Disclaimer: RWBY and all affiliated characters/titles belong to Rooster Teeth, those wonderful geniuses.
The Sun had just started to dip below the horizon as Yang and Nora exited the stadium and boarded one of the many airbuses headed back to Beacon.
"Whhooo!" Nora whooped as they found their seats, "That was awesome!"
"Yeah I had no idea the other academies had huntsmen like that." Yang draped her arm across Nora's shoulders as she eased back into the bench.
"That one guy with the robot thing on his eye? What even was that? Do you think Ruby knows?" Nora was reaching a level of excitement Yang was only used to seeing from her younger sister.
"Oh I'm sure she does. You can ask her when we get back to the dorm. I just know she's in there talking Weiss and Blake's ear off about it." Yang laughed at the thought of the little brunette talking a million words a minute and Blake and Weiss desperately trying to catch even a word of it.
"Oh man, I'm really worried for Pyrrha. I don't think she's ever lost. I hope she isn't over confident about this." Nora turned an admittedly worried face to Yang.
"Nah she'll be fine. I mean this is Pyrrha we're talking about." Yang brushed the comment aside, "She's the invincible girl right? No way she loses to some Vacuo chump, and she's already the champ of Mistral." Yang laughed boisterously, "I'm gonna be the one to take her out."
Nora giggled.
"What?" Yang's pride filled smile faded
"You're gonna beat Pyrrha? Okay." Nora laughed again, much louder this time.
"You don't think I can take her out?" Yang crossed her arms indignantly, "Her semblance isn't that great." Nora's face dropped in shock.
"You know what her semblance is?" Nora asked incredulously.
"Oh yeah. Ruby figured it out a long time ago and told us all about it. She controls metal and stuff. No big deal. The only part of me that's gonna touch her is my fists on her face." Yang kicked her head back, letting her luscious blonde hair flow out behind her and laughed loud and confident, drawing the attention of several other passengers on the ship.
"Well I hope you do win," Nora cuddled into her side and wrapped her arms lovingly around Yang's waist, "I don't know if I could date a loser." Yang pulled back but Nora stayed clamped firmly around her waist and refused to let go. She finally resigned to her fate and dropped her arm back around Nora's shoulders.
"I guess I better win then huh?" they both laughed and then settled in to just cuddle very modestly during the short flight down. The airship swung to a stop at the front cliff of Beacon lending the passengers a beautiful view of Vale at night, the stadium hanging silently in the sky above it, glowing with an iridescent, magical energy.
Yang and Nora untangled themselves from each other and made their way to the exit hand in hand. They emerged into the crisp night with a little gasp, pulling the refreshing air into their lungs after being trapped in the airship.
"I still really hate those things." Nora released Yang's hand and spun in a circle, hands down at her sides and a smile from ear to ear. She stopped when she was facing Yang and leaned in for a dizzy kiss, "I love you though." Yang returned the kiss and the other exiting passengers moved around the couple to where ever they were headed.
"I love you too, you silly, beautiful little firecracker." Yang kissed her again on the forehead and Nora giggled furiously and buried her face into Yang's shoulder to hide her bright red cheeks. Yang pulled her into the tight hug and then released her with a start. "Hey, is that Velvet?"
Yang strained her eyes against the growing darkness across the massive courtyard and tried to make out the person on the other side. Nora pulled out of the hug and spun around to look as well.
"I think so." Nora put her hand above her eyes as if to shield them from the Sun, which was now completely beneath the horizon. "Is she taking pictures?" They could both see what was definitely a rabbit Faunus, turned towards the city and holding something to her face. "Let's go say hi."
"Okay yeah," Yang responded cheerfully. They grabbed each other's hands again and went off towards the girl at a light jog. As they drew closer Yang could see that it was indeed Velvet and she was taking pictures. They slowed their pace without a word and creeped up behind her, stealthily approaching the girl who was so intent upon her task.
"Hey Velvet, Whatcha doin'?" Nora asked in an overly loud voice, although quite normal from her, once they were just a few feet behind her. Velvet screamed out in shock and would have dropped her camera if not for the safety harness around her wrist.
"Oh hey Nora, Yang." Velvet grabbed the camera with her other hand and held it down at her waist, aimed at the ground, "Sorry I was a little focused." Nora craned her head around and looked at the viewfinder on Velvet's camera to see what she had just taken a photo of. Captured there, in wonderfully defined picture was Ren. He was sitting at the edge of the cliff near a bench that overlooked the city. He was illuminated slightly by the light from the stadium's propulsion system and the city lights below.
"How did you get it to be that bright? That's really really pretty Velvet. Wait, you actually take photos for fun too? Why did you take one of Ren?" Nora looked between her partner still at the cliff's edge, Velvet's camera and Velvet as she asked her questions.
