AUTHOR'S NOTES: And finally we come to the end of the prologue of this story arc: Yang's chapter. This was a tough chapter to write, and if you're here only for flying, then you'll be disappointed. This is all talking and relationships...and sex, which is part of relationships. Some of this chapter can get a little explicit-there's no actual sex shown, but it's heavily implied; there's textual nudity and some locker room talk. This is either the chapter that's going to win me some new readers, or make me lose some. I'm not trying to lose anyone, but Bumblebee is pretty divisive, especially after V9, and this chapter deals a LOT with Bumblebee. Just remember that in ORW, Yang loves Blake...or thinks she does...but Blake doesn't love Yang.

Signal Air Force Base Officers Club (Stag Club)

Near Goldsboro, North Carolina, United States of Canada

18 April 2002

"Anyways, Coco," Yang Xiao Long said, "when you broke right, you did the right thing by going into the high-G barrel roll so you could drop in behind me, but your timing was off. I slowed down and you flew right into my gunsight." She demonstrated with her hands, proving the old adage that fighter pilots can't talk if their hands are tied.

Coco Adel let out a rueful chuckle. "I know, I know…I knew it the moment I went into that roll. I got behind the aircraft and lost control of it for a moment, and boom, you got me." She sipped her beer. "Transitioning from the Mirage F.1 to the F-15 is like going from a rally car to a Formula 1 racer. They're both very good at what they do, but the F-15 just has so much power behind it. It's still hard to control."

"She'll take you to the moon," Yang agreed, then remembered something about the tanned woman standing next to her. "Coco, no offense, but…aren't you a Muslim? You're not supposed to be drinking beer, right?"

Coco grinned. "Allah makes exceptions for fighter pilots, Yang."

Yang doubted that was in the Koran, but she laughed all the same. "Hell, I'm one to talk, Coco. I'm a Christian and I couldn't tell you the last time I was in a church." She leaned back against the bar and took a drink of beer herself. Both she and Coco were still in flight suits, still a bit sweaty from the one-vs.-one training engagement they had fought over the Signal Ranges out to sea.

Like most bases with fighter pilots stationed there, there were two officers' clubs at Signal: there was the formal club, where one wore their dress uniform, observed official USAF rules of etiquette and protocol, and never said anything worse than "hell" or "damn," if that. And then there was the stag club, where fighter pilots wore their flight suits, no matter how ratty or gross they were, there were no rules, and using the word "fuck" was not only allowed, but encouraged—though not, the USAF pilots noted, to the extent of the Marines' use of the word as a noun, pronoun, adverb, verb, and adjective.

The walls were covered in posters and pictures of fighter aircraft, with pithy sayings by people from Manfred von Richthofen to Leonidas of Sparta, most behind heavy, shatterproof glass to avoid being instantly destroyed every Friday night. There were video games in one corner—consoles from the 1980s, kept operational by loving care from Major Oum—and even a pinball game that someone had rescued from a thrift store. The busty female nudes had disappeared from the stag bar once the women fighter pilots had started arriving—not because the ladies minded so much, but because they insisted on putting up posters of studly men dressed in banana hammocks. The male fighter pilots were slightly uncomfortable with that, so down came both. Everyone agreed on the aircraft, though, and if a male or female fighter pilot got so drunk they decided to take their clothes off, which happened with alarming regularity, people just laughed and chose not to be offended…especially since that made for some good stories. Yang laughed to herself, remembering a nude Nora Valkyrie passed out on the bar at Beacon, with Glynda Goodwitch insisting that no, Nora was not naked, as the unconscious girl still had her socks on. Not that I remember much about that night, Yang thought, other than waking up in bed next to Blake because that asshole Cardin put me there. Ah well.

As if reading her thoughts, Coco said, "Do you ever hear from many of the old Beacon bunch?" Then she hesitated. "Sorry…I suppose that brings up bad memories." She nodded towards Yang's artificial right hand.

"Nah, that doesn't bother me much anymore. I'm kind of attached to it now." Coco groaned with the pun, as Yang intended. "As far as the Beacon bunch…no, not in awhile. Oh, I still hear from Ruby every week, but she's my sister."

"How is she?" Coco asked.

