"Thanks for inviting me out today, Pyrrha," she commented happily while the two of them strolled through the large outdoor shopping area they frequented. It was nice, just the two of them - plus many fans - spending some time together.
Pyrrha laughed at her words though.
"Well, I thought you could use a break from being all lovey dovey with your girlfriend," the model teased.
"Like I would ever need a break from that! Still, it's nice to spend some time with you," she replied, earning a smile of gratitude from the redhead.
They were interrupted then by the sound of Yang's ringtone, a waltzy jig that she didn't know how to change. Pulling out her phone, she furrowed her brow at the out of area number displayed on the screen. Motioning to Pyrrha that she needed to take it, she hit accept call and put the device up to her ear.
"Hello?"
She had long ago learned to answer all calls from strange numbers. Sometimes they turned out to be solicitors or obsessed fans who had somehow managed to get her phone number, but other times, it turned out to be…
"Ember One, this is Ember Two reporting in."
A grin lit up her face and she gave a little hop in excitement at the familiar voice coming through the other end of the line. Pyrrha quirked an eyebrow at her curiously while she attempted to force a straight face to continue the conversation.
"Ember Two, what is your status?" she responded in an official tone. Pyrrha beamed at her, immediately recognizing the call name.
"Reestablishing radio contact after...countless days. Previous communication device was viciously consumed by a pool of muddy water. A new device was purchased, but all signal was lost in the jungles of Vacuo."
"What is your location now, Ember Two?"
"A small hamlet discovered somewhere between Vacuo and Vale - the signal here is pretty bad, but funcional."
The response made her feel relieved, in a way. At least 'somewhere between Vacuo and Vale' would help her narrow down places to send a search and rescue party if needed...
"When are you coming home?"
She dropped the authoritative tone to ask the most important question, hoping that, this time, she would receive a definitive answer. Even an approximate one would do…
"Uh...I don't know yet, Yang. We still have quite a few places we haven't seen!"
Static cut across the call, while the sounds of shouting could be heard coming from the background.
"Wait - Ruby - did you just say 'we?' Who's 'we?'"
"Shoot. Yang, I have to go. I'm sorry! Talk soon - I love you!"
"Ruby -!"
Sighing, she looked down at the phone to see that the call had already ended.
"Love you too…" she muttered unhappily, knowing that the person on the other end of the line wouldn't hear those words.
Feeling a hand land gently upon her shoulder, she looked up to find Pyrrha giving her a sympathetic smile - the model knowing quite well just how much Ruby's absence got to her.
Drawing a shaky breath, she tried to calm herself down - forcing a smile.
"R-Ruby says 'hello,'" she said, even though she knew Pyrrha would see through the lie.
"It's ok to admit you're worried about her, you know."
"Yeah...but I don't want her to feel guilty for making me worry, you know?" she answered truthfully.
She had thought about telling Ruby many times exactly how much she worried when she didn't know where the girl was. It would be one thing if the brunette was able to hang onto a phone for more than a few days at a time - but the periods of no communication ate away at her nerves.
But it was a part of who Ruby was, at least for now. The girl was still young and full of energy - her avid curiosity making her want to see every inch of the world they lived in. And Yang knew that if she voiced her concerns or her worries, Ruby would feel guilty leaving and doing what she truly desired. She would probably even stay, just for Yang's sake.
So, as much as she secretly worried, she never mentioned a thing - because it would be much worse to take away the one thing Ruby had found to be passionate about.
She just wished that what Ruby was passionate about was something that stayed exclusively within the city limits of Vale.
"Might I suggest some retail therapy?" Pyrrha said, waving her hand towards one of Yang's all time favorite clothing stores.
Quickly pushing her concerns about Ruby to the back of her mind, she smiled.
"You know me too well," she replied, striding into the store with a laughing Pyrrha Nikos right on her heels.
They emerged from the store some time later with Yang carrying a bag filled with several new articles of clothing. The shopping area was much busier now, with the dinner rush just about to hit full swing. She glanced around, surprised at the increased hustle and bustle, until her eyes slid across two familiar faces.
"Hey, isn't that -"
"No, it isn't!" Pyrrha hastily cut her off, abruptly turning around and walking in the opposite direction. She grabbed the model by the arm with a big smile, preventing her friend from escaping.
"It is them!" she said, grinning at Pyrrha's pleading expression before waving towards the pair.
"Nora! Jaune!"