"Oh you just leave it exposed for a long time and yeah I really like photography and uhh…" Velvet started to answer Nora's questions in order and grew embarrassed as she reached the last few. Her cheeks reddened and her eyes fell to the ground as her answers became a muddled mess and she finally fell silent all together.
"He's not even wearing Storm Flower right now." Yang looked at the image and then at the blushing girl in front of her. "Velvet?" Velvet continued to look at the ground and fiddled with her camera absent mindedly until it shut off. She jumped a little when the screen powered down and then tucked it into her pouch, clearing her throat as she did.
"Oh," she chuckled nervously, "I uhh, I've gotta go. It was really nice to talk to you. Thanks for saying my photo was pretty Nora." Velvet made to leave but Yang put out a gentle arm to stop her.
"Velvet? What's up?" Yang asked gently but with the underlying firmness of an older sister.
"No really it's nothing." Velvet reached up and pulled nervously at one of her Faunus ears.
"You remember we said you could talk to us right?" Nora was cautious with her words for once which surprised Yang a little. Velvet raised her eyes to meet Nora's and nodded shyly. "Well you took a sneaky photo of Ren, so now you have to talk to us." Nora smiled at her. There was the brutally direct girl Yang loved so much.
"Oh well…" Velvet began but trailed off, "I uhh, it was really pretty with the lights and him meditating." She turned back and glanced at the boy still staring out over the city, "I thought it would be a nice photo, with Ren in it and all." Velvet turned back to the couple, the redness back on her cheeks in full force.
"So why are you so embarrassed then?" Yang crossed her arms and quirked a speculative eyebrow.
"I guess I should have asked maybe but I was really nervous to go talk to him. He's so quiet and he looked so peaceful." Velvet clasped her hands together and fiddled with her own fingers.
"Yeah, he really doesn't like to be interrupted while he's meditating. It's his quiet time." Nora looked thoughtfully at her long time friend over Velvet's shoulder, "He even gets upset with me if I bother him."
"Oh really," Velvet said in shock, "Oh I'm so sorry…" she began to apologize and Yang laughed.
"You didn't bug him though," Yang lowered her quirked eyebrow and sighed. Nora turned to her and smiled. "I think I figured it out."
"Yeah, she's not very good at hiding it is she?" Nora laughed and put a comforting hand on the Faunus girl's shoulder.
"Do you think Ren is cute?" Yang asked rather suddenly. Velvet pulled away in shock and began to deny it but stopped.
"Yea- umm yes." she finally stammered out and resumed looking directly at the ground.
"I guess that means you're over the whole Coco thing doesn't it?" Nora laughed good naturedly.
"Not exactly. Maybe," Velvet's eyes never lifted, "I was over it before we even broke up really." she finally admitted, "It just took me a long time to get the courage up to tell her how I felt." Yang and Nora both sighed.
"You gotta just go for it Velvet." Nora gave her a wide smile and a little squeeze on her shoulder.
"If you really think you're ready for someone new. I'm pretty sure Ren would be receptive." Yang said with as much encouragement as she could.
"Really? You think so." Velvet finally lifted her gaze to meet theirs.
"Oh yeah definitely. As long as you're really over Coco. He's not one for drama." Nora cheered considerably.
"I'm okay now. She's still just…" Velvet let concern and sadness creep into her voice, "She seems okay around me but she's still throwing herself at anyone willing to have her."
"Yeah she even offered herself up to me." Yang threw her head back and laughed out loud but slowly came to a stop as she realized neither Nora or Velvet had joined in her mirth. Yang opened her eyes and lowered her head again to judge Nora's reaction.
"That's it. I'm gonna break her legs. Where is she?" Nora began frantically looking around the courtyard, "If she thinks she can come anywhere near my little dragon then she has another thing coming." Nora turned back to Velvet, a very Yang like fury burning behind her eyes but calmed when Velvet giggled quietly.
"Little dragon?" Velvet asked between chuckles and the couple both fell into a deep blush.
"You need to go talk to Ren." Nora forcefully turned her around at the shoulders to face the young man. "Just wait there until he's done meditating, he'll like that." She pushed Velvet away, in a definite hurry to end the conversation and any further mention of her pet name for Yang. Velvet seemed to hesitate so Nora smacked her playfully on the butt which elicited a small yelp and sent her scuttling off towards the bench by Ren.
"Nora, I can't believe you." Yang grabbed the hand that had slapped Velvet's rear end. Nora turned to Yang, sudden worry in her eyes, "That is not how you slap a butt at all." Yang smiled and turned Nora just to the side so she had a proper angle at the redhead's hindquarters. She reached back with her free hand and hit Nora hard enough to make a loud slapping noise. Yang left her hand where it landed and squeezed just enough to make Nora tilt forward at the hips.
