I don't care-

"Hey, Cowgirl. Are you awake?"

What the hell?

I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes and glared at my window. Was I just hearing things? There's no way that voice was really-

"Xiao Long, we can see you moving around in there! I know it's not your sister! She doesn't have that much hair!"

I picked myself up off the floor and wiped my face enough to look presentable. Zwei was already awake and growling at the window. At least he'd heard it too. I fixed my shirt, groaned, walked to the window and opened the curtains. It was still late at night- late enough it might've even been early in the morning. It took my eyes a couple of seconds to adjust from the dim candlelight of my room to the pitch black Patch night sky before I could see who was outside.

"What the hell are you two doing here at this hour? How'd you even get to Patch," I hissed, sticking my head out the window to talk to them. "And why didn't you just use the front door? What is this, a teen drama movie?"

"Well, Mil didn't want to see your sister, and I didn't want to see your dad again. You know, he stopped by a few hours after you left the bar and had the nerve to lecture Junior about giving you a free place to stay that night," Melanie snapped, pushing past me to climb into my room. Once she was in, she offered Miltia a hand.

Suddenly Junior's bodyguards were in my room.

Somehow still not the weirdest way I've had guests over.

Zwei wasn't growling anymore, but he had that look on his face that told me he wasn't above biting either of them. I sighed and shooed him out of the room. He let out a tiny huff and slowly walked out before sitting down right in front of my door as I closed it. Sometimes he was worse than dad.

"Gonna be honest, your room's a lot more of a mess than I thought it'd be," Miltia commented. She wasn't exactly wrong. My room was disgusting. I hadn't cleaned or mopped or dusted in weeks. My sheets probably smelled like sweat. There was a pile of laundry that hadn't been done in… a while.

"Would've cleaned up if I'd been expecting company," I grumbled, doing my best to angle myself so they couldn't see my arm. Maybe if I kept that side of my body away from them they wouldn't notice-

"Real divorced dad energy. What, the world stops moving when you're single or something," Melanie asked, taking a seat on my bed and getting herself comfortable. She even took off her heels, undoing their straps and letting them slide off her feet as she pulled her legs up to sit on my bed. By the time I'd looked at Miltia, she'd already removed her claws and sat them on my nightstand.

They looked real comfortable.

"Mel, come on, don't be rude," Miltia grumbled, gently elbowing her younger sister.

"What are you two doing here," I repeated, far less comfortable than the two women I'd just let into my room.

"Oh, come on Xiao Long, don't act like we're strangers now," Melanie huffed, rolling her eyes with a disappointed look on her face. She looked a little hurt, like she was actually frustrated that I wasn't the most welcoming person on the planet right now.

"We can't really text you. Melanie's been sending you messages every couple of days. We can see you're at least close enough to Vale to receive them once a week, but you never respond," Miltia explained, sitting beside her sister on my bed.

"Hush, Mil," Melanie hissed, cringing at her sister's words. Melanie wasn't the kind of person to broadcast that she cared about someone. She gently smacked her sister and they instantly got into a bit of a shoving match on my bed.

"I, um… I've been a little busy," I explained, unable to look either of them in the eye. It was a stupid lie and not at all believable. Thankfully they didn't even acknowledge it beyond another eye-roll.

"You haven't even stopped by for a drink! So we brought some of that peppermint schnapps you liked," Miltia explained, opening her bag and showing off the bottle she'd brought with her. Between the drink and the short shorts and corsets they were wearing, I wasn't at all in the mood for… these two right now.

"You two cannot sit on my bed wearing those outfits," I grumbled, doing my best to move the conversation along. And maybe stop them from shoving each other before I saw more than I was meant to tonight.

"You gonna give us clothes to change into? Got anything not covered in week old sweat and cum," Melanie asked with a smirk.

"Melanie. Not in the mood." I narrowed my eyes at her, hoping she'd get the point. We could have some banter, but… not flirty. Not sexual. Not with these two. Not right now…

"Alright… yeah, fair," Melanie sighed, undoing her ponytail and letting her long black hair slide down her back. Again, she was getting way too comfortable. "Clean pajamas, then?"

