Hello again! Wow, so I haven't updated this story in over a year. I've been getting a lot of messages recently asking about it - which, I'm not going to lie, directly led to this chapter being finished. Every time I get a message about it, I end up thinking about it. And when I think about it, I end up writing it. And when I write it...you get the picture!
I'm sorry for the extended delay, but my life has been really busy with work and personal stuff. And honestly, I didn't think people cared about this story so much! I've been working on a white rose story right now that I'm only halfway done editing, then I have some more bumblebee on tap. I'll try to come back to this story in less than a year next time, but rest assured that it's not dead!
What was the chance that the weather would decide to cooperate to its fullest? The skies were clear and it was the perfect temperature out - no more of that balmy nonsense that had been lingering in the air the past few days. The sun was about to set, which was breathtaking through the supersized penthouse windows. Reds, oranges, yellows...all combined with the never-ending blue that was growing darker by the minute. It was the perfect evening to throw the perfect party.
Of course, the guest of honor was not being quite as cooperative as the weather...
"Come on, Weiss. You have to come downstairs! Just for a little bit - like three minutes tops!"
So far, the night hadn't gone quite as planned. It had started off perfectly and then veered straight off the tracks to this...whatever this was. She and Blake had arrived right on time and decorated exactly how they'd explained to Weiss. Yang had showered Blake with compliments for her superior color scheming and decorating abilities because the penthouse looked absolutely incredible. Even Weiss had agreed that it looked nice! But then, as soon as the first guest had set foot through the doorway, Weiss had disappeared into thin air.
Not wanting to be a rude hostess, Yang had spent the past half hour welcoming partygoers to the elaborate penthouse suite with no Weiss in sight. It was only after most of the guests had arrived that she left her post by the front door in order to scour the massive upstairs in search of their runaway birthday girl.
Thankfully, the ultra-private princess hadn't chosen a very difficult hiding spot - deciding to retreat to the window seat tucked at the end of the second story hallway overlooking downtown Vale. To any outside observer it might look like Weiss was just taking in the view, which was magnificent from here. The water from the Vale River was sparkling up at them while the city lights began to flicker in the distance. And that sunset...it was gorgeous.
But, as nice as this spot may be, Yang was not going to let Weiss spend all night here.
"Everyone wants to see you - wish you happy birthday and all that," Yang added, as if it might incentivize Weiss to leave the view behind.
"I'll come down, just...in a few minutes."
The response made Yang sigh, knowing by now not to try to rush Weiss into anything. She'd already been pushed way out of her comfort zone in agreeing to hold a party where she lived - Yang could give her a break for at least half the night, but no longer than that!
"Ok...they're all really nice people though! I made sure to pre-screen them. And then Blake screened the people I pre-screened."
"I know," Weiss replied, turning away from the window and giving Yang a small smile of appreciation. "I'm just preparing myself."
"Well, they're great. Very mellow." Yang paused when the image of a not-so-mellow guest popped into her head. "Except for Nora. Maybe...yeah, if Nora shows up, maybe stay away from her. She's like a bowling ball combined with a shaken can of soda."
The analogy actually made Weiss laugh - no small feat considering how difficult it usually was to get her to crack a smile.
"I know, I've seen her show."
"You have?" Yang asked incredulously. "Wow, I learn something new about you every day."
Reaching out, she gently squeezed Weiss' shoulder in what she hoped was an encouraging gesture. "Come down when you're ready. Just...preferably before the party ends?"
Receiving a nod and genuine smile of gratitude in return, she reluctantly left Weiss at the window and hurried back downstairs to check on the rest of their guests. With the guest of honor currently missing in action, Yang would just have to be the star of the show for the time being. Not that she had any problem filling that role...although it seemed like everyone was doing a pretty good job of entertaining themselves at the moment.
Even without Weiss, people were mixing and chatting amiably around the wonderfully decorated living room. Again, the decorations were so on point - who knew that Blake was a decorating savant? Everything from the chandeliers to the sconces to the table legs were decorated in shimmering shades of white and light blue, with the metallic sheen of streamers reflecting light in the most pleasing way.
There were tuxedoed waiters weaving through the guests while carrying silver trays loaded with champagne flutes or various finger foods. A mellow string quartet was playing from a small stage erected in the corner near the piano, the musicians playing some upbeat song which still managed to sound classical with the stringed instruments.
