The Wildfire
Spying her sister by the punch bowl, Yang sighed and strode over to her. "Ruby." Ruby stiffened and made to escape, but with the table in the way and the throng of people on the dance floor, any and all exits available to her were cut off. Groaning, Ruby turned to face her sister who had already made it there. "What are you doing?"
"Having punch," replied Ruby, as if it should be obvious to her.
Yang crossed her arms and frowned at her younger sister. She had been hoping that maybe, just maybe, Ruby would be asked to dance tonight. Her sister looked absolutely adorable in her dress, coupled with her shy nervousness at having to dress up and wear heels, it only made her that much more adorable. How any guy, or girl for that matter, could resist Ruby tonight was beyond Yang. Heck, if they weren't sisters she probably would've asked her for a dance and maybe even flirted a little. "This is a dance, Ruby. Dance."
"I can't dance, and you know that," retorted Ruby, sipping her punch. "Besides, I said I'd come, I never said anything about dancing!" She lifted up the other cup of punch in her hand and drank from it too.
She decided to ignore the fact that her sister had two cups of punch and was standing next to the punch bowl for the time being. She could ask about it later. "It was implied you'd dance."
"Well I never said I would, so I'm not. I can barely walk in these shoes anyway."
"They're called heels."
"Evil lady stilts."
"..." Sighing, Yang looked around for Jaune. She knew her sister quite well; she wouldn't ask anyone to dance, but if someone asked her to she might be more inclined to agree to just one dance. And Jaune was the perfect guy to ask to do her dirty work for her. He wouldn't take advantage of Ruby or read into her request. He'd just assume she was being a big sister taking care of her younger sister by forcing her to live a little. "Where's Jaune?"
"I dunno. We were talking about Weiss and Neptune and then he just took off. I'm his punch guard," explained Ruby, silver-gray eyes nodding towards the second cup in her hands.
Well. That explained some things. "How is Weiss doing anyway?" asked Yang, curious as to how the vexing heiress was doing after getting rejected. Yang still didn't know very much about Weiss, but judging by the way she had come back to their room that night and promptly gone to bed she hadn't taken the rejection very well. The next day she had acted like nothing had ever happened, as if she had expected Neptune's refusal and had only asked him to be nice, him being an exchange student and all. She had sorely insisted that she was too busy and didn't have time for boys and that it was actually a good thing that Neptune didn't want to go to the dance with her. They had all prepared for the dance, but Weiss was strangely too into prepping herself and Ruby to be considered normal. That aside, her snarky comments and jaded comebacks held far less bite to them than normal too. She was most certainly not okay with what had happened between her and Neptune, but no one on the team was going to push her for a heart to heart talk about it quite yet. Yang had been in and out of enough relationships to know that it'd be better if Weiss came to them first.
Ruby shrugged. "I dunno..." Yang's eyes didn't miss Ruby's tentative glance towards the white haired heiress. Her little sister's actions certainly called for some scheming, but now wasn't the time. "She's been pretending to be busy with party preparations."
"Ah," nodded Yang, glancing towards Ruby's line of sight and seeing Weiss rearrange some flowers that definitely didn't need the attention. "Why don't you go talk to her?"
"W-What?!" balked Ruby.
"Weellll, you are the team leader. It's kind of your job to make sure we're all okay, right?" asked Yang, remembering when Ruby had first talked to her about Blake's downward spiral and how she wasn't sure how to handle it and had wound up letting Weiss address the problem with her indecisiveness.
"Well... yeah..." mumbled Ruby quietly. "But... What if Weiss just turns me away like Blake did with us?"
Ah, so that's what was bothering her sister. "It'll be fine. Just don't bring up Neptune. I'm pretty sure Weiss doesn't actually want to be alone right now. Remember when we were kids? You used to get mad at me and dad all the time, saying you wanted to be alone, but you never did want to be left alone, did you? You always went and wrapped yourself up in mom's cloak."
Ruby flushed with embarrassment. "N-No I didn't!" Nevertheless, Ruby set down Jaune's cup of punch and got another one and made her way over to Weiss.
All that was left was to find Jaune and get him to do her bidding to treat Ruby like a princess for a few minutes tonight. . . . . . well, she hoped he could do that much. In all honesty, the more she thought about it, the more likely it was that her plan would fall apart. Jaune was... well... Jaune. He probably couldn't even dance to save his life. Maybe she ought to ask Ren, or Sun even. Ren was quiet, but she believed in his footwork more than she did Jaune's despite not having seen him dance yet. And Sun... well, he was doing a good job with Blake and he wasn't doing anything too racy, so he was probably a pretty good choice. But she didn't want to take him away from Blake tonight. She needed the night off and Sun was good for that. He was a nice distraction. Sort of. If she liked tall, blonde, and muscled. Not that she was saying there was someone else who would've been purfect for distracting her tonight and making sure she had a good time, platonicly or romantically--if she wanted to get romantic that is--with the same sort of characteristics as Sun.
As she combed the dance floor for Jaune, she instead found Pyrrha. The red head was unmistakable and the vivid red dress she wore only made her stand out even more. Stunning as she was, the glum expression on her face and slight frown didn't match up.
