wanted to wear the neck open so Nora could see all of her, it wasn't immodest or overly revelatory in any way but definitely let Nora know what she had waiter sat them both and offered a bottle of the house's wine. Yang accepted but asked that he also bring them some water.
"I do have to drive again tonight," Yang responded to Nora's questioning glance.
"Oh, yeah I guess that's true." Nora sighed with a little huff that blew her bangs up in the air, "I won't drink that much then, it wouldn't be fair." Yang smiled at her consideration and the man returned with their drinks. He set down their waters and poured them each a glass of the dark red wine and departed with a polite nod of his head so they could choose their meal. They casually perused the menu for a moment before Yang spoke.
"Are you excited for the Vytal Festival?" she looked up from the menu and found Nora following a word with her finger, silently sounding it out.
"Huh?" her gaze jerked up from the menu suddenly, "Oh yeah, it's gonna be great." Yang chuckled quietly at what she had caught, "What?" Nora whined.
"Oh nothing. It's just that the whole fancy dinner thing was your idea you know. You're not allowed to blame me if you can't find something you like." Yang tossed the comment across the table playfully. She knew the point of tonight was to be with each other and enjoy a quiet evening away from their teams and the food was just a secondary part, but, food was never really secondary with them.
"I can't even find something I can say. How am I even supposed to know what this is?" Nora held up the menu and pointed to an item about halfway down 'Moules à la crème Mistral' "I can't even pronounce it. What is it made of?" Yang squinted at the word and tried to make it out then looked back down to her own menu.
"Okay, am I allowed to blame you if we can't find anything?" Yang flipped the page and continued scanning.
"No, no you are not. You're supposed to be the fancy, refined one. I mean you do live with a Schnee. Hasn't she taught you some of this stuff?" Nora folded her menu and closed it on the table and lifted a suspicious eyebrow.
"You know this is a Mistralian restaurant right? Weiss is from Atlas." Nora's face fell slightly as Yang made her point, "You know who is from Mistral?" Nora's face lit up in shock.
"Oh no, it is my fault." she moaned, "I'll find something that's delicious watch. I promise." Nora picked her menu back up and ran her finger down the side, scanning through each name quickly. Yang laughed again, loud enough to draw the attention of a few other tables and caught herself. She had to remember where they were and control herself a little more than usual. "I won't even have to text Pyrrha, trust me."
"It's no big deal," Yang said once she had regained her composure, making sure to keep her voice down, "Really it's fine-"
"Nope, problem solved I got it." Nora jutted her menu out towards Yang and she stopped her sentence short. One tiny petite finger reached around the side of the menu and point at a single dish, 'Steak Au Poivre'. Yang lifted her eyes and quirked an eyebrow at Nora yet again.
"And what is that?"
"I have absolutely no idea, but the first word is steak so it's gotta be good right?" Nora let the menu fall and revealed a confident grin.
"You're right. There's no arguing with that logic." Yang grinned back and folded her menu, " The Steak Ahh Proevray it is," they both chuckled. Nora lifted her glass and took a small sip of her wine.
"Oh wow, this wine is delicious." Nora pulled the glass away and looked at the liquid in wonderment.
"Really? There's no way it's that good. It's just wine" Yang lifted her glass, gave it a small sniff and then took a sip, "Oh my Oum you're right." Yang set the glass down reverently and put out a defensive hand. "That's too good, it's dangerous." She raised her eyes from the glass to Nora who was just draining the last drops of her own drink.
"Hmm?" she hummed out through the glass and then set it down, "What do you mean?" Yang shook her head and lifted her own glass in toast. Nora returned the toast with her empty glass as well. Yang took another small sip and then set the glass back down as the waiter returned.
"Good evening ladies. Have you decided what you'll be having this evening?" he looked politely to both of them
"Yes we have," Nora kept her voice nice and even and Yang recognized her Weiss impression "We would both like the Steak Aww Poievreh." Nora extended her menu towards him as if that settled the matter but the man lowered his head slightly to one side in confusion.
"I'm sorry, which dish was that?" he looked quietly to Yang for possible assistance. Yang picked up her menu and rifled through the pages until she found the dish in question and turned it to show the waiter, "Ahh I see, the Steak Au Poivre. My apologies." he bowed his head again politely, "I shall take your orders to the Chef right away." The man retrieved their menus and stepped back towards the kitchen. Nora and Yang both breathed a sigh of relief.
"Well that went better than it could have." Nora gave Yang an uneasy smile.
"I mean, he knows we have no idea what we're talking about now." Yang laughed and took another sip of her wine.
"Oh dang it, I was gonna ask for another glass of wine." Nora looked forlornly at her empty glass, sides stained with the residue of the rich beverage.
"Here," Yang extended her glass towards her girlfriend, "We can both get another when he comes back." But, Nora shook her head back and forth.
"Nope, that's yours. If I drink some then you'll be saying I drank more than you and we can't have that." Nora picked up her water and took a drink to prove her point. Yang retracted her arm and gave Nora a smirk, then tilted it back and finished the rest.