It was the most elegant party Yang had ever thrown by a long shot. Although, most of this was due to Blake's influence. Every bit of the planning process had Blake's unique mark left on it, proving once and for all that Yang's girlfriend was a much classier person than she was. As if that had ever been in question...
Her eyes immediately picked Blake out of the crowd below, finding her holding a conversation with one of the models Pyrrha worked with every so often. For the life of her, Yang could never remember the boy's name, but he was the quiet type. Perfect for this party. Quiet and beautiful - that was practically the secret code to get past the security guards stationed downstairs in the hotel lobby.
Slipping between a few guests, Yang made her way to Blake without ever dropping sight of her. It was nice just watching Blake talk. She conducted herself with so much poise...always maintaining a slightly whimsical smile and collected manner no matter the occasion. That was one of the traits that had most drawn Yang to Blake - her cool demeanor in the face of Yang's puddle of nerves and stammers.
"Hey Yang!" someone called out with a wave, tearing her attention away from Blake for a brief second.
"Hey, thanks for coming! We'll catch up later!" she promised, waving back before continuing towards her destination. She would make the rounds a little later, but right now she really wanted to talk to Blake.
As Yang sidled up to Blake's side, the boy in question picked up her eyes and immediately made a hasty exit from the conversation.
"I don't think he likes me," Yang commented while wrapping both arms around Blake's waist and watching the boy's back retreat towards the other side of the room.
"He did seem rather anxious to leave…" Blake replied thoughtfully before swiveling to give Yang a teasing smile. "But I doubt it had anything to do with you personally."
"Uh huh…" Pursing her lips while wondering what she might have done to earn the odd treatment, she was startled back to the party when Blake gave her a quick kiss. As Blake dropped her heels back to the ground, she gave Yang that smile she'd come to adore more than almost anything else in the world.
"How're you doing?" Yang asked, focusing all of her attention on Blake and blocking out everything else. It was surprisingly easy to do because Blake was more important than everything else.
"Good. I've met some interesting people. All really nice though." Blake threw the last part out there right when Yang felt her brow pinch in worry at what 'interesting' could possibly mean.
"Yeah? That's good then!" she replied with a grin, taking a second to survey the guests surrounding them. It did seem like everyone was having a good time, which meant eventually she might be able to relax and enjoy the party herself. If only Weiss would come downstairs...
"Yang."
Blake's voice snapped Yang's attention back to amber eyes.
"Everyone's having a good time. You can relax a little bit." One of Blake's hands found its way to Yang's shoulder and gently massaged away a small knot of nerves before curling around a strand of hair. Yang couldn't help but to let out a small sigh of pleasure as a bit of worry instantly stood up and vanished.
"You've got magic hands, you know that?" she said, earning a soft chuckle in return. "And I'll try to relax. I just want everything to go perfectly."
"Well...you realize the chances of that are pretty slim, right?" Blake replied with a sly smile. "But it doesn't have to be perfect as long as everyone has a good time and makes some good memories."
"Again, my better half, I bow to you," Yang teased with a pretend bow in Blake's direction.
"Uh, hey Yang?"
Tearing her eyes away from Blake, Yang found a very hesitant Jaune Arc approaching them.
"Sorry to bother you," he said, throwing in a modest wave of apology. "But I can't find Ren and I just overheard Nora say something about wanting to 'swing' from banister to banister. Not sure if you wanted to check that out…"
Groaning, Yang sagged into Blake's side. If Nora had said that out loud, it meant she was going to do everything in her power to make it happen.
"Where is she?"
"In the kitchen."
Looking that direction and standing on her tiptoes, Yang was barely able to make out a bob of orange hair over the crowd. Sighing, she gave Blake a regretful smile.
"Duty calls," Yang said, giving Blake a quick kiss on the cheek before heading towards the kitchen in search of trouble - aka Nora Valkyrie.
Leaving the living room behind, the crowd thinned measurably and gave Yang a clear view of Nora standing on the other side of the large granite island. On the counter in front of her was a giant mess of...string or something.
"Nora..."
"Yang! What's up?" As quickly as Nora asked the question, she tucked something behind her back - not at all inconspicuously, but too fast for Yang to see what it was.
"Oh, not much," she replied nonchalantly, tapping her fingers on the island while slowly moving closer. "What're you up to?"