"All right," Yang lied. Ruby was depressed, angry, and alone, Yang knew, and it aggravated her that she could do nothing about it. She was Ruby's big sister, and she knew she should be there—but the USAF had assigned Ruby halfway across the continent, and there were no F-15 slots at Hill. "I hear from Weiss every now and then—she's with Ace Flight now, with Pyrrha—and Ren and Nora are probably going to get married here before the end of May. And I heard Cardin was getting a squadron out at Dhahran here pretty soon."

"Velvet will be thrilled to hear that," Coco said. There was no love lost between Cardin Winchester and Velvet Scarlatina.

"He did some growing up after Beacon," Yang told her.

"We all did." Coco took another drink of beer and signaled for another. "And Blake?"

Yang figured Coco would notice that. "I haven't heard from Blake much since she went aboard the Reagan. Oh, I'm not too worried—she's on a carrier. They can't do a lot of communication when they're at sea. She sent me a Christmas card, though. Oscar's on there with her." She shook her head. "Girl, I could not live like that."

"I hear you. I'm from the desert. That much water scares the shit out of me." Coco shrugged. "I was just…well, you'll forgive me for wondering. You hadn't talked about her much. I wondered if everything was all right."

"Yeah, so far as I know. We'll probably hook up once she makes port." Yang turned a little red, realizing how hook up could be misinterpreted. "I mean, hang out." Coco nodded; she understood. "What about your bunch? How are things over there in the Middle East?"

"A mess, as usual. The Crown is causing problems, and if Salem's gone silent in Europe, she damn sure hasn't in the Middle East. She's probably trying to destabilize Iran—not that the damn Persians need any help doing that!" Coco sniffed a laugh. "I'm one to talk myself. My own country seems perpetually ready to have a go at each other. The Shi'a hate the Sunni, the Sunni hate the Shi'a, and everyone hates the Kurds. After Saddam was brought down in 1991, we thought we'd put all that behind us and unify, but…" She shrugged. "To hell with politics."

Yang clinked her glass against Coco's. "Amen, sister."

They fell silent for a bit, as a game of crud broke out at the pool table. This version of pool was unique to fighter pilots, and it turned a gentlemanly game of billiards into a contact sport. Normally, Yang might have jumped in on it, but she didn't feel much like it. She felt like something else tonight. She glanced at Coco and made a decision, reflecting that it was probably a bad one that she would regret later. But what the hell, Yang thought recklessly, I doubt Coco's going to be offended, I need to find out, and if I get in trouble, who cares? My career's basically over anyway. Just running out the clock until they force me out of the Air Force, and then it's off to the Happy Huntresses for Yang, I guess. Damn sure not going to fly garbage haulers for the airlines. "Hey, Coco," Yang said, raising her voice over the crud game.

"Yes?"

"Let's step outside for a sec, okay? I need to ask you a question."

Coco looked a little confused, but nodded. Yang tossed some money onto the bar, grabbed her beer bottle, and headed for the entrance. Unlike the stag bar at Beacon, which had been put underground, the one at Signal was close to the flightline. The night April air was pleasantly warm, rather than icy cold or sticky hot. Coco followed, and both walked out to the fence. Beyond was parked the dozens of F-15s that belonged to the 4th Fighter Wing. Most were two-seater F-15E Strike Eagles, designed to move mud with bombs, though they could certainly fight quite well as fighters; their gunship gray finish was nearly invisible in the darkness. One squadron, however, was the lighter gray F-15Cs—the 333rd Fighter Squadron, which retained the air superiority mission. Yang was fervently glad that Oum had got her assigned to the 333rd, rather than the other three squadrons—she did not want to rearrange the earth; she wanted to kill GRIMM.

Coco took a deep breath of non-alcohol, non-cigarette smoke-laden air. "Oh, so that's what oxygen tastes like. Capital." Not for the first time, Yang noticed the slight tinge of a British accent to Coco's English. Though it was dark outside, Coco still wore her sunglasses at night. "What's up?"

Yang took a drink, then took a deep breath. Okay, Yang. Just like asking out a dude. Nothing to it. Her heart was thumping—though it usually did that with a guy, too. "Uh, look…" She paused, trying to frame this right. "Over here, we have this policy of Don't Ask, Don't Tell, so—"

Coco snickered. "Yes, Yang, the rumors are true. I am a lesbian." She finished her beer. "If you Americans think DADT is limiting, you should come to Iraq. We have a policy of Don't Ask Unless You Want to Die." Coco shrugged. "Some places in my country, people don't care, but others? They've been known to fling gay people off rooftops." She tossed the empty beer bottle towards a trash can, and centered it. "Three points?" she asked Yang.