I sighed and dug through my drawers for a few moments before I tossed them both a shirt and pants. I don't know why I was already agreeing to let these two stay over. Two criminal bodyguards sleeping in my room? Dad certainly wouldn't approve…

"Thanks. Can… Can we ask about Blake," Miltia asked as she undid the corset she was wearing before working on Melanie's.

"Nothing to ask about," I said with a shrug, turning my eyes away from the two as they got undressed. "Beacon fell. She left. Haven't seen her since." That was the whole truth.

"... I'm sorry," Miltia said, pausing for a moment as she peeled herself out of her corset.

"Sorry." Even Melanie seemed pretty sad about it.

"I'm not," I said with another shrug. I really didn't want to talk about it anymore. Blake was gone, and she'd been gone for weeks. Months, now. I just needed to move on, and the faster I didn't have to talk about her anymore, the faster I'd stop being sad about it.

It was kind of obvious Miltia didn't know what to say. Kind of obvious that she didn't believe me. She looked at Melanie, trying to get her to say something. Her younger sister rolled her eyes.

"Not to mix pleasure and business, Cowgirl, but… We're not here just to beautify your bedroom," Melanie explained, leaning forward as she spoke. Again, I had to take my eyes off of her. She wasn't wearing anything under my shirt, and she was obviously doing that on purpose. Again, I really wasn't in the mood, but after learning more about myself, I couldn't pretend like these two women weren't stupidly attractive.

How funny I hadn't noticed this before Blake…

"Yeah?" The sooner they explained why they were here the better. I was feeling pretty weird about having company right now.

"Junior needs to collect on that favor," Miltia explained. At least she had some class.

"Not sure if you've noticed, but I'm not much help to anyone right now," I grumbled, finally showing off what was left of my arm.

"Oh, boohoo. You lost an arm," Melanie said, using that obnoxious sing-song voice she used whenever she was being condescending. "I bet the only thing holding you back right now is how rusty you are since you haven't been training in months."

"Yeah? Wanna find out?" I don't think my eyes have ever changed to red as easily as they had over the past few weeks.

"Oh, don't tempt me-"

"Guys, come on," Miltia sighed, gently tugging on her sister's sleeve to get her to relax. It was obvious they hadn't come for a fight. Melanie was just a little hot-headed. It'd kinda been my reasoning for goading her in the first place. Getting punched in the face didn't hurt half as much as… Well…

"It's an easy job, Yang," Miltia continued, speaking up in place of her sister instead. "No security like he suggested initially. He just needs you to speak to your old professor. Glynda Goodwitch."

"Why?" This didn't make any sense. What did Junior need from Professor Goodwitch? Why couldn't he just talk to her himself?

"It's a long story," Melanie explained. "Junior's had some guys pouring over a few old shipping manifests. There's supplies in Mountain Glenn that could help Vale right now."

"Help Vale?" I knew Junior, Melanie and Militia a little too well for that. These were not people who cared about Vale. At least, not in the way Hunters or law enforcement did.

"Yes. Vale. Us included." I really, really didn't believe Melanie.

"We need you to convince Goodwitch to buy the information off of Junior," Miltia continued. This story really didn't make any sense.

"Why not just tell her yourselves." It was the obvious thing to do.

"Come on, Cowgirl. Don't be silly. I know things seem safe here in Patch, but Vale isn't looking so hot right now. You Hunters need resources to keep protecting civilians while the defenses are rebuilt. Meanwhile our business is spiraling while you guys waste what little resources you've got with stopping Junior's operations. Plus, Goodwitch is likely to just ignore us altogether- she'll believe the info if it came from you."

"And we need you to get Goodwitch to agree to some terms in exchange for the resources you pick up." Miltia finally said the quiet part out loud. Agree to some terms? No way would any Hunter willfully ignore crime during the sort of lockdown Vale must be under right now.

"And something specific they'll find in the pile that's been abandoned for a while," Melanie finished, leaning forward and fixing her thigh highs.