For the briefest of moments, Nora looked like she didn't want to say. But it was Nora, so of course she spilled the beans in her excitement.
"I'm fashioning a rope - like Tarzan!"
To prove her statement, Nora thrust her hands forward with a jumble of thin rope tangled around them. Yang had absolutely no idea where Nora had found such an item in the apartment and could only imagine that she'd brought it with her...but who brought rope to a birthday party?
"Tarzan used vines, not rope," Yang pointed out, hopeful that maybe she could dissuade the orangette from her ultimate goal.
"Urban Tarzan!"
"And he was a man -"
"Urban Tarzana!"
Yang couldn't help but to laugh at the name. As usual, Nora was fun to be around, and at any other party Yang would probably volunteer to help tie up the rope, but this was Weiss' party and this was Weiss' home…
"You know I can't let you do what you're planning to do," Yang finally said, feeling almost guilty at the look of disappointment that flickered through Nora's eyes. However, the expression was but a fleeting fancy - gone before Yang could even remember what it looked like.
"I figured you'd say that…" Nora replied, looking forlornly at the rope before turning back to Yang. "But I just thought that maybe...no way! You invited Cinder?"
"What?!" Yang yelped in shock while spinning to look in the direction Nora pointed. Quickly scanning the crowd and finding no Cinder in sight, Yang slowly realized that Nora had just pulled a prank on her.
Shaking her head to herself, she turned back around. "Nice one...Nora?"
Where Nora had once been standing, there was now...nothing. She was nowhere to be found - like she'd just disappeared into thin air.
Furrowing her brow, Yang walked around to the other side of the island to make sure Nora wasn't hiding there. Finding nothing, she ran one hand through her hair and sighed while staring at the very empty spot Nora had just occupied.
"You do that a lot."
"Jesus!" Jumping at the voice in her ear, Yang spun around only to find a impish grin beaming up at her. "Where the hell did you just go?"
"I didn't go anywhere," Nora stated plainly. "You just didn't see me."
Face scrunching in confusion, Yang shook her head to get rid of the dumbfounded feeling instead of chasing that particular line of questioning. But how had she not seen Nora when she'd been looking right here?
"Where's your handler?" she asked in exasperation, referring to the poor boy who probably spent most of his time trying to keep Nora out of prison.
"The bathroom!" Nora quipped happily, not noticing or caring that Yang had just referred to her boyfriend as her handler.
"The bath - he's been gone for like three minutes and you're already thinking about swinging from the chandeliers?"
"The banisters, not chandeliers - although...chandeliers would be even better!"
Groaning, Yang covered her face with her hands.
"Plus, thinking implies thought without action. I'm planning!" Nora added triumphantly.
"You do realize this is Weiss Schnee's house," Yang stated plainly, praying there was some semblance of rationality she could appeal to. Instead, Nora's eyes glazed over as a slightly manic grin spread over her lips.
"I know, isn't it awesome? I'm gonna be queen of the castle!"
Staring in astonishment, Yang had absolutely no idea how to respond to that. Although a penthouse could be seen as a castle, in a way...it was at the very top of a very large hotel...
"Just...don't do anything until Ren says you can."
"He can't tell me 'no' if he can't find me!"
"Nora," Yang immediately said, voice lowered in warning. Giggling at the tone, Nora raised her hands, wiggled her fingers, and jumped away from Yang before slipping back into the crowd.
"Nora!" Yang yelled after the girl. Craning her neck, she couldn't even catch a glimpse of orange hair. How was Nora disappearing like this?
"That's not gonna be good..." she mumbled to herself while walking away from the kitchen.
"Invite Noraaaa," she whined in an imitation Pyrrha Nikos voice. "Jaune really likes herrrr. She'll totally behaveeeee." She scoffed to herself. "The next time I see that skinny redhead -"
At that instant, her eyes scanned over a flash of familiar red.
"Pyrrha?"
The last time Yang had spoken to Pyrrha, she'd been stuck at a photo shoot across the globe and wasn't sure she'd be able to make it tonight. Yet here she was! Whatever annoyance Yang had just felt disappeared in a heartbeat, like it normally did. Brushing through the crowd, Yang quickly joined her friend.
"You made it!" she called out when she was close enough, swiping a glass from a passing tray before pulling Pyrrha into a big hug.
"Caught an earlier flight home!" Pyrrha replied, giving Yang a slightly crooked smile after they'd broken apart.