"Yeah, in both basketball and football. Nice shot." Yang found herself strangely at a loss for words, which hadn't happened since that night with Blake at Banska Bystrica.

"Why do you ask?" Coco said into the silence.

"Uh, well, I…was…kind of wondering…"

Coco stared at her, then she smiled. "Oh, I see. Yang, are you asking me out?"

"I guess?" Yang shrugged helplessly.

"I didn't know you were gay."

I didn't know I was either, Yang thought to herself. "Well…I'm, uh, I'm bisexual."

"Hmm. Well, you won't be the first bi girl I've been with." Coco looked back towards the stag bar. "It's still early, so no questions should be asked if you're seen going into my room at the Visiting Officers' Quarters. I don't think there's anyone around my room, either, so no reason to be quiet."

Yang's mouth dropped. This was going too far too fast all of a sudden. She had thought that she would take Coco out to dinner offbase, and if things progressed well, maybe they would progress to the bedroom—at a hotel somewhere in Goldsboro, not at the VOQ. It was doubtful anyone would think much of two women going back there with a few beers; if anyone asked, Yang would tell them she and Coco were playing on the latter's Playstation. Instead, here was Coco baldly proposing they skip right to the sex. "Uh, well…yeah. Sure." This is what you wanted, Yang, so quit being so damn nervous. Sex is sex, and the worst you ever had was excellent. Well, except for my first time.

"Give me ten minutes, and I'll meet you there. Room 310. You can spend the night—there's two beds, so no one will be suspicious. And if they are?" Coco's smile was sly. "Don't Ask, Don't Tell, yes?"

"Um, yep. Ten minutes." Coco pulled down her sunglasses and winked at Yang, then sauntered off. Yang watched her go, and noticed there was just a bit more of a swing to Coco's hips. Then she turned back and stared at the F-15s. "I've got to be out of my fucking mind," Yang whispered.

Ten minutes later, and Yang walked into the VOQ. It was before 2000 Hours, so Yang didn't need to be signed in. The enlisted clerk stood up as she entered, and Yang lifted up a twelve-pack of Dr. Pepper. "Headed up to Room 310." The clerk nodded and sat back down. Yang went up the stairwell, feeling like she had just snuck beer into her dorm back at the University of North Carolina.

Yang walked down the hall on the third floor, thinking that the USAF must have been issued the same carpet design on every one of its bases—the pattern was identical to the dorm at Beacon, though the latter was now a burned-out ruin. Which still pisses me off, Yang groused, I lost my autographed Achievement Hunters poster there. Damn cockbiting Salem! Should've gone for the head, Yang, instead of hitting her in the tits. She realized she was purposely thinking about anything else but the task at hand, and pulled her attention back to the here and now. Okay, Yang, play it cool. You've had sex plenty of times with dudes. This is the same thing, just different equipment. We'll be doing it probe and drogue this time instead of boom and plug. That made no sense whatsoever. Yang was still wearing her flight suit, and she brushed it off a bit. Okay, let's do this. Sydney or the bush. Which may be more of a pun than you think, Yang, unless Coco shaves… Yang knocked on the door.

Coco opened the door and Yang dropped the case of Dr. Pepper. The other woman wore her beret and the beads around her neck…and nothing else. She was stark naked. Yang's eyes widened at the sight. There were few fighter pilots who weren't in top physical condition, and Coco definitely was. She swallowed involuntarily. "Come in," Coco said, in a voice that practically dripped sex.

Oh my God, what am I doing, Yang asked herself, but stepped into the room. "Ah, Yang—" Coco pointed to the twelve-pack. Yang hurriedly picked it up and closed the door behind her. "Uh, h-h-hi," Yang stammered nervously, which was not something she had done since she had arrived at Tripod's house when she was sixteen.

"Hello," Coco purred.

"I'll…I'll just put these in the bed. In the fridge!" Yang quickly corrected herself, then shoved the case into the room's minifridge. As she straightened up, she felt Coco's hands on her bottom, feeling it through the flight suit. "Uh, Coco…" Yang turned around and forced herself to look at the other woman. At least her sunglasses are off, Yang noticed, then wondered why that was what she had noticed more than Coco's nudity.

"Yes, Yang?"