It was a split second decision. She didn't have to think twice. As she climbed up the stairs, Yang hurried after her. She met Blake's gaze for an instant and gave her a small, reassuring smile. She'd check up on Pyrrha, no worries. At the top of the stairs, she looked both ways and saw no sign of Pyrrha. She doubted the young woman was just strolling about on the second floor, watching the other students. It only left one other option: the balcony. "Hey, Pyrrha."
"Hello Yang," responded Pyrrha quietly, turning around to face her for a brief moment and acknowledge her entrance before turning right back around and looking out at Beacon.
"You okay? I haven't seen you tonight," asked Yang, moving to stand next to her and fully taking her in. Underneath the moonlight and stars Pyrrha was even more stunning. Her dress was long and simple and she wore no other accessories other than her usual headdress, but it went with the dress nicely. Her hair was tied up as usual, but she could tell that Pyrrha hadn't taken up her usual care due to all the stray hairs sticking out and escaping the hair tie. Pyrrha had tried to smile, but the forced smile couldn't hide the dejected look in her mesmerizing emerald eyes that were full of nothing but hurt and disappointment.
"Arrived late, I'm afraid." The explanation was half assed and she knew it, but Yang didn't push for a clearer one.
"Well, I'm glad you decided to come anyway. What do you think of me and Weiss' handiwork?" asked Yang, hoping to cheer her up a little simply by being a little more upbeat and hoping the distracting conversation would help her relax. It seemed that wouldn't do the trick. Whatever was bothering Pyrrha, it was something serious. She briefly wondered if it'd be better to go find Ren and Nora to help her out, or Jaune.
She was slow to answer. "You guys did a great job." The words were complimentary, but her tone was void of conviction.
They stood side by side for awhile, just staring out across the campus on the balcony together. Leaning against the railing, Yang continued to watch as other latecomers welcomed themselves to the party. She was supposed to be greeting them, but she was sure no one would mind and if Weiss really cared that much about greeting all of the party attendees, she could do it herself for awhile. Everyone seemed to be having a good time or enjoying themselves, if the lack of people leaving the party was any indicator.
Pushing herself away from the railing, she glanced over at Pyrrha. "What's wrong Pyrrha?" she asked, voice low and gentle. "I promise I won't tell anyone." She usually didn't like to pry and gave people their space, but in this case, prying might be the better option. Pyrrha was clearly upset about something and seemed to be bottling it up inside of her instead of letting it out. Yang knew from experience that bottling things up tended to lead to disastrous results. To be honest, she was surprised that Jaune wasn't here cheering her up.
"Nothing's wrong," replied Pyrrha, leaning against the railing, her arms folded up on top of the smooth, stone railing. "I just needed some fresh air." Her finger tips tapped the top gently as she continued to avoid looking directly at Yang and distracted herself with the floating clouds in the night sky and broken moon.
Crossing her arms and leaning back against the railing, Yang shrugged. "Okay." Back against the railing, she tipped her head up and gazed up at the sky. Patience wasn't exactly the best tool in her arsenal, but it wasn't something she was completely incapable of performing. She was a flirt and popular with guys and girls alike, but it wasn't just because of her looks. She had helped raised Ruby, to a point, but it seemed like a lot of people tended to forget that. Sure, she and Ruby were two years apart, but Summer had left when Ruby was still a little kid and their dad had taken the loss pretty badly, the woman being the second love of his life and all. She had wanted to cry and shut herself in her room all day long too, but someone needed to make breakfast (even if it was just cereal) and get everyone ready for the day (even if it meant having to wear a wrinkled shirt and ugly tie). She shouldn't have had to grow up a little so quickly, but she had and nothing could change that. It wasn't something she regretted, not really, and had learned to embrace and make use of.
Pyrrha's breath hitched for a moment and her tapping came to a halt. "Nobody asked me..." she murmured silently.
"How could nobody ask you?!" sputtered Yang before she could stop herself as she abruptly turned to gawk at Pyrrha. Pyrrha was drop dead gorgeous, sure, but she was also pretty smart, not to mention the nicest person she had ever met who wasn't already a part of her family. She cared immensely for the people closest to her and she still did her best to help those who weren't. Oh sure, she was famous and all that, but she didn't flaunt it around in people's faces or used it to her advantage at all. That's what she liked about Pyrrha.
A flash of anger crossed her emerald eyes as she turned to face her. "Everyone assumes I'm too good for them; that I'm on a level that simply can't be attained when I was just blessed with incredible opportunities. It's become impossible to form any--"
"It's not impossible," interrupted Yang. "Sure, I know you're Pyrrha Nikos, four time champion of the Mistral Regional Tournament, but that's not why I like you and I never thought that about you."
"W... What?" asked Pyrrha, taken aback by Yang's fierceness and bluntness.
"I like you because you're one of the kindest people I know. You care so much about the people around you that you forget to care about yourself." Aw, to hell with it. Might as well come clean. "And when I said I liked you, it's not just as a friend."
Blinking Pyrrha processed the meaning behind her words. "I... I had no idea... But... you didn't think of me like that at first did you?"