"Well, I'm sure Weiss will really appreciate your...slightly inebriated presence..." Yang's observation only succeeded in making Pyrrha giggle infectiously.
"Hey." Pyrrha held up one finger in defiance, the swift action sending her off balance and forcing her to take a half step to the side to steady herself. "I had...a rough flight…"
Any desire to tease Pyrrha immediately lessened (slightly) as Yang knew all too well the depths of Pyrrha's fear of flying. Several years ago she'd had to throw out one of her favorite pairs of shoes after accompanying Pyrrha on a trip outside of Vale. So yes, she'd experienced firsthand how Pyrrha got when flying...which made it all the more impressive that Pyrrha had voluntarily taken an earlier flight to make it here tonight.
"Thanks for coming anyway," Yang replied genuinely before turning to Jaune. He'd placed himself just behind Pyrrha's right shoulder - a strategic location to prevent her from swaying too much, but also keep him out of the way of any unexpected...upheavals.
"Hey Jaune, have you found Ren? That Nora situation is still kinda...ongoing."
"I just saw the two of them together - right before you came over," he replied with that slightly quirky grin of his.
"Oh thank god." Yang turned around as if she might be able to spot the pair before realizing that that was hopeless. Somehow Nora managed to blend into the crowd like a pint-sized, crazy ninja. And she had orange hair. Orange!
"Don't worry, if Ren found her, he can keep her out of trouble. Most of the time…"
"Your confidence is encouraging," she replied dryly, giving up her pointless search and turning back to Pyrrha, who gave her a beaming smile. Yang couldn't help but to grin back. There was nothing quite like Pyrrha's uninhibited smile. Well, except for Blake's smile, of course.
"Hey," Pyrrha suddenly said in a whisper, leaning closer to Yang like this was some big secret. "Who's the guy talking to Blake?"
When Pyrrha nodded in a direction, nearly headbutting Yang in the process, Yang turned and found Blake in a heartbeat. There was a blonde haired boy talking to her animatedly, but from this angle Yang could only see his back. With that limited information, she couldn't say that she'd ever seen him before.
"Don't know...must be related to someone here," she replied, shrugging her shoulders but keeping an eye on the pair anyway. The instructions to the bouncers downstairs had been specific - only people on the guest list were allowed up, unless it was the direct family member of an invitee.
"He kinda looks like a male version of you," Jaune commented. Pyrrha's eyes grew wide at the comparison.
"You're so right, Jaune! He really does!"
"Well that doesn't make me feel good…" Narrowing her eyes, Yang watched the boy even more closely. He did NOT look like her. For one thing, none of her clothes had made an unfortunate enemy with a lawn mower. And second...well...she wasn't a boy either!
"You aren't worried about him?" Jaune asked curiously.
"Naw," Yang answered with a casual smile. "This happens pretty often when you have such a stunning girlfriend. Blake handles it really well - I only get involved if there's any sort of physical contact -"
Right on cue, the blonde boy reached out one hand and gently brushed Blake's arm. It was slight enough that it could have been an accident, but…then he did it again. As her pulse increased, Yang turned fully away from Pyrrha and Jaune - her complete attention now targeting the intruder with a fierce glare.
"Uh oh...mistakes were made," Pyrrha whispered loudly before letting out another giggle.
"No, no," Yang responded, trying to remain calm while her blood pressure spiked through the roof. "I'm sure it was just a coincidence -"
When the boy tapped Blake's shoulder in what appeared to be a friendly manner, Yang's jaw snapped shut with an audible clack.
"Someone's in trouble now," Pyrrha said, adding another happy giggle.
"Hold my drink," Yang replied tersely, pressing her glass into Pyrrha's hands. The redhead immediately made an 'oohhh' sound and took a long sip.
"I said hold my drink, not drink it!" Yang said in exasperation, but her words only made Pyrrha laugh and take another sip. "Jeez, Pyrrha, make things a little difficult for Boy Wonder here."
When Pyrrha merely shrugged her shoulders and smiled, Yang sighed.
"You're taking her home, right?" she directed towards Jaune, who nodded his head and slipped one arm protectively around Pyrrha's petite waist. Satisfied that someone capable was taking care of Pyrrha, Yang turned away from the pair.
"Go gettem tiger!"
Rolling her eyes at Pyrrha's encouragement, she stalked through the crowd towards Blake and the boy - who was in the middle of another spirited story.