"Hey, um, look…I, uh, thought maybe we'd hang out a bit. I didn't think we'd get to this, y'know, just now—"

Coco reached up and pulled the zipper down on Yang's flight suit. That action freed Yang's rather impressive bosom, held back only by a valiantly straining sports bra. "Mmm…I'd forgotten these were so big. So very nice." The zipper hit the end, at Yang's crotch. "Oh, how cute. Pink panties. These aren't issue, I'm sure."

"Coco, um—"

Coco stopped. "Do you want to do this or not, Yang?"

"Well, uh, yeah, but, I mean…shouldn't we talk or something, first?"

"We already did." She looked up at Yang, who was slightly taller. "You struck me as the type of person who likes their lovers aggressive, so I went with that. Did I misjudge you?"

Yang's mind was whirling with confusion. "Um, I mean, sometimes that's cool." She thought frantically of the times that she had been aggressive; during her one-night stand with Dove Bronzewing at Beacon, she had practically thrown him onto Blake's bed, which had caused the books holding up Yang's bed to rattle dangerously close to collapse. Blake still didn't know that Yang had used her friend's bed for a sordid fling, and Yang intended to take that secret to the grave. "But…I mean…" She laughed nervously and scratched the back of her head. "I guess I just expected something different."

Coco stepped back and smiled. "I apologize. I admit it's been awhile for me too. I suppose I've come on too strong."

"I just was a bit surprised, that's all."

"Would you like me to put something on? I'm truly sorry if I've offended you, Yang."

Yang considered it. If she was a guy, and he was standing there with it all hanging out, would you want him to put something on, Yang? Or would you kind of like the idea of him taking you in a manly fashion? There had been one or two males that had done that to Yang. One hadn't lasted three minutes, before trying to reassure Yang that this had never happened before. One had driven Yang out of her mind. Yang steeled herself; she was going to get this right. "Nah," she said with somewhat forced nonchalance. "Just…let me, okay?"

"Don't mind if I do." Coco sat down on one of the beds to watch. Yang—with a furtive glance towards the window; the curtains were drawn—peeled down the flight suit. She then pulled off the bra, and once that was gone, pulled down her panties and stepped out of them. Coco was suitably impressed, Yang could tell, but Yang's heart was pounding even harder now. For the first time in her life, she was naked in front of another woman with intent for sex. She had been naked in front of everyone in Ruby and Juniper Flights, except Jaune Arc; after the assault on Warsaw, she had even been naked in front of Winter Schnee. That was different. That was showering, or changing clothes, and being so exhausted that the entire WWF male wrestling contingent could walk in and Yang would just give them a tired wave. This was seduction, and in a few moments, Yang knew she would be intertwined with the other woman sitting primly in front of her. "Well…er…here I am."

"Indeed so." Coco stood up between the two beds. "Why don't you go first?"

"You sure?" The Iraqi woman nodded. "Okay," Yang said, and walked forward a few steps. She was shaking. She commanded herself to be still, telling herself that, if this was a man, she wouldn't even hesitate. She kind of liked that sort of thing, giving her partner pleasure; Yang firmly believed that sex had to be mutually nice and fun. She knelt in front of Coco, and swallowed involuntarily. "R-right…uh…let me, um, maybe you need to spread them a bit—"

Coco sighed and took a step back. "Yang, you've never been with another woman in your life, have you?"

Yang hesitated, then shook her head. "No."

"Are you a virgin? Have you been with men?"

Yang laughed. "Heh, no, not a virgin. Definitely been with guys."

"How many?"

Yang did a quick tally. "Uh, five times, not counting return engagements. Not that there were many of those. I tend to be a bit, well, intimidating."

"Were you this nervous with them?" There was more than a note of disbelief in Coco's voice.

"Nope. Well, the first time…I mean, we're all a little nervous the first time—" Coco walked past her, towards the bathroom, and Yang, now even more confused, got to her feet.

She was back in a moment, tossing Yang a bathrobe, and pulled one on herself. "Sit down," Coco ordered, and motioned to the other bed. Yang got the robe on and did as she was told. Coco crossed her legs in front of her. "There's something you're not telling me, Yang. If you weren't so obviously scared out of your mind, and if Nora Valkyrie was on base, I would put this down as a prank. You only had two beers, and you're no lightweight—I saw you drink Blake Belladonna under the table at Beacon, and she's a Marine—so you're not drunk. That leaves…" Coco spread her hands. "I don't know what that leaves, but there's something here that I do not like. Now you can either tell me the truth of it, or you can leave, right now." She pointed to the door.