"There, now we're even." Yang set the glass down and Nora smiled, "So, what are we gonna do about Weiss and Ruby?" Nora slid her water to the side and folded her hands on the table in front of her, very seriously.
"We have to make Weiss fall in love with her, obviously." Nora deadpanned.
"I don't think it's as simple as that Nora." Yang chuckled.
"Really? It was for me." Nora flashed Yang a smirk before settling back on her very serious face. Yang was shocked for a moment but knew Nora was probably mostly joking, she had been just as nervous as Yang when this all started. "We just have to get Weiss to realize how wonderful Ruby is."
"But we don't even know if she likes girls. I mean she went out with Neptune and all, she probably thinks Ruby is great, but just as a friend." Yang reached for her wine only to remember she had finished it.
"Neptune? Really? He's not exactly a manly man ya know." Yang laughed at that, Nora had a point but that didn't change the fact that he was a boy and Weiss had expressed interest in him and not any girls.
"I don't know Nora. I don't wanna make things weird but we told Ruby we would help her. What if we tease Weiss about it and see how mad she gets? That pretty much worked with Ruby." Yang liked the idea of getting to poke fun at the heiress and having a valid reason beyond her own entertainment.
"But she's always mad isn't she?" Nora was no longer able to keep up the serious face and she rubbed at her cheeks, sore from the unfamiliar strain.
"Okay, well what if we make out in front of her and see if she gets all flustered?" Yang also liked having an excuse to make out with Nora.
"She's so priggish though, she'll probably just storm out or yell at us." Nora didn't say they couldn't, just that it probably wouldn't get any answers. Yang would have to remember how comfortable she was with being seen like that.
"Well do you have any ideas?" Yang really still wanted to find a way to help her sister but she was so focused on Nora that all the ideas kept coming out wrong.
"I still say we just lock them in a room together and force them to deal with it." Nora smiled and Yang went to protest, "No really, Ruby is so shy and Weiss is so reserved that they'll never ever talk about it if no one makes them. It's like Pyrrha trying to get Pyrrha to ask her out. They both know how they feel but they can't do anything about it." Yang dropped her rebuttal and considered Nora's point.
"Well they already spend a lot of time together and they haven't talked about it yet. If we lock them up together Weiss will probably start studying and who knows, Ruby might go insane." Yang stopped, "Well more insane I guess." They both laughed.
"So we have to force the issue. Maybe making out in front of them would work?" Yang laughed, now Nora was the one losing focus.
"No, no." she found Nora's eyes, "And that's my little sister. I don't think I could really do that in front of her." Nora nodded in understanding and put a finger to her chin in thought.
"Wanna just tell Weiss how Ruby feels? That way she will pretty much have to deal with it." Nora slid her glass back over and took a long sip of water.
"We can't just out Ruby like that. I think we should-" Yang stopped as their waiter approached, carrying their dinners. The Steak Au Poivre was a small cut of beef, cooked to a darker brown on the outside but still a deep, rich pink on the inside. The whole piece was marinated with a light brown sauce and garnished with diced green onions and chives. The waiter also placed a long, skinny loaf of bread between them alongside a dish filled with a mixture of olive oil and little bits of seasoning and just a dribbling of vinegar.
"Oh wow, thank you. It looks great." Nora gave the man an appreciative smile and he nodded in response.
"And can we have another glass of wine each?" Yang indicated their empty glasses with a gentle wave of her hand.
"Of course. My apologies." the waiter turned on his heel and retreated to the kitchen to retrieve their wine. Nora and Yang smiled at each other, they really weren't used to this kind of service and it made Yang feel very fancy.
"Do you think this is why Weiss is soo… Weiss-like?" Yang whispered to Nora, as if the heiress may have been listening in on their conversation.
"Like, this is what she's used to all the time. Maybe." Nora leaned over the table as well, "I mean you said she had butlers with her on her first day right?"
"Yeah, they were carrying all her stuff. That's how she and Ruby met actually. Ruby knocked a bunch of dust containers over and it all exploded." Yang laughed at the memory. "She called Ruby 'Crater Face' for weeks after that." They both laughed merrily, trying their best to restrain it to a volume the other guests would find tolerable and not doing a fantastic job of it. The waiter returned and announced himself with a polite cough and held the bottle of wine up to explain his presence. They both smiled and moved their glasses to where he could pour for them. "Thank you."
"Thanks," Nora smiled as the deep red liquid filled her glass.
"Please, enjoy the meal," the waiter tipped the bottle back away from them and left with a flourish of his arm. Yang lifted her glass to Nora and smiled.
"We can figure out Ruby and Weiss later. Let's focus on us tonight."
"Yeah, to us." Nora smiled and clinked her glass gently against Yang's, "I love you Yang."
"I love you Nora." They both tipped their glasses and took a sip and then settled into their meal, eating at a much slower pace than usual out of respect for the establishment's standards and atmosphere. They both cut a small piece of the steak off and lifted it gingerly to their lips.
"We can't get used to this."
"Nope no way."