"How do you even know the supplies are still there? Mountain Glenn's been abandoned for decades. Anyone could've looted-"

"We tried ourselves. We saw everything with our own eyes. We grabbed what we could, but we'd lost too many guards to bring the good stuff back with us," Melanie explained, laying down on my bed and stretching wide as if she were bored with the conversation.

"Oh, so it's dangerous-"

"We didn't say it'd be easy, Yang. But it will be worth it," Miltia said quickly. "There was a Dust shortage in Vale months before the Breach had happened. Torchwick and his crew's work. It's only gotten worse since the Fall, but there's enough Dust down there in those tunnels to bulk security for the next couple years. All we're asking for is some breathing room for Junior's business to grow, and one specific container."

"So this is all just about you guys expanding-"

"Yang. Vale is dying." For some reason the information coming from Miltia sounded way more serious. I don't know why I saw her so differently from her sister. I don't know why I had such a soft spot for her… Well, I guess I did, but… She wasn't that similar to Blake. Not really. "There're gang fights on the streets every night because no one's got enough of a foothold to keep their heads above water. Meanwhile you Hunters are spreading yourselves thin trying to police every street in the kingdom while also working on the Grimm. Junior is willing to work with you Hunters to keep Vale safe and offer security across the kingdom to let you guys focus on the actual threat. He's just gonna make some profit while doing it."

"... this is stupid," I grumbled, throwing my head back in frustration. All of this was so dumb. I didn't want to get involved. I didn't want to deal with politics or even Vale. I didn't want to deal with this bulls-

"Cowgirl-"

"Yang, you can't-"

"No! This isn't my fight!" Again, my eyes were flashing red so easily these days. My flames were uncontrollable. And my temper… I just didn't feel like dealing with any of this. "I don't work for you guys. You can do it yourselves. If Professor Goodwitch won't believe you, there's no reason she'll believe-"

"Bullshit! You know-"

"Mel…" Miltia stopped the fight before it even started. Her voice was so similar to Melanie's, but I still had such a soft spot for it. It wasn't fair. Why was I so weak for her…

"Yang… if you don't want to do it, fine. I understand," she said, taking a small breath as she started again. "If you don't want to help, then tell us to go. Tell us to leave right now and we'll leave you alone. You won't hear from us again."

"..." It'd be so easy. Just tell them to leave. Tell them to go. Tell them they weren't welcome in my house! It'd be so easy… "..."

"I know you're hurt, Yang. And I don't just mean the arm. But you can do something to help Vale. One favor for us could be life or death for the whole kingdom. Do you really not trust us so much you wouldn't take the chance?"

"..." I couldn't talk. I couldn't say anything. I just… froze. I couldn't do it. It was so easy but I just couldn't do it. I couldn't tell them to leave. Not just for them. I couldn't tell them to leave because I… I cared. I cared about Vale. I cared about being a Huntress. I even cared about these two…

"Come on, Mil," Melanie sighed, tearing off my shirt before reaching for her corset. She's clearly-"

"No! No, I… I'm sorry. I trust you two. I… I'm sorry. I just… I don't think I can do it…" That was the truth. The honest truth. I really wasn't sure I could do anything to help. I really wasn't sure of anything these days.

"Why couldn't you," Melanie asked, narrowing her eyes at me. "When have you ever thought there was something you couldn't do?"

"Well, I lost about ten pounds recently-"

"Oh, stuff it! You want us to believe you really think losing an arm means you can't be the same bitch you've always been?" Melanie asked with a huff. It was… nice to know that she had faith in me. That she thought… even now… That I could still be the same person I've always been. She barely even knew me, but she knew me well enough to have faith in me being… me.

"You lost an arm. Not your nerve," Miltia responded, gently taking my hand in hers and leading me to sit between them. I couldn't even fight it. I… I hadn't talked to anyone in days. Not dad or Ruby… Zwei couldn't exactly respond back. I'd been depressed. Professor Wheat was great, but… well, she wasn't a peer. She'd told me a ton to talk to people my own age. Friends, family members… But Ruby had gone through so much more than I had, I felt bad even bringing anything up with her. And with the CCT down it was impossible to contact any Signal or Beacon friends.