Yang almost tried to brazen it out, and tell Coco she was just in the mood for casual sex, but the other woman's eyes were blazing with fury, and Yang knew she would see through the lie. "Do you hate me, Coco?"

"Not yet."

"Well, you probably will after this." Yang sighed. "Okay…so how did you know you were gay? If you don't mind me asking."

"Normally I would, but now you've got me curious." Coco hesitated, then got up and went to the refrigerator. Once there, she glanced back at Yang, then shrugged off the robe, exposing herself from the waist up. The blonde didn't even look in her direction. Coco nodded to herself, pulled the robe back on and tied it, then opened the fridge and pulled out two sodas. She handed one to Yang, sat down, and cracked hers open. "You should have gotten more beer." She took a drink. "How did I know I was gay? That's a good question." Another drink. "My father is Iraqi and my mother is French; they met during the Iran-Iraq War, when the French were helping us. She worked for Dassault, on the radar system; he was training to fly Super Etendards. In any case, they fell in love. She converted to Islam, and they married in Baghdad, where I was born. I went to a traditional school, a madrasa. So far so good. Then I was sent to school in Britain."

"Thought you sounded like a Brit sometimes," Yang smiled.

Coco returned the smile, which made Yang feel better. "Oxford. And there…well, let's just say I went a little crazy, like many people do in college—especially when they come from a rather closed background and are away from their parents for the first time. And I found that I found women very attractive, and thought 'Why not?' I found a girl who was of like mind, and here I am."

"So you've never been with a guy?" Yang asked.

"Never have. I don't find them attractive." She put up a hand. "All right, to be fair—Sun Wukong is rather handsome. But I can appreciate his looks in the same way you can appreciate art without intending to buy it."

Yang took a drink of her soda. "Well, hell…who doesn't find Sun attractive? That guy could probably seduce Salem."

"So that's why I'm gay. I just am." Coco motioned to Yang. "Your turn. When did you discover you were bisexual?"

"I…um…" Yang took another drink, for courage. "Coco…I'm in love with Blake."

"Belladonna?"

"Yep."

Coco was quiet for a moment, her eyebrows raised. "I admit I didn't see that coming. No wonder you were reluctant to talk about her."

"Yeah." Yang let out a long breath. "I don't know when it happened, Coco. We got to be really close at Beacon, but just friends, right? Then she leaves, goes to Menagerie while I was learning how to use this." Yang held up her artificial arm. "I was pissed at her. I wanted to kick her ass so damn hard. There were days I'd be mucking out Madam Mallari's barn over by my dad's, and I'd be cussing Blake under my breath the whole time I was shoveling horse shit. She never called, or came to visit, or anything. I knew she was in Menagerie, but I thought that at least she could call.

"And then I asked myself, 'Self, why do you give a damn?' Weiss didn't call, or called maybe once, and you're not mad at her. Hell, Ruby didn't call after she left for Japan, and you're not mad at her, either—and she's your sister!' 'Course, by then, I was feeling better anyway. But I was just enraged at Blake…and I didn't even know why."

Coco nodded. "And then, after awhile, you realized you were in love with her." It was a statement, not a question.

"Yeah," Yang agreed. "Maybe it was after we almost got killed by cannibals in Kazakhstan." Coco's eyebrows went up again. "Heh, yeah—that's a story I'll tell sometime, after a few more beers. Or maybe it was after her ex-boyfriend Adam Taurus almost killed us both over Sardinia." Yang drank more Dr. Pepper and wished she had something stronger. "And then when we were freezing to death and dying of radiation sickness in that cave in Poland, after Penny dropped the Maiden on herself and we got shot down by Neo and Cinder…" Yang felt tears in her eyes, and wiped them. "I'm sitting there, holding Blake, who was passed out from a concussion, and we're only in our undies because I had to cut off our flight suits. I was trying to keep us both warm with body heat. Outside, it's raining black rain, hard rads, and I'm thinking that we're gonna die and Blake's never going to know." She wiped her eyes again. "That was when I knew, Coco. I finally told her at Banska Bystrica, the night before Neo captured and almost tortured my sister to death."

Coco was leaning forward, intent on Yang's words. "What did she say?"