The two nighttime talk show hosts turned in their direction at the sound of their names, with Nora instantly lighting up and bounding over to say hello to Yang with a big hug.
"Yang! And Pyrrha - wow, wouldn't expect to be bumping into you here. What have you been up to?"
"Oh, you know, just a little afternoon shopping with this beauty here. Jaune, I believe the two of you have met before?" Yang replied, giggling at the blush on the tall, blonde boy's face.
"Hi Pyrrha," he said, shyly directing his eyes anywhere but at Pyrrha.
"Hello Jaune," the redhead replied just as demurely, much to Yang's surprise.
She glanced between the two of them, confused about the lackluster greeting.
"You've been quite the news lately - what with that author you've been seen with," Nora cut in excitedly, not noticing the subdued interaction between her co-host and the model. "You have to come on the show again and talk about her."
"Uh...I don't know, Nora. She's a pretty private person…" she replied, but Nora was not to be so easily dissuaded.
"No! You have to! I'll do anything!"
She laughed at the offer, knowing that the girl would, in fact, do anything. There wasn't really anything she wanted that badly...but an idea occurred to her then, causing a sly grin to appear on her face.
"Well, I don't really want anything from you...but I do want something from him," she nodded towards Jaune, whose jaw fell open in surprise.
"Me?" he asked in a high, squeaky voice at the same time Pyrrha screeched "What?!" from beside her.
"He'll do it! Whatever it is - right Jaune?" Nora said, giving the boy a forceful glare that said he had better agree with Yang's terms.
"Ok, I guess…"
She couldn't help beaming - knowing that her plan was ingenious and guaranteed to be a success. Of course, she would love to run the idea by Blake first just to double check...but out in the real world, one had to grasp the opportunity when it presented itself!
"Perfect," she replied with a smile. "Then I want you to take Pyrrha out on a date."
"Yang!" Pyrrha chided her sharply, suddenly springing to life as she turned to reassure Jaune. "You really don't have to do that - don't listen to her -"
"Oh, w-well I wouldn't mind, I just wouldn't want to imp-oof!"
Jaune's words were cut off when Nora planted a firm elbow in his rib cage, nearly knocking the boy from his feet.
"Deal!" she replied for her friend with a bright smile before turning to Pyrrha. "He'll pick you up tomorrow at 7 - and I'll even make sure he wears something nice."
Yang laughed while Pyrrha and Jaune continued to look at the two of them in dismay, both of their cheeks horribly flushed in embarrassment while their jaws hung open in shock.
"Great - then just have Ren call Glynda and set up a day," Yang replied, now more than happy to fulfill her end of the bargain. "Are the two of you still together, by the way?"
"Are we," Nora responded with a giggle. "I can't get enough of my Rennie! In fact, the only reason I'm here with Jaune instead of him is because he had to go to the doctor to make sure he didn't break something the last time we -"
"Ooook Nora!" Jaune suddenly interrupted, grabbing ahold of the girl's arm and dragging her away. "I don't think they want to hear that - if they did, they could just stop by the studio after the show wraps for the live version - but we should really get going now before we're late picking him up."
Waving back at them, Nora just laughed at Jaune's words before willingly walking away with him.
"I'll see you soon!" the bubbly girl called back to her.
She waved at the two until they had disappeared into the crowds. It was only then that she turned to her friend with a small amount of trepidation.
"I can't believe you just did that," Pyrrha said, looking more than moderately upset about what had just transpired.
"Oh come on! Someone had to make the first move - and it certainly wasn't going to be either of you two."
Pyrrha's only response was to continue glowering at her, arms crossed over her chest while she waited for an apology.
"I thought you'd be excited! You have a date with Jaune now!" she insisted, suddenly wondering if maybe she had gone a little too far. But she really believed she'd done the right thing to help her friend...
"Sometimes you just have to put yourself out there and risk making a complete fool of yourself. Don't you think I looked like a complete moron when I stumbled into Blake in that restroom? But I didn't let that stop me from asking her out!"
Pyrrha blinked once.
"Wait...restroom? You told me that you met at a book signing!"
"Er...yeah, the restroom at a book signing..." she admitted, feeling a blush appear. "So! What are you going to wear for your date?"
"Oh, there are some details there that I need to hear," Pyrrha replied with a laugh, her anger easily dissolving. "And you can tell me while we shop for what I'm going to wear tomorrow night."