Nora spun into Yang and wrapped her arms around her girlfriend's shoulders. Yang let her's slide around Nora's waist and rested both hands on the little redhead's butt. They leaned in for a quick kiss and then turned their heads simultaneously to inspect Velvet's progress. She had made it over to the bench and was sitting quite patiently with her hands folded in her lap, looking pointedly out over the city.
"Do you think it will work?" Nora asked quietly, wanting to ensure that Velvet's superior hearing didn't pick her up.
"I've got no idea, but they have to try right?" Yang pulled Nora in and the redhead rested her cheek against Yang's ample chest, humming contentedly all the while.
Yang opened the door to RWBY's dorm quickly and spun in with a broad smile on her face, she threw her arms out with a flourish and gazed across the room which she expected to be full of the other three fourths of her team but found only her partner, curled demurely atop her blankets with a thick novel in hand. Her bow was off and she didn't even lift her gaze to acknowledge Yang's entrance.
"Hey kitty cat. Having fun?" Yang asked brightly.
"I was yes. But it's not very quiet anymore." Blake raised her eyes from the book and regarded Yang with a playful smile.
"Where's Sun?" Yang looked around the room mockingly as if he might be hiding and then made her way to the window and checked the large tree outside as well. Blake was perfectly content to let her play out the joke and waited for her partner to pull her head back inside before responding.
"As hard as it may be for you to comprehend. Not all of us need to spend nearly every waking moment and all of our sleeping ones as well alongside our lovers." Blake gave Yang a wry smile, "Sun is out with his team celebrating their victory and his placement in the singles rounds and I was enjoying a book I've wanted to get to for some time." Yang laughed again perched herself on the end of Blake's bed.
"What was that now? With our lovers?" Yang tilted her head knowingly and Blake slapped her book over her mouth.
"No that's not what I said."
"But it is what you said." Yang crawled alongside Blake and propped her head up on her arm against the pillows. "Are you and Sun...physical?" Yang waggled her eyebrows at her partner suggestively.
"It is none of your business." Blake closed her book gently in her lap and turned her chin up and away from Yang.
"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't realize I was talking to Weiss." Yang joked and poked playfully at Blake's side. Blake sighed and turned back to Yang.
"Okay, maybe Sun and I have moved our relationship to that point." Blake admitted and Yang grinned victoriously, "But it's not a first for either of us like it is with you and Nora." Blake pleaded with her, "We've both been with other people so it just sorta seemed natural to get there."
"Oh no, no I get it. Really, no judgement here. I just gotta know one thing." Yang tilted her head forward as if to whisper a secret and Blake leaned in accordingly, "What does he do with his tail?" Blake immediately shoved Yang away with a huff and the big blonde rolled off the edge of the bed laughing all the while. She landed with a heavy thud and her laughter continued to echo out of the hole between the bed and the wall. "You know it's not the same down here without Nora."
"Oh ewwww Yang seriously?" Blake moaned, "At least tell me you cleaned up after."
"You know it," Yang lifted herself back onto the bed, "I mean Ruby would never let me get away with having not. Weiss neither."
"How are they?" Blake asked in a suddenly very serious tone, "I mean, I heard what happened the other night. I wasn't exactly asleep." Yang sighed despondently and crossed her legs.
"I think they're okay. I mean they're hanging out right now. It's just gotta be hard for Ruby. She was so set on Weiss and then the way it all happened. Not the best first confession of love."
"Yeah, but I think they're gonna be okay. They've gotta be right? They're partners for four whole more years." Blake sighed again and moved her book to the night stand, knowing she wouldn't be getting back to it anytime soon.
"I hope so. Weiss can just be a little harsh sometimes." Yang laid out on the bed with a huff, "And Ruby is really fragile still."
"She's not as fragile as you think. She's grown up a lot this year Yang. She's definitely not the same girl she was at initiation." Blake rested a hand on Yang's knee and tried to reassure her with a small smile.
"I guess I've been so caught up with Nora that I'm not paying as much attention to her as I should be." Yang reached up and squeezed Blake's hand in thanks and then sat up to face her again.
"You don't have to though. She's got us now too and all of Team JNPR. Plus a bunch of other friends. You guys aren't alone anymore Yang." Blake leaned over and gave Yang a small, tight hug.
"It's really great," Yang said in a happier voice, "Having all of you. I never thought we would get friends like you. I definitely never thought I would end up dating someone like Nora." Yang laughed again.
"What do you mean?"
"Well first of all I never really realized I was a lesbian that's for sure." Yang shot Blake a humorous smirk, "And Nora is just so different from anyone I've ever really been friends with before. But, I love her absolutely."
"I'm so glad you two are happy together. It seems like most of us are finding someone we really click with." Blake leaned back against the headrest, certain now that Yang was no longer overly concerned about her little sister. "You and Nora have a lot to do with that."