Yang shrugged. "She said she loved me too, but like a sister. She said that she didn't know if she could ever be my lover." She suddenly jumped to her feet, her metal fingers crumpling the soda can. "Dammit, Coco! It doesn't make any fucking sense!" Coco reached up and gently took the can away from Yang as the blonde began to pace angrily. "It would be one thing if I just wanted to fuck her. Even Blake was kind of down for that, though she said it would be kind of a pity fuck, which neither of us wanted. But I don't just want to fuck her. I want to…be with her. Just be with her. Y'know? See her smile. Hear her laugh. Hold her hand. Just…be there." Yang sat down on the bed, head in her hands. "I love her, Coco. I don't know what that fucking even means, but I love her."

Coco was once more quiet, sipping at her soda. Then she set both cans aside, stood up, and sat back down next to Yang, putting a hand around her shoulders. "Yang," Coco said quietly, "I envy you. I've never really loved someone. Slept with? Yes. Felt great affection to? Absolutely. But love—like what my parents had for each other, or what you have for Blake? Never." She considered it. "Not yet, anyway. I am still shy of 30. Allah might stick someone in front of me someday and whisper 'She is the one!'"

Yang looked up. "Doesn't Islam kinda frown on homosexuality?"

"Yes. But that's between me and God."

Yang straightened up. "Your parents had?"

"Saddam had my father killed during Operation Desert Storm. I was still in school in Britain. I became a fighter pilot because I wanted to be like him. My mother has never remarried." Coco chuckled. "Isn't that strange? We want to be like our fathers more than our mothers."

"I got lucky there. Both my parents were fighter pilots." Yang withdrew from Coco's arm and stood up, preparing to get dressed and do the walk of shame. "Coco…here's where you hate me."

Coco stopped her with an upraised hand. "Let me guess. You've been confused about your sexuality. You're suddenly in love with another woman, and now you're wondering if you're bisexual, or even homosexual. So you heard the rumors about me, and thought that I would be a good way to find out."

"And that was a fucking shitty thing to do," Yang said. "You're like my lesbian training wheels."

"Yang, if I was a man, would we be sitting here talking about our pasts, or would one of us be staring at the ceiling with our toes hopefully curled?" Yang had to grin at that. "That's what I thought. You're bisexual." Coco got to her feet. "There's nothing wrong with that at all. Like I said, I've been with bisexual women. It doesn't bother me in the slightest. What does bother me…" Coco stepped back and dropped her robe to the floor "…is that you don't find me attractive."

"What?" Yang waved her hands frantically. "That's not it at all, Coco! You're insanely attractive!"

"Thank you, Yang, but…do you feel aroused looking at me? Is your first thought how you want to put me on that bed and lick me until I scream?" Coco put her hands on her hips, her brown eyes boring into Yang. "Or am I art that you admire but don't want to buy? Tell me the truth."

Yang looked away. "I…I don't know, Coco."

"I do, Yang. I'm not saying that I need love when I have sex with someone, but I need something, and you're not prepared to give it." She smiled sadly. "Not to me. If I was Blake, I think…I think you would. You would give me everything that you are, if I was her."

"Great," Yang said morosely. "I'm not bisexual. I'm Blakesexual."

Coco burst into laughter. She laughed so hard she doubled over, then fell naked to the carpet. Yang then started laughing too. She knelt down in front of Coco, who was now pounding the floor in hilarity. Yang half-expected someone to call about the noise. "It wasn't that funny."

"The hell it wasn't!" Coco struggled back to a sitting position and now wiped her eyes, but not from sadness. "Yes, Yang. I'm afraid so."

"I don't know whether to be happy as hell or sad as fuck," Yang said.

"Well…if it's love, a little bit of both." Coco started laughing again, but managed to get control of herself and got back to the bed, and then turned somewhat serious. "In any case, Yang…you have to talk with Blake again. Have you, after the court-martial?"

"No…there wasn't really any time before we all split up. I didn't want to. We had too much on our plate as it was." And I was more worried about Ruby than Blake, Yang admitted to herself.

"Then when she gets back ashore, you need to sit down and have a talk. She may have reconsidered, but even if she hasn't—you know where you stand with her." She smiled at Yang. "She's been gone, what, six or seven months? On an aircraft carrier? The crack of dawn might not be safe."

Yang grinned at that. "Yeah, maybe."

"But sex or not, you have to talk. And if she doesn't love you…you have to let her go. Don't torture yourself like that. Believe me, I speak from experience."

"You're right." Yang paused. "I thought you said you never loved anyone."

