If anyone here gets romantic thoughts from this, put 'em back down into the depths of 'yer mind! It's not time for that yet.

(I'm joking. Think whatever you want, true or not.)

Also, anyone looking at the lore aspect of Stim, I went back and looked it up - the grunt in the first Titanfall said he put TWO DROPS of Stim in his coffee and couldn't sleep for a week. What kind of bullshit is that?    

     The streets of Vale looked busy - far busier than usual. Perhaps it was the Vytal festival's draw; perhaps it simply looked that way from the back of the motorcycle (Y/N) rode upon. He couldn't say it was an entirely unpleasant ride; Bumblebee was rather high quality. What most surprised the pilot about the bike, however, was that he was on it in the first place.

Earlier

     "Pilot, there is someone approaching the hangar," Osiris said, his mechanical eye locked onto the building's large double doors.

     "Oh? Who do you think it is? I'll bet you five credits its Ruby. She's the only person who would come unannounced for no reason during the day." (Y/N) replied, sifting through a textbook, attempting to find some semblance of knowledge on the application of gravity Dust.

     "Are you certain you want me to take that bet, (L/N)?" The titan shifted his gaze to his pilot. 

     "You bloody well betcha." (Y/N) put the book down and jogged to the button controlling the doors. 

     "I will wager five credits that our visitor is Yang Xiao Long." The pilot held back a laugh as soon as he heard 'Yang.'

     "Are you on something, OS? Yang?" He palmed the button, allowing the doors to open several feet as he turned back to his titan. "I mean, seriously. Why would there be-" (Y/N) froze after having looked back to the opening to see none other than Yang herself standing there, her right arm raised as if to knock. Slowly, he panned his face back around to look at his large metal partner. "You fuckin' knew, didn't you?" The titan was unresponsive for a brief moment.

     "Bio-scanner, pilot." Osiris raised his arm and pointed to his optic. 

     "You damn cheater," (Y/N) mumbled as he turned to address the blonde at his door. "Hi! Yang! To what reason in hell do I owe this debatably pleasant visit?" He clasped his hands together and tilted his head, looking oddly like an over sarcastic, forced mother after learning her ex-husband's girlfriend was coming to live with her. Yang looked hesitant for a moment.

     "I - uh . . . I . . ." She looked down, seeming to struggle to find the right words. "Dammit." She whispered before sighing. "Listen, I was talking with Ruby and our Uncle Qrow the other day and . . . it really seems like Ruby is heart-set on being your friend so . . . if we're really doing this, then we should try and . . . clear the air between us." She looked up at him with a partially hopeful, partially frustrated, and partially uncomfortable gaze, which was paid no mind. 

     "Osiris," (Y/N) looked back to his titan. "I want my money back. I refuse to believe this is actually Yang."

     "According to the bio-scanner, she is real."

     "Hey!" The blonde in question cut in. "I'm trying to be nice!" 

     (Y/N) turned back to her. "Really? And here I thought hating me was one of your casual hobbies." 

     "Grrr! Listen, I don't even want to be out here right now, so just humor me for once in your life you self-centered jackass!" Yang exploded, her eyes flashing red as her fists clenched. The pilot released a satisfied chuckle as he walked outside despite the tiny pang of guilt he felt for toying with her when she was clearly at the limit of her patience. 

     "I'll be back later, Osiris. Hold down the fort for me." (Y/N) palmed the door button on the way out. "So . . . did you have any place in mind?"

Present

     Yang turned sharply, causing the passenger riding behind her to involuntarily slide to the side. She saw this in her mirror. 

     "If it's too rough for you, you can always hang on to me." She snarkily suggested. There was no real reason to, but a sudden idea popping into (Y/N)'s mind changed that, and he did as she said. "Oh, don't worry, you tough pilot man. We'll be there soon." Yang spoke in mock sympathy, obviously enjoying what she thought was a show of weakness. 

     "Worried? I was never worried. I just like the idea of you being the little spoon." (Y/N) smirked as Yang looked at his arms, coming to realize what the motorcycle passenger position vaguely imitated. Her angry growl was easily audible despite the increasingly loud roar of the engine as it sped up. 

     Eventually, after driving through a few less than reputable looking neighborhoods, the two pulled up to a rather inconspicuous building. 

     "Where exactly are we?" (Y/N) asked as he stepped off the motorcycle. 

     "You'll see." Yang smiled. "What's the drinking age where you come from by the way?" (Y/N)'s lip curled as he realized what this was. 

     "Same as here." He answered, walking past her to the door. She watched him, somewhat intrigued. 

     "So does that mean you're old enough to drink?" The blonde leaned to the side. She didn't necessarily care how old he was, but his response would be noted. (Y/N) stopped at the door. 

     "Maybe." He glanced over his shoulder at her despite the helmet hiding his smirk before pushing open the door and walking inside. Yang hummed in slight wonder, a small shred of hope coming to her. Maybe, just maybe, this wouldn't be quite so awful at all.

     While the outside of the building looked like anything else they may see on the road, the inside was anything but. After they walked in the front door, they were met with a huge set of double doors that slid apart for them. When they finally entered the establishment, the pilot and the huntress stood upon a landing before stairs that led to a large dance floor. (Y/N) had been to a number of clubs in his life for various reasons, some of which were fairly 'vibrant'. This was very similar, save one of the key differences, that being it looked like Ruby had chosen the color scheme. Everything other than the dance floor had a base color of black with a trim switching from red to white every few seconds due to the light bars embedded in each surface. "This place looks like epilepsy hell." (Y/N) commented. Before Yang could respond, another voice shouted through the music. 