Grinning Yang nodded, causing Pyrrha's face to dip in disappointment. "Hey." Taking hold of Pyrrha's hands, she got her attention. "My first impression of you? 'That girl is hot.' I didn't even register that you were Pyrrha until I got past your mesmerizing emerald eyes, brilliant red hair, and toned body. That's when I realized I at least had a name to your pretty face."
"Wait..."
"I was going to talk to you, but Ruby was having some problems. As her older sister I couldn't just abandon her like that. Besides, you looked like you were pretty busy with Weiss too, so I figured I'd just introduce myself later," continued Yang, on a roll and not hearing Pyrrha's voice. "I got to know you through Jaune and Ruby, and for that I'll be forever grateful to them, otherwise I probably would've blown it and you'd have written me off as some shameless play girl not worth a second of your day."
"W-Wait... WAIT!" shouted Pyrrha, abruptly, pulling away from Yang. Blinking, Yang sheepishly let her hands fall to her side and bit her tongue as she waited for Pyrrha to talk. "You... like me?"
"Yeah."
"... ... ... I... what...?"
"I like you," repeated Yang, beaming.
"B-But it sounds like you're... you're... you're..."
"Confessing my feelings for you? Yeah."
"..."
Yang quickly put two and two together as Pyrrha's face slowly became flushed. "You... didn't know I was bi, did you?" Hands covering her face now, Pyrrha meekly nodded. "Ahh... well. There you have it. I'm bi. I like you. If you don't like me back the same way, it's cool." She waited a few moments, but it seemed Pyrrha was too shell shocked for words. "I would've totally hit on you and asked you out sooner, but you were friends with Jaune and Jaune is friends with Ruby and I figured that she ought to be able to have some friends here."
"W-Why would that matter?" asked Pyrrha, finally beginning to get a hold of herself. "I mean, just because I rejected you wouldn't mean she couldn't hang out with us..."
Yang raised an eye at her. "Soooo, if I had, oh I dunno... professed my feelings to you through song, probably in the halls on your way to class you wouldn't have been thoroughly embarrassed or assumed Ruby was just as crazy as me? And that's just one of the wildly romantic ideas I had. One of my other ideas involved hijacking the school's comms."
"You may have a point..." conceded Pyrrha. "Why would you go to such lengths though? I mean, this is rather mild compared to what you had intended."
Laughing, Yang nodded. "Yeah, I suppose this is pretty tame compared to some of the ideas I had. I guess... it's because you're Pyrrha." She saw Pyrrha's face begin to darken again and quickly explained herself. "I figured plenty of people would've tried asking you out already and I'd have to do something pretty extravagant to get your attention and be worth remembering. I didn't want to be another faceless kid on your list of 'number of people who asked me out today'. I wanted you to remember me. If you remembered me, for better or for worse, it'd be easier to get closer to you and maybe worm my way into your heart to give me a chance."
"Oh." She was quiet for a moment before continuing. "I... I never thought about it that way," she admitted.
Yang just grinned. "Hey, it's okay. Now that I've gotten to know you, it's been pretty clear that if I wanted to get your attention the only competition I'd have would be Jaune, but seeing as he's pretty damn clueless about how you feel, my chances were good."
"You know?!" she asked, wide eyed with shock. Pyrrha's expression was pretty easy to read and Yang guessed that she had thought that only Ren and Nora knew about her feelings for Jaune.
Yang just waved a hand at her and laughed it off in a friendly manner. "Pyrrha, I'm pretty sure everyone knows by now. It's probably why no one asked you." Pyrrha's head snapped up at this. "Everyone probably thought you and Jaune were going together," shrugged Yang absently. "We figured you two would go together too. If we had known... we'd have done some meddling too."
"Too?"
"Sun and Blake," answered Yang softly.
"Oh..." Silence fell over them and Pyrrha willingly broke it first for once that night. "Why... Why didn't you tell me sooner?" It seemed the news about her sexuality had come as a big surprise and she was slowly getting used to the idea, but Yang didn't hold it against her. It was understandable for her to not be so accepting and understanding right away.
"Hmm?" drawled Yang, hoping she could be a little clearer with her question.
"You said that your only competition was Jaune and that your chances were good, so why didn't you ever... make a move?" She was becoming increasingly aware of the fact that Pyrrha seemed a little uncomfortable about this, but seeing as Pyrrha wasn't trying to make a run for it or acting like it was the end of the world, Yang supposed that she coming to terms with it and that this was likely the first time she had ever had to come face to face with the fact that there were also girls who wanted to bed her alongside of guys.
"Oh, that. Well, it's kind of hard to get someone to like you when they already like someone else, so I figured I'd just give up on it unless you ever gave me reason to believe we had a chance," explained Yang. "Though if you must know, you're one of the few people who's really gotten my attention."
"Do you mind if I ask who some of these other people are?"
"I'll just say that once it was someone at Signal and the other time is with someone here at Beacon," answered Yang. "There have been plenty of other guys and girls in between though, just... nothing serious."
"Who's your date tonight?"
Grinning, Yang turned to face her and took her hand. She had been hoping Pyrrha would ask her that. "Care to be my date, Miss Nikos?"