Melanie and Miltia were a few years older but they weren't adults like dad or uncle Qrow. They weren't Huntresses, but they were fighters. They understood me in some small way. Some important way. I… I needed that more than anything right now.

"Tell us what's actually bothering you. You know I'll get it out of you, Cowgirl." Melanie was still shirtless, but she made a point of sitting just behind my line of sight. She rested her legs in my lap, treating me like a legrest. Still messing with me in her own way, but at least being respectful enough to reel it in a bit.

"Yeah, yeah… I… I'm still not over Blake." It felt embarrassing to admit. Like I was in elementary school or something. Lovesick over someone I'd been with… what… a couple of months?

"There's the truth," Miltia sighed. She moved a little closer and started running her fingers through my hair. I knew it must've felt disgusting. I hadn't showered in a couple of days, and my hair was a tangled mess. But… it was nice that someone cared enough to help… Nice that someone wanted to be so near to me…

"Funny how it's easier to believe a breakup would hurt you worse than an amputation," Melanie sighed, moving to follow her sister and work on detangling my hair.

"It doesn't even hurt anymore. The arm, I mean… It's more annoying than anything," I explained. It wasn't entirely the truth. It didn't hurt or ache like it used to, but every once in a while I'd get the weirdest pain. Not in my arm, but where my body remembered my arm used to be. Like it could still feel my arm.

"I love her… I- I loved her. I just… don't know… I've got to get used to being without her." It was something that Professor Wheat had told me a few times. I'd spent months seeing Blake every day. Spending mornings, noons and nights with her. Even if we hadn't been dating, I'd miss her. Hell, I missed Weiss too! And Team JNPR. I just had to get into a routine of getting used to not seeing Blake. A routine that didn't involve laying in bed and crying for hours a day.

"We know, Xiao Long. Breakups are hard. It's why I don't date," Melanie explained, making me wince as she worked at a particularly bad tangle.

"Mel, even if you wanted to date you'd be single," Miltia teased, earning another gentle smack from her younger sister.

"All I'm saying is, you've been through a lot, Yang. You got set up in front of the entire world, you lost a fight, an arm, and your girl… You're allowed to feel like shit. But you're not allowed to pretend that one bad night is all you'll ever be." Again, Miltia's voice was like honey to me. She could've sold me sand in Vacuo or ice in Atlas. I held my breath as she moved around me until she was sitting in my lap, gently moving Melanie's legs until they were around me one on each side as she sat behind me.

"You're amazing, Yang. You're one of the most amazing people I've ever known. Grieve. It's okay." Her hands reached up my body and caressed my face. I couldn't do anything except stare into those mint green eyes. "We're here for you. We can help you through it. And… If you'd like… We can help with what comes after?"

She was so close. Her breath smelled like freshly fallen snow. Her hands were so warm and soft and gentle. Her lips looked like they tasted so sweet.

Would it really be okay to just… move on? To let these twins catch me before I fell too far? Did I even deserve it? I didn't love Melanie or Miltiades. But they both already knew that, and they were willing to be there for me anyway. Would it be so wrong to lose myself in Miltia's lips or Melanie's legs or Miltia's barely there weight in my lap or Melanie's soft, warm breasts against my back. It's not like Blake hadn't already made her choice…

I closed my eyes and leaned forward, my lips brushing against Miltia's for just a momen-

"GET OUT OF- Miltiades?!" A gust of wind and a scattering of rose petals announced Ruby had entered my room. The loud thud of her hitting the wall behind me told me just how startled she'd been at seeing the twins instead of an actual intruder. She hadn't even been able to catch herself and had slammed face first into my Achieve Men poster. I flinched, knowing first hand just how hard Ruby tended to slam into things when she was using her Semblance. I almost wanted to laugh, but…

"... guests, Yang?" I couldn't even look dad in the eye. Sure, I'd had guys over before, but there'd always been an unspoken rule between us. The kind of rule that could only exist between an oldest daughter and a single father. I'd tell him before bringing a boy over. I wouldn't say what we were doing, but that part was always obvious. That's not the part he minded. What he really cared about was knowing I was being safe. He cared about seeing who I was with, and getting the chance to approve of him. Hell, he'd only ever turned two boys away in my life, and they'd both turned out to be awful. And at least whatever guy he did approve of would have the fear of God in him right before I locked my door, and they'd always be super respectful.