"And then I took the ancient sculpture the monk had given us and accidentally dropped it in the lake!"
When the boy started laughing so did Yang, drawing both his and Blake's attention her way in surprise. Walking past him, she turned around only when she could slide one hand possessively into Blake's - then she put her other hand flat on the boy's chest and gave him a little shove - forcing him backwards a few steps.
"Yang, he's harmless," Blake whispered to her, squeezing her hand reassuringly.
Sure, he was harmless, but she just...she didn't like him! She didn't like that he was a 'male' version of her. Or that he'd 'accidentally' touched Blake several times in a row!
"Hey great story," she said sarcastically. "But you can finish the rest of it from over there."
"Holy - you're Yang Xiao Long!" he spit out in surprise, clearly stunned at his good fortune.
"Yes, I am. And this is my girlfriend," she replied forcefully. Her posture and tone were a little threatening, which she could tell was attracting some attention their way, but she really didn't care right now.
"Oh, no way!" the boy replied, either too stupid or too oblivious to cower under her gaze. "That's awesome! I can't believe we ran into you here! Wait until -"
"Listen -" she interrupted, jabbing a finger into his chest and forcing him to take one more step backwards. She dropped Blake's hand in favor of continuing to push him towards the front door. "I don't know who you are, but I don't appreciate you hitting on my girlfriend."
"I didn't - I didn't mean anything by it!" he stuttered in response, causing her to scowl at the obvious lie. "Well, I mean, I did, but I didn't know she was your girlfriend!"
"Then maybe next time -"
"Yang!"
The voice instantly caught her complete attention and ended her threat mid sentence. It was so familiar...the voice of her childhood. But it couldn't possibly be...
Forgetting the boy and spinning around, her eyes hastily scanned the crowd of guests in search of something that couldn't possibly be there. But then...Yang found her. The mess of brunette hair...the liquid silver eyes…
"Ruby!" she yelled in surprise, relief and happiness flood through her like water rushing through a dam that had just been broken.
Pushing through the crowd, Ruby reached Yang a second later and jumped into her arms for a hug. Yang tightened her arms around Ruby's slightly smaller frame and tried her best to crush her little sister with love. She heard Ruby let out a small grunt of protest, but then Ruby's arms squeezed Yang tightly in return.
"When did you get back?" she asked, pushing Ruby gently away while still holding onto her shoulders, refusing to let go. "And why didn't you call me right away?"
"I just got back tonight and…well…you know how I am with phones…" Ruby replied with a grin and an embarrassed blush.
"Lost another one, huh?" Yang replied with a knowing nod, before grinning ear to ear and crushing her sister into another quick hug. "God, how long has it been?"
When Ruby opened her mouth to respond, Yang caught movement out of the corner of her eye and turned to find blonde boy trying to sneak off.
"Where do you think you're going?" she demanded, taking a step towards the him.
"Yang, wait!" Ruby's hand grabbed ahold of her shoulder and held her in place. "This is my friend, Sun. We met in Mistral a while ago and have been traveling together ever since."
Furrowing her brow, Yang looked back and forth between Ruby and Sun several times while trying to decide how she felt about this new information. On the one hand, she really didn't like him. On the other hand, if he was truly Ruby's friend then she really shouldn't treat him so poorly.
"He's not your boyfriend, is he?" she asked sternly.
Looking completely shocked, Ruby startled giggling like that was the most absurd question in the world. Sun also let out a few chuckles before Yang set a glare his way that shut him up quick.
"B-boyfriend?" Ruby asked through her laughter. "Yang, we're just friends!"
Thank god. That would've been the worst news Yang had gotten all day.
"Good…because your friend here was trying to hit on my girlfriend," she replied, shooting another venomous look towards the poor boy before gesturing for Blake to come over. Seeing Blake made Yang instantly smile when she realized that she could finally introduce the two most important people in her life to one another. "Ruby, this is Blake! Blake - my adorable little sister has finally returned!"
Blake's eyes were sparkling with amusement as she smiled and extended her hand to Ruby.
"Blake Belladonna. It's nice to meet you…again, " Blake said warmly while Ruby shook her hand in surprise.
"Oh my god, Yang!" Ruby remarked excitedly, turning away from Blake with an awestruck expression. "I know you said she was pretty, but wow!"