"I thought I did, Yang." Coco looked down at herself. "My first lover. Her name was Iona. Beautiful, blonde Scottish girl, older than me. Just listening to her talk could make me wet. That summer…I was seventeen. I tried to force things—not force myself on her or anything like that, but I pushed Iona, because I thought she was just reluctant to tell me that she loved me too. She slapped me in the face, called me names that I won't repeat, and left. I never saw her again. That was when I realized that I never loved her at all. I was just a silly little lesbian girl, in lust with the first woman to open her legs for me." She reached down and picked up her robe, tying it back on. "Of course, I'm hardly alone in thinking I was in love the first time I had sex. I imagine that's true whatever sexual persuasion you are. Wasn't it that way for you?"

Yang snorted. "Oh hell no. He was the star quarterback of my high school football team. I was the star cross-country girl. We hooked up the same night he graduated. His parents weren't home. Everyone called him Tripod, and I wanted to find out if it was true."

"Was it?"

"Oh yeah," Yang remembered with a twinge of pain. "Nothing like getting your cherry busted by a nine-inch jackhammer. But he didn't last more than a minute. I felt sorry for him, so I moaned and groaned and made all the right noises so he'd think he'd gotten me off. After that, we got dressed and played Goldeneye on the N64 for four hours. I had more fun playing the game. Turns out, he did too. He told me a few years later that he knew damn good and well he didn't make me come. We're still friends." Yang stared out the window, remembering. "I met a guy in college, though. No love, but…he knew what he was doing, unlike ol' Tripod. Made me scream, and that's no shit."

They were quiet again, for a long few minutes, both remembering better times. "This is not the night I thought we'd be having," Coco said finally.

"Me neither." Yang bent down by the television and opened up the cabinet below. "I was right—they do have Playstation here. They did when I stayed here a few months back." She switched on the TV and the console. "You ever play Grand Theft Auto III?"

"Can't say as I have."

"Then sit down. It's a hell of a lot of fun."

Coco shrugged and sat down next to Yang. Sure enough, it was a lot of fun.

AUTHOR'S OTHER NOTES: At first, I was going to have another paragraph where Yang wakes up next to Coco, and let the reader decide if the two went ahead and had sex or were just sleeping for warmth and comfort. Then I thought that might kind of ruin the chapter. Yang doesn't want Coco; she wants Blake. Coco didn't want to have sex with Yang when she realized that Yang really didn't want her after all. So they're just friends, and the reader can decide if Yang stayed the night after playing GTA III or went home.

Of course, besides ignoring canon Coco's backstory completely, I also had to address the fact that, in ORW, Coco Adel is Iraqi and Muslim-and here she is drinking beer and having sex outside of marriage, which Islam most definitely frowns on, to say nothing of being gay. As she says, that's between her and God. I leave it to the reader to make up their own mind on that one. Less controversially, this also gives us a little more world-building: the Iran-Iraq War of 1980-1988 did happen here, and the French did provide Saddam with weapons (as they did in real history). However, in this timeline, Saddam was deposed in 1991 rather than in 2003, though apparently the Iraqis are still struggling to stay together (unfortunately, that's real life too). I'm still working on that On RWBY Wings Glossary with a complete history of the ORW timeline, so at some point I'll get that out there so we know why Iran is so unstable-besides Salem, of course-and what the Crown is in this AU, as compared to the CFVY books.

So what about Blake and Yang? Bumblebee is something that this story arc will address. Do they become lovers, do they decide not to, do they stay on the fence? I know a lot of people love Bumblebee, and others loathe it with a white-hot passion. It leaves fanfic writers in a Catch-22: how do you avoid pissing off your fans? Well, we'll see how it works out for them. One thing I definitely wanted to avoid was Yang just deciding that "Yep, I'm bi." She's struggling with this, and made a bad call with Coco. Luckily, Coco's a good person too. (And we get a little more on Yang's first lover, ol' Tripod. I stole that from Shanda the Panda, where the local high school quarterback is nicknamed that. A good author takes their inspiration where they can, just like how naked Nora on the bar is borrowed from Flight of the Intruder.)

So what's next? Well, it's time to get the band back together. Ruby's coming home, Weiss has got leave, Blake's hitting the beach along with Oscar, and Yang's already there. Speaking of beaches, that's where we're going. Yep, time for a beach episode, since RWBY's never going to have one.