It was weird, but I think any girl out there with a dad that cared would understand. He wasn't the kind of dad to threaten a teenager with a gun- he didn't need to. He wasn't the kind of dad to tell me I couldn't date until I was thirty- I knew how old he'd been when he'd hooked up with mom and Raven. Our rule was about keeping me safe. Keeping me protected.

I'd broken our rule. Worse, I'd broken his trust. Things were different- I don't know if that dad rule applies with girls. But still… I'd messed up. I'd messed up big time. Not only were there two girls in our home that I hadn't warned him about, but there were two bodyguards to one of Vale's criminal underworld's most dangerous kingpins in our home. I tried to think of something to say- something that would explain why I was currently sitting in my room with a set of twins who were all over me. I really couldn't think of anything.

"Unexpected guests," Miltia said quickly, sliding off my lap to sit beside me. She was at least reacting as respectfully as the boys I'd brought around had. "Hey Mr. Xiao Long."

"Uninvited guests, Taiyang," Melanie piped up, not at all trying to hide her bare chest. Clearly the dad rule didn't work on every girl, and I nearly cringed as she'd said his first name.

"But… not unwelcome," I added, hoping dad understood. I finally looked him in the eye and it was obvious he was upset- hell, what parent wouldn't be? But I needed this. Just for tonight. I needed how the Malachites made me feel…

"Ruby, come on. Those cookies we made earlier should've cooled down by now. Your friends are welcome to have a few when they're fully dressed." Dad kept his eyes on mine as he waved Ruby over. I can imagine it wasn't super comfortable for a man his age to find two mostly undressed twenty-something year olds in his daughter's room. Sorry, Dad.

"S-sorry. I um… I thought someone was trying to hurt you," Ruby said quickly, her face red as she quickly made her way out of my room. She couldn't even look me in the eye as she rounded the corner. I'd always been so careful to not involve Ruby in… anything sexual. She'd never had a clue what I was doing with the boys I'd bring over. She'd never even known what I was doing with Blake. This was the first sexual thing she'd ever caught me doing.

"We'll take care of your sister, Ruby," Melanie said with that playful sing-song voice as she waved at her.

"I'mgonnadieI'mgonnadieI'mgonnadieI'mgon-" I could hear Ruby's voice getting quieter and quieter as she made her way to the kitchen. Sorry, sis.

Dad didn't take his eyes off mine for a long minute. I really couldn't read his expression, but the soft sigh and shake of his head let me know that he at least understood. Maybe… somewhere deep down… He could even relate? Raven had walked out on him. Mom had been there for him. Maybe he understood a bit more than I thought he did… He started closing the door and I couldn't watch him any more- it was just too embarrassing. I looked down towards the floor, and the last thing I saw was Zwei's dark gray eyes staring into mine just like dad was. He let out a small borf just before the door closed.

I didn't even realize I'd been holding my breath until a few minutes later. My chest had been burning for oxygen. I took a few deep ones before rubbing my face. That'd been pretty damn embarrassing.

"I don't know about you two, but I'm still devastatingly horny," Melanie said nonchalantly.

"This is why your only consistent hook-up is your own sister," Miltia huffed, smacking her with one of my pillows.

At least the Malachite twins were entertaining.

"You fight too angry. Too much emotion. It's powerful, but it'll attract more Grimm to the Valiant than you can handle. Stronger Grimm. You're protecting your family, not trying to take on the entire ocean." I'd never been a great teacher, but after a year at Beacon, I could at least parrot back some of the things I'd heard Professor Goodwitch say. I reached down and offered Pearl a hand, but she quickly slapped it away as she rose to her feet.