When Yang beamed proudly, Ruby turned back to Blake.
"Yang really sucks at describing people. You're even more beautiful than she said!" Ruby remarked, only deepening Blake's blush.
"Well, now I know that flirting runs in the family…" Blake replied softly, causing Yang to break into laughter.
"Oh, she's not flirting, Blake. She's just being honest. I got all the suave charm in the family."
While Yang smirked, Blake scoffed in disbelief.
"I feel badly for your family then, because I watched you fall on your face more than a few times when we first started dating," she teased, poking Yang lightly in the side. Giggling, Yang swatted Blake's hand away before sliding an arm around her waist.
An added presence caught Yang's attention then, and when she looked up she was surprised to find Weiss standing right by Ruby's side.
"Oh!" Yang exclaimed excitedly, grabbing Ruby's arm and dragging her forward to properly present her. "Weiss, this is my little sister, Ruby! Ruby, this is Weiss Schnee; you may have heard of her – what with her being an international singing superstar and all."
While Yang grinned, Weiss looked from Yang to Ruby and back again.
"It's nice to meet you, Ruby," Weiss finally responded, politely reaching out one hand to shake Ruby's.
"Uh…you too, Weiss," Ruby replied awkwardly, giving Weiss' hand a quick shake before dropping it like it was too hot. Grinning wildly at the sudden change of events, Yang watched the two girls stare at their toes for a few moments before reaching out to shake Ruby by the shoulders.
"I can't believe you're back!"
She'd only been waiting for Ruby to come home for about...a couple of lifetimes now.
"I know, I kept meaning to come back, but got sidetracked by stuff!" Ruby replied with one of those signature smiles Yang had missed so much.
"Well, you know what Dad would say," she began, with Ruby already nodding her head with the phrase they'd heard way too often growing up.
"Better late than never!" they said in unison before chuckling at dear old Dad's expense.
"You two don't look very much alike," Weiss commented lightly after a short silence, having finally lifted her gaze from the ground in order to watch Yang and Ruby's interaction.
"Yeah…same dad, different moms, you know?" Yang answered with a laugh while Ruby nodded her head at the same time.
"You look different than the pictures Yang has shown me, too," Blake added, causing Ruby to run one hand quickly through her hair.
"Oh, yeah…I cut my hair pretty short recently…" she replied self-consciously while short strands of dark brown fell casually back into place.
"I love it! It looks great!" Yang instantly responded, ruffling Ruby's new hairstyle and causing her to giggle while trying to swat the hand away.
"It does seem to suit you very well," Weiss added softly, thankfully participating in the conversation more than anyone might have expected.
"Hey, how did you two get in here, anyway?" Yang suddenly asked, casting another suspicious glance at Sun. "I thought I told the guy in the lobby not to let anyone up who wasn't on that list."
"Uh…well…" Clearing her throat, Ruby shuffled her feet against the floor before continuing. "We kind of…used the fire escape…"
The admission made Yang grin and slap her sister playfully on the back.
"That's my little sister! Always being resourceful."
"Hey, it was my…" Sun began to protest loudly before holding his hands up in defeat when Yang sent another glare his direction. "Totally her idea - yup -"
Satisfied when he backed a few steps away, Yang glanced between Blake, Ruby, and Weiss - feeling her smile grow wider as she did so. This might be Weiss' birthday, but it definitely felt like someone had just given Yang a huge gift.
"Oh!" she said when she suddenly realized that there was still a party to run. "Now that Weiss has come down from her tower, we can finally bring out the cake!" Finding the nearest waiter, she gestured hurriedly to him and sent him scurrying towards the kitchen to retrieve the cake. "Which, conveniently, also happens to be Ruby's favorite flavor."
Gasping in delight, Ruby clapped her hands in excitement.
"Red velvet?"
"Yup!"
"With sour cream frosting?"
"Mhmm…we even ordered it from your favorite bakery."
"Valentino's - oh my godddd I've missed that place so much!" Ruby exclaimed, this time causing everyone to chuckle.
"Ruby!"
At the sound of her name, Ruby looked over and gasped in happiness.
"Pyrrha!" she squealed while racing over and leaping into Pyrrha's arms for a hug. The action very nearly sent both of them toppling to the floor had Jaune not placed one hand on Pyrrha's shoulder to keep her upright.
"Look at your hair," Pyrrha commented as soon as Ruby had pulled away. "It looks fantastic."
