A/N

Hello again folks! I come bearing a chapter. Without further adieu. Enjoy the relatively short chapter 18!

Once again thank you for reading! Next chapter shall be far longer than this one, as I will be moving the plot along! As I feel arc has been drug out a bit.

Lots of love, LL14

—-

I shook my head as Qrow strutted.. And I mean strutted away. Leaving me with a wide eyed Ruby and a positively dying Yang.

I crossed my arms as I tilted my head back to look at the sisters. I patiently waited for both of them to gather themselves.

Ruby was slow and deliberate with her sound effect. "Ewww "

When we lost sight of Qrow. Rubies disgusted noises caused Yang to fully lose it, like she was under a shit ton of anesthesia her giggling turned into gut wrenching wheezes as her lungs struggled to gather enough air. I gave Ruby a small smirk. Trying to tell her our verbal battles with Qrow aren't over!

"Alright Yang, We get it. Hes like a nokia's Grandfather, but we have things to do" I poked her in the arm with an adoring smile on my lips.

Yang fell to the ground with a whumph of air. Yang held her sides as she gave me a toothy grin that threatened more laughter. "Whats a Nokia?" Ruby and Yang asked simultaneously.

Fuck. I took a classic thinker pose to hide the small spike of anxiety I felt. "Something as old as the sun.. Probably?"

I mused with a decisive node of my head. The blue locks of my hair flopped about as I messed them up with a hand as I returned to my standing position. Shoving my hands in my pockets abruptly.

I turned on my heel. "C'mon, ladies! Lets go check out the new fighter jets?" I begaan to take a steady pace as Yang's loud foot steps indicated she started running to catch up. While Ruby appeared next to me in a puff of rose petals.

Many of which slapped me in the face. "Thanks Rubes" I muttered. "No problem!" The silver eyed girl quipped.

Yang finally caught up, taking my left side. "How kind of you to join us, My Lady" I offered. With a side eyed smile to my blonde haired girlfriend.

The blonde herself put her hands on her hips, "Keep that up and you can carry me" Her eyes were closed. A vaguely upset frown on her face. That fully lost its effect as Yang's lips kept quivering into her trademark smile.

Which made her current expression.. One of a kind. It was a cross of an awkward grimace and the expression someone would give another if they've just made the shittiest but funniest joke of the century.

I eventually decided not to comment on her odd expression. I took a glance down at Ruby who seemed distracted with her scroll. So I enacted my plan. I pulled my left hand from my pocket swiftly and slowly brought it down and gave Yang one sharp pinch to the ass.

Her eyes flew open so fast it could've generated shockwaves. Lilac eyes snapped to my own cyan. I gave a cheeky grin and a trollish wink, while Yang's cheeks slowly filled out with a light pink.

Her eyes narrowed slightly as she whispered. "Ruby's right there Chino"

I gave her an even more goblin-like smile. "I know" I gave her one last pinch and resumed my walking pace to catch up with Ruby, who took the lead slightly. I gave Yang one last wink. I turned my head away fast enough to give me whiplash if I was unprepared, feeling my own face burning slightly.

'Smooth, Real smooth' I felt an embarrassed tingle go across my body, why did I do that? My eyes watched Ruby turn a corner so I started to speed up, to not lose the younger girl..

If Someone's arms didn't wrap around my waist with the strength of an anaconda. My form was brought flush against Yang's. As I felt her jaw on my shoulder. I swallowed my saliva. "H-Hey Yang" I stuttered.

"Shino, if you wanted a piece, all you hadda do was ask~" Yang slowly explained as my brain started to turn into a pile of mush. Yang further increased the decomposition of my brain by planting a small delicate kiss to the side of my neck directly over where one would check my pulse.

I flew one hand up to cover my mouth and my cheeks to hide my furious blush. My manly pride.. The tattered remains of it further diminished in a cry of pain only I could hear.

"Kinky~" A voice announced. My eyes snapped from the ground to a pair of roller skates. Then to a pair of Blue faded to black stockings one of which were ripped open in various spots, exposing milky white legs.

The stockings paired nicely with some black booty shorts that had an off center white belt that had various cute things clipped onto it. My eyes only linger for a brief second on all the rainbow throw up on her belt.

Did I mention the small stars stitched into the shorts? No? It wasn't important. I brought my gave up from the person's legs to her toned stomach. I didn't dare linger there. So my eyes left with the speed of a rocket directly up to Neon Katt's eyes.

"You look like a Unicorn had indigestion" I blandly stated as Yang's arms tightened minutely on my person.

Yang took charge of the conversation before Rainbow throw up could respond.

"What do you want, Neon Katt?" Yang's voice was thick with irritation for the Unicorn girl. I let my tail rub against Yang's leg in an attempt to tell the brawler to relax. I doubted the other girl was looking for a fight.

"Well, Scarey." Neon jabbed at me. Before returning her attention to Yang. "I've came to wish you guys good luck on our spar tomorrow"

The small barb that was thrown at me went completely under my radar. As it didn't even register as an insult so I stayed silent, But Yang sure had it show up on her radar.

"Excuse you?!" Yang barked. Yang moved to release me from the hug, but I latched my hands onto her forearms and just shook my head. "Yang, I insulted her appearance too. Besides scares look badass"

The blonde sputtered. "Thanks Unicorn throwup.." I winked at Neon to show I held no hard feelings. "Imma kick your ass tomorrow" I announced with all the cocksure conviction I could muster.