"Not that much." Yang retorted.
"Really you do though. Think about it." Blake held up three fingers and counted them off, "You helped set Sun and I up with that bogus lunch double date, you nearly forced Pyrrha and Jaune together, I hear you're even trying to set Ren up with someone."
"What? Who told you that?" Yang was startled at how fast news spread around Beacon.
"Your sister is not an excellent secret keeper." Blake laughed lightly and Yang descended into chuckles as well.
"No, no she isn't." Once she had recovered Yang leveled a more serious look at Blake. "Are you and Sun coming tomorrow?" Blake looked at her confused, "To the big group dinner down in Vale? Didn't anyone tell you?"
"Oh that? Yeah we're coming. But you are absolutely not allowed to get all competitive Yang." Blake's tone turned very serious again, "I will not have our big fancy dinner with everyone ruined because you, Sun and Pyrrha are at each other's throats all night." Yang waved her hand dismissively.
"Oh come on, have a little trust there Blake." Yang lifted herself from the mattress and headed to her dresser. "You just tell monkey boy to keep his tail to himself and it will be a perfectly sociable dinner." Blake sighed and shook her head.
"I'm going to have to put you at opposite ends of the table aren't I?"
"Oh yeah, definitely." Yang pulled out a jacket and slid it over her arms and shouldes. "I gotta go, Nora is probably this close to barging in here and breaking the door again."
"You're on a pretty short leash aren't you?" Blake laughed and Yang huffed.
"Oh so you're allowed to make leash jokes then?"
"We talked about this Yang." Blake sighed.
"I know, I know," Yang's smile returned and she waved the dispute away, "I just love her a lot you know? I don't wanna risk something happening and us not having time to spend together or something." Yang eyes fell slightly.
"Go on then. Go get her." Blake waved a hand towards the door and grabbed her book, "I have a book to finish." Yang smiled and gave her partner a big thumbs up.
"Will do kitty cat." she turned to open the door but paused, "Should I knock before I come back in or is it not one of those books?" Yang ducked out the door with a giggle as a pillow came flying towards her.
Yang and Nora emerged from the dorm building into the now lamp lit pathway towards the airbus landing pads and headed off towards the big cliff at a brisk pace.
"Do you think the beach will be very crowded?" Yang asked as she linked her arm through Nora's.
"No, I think it will be okay. We just gotta go to a rocky one not a sandy one." Nora pulled Yang close to her, relishing in the body heat her girlfriend always put off.
"Well as long as the Moon is up there and the waves keep crashing I know we'll enjoy ourselves." Yang smiled and gave Nora a quick peck on the cheek.
The couple continued on towards the airship landing pads in relative silence, simply enjoying walking with the girl they loved. They both slowed as they reached the massive courtyard and looked off towards a bench near the city side of the clearing.
"Are they still there?" Yang asked in a surprised whisper.
"Yeah," Nora whispered as well though not nearly as quietly as Yang, "Ren never came back to the dorm. I guess they're still talking."
"Wow, what do you think they're talking about?" Yang strained one ear hopelessly to try and hear.
"I don't know. But it must be something really interesting because Ren never talks this long unless the other person just won't shut up like me and that doesn't really sound like something Velvet would do."
"That's a good sign isn't it?" Yang turned to Nora.
"Oh yeah definitely," she leaned up and kissed Yang on the cheek, "We did good." Yang smiled goofily and was about to lean down for a deeper kiss when Nora shouted. "Oh the airbus is here. Hurry." Nora pulled her off towards the airbus which was definitely landing nearby. Yang spared one more glance towards the two sitting by the cliff side. Both Ren and Velvet were looking at them now. They both raised a hand gently to the air and smiled and waved as Nora drug Yang across the open courtyard. Yang managed to wave back and they returned to their conversation as she was pulled inside the still waiting ship.
A/N - I guess any doubts about Ren's pairing are pretty much settled now aren't they? Hopefully that's a pairing that makes people happy. It's one I've never read before and building it here has actually made me think that is rather viable. What do you think? One shot potential? Clubbin' is nearly finished and I'm looking for more one shot ideas to keep writing while I work on my next big project. So please let me know if any of the pairings here deserve more attention from me or if you have another one you think I should do in the meantime.
I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. The conversation between Blake and Yang was definitely supposed to remind you of the one from the start of the story. I think they're bond as partners would be even stronger if they were not romantically involved (I'm not hating on BumbleBee, it's just a different option for them) and that would show in little quiet moments like that.
We're nearly finished here and I want to thank you all so far for the wild ride this has been. It's a heck of a first try at writing FanFiction and I hope you've had as much fun as I have. Please stay tuned for the finish.
Thanks for reading. The next chapter will be up on Saturday.
-Zach