     "Stop!" It was a somewhat well-dressed man, though one can hardly call themself that when they're dressed the same as every other employee in the building. Black suit, red tie, red glasses, and black fedora. The only real difference one might see between them was facial hair. The man before them, however, became the focus when he drew a gun. People around them caught sight, some partygoers, others additional bouncers. Some of the guards joined the first, arming themselves with submachine guns, machetes, of hatchets. Many of the others unfortunately went running at first sight of Yang, yelling things like "she's back!" and "get the rocket launcher!" 

     "Wow. You have such a way with people, Yang." (Y/N) stopped and scanned the small crowd of fedora-wearing men, unimpressed. "What exactly did you do to get all these people to like you so much?"

     "Oh, you know. Grabbed their boss by the balls once, then recked the place." She answered nonchalantly. The pilot resisted the urge to facepalm. 

     "What the hell is going on here?" Yelled a voice from behind the crowd of guards. Eventually, a tall, somewhat muscular man pushed through to the two and his jaw dropped. (Y/N) could see the mixture of anger, frustration, fear, and exhaustion wash over this man's face as he gazed over the blonde and her plus one. "What are you doing here, Blondie?" He rubbed his face with his right hand and sighed. "The first time you showed up, I didn't have any info for you. The last time you were here, I didn't have any info for you. So what in the hell makes you keep coming back?! Why can't you just leave me alone?"

     "Aw, Junior, don't look so down. I only came here for a drink." Yang gave him a mocking smile as she looked up to him. He dwarfed Yang, having to be at least six and a half feet tall. 

     "That's what you said last time," Junior growled, removing his hand from his face and glaring. "And last time you didn't bring one of the most recent additions to the terror watchlist as your friend." The man now assumed to be the boss pointed at the pilot. 

     "Oh, (Y/N)'s fine, don't worry about it. Besides, he's not the worst person you've had in here." Yang relaxed, looking like she was enjoying this part of the visit far too much.

     "Yeah, that's because the worst person I've had in here is the one I'm staring at." Junior stepped closer to her, his glare intensifying. 

     "You're such a flatterer!" Yang laughed. "But, for your information, I could have done a lot more damage." (Y/N) did his best to look over the group of bodyguards to the dance floor. Some of the people had noticed what was going on and had stopped dancing to watch. 

     "We're making a bit of a scene." He leaned over to Yang. "I don't know what your idea of fun is, but unless you took me here for a bar fight . . ." (Y/N) trailed off, looking at Junior then back to her. 

     "You don't think bar fights are fun?" Yang playfully raised a brow, moving her gaze to the pilot.

     "I mean, they can be. I just would've wanted a heads up." He shrugged, leaning back from her. 

     "Well, I don't like bar fights!" Junior interjected. "Especially when those fights more often than not leave me a few thousand lien in debt for repairs."

    "A drink would be less entertaining, but I suppose we can live with it," Yang smirked, knowing the boss would have to comply one way or another. "If you get out of our way."  The large man was hesitant at first but eventually relented.

     "Fine, you want a drink? Go have your drink. Just . . ." Junior released an audible sigh. "Anything gets broken, anyone dies-" he shot (Y/N) a glance- "and it's your ass!"

     "Bet you wish you had my ass," Yang muttered as the group of men around them dispersed. 

     "Huh. They like you almost as much as I do." (Y/N) chuckled, walking toward the bar. "Gotta be careful. I might be tempted to go drink with the big angry bouncer."

     "Or you could just stop being a douchebag." Yang sarcastically remarked, taking a seat next to (Y/N) as he found a bar stool. 

     "Never." He responded. "It would be far too difficult. I mean, I wouldn't be as sarcastic if people weren't so stupid." Yang glared slightly out of the corner of her eye. "Honestly, everyone gives me so many good opportunities that would be a shame to waste."

     "Have you ever considered maybe just speaking to someone normally? If there are so many opportunities, then you don't constantly have to use them."  

     "I do consider it, but there's no fun in that, is there?"

     "Insulting everyone every chance you get is 'fun' for you? Your definition's very different from mine." Yang rolled her eyes, her gaze finding a holographic TV in corner displaying the current round of the Vytal Tournament. Two members of Team CRDL were getting pummeled by Penny and her partner, though her partner seemed to lack any sort of involvement. 

     (Y/N) looked to Yang, recognizing the sudden lack of social interaction and followed her line of sight to the TV. He found a small satisfaction at watching the racists get shitkicked by a robot. 

     "I bet that would be fun." He commented, pointing at the TV. 

     "You sure? I don't think your walking field hospital could get you in time if something bad happened." Yang scoffed. 

     "You think I'd lose that easily?" (Y/N) skeptically asked. 

     "You did lose to Mercury."

     "And we don't need to ever speak of that, thank you!"

     "I wouldn't," Yang smiled. "But it's just too much fun." (Y/N) deadpanned, about to retort when the bartender came around to them. 

     "Are either of you actually going to get anything?" The man, looking the exact same as every