With my hold on Yang's arms. I walked past Neon, I didn't bother to give the other girl's reply any acknowledgement as we turned the corner.

When we turned the corner I slapped a gloved hand on the first Custodian closet I found and threw Yang in it gently while I followed her in.

The door closed with a whoosh. Encapsulating us in darkness. My eyes instantly adjusted to the low lighting. I looked upon Yang whose eyes were barely tracking the glint off my own. "I love you Yang, But small things like that, Let me handle it. Please?"

She opened her mouth to reply but I put a finger on her lips. "Let me finish hot stuff. Have more faith in me to protect myself in situations like that. If it's something I can't handle, then be my knight"

Yang pulled me into a hug. "But, Chino. I don't want to see you hurt more.." She pushed my head into her chest. "You've been so, so broken. I can see through all your jokes, Your eyes are so dim. " Yang's voice trembled slightly at the end.

"I know Yang… But it is what it is. We can't let small things like my health matter. When we have Salem to deal with" I brushed off my issues and produced a reason all in the same sentence.

"No! You matter more than our mission!" Yang looked at me within the dark shroud of the closet. Her lilac eyes brimming with assurance.

"Yang, I…" My voice tapered off as a large blanket of fatigue washed over me. "I love you so much more than you know. I'll try to take care of myself. Its.. Just.. not easy"

"Then Let me help" Yang offered. I sucked in air from my nose. The chemicals of the closest made my nose tingle. "You already are. But promise me this." Yang rested her hands on the small of my back.

"Promise me that you will continue if I lose my life to this mess…" I asked solemnly.

"I won't lose you." Yang firmly declared. "You don't know that" I countered. Before Yang could get another word off.

"Promise" I all but ordered, my own voice trembling. I grabbed fistfuls of Yangs Jacket to stop the inevitable shaking in my hands.

Yang sighed. Her exhale blew my messy mop of hair slightly. "I promise" Yang sounded as untruthful as a kid who got caught stealing from a candy jar. But it was good enough in my books so I relented.

I pulled back slightly. "I promise we'll get through this. Together"

—-

After our improtue session of intimate stuff in the good ol' sanitation closet, Yang and I made our way down to the R&D area of crackheads. So I could shut down 90% of the projects and just tell them to base all the aircraft off the A10 and the two Migs.

It took hours to convince the techs that their designs wouldn't work. Tell me.. Would you love to pilot a rocket that had no wings and a shit ton of thrust. That would hold a warhead the size of the bomb dropped on hiroshima?

Lets not forget it was supposed to be manned by a crew of two. Do you have any buddies you want to submit to being a pretty blackened stain somewheres?

Get this. The name for this foul aircraft was the. ARN1-Lancer. If you squinted it looked like a decent kamikaze build.

I asked the guy to show me a demonstration flight with him as the pilot. He refused. So I canceled the project.

I shut down a total of 70 projects. Seriously.

It took me to about the 20th project to understand just how out of depth I was. I wasn't cut out to be the head of an R&D department. So that brought me to my current situation where I was seated in General Ironwood's office.

Yang shifted in the seat next to me, her uncomfortable disposition making me hunch slightly.

"You wish to resign?" General Ironwood sounded baffled. I gave him a pleading look. "I was up to the task, believe me, but I'm no scientist." Yang crossed her arms as Ironwood moved to rest his elbows on his desk,

Ironwood ran a hand down his face and gave his temples a rub, "Alright….You will still be required to lead sorties."

I almost pumped my fist. But held my excitement, I didn't do sciencey shit.

"Thank you sir, I'm more valuable as a combat asset than as a research one" I thanked with a half smile.

Ironwood sighed into his gloved hand. "Yes, I apologize for pushing that position on you."

With those words he excused us from the room. Leading to Yang and I taking a small jog around the estate.

A jog full of flirting and ass grabbing. Mutual I assure you.

—-

I watched the door to the elevator swish open. A small astonished look in my eye, as the star wars esque door never ceased to amaze me.

Yang blew a raspberry next to me. "Whatcha think the others are doing Chino?"

I stepped through the thrawl of the elevator of doom and turned on my heel to walk backwards.

"Butt stuff" I shrugged, a cheeky smile on my lips and a small elated giggle escaping my lips from my own childness.

"Doubt" Yang sent a smile in my direction.

—-

As it turns out, The others were doing nothing nefarious. Ruby had crescent rose half deconstructed, the younger woman seemed to be doing maintenance to her 'beloved'

Weiss had a field manual of some type open and was going over a handful of Atlas's common responses to civil unrest.

Huh. I mused. Blake was doing Blakey things. Which in her case it was cleverly hiding smut under a romcom by the name of: Huntresses plight!

Yang gave me a pat on the back and a charming smile as she skipped to her bunk and plopped down on it, pulling out her scroll.

I gave the team brief greetings before I fell into the bunk, nearly landing on Yang in the process, cause why would I not sleep with her?

Either way I flicker her on the nose, kicking off my boots after I received a gasp and an emotively whispered "how dare you!?"

I gave Yang a slow blink, "Cause" I snorted.

My girlfriend pouted at me. But by that point I already buried my face into a pillow and promptly lost contact with the waking world,