"I mean, we just can't afford it."
"I didn't even know food could taste like this."
They both rattled off a series of explanations of just how delicious the food was, better than bacon was mentioned, like riding a tank into battle as well and even so delicious they could die but Yang decided this must really be the reason Weiss thought she was better than everyone else. If she had been eating this kind of food on a daily basis and then moved down to Beacon's cafeteria fare, no wonder she assumed that her way of life was better. This food was simply amazing.
"Okay, that was absolutely delicious." Nora said as she ran a piece of the bread around her plate, scraping up the last of the sauce and savoring every drop.
"Oh yeah, definitely the best steak I've ever had." Yang hummed with pleasure as she mulled over the last piece, trying to hold the flavor as long as she could, "Thank you Nora, this was a great idea." Yang lifted her eyes to the girl who was still pressing her bread into the plate. Nora popped the bread into her mouth and mumbled agreement through her full mouth.
"Mmm hmmm," she swallowed, "Thanks for coming with me. Happy two month anniversary." Yang felt her face melt into a foolishly huge smile. It really had been two months already since they knocked those guys out, two months since Ren warned her not to break Nora's heart and two months since they talked outside the library. Every memory she had with her over that time was wonderful, movies and pancakes and gifts and the carnival. The time they spent together and the time they spent with the rest of their friends seemed to glow in her mind as some of the happiest times she had had for a long time, maybe even since Summer passed.
"Nora," Yang tried to keep her voice steady as her emotions bubbled up, " You've really been the best girlfriend ever. You've been so patient with me, and you're amazing with my sister, you're funny and adorable and you put up with me. You're just, just incredible." Yang pushed her plate away with her arm and reached across the table. Nora met her halfway and grasped her hand.
"Aww Yang c'mon," Nora wiped at her eye with her free hand, "Not while we're still out in public." she wiped at her other eye and took a breath to steady herself. "You are the most exciting, most fun, most beautiful girl I've ever met. Plus you have all this noise on the outside but you're so caring and considerate inside. You always open the door for me and walk between me and the street, you're so nice to Ren even though he's well… Ren. I can't believe how lucky I am every time I wake up and realize I get to spend another day with you." Nora let her hand fall away from her quickly reddening eyes and grabbed Yang's hand, clutching it between both of hers.
Yang laughed and felt several tears slip onto her cheeks.
"We're hopeless," she wiped away the tears and dropped her other hand over Nora's, "We can't go anywhere together can we?" Nora shook her head and several more tears fell out on her soft cheeks and she laughed. Nora gave Yang's hands a squeeze and pulled back so Yang would release her hands just as their waiter returned carrying the check. Yang and Nora both pulled away and wiped at their eyes in embarrassment. How had Yang let her feelings spring forward so suddenly like that?
"Ladies, I sincerely hope you have enjoyed your evening. Please visit us again in the future." he placed the check down and bowed deeper than earlier before departing. Nora's hand shot forward before Yang could react and grabbed the bill.
"This is mine." Nora gave Yang a wry grin, glanced quickly at the tab and pulled a card out of her small pink clutch, emblazoned with her hammer insignia in a circle of white.
"I guess that's fair," Yang smiled, "I did pay for the hotel room after all." Yang lifted her glass of water and drained the last of it as nonchalantly as she could, trying to play off what she had just said.
"You what?" Nora nearly dropped the bill and her card, "What hotel room?" Yang lowered the glass and looked sheepishly at her understandably shocked girlfriend.
"Didn't I tell you? I got us a hotel room here in downtown just for tonight." Yang reached over and took the bill and card from Nora, setting it upright on the table so their waiter would know to come grab it.
"Yang Xiao Long, you did not tell me that." Nora still had not moved, "I don't have anything, I'm so not prepared for this. Oh Yang it's so sweet but you should have told me so I could-" Yang grabbed Nora's hands and silenced her.
"I just want to be with you Nora." Yang rubbed her thumbs gently across the back of Nora's hands, "I didn't want you to worry about anything or be anxious about it. I'm freaking out enough for both of us, trust me." Nora's tension broke and she laughed just a little.
"Okay, well we have to leave like now then don't we? I mean, what are we still doing here?" Nora released Yang's hand and took the bill back. She slid her card out and replaced it with several high denomination bills, "That's fine. He can keep all of that." Nora stood and grabbed Yang's hand again, pulling her out towards the door. Yang laughed and skipped to keep up with her.
A/N - First, this chapter is coming out just one day after the actual one month anniversary of "One Small Step" being published. That's the chapter where Yang and Nora finally started going out so I thought it would be appropriate to have their anniversary dinner and all happen for today's chapter. Thanks so so much for reading and please let me know what you think below so I can keep a pulse on the opinion of the piece and if you like the direction I'm going and all that. I've only been getting fairly stellar, positive reviews so far so I'm just gonna keep on going like I have been.
You're all absolutely fantastic and please look out for tomorrow's chapter of "Clubbin' " as well as both of this weekend's updates to "Friends and Loved Ones". Thanks so very much for reading.
-Zach