"Thanks! You look great too! But you always do so that's not a big surprise."
"Oh how I've missed you and your honesty," Pyrrha replied with a light laugh. "You've left me alone with your sister for far too long."
"I'm sorry! But now that I'm back I can take her off your hands. Except maybe Blake's already done that?"
When Pyrrha and Ruby both looked towards Yang, she shrugged and reached over to find Blake's hand. The two of them laughed amongst themselves while Blake squeezed Yang's hand in comfort. The next minute a cake was appearing from the kitchen - carried on a large platter held by two waiters. It was a towering spire of red velvety goodness with 'Happy Birthday, Weiss' scrawled across it in elegant blue cursive that matched the blue flowers decorating the sides of each tier. Placed around the top of the cake were a handful of candles that had already been lit.
"Ok everyone - time to sing happy birthday!" Yang called out to the guests, who turned obediently towards the cake and birthday girl. She could already tell that the sudden spotlight was making Weiss uncomfortable, but this would be over in a second. It was like tearing off a bandaid - short and sweet and kinda painful.
"Happy birthday to youuu -" she led with everyone else falling into an almost rhythm. "Happy birthday to youuu - Happy birthday dear Weisssss - Happy birthday to youuuu!"
"Don't forget your birthday wish!" she added as Weiss leaned forward to blow out the candles in one quick puff of air. When the flames flickered out, everyone cheered and Weiss even cracked a smile.
As plates appeared and the waiters began quickly cutting out slices, Yang turned to the side and found Blake already looking back at her - amber eyes twinkling in happiness.
"Think this will be a night everyone remembers?" Blake asked quietly, the smile in her eyes already giving her own answer. Laughing, Yang nodded and leaned down to press a kiss to Blake's lips before wrapping her in a hug.
"If no one else does, I sure will," Yang whispered into Blake's ear before pulling away with a smile that was returned in full.
"Hey Yang!"
The chatter quickly died down as everyone turned towards the voice. Scanning the room and finding nothing, Yang finally followed the gaze of all the other guests and looked up. And her stomach immediately dropped.
"Hey Yang, have you seen...oh…"
Ren's question ended when he found who he was looking for - the girl everyone at the party now had their eyes glued to.
"Is that a swing?" Blake asked, voice dumbfounded.
When Ruby started giggling at the sight, Yang couldn't help smiling - throwing her free arm around her little sister and pulling her close. She smiled even harder when Weiss turned to them with an expression of utter disbelief.
"Is Nora Valkyrie swinging from my chandelier?"
With Ruby still giggling uncontrollably and Pyrrha quickly joining in, Yang couldn't help but to laugh at the sheer insanity of it all.
"Sure is! Happy birthday, Weiss. I hope that thing is bolted in pretty good."
Surprised by the response, Weiss' eyes flicked to Nora before back to Yang, then Blake, Pyrrha, and finally Ruby. And then Weiss cracked a smile - and even let out a little laugh of her own.
"If it's not, then we're really going to have a night to remember," Weiss commented amusedly before accepting a piece of cake as it was passed to her and turning to give Yang and Blake a warm smile.
Feeling Blake squeeze her hand, Yang smiled in relief while Ruby weaseled free and walked over to take a good look at the cake with Weiss. When Weiss tried to hand over her piece, Ruby waved her hands wildly and almost knocked a plate out of the waiter's hand as he tried to hand it to her. As Ruby apologized and blushed profusely at the near accident, Weiss chuckled and accepted a second plate from the waiter in order to hand it to Ruby.
Meanwhile, Ren and Jaune had made it to the second story bannisters and were trying to talk Nora down from her swing. Pyrrha was standing nearby, laughing into her hand as the boys were clearly unsuccessful reasoning with their partner.
What a night this had turned into.
"Am I the only one kind of hoping the chandelier falls?" Blake whispered quietly in Yang's ear. Bursting into laughter, Yang wrapped an arm around Blake's shoulders, pulled her close, and kissed the top of her head.
"You're totally not alone. Should we move the cake underneath her?"
"I think that would be for the best," Blake answered with a playfully serious expression. "It will help cushion the fall."
Laughing happily, Yang tugged Blake closer so they could watch the party they'd created play out in front of them. With Ruby home, Weiss downstairs, and Nora being Nora, it had ended up being one for the ages - who would've thought?