"Oh, fuck OFF! You telling me you go into every fight calm and zen," Pearl hissed, shaking off her fall and dusting herself off before resetting for the next round. She was determined. Proud. She'd make a great Huntress if she could harness them instead of letting them control her.

"No. I don't. Sometimes I'm nervous or anxious or terrified. When I was at Beacon, I was always worried that I'd make a mistake and get a teammate killed," I admitted, readying the makeshift spear I'd carved out of some driftwood a couple of days ago.

"So what'd you do," Pearl asked, taking a stab at me with her own spear. I parried before following up with my own stab that caught her in the shoulder. My spear wasn't sharp, but it still hurt. She hissed and took a step back before resetting.

"I breathed. I remembered that it wasn't me against the world. I had partners- partners that I trusted with my life. And they trusted me with theirs… I had a job to do, and I got it done. You've been part of a crew your whole life. You already know what that's like," I reminded her, aiming a sweep at her feet. She managed to hop over it before spinning her spear for an overhead attack that would've hurt if she'd been a bit faster.

"... yeah. I guess," she grunted. She followed up with a kick that caught me in the stomach- one I'd only avoided thanks to my Semblance. She was good.

It'd only been three days since I'd started training her, but she was learning quickly. She'd been fairly competent before we'd even started; she had natural power and talent that would've made her an incredibly powerful Huntress with a little extra formal training. I was quickly coming to suspect that the only reason her family had taken so much damage during their last encounter was specifically because it was a Sea Feilong- the same kind of Grimm that'd killed her mother.

That'd have to be something she overcame on her own.

I feinted right before trying to smack the spear out of her hand, but she quickly followed my motion and ended up yanking me towards her, within range of a powerful shoulder charge. She caught me right before I hit the ground, a giant smirk on her lips.

"Good job. You're a lot better with that weapon than you realize. Your mother chose well for you," I said sincerely, dusting myself off as we reset for the next round.

"... thanks. She… I just wanna be as good as her," Pearl mumbled, the confidence that'd been surging through her just a moment ago disappearing faster than I thought possible.

"Everything okay? I apologize for bringing up your-"

"No! No, that's not… I don't mind you bringing her up. I… like talking about her. I don't want her to just be a thing in the past, you know? I talk about her and maybe she's still here? Maybe her decisions weren't that long ago. Maybe she's still with me… Here? And on that damn boat…" Pearl sighed and stabbed her spear into the ground. We wouldn't be back to sparring just yet.

"I understand… I… losing people is hard," I offered, stabbing my own spear into the sand next to hers.

"No… That's the problem. Losing people is so damned easy. One mistake, or one lucky Grimm and… that's all it takes… Suddenly they're never gonna come back home. They're never gonna hug you goodnight or scold you for eating snacks before dinner…" I knew Pearl had a lot of weight on her shoulders. A lot of guilt and grief. But sometimes I was surprised by just how much she seemed to carry.

"You said you lost people, Blake," she asked, kicking some sand at her weapon.

"Yeah, my team. We… we're not together anymore." Every time I explained it, I could hardly ever go into details. It still felt too raw. Like an open wound that'd never heal.

"It ever get easier," she asked, leaning her weight against her harpoon.

"... Can I be honest?"

"As honest as the bruises you've been giving me all week," she said with a shrug.

"It gets harder every day." That was the honest truth. Every day since the Fall felt like a lifetime. Every hour felt like I'd lost Team RWBY all over again. I missed reading Ruby stories. I missed tea-time with Weiss. And… Well, it went without saying that waking up every morning without Yang felt like having my heart ripped out all over again.

I had to go to Patch to make things right.

"Ain't that the damn truth," Pearl sighed, brushing some of her hair out of her face. "That's why I'm never losing anyone else. Ever again."

Hunters knew not to say things like that. It practically invited Grimm to come prove you wrong. But I could see the fire in Pearl's eyes. She meant it. I could almost even believe her.

"I'm gonna get water and Gambol Shroud and you're gonna show me how much you mean that," I said with a nod. Pearl's fierce expression grew into an even fiercer smile. She was definitely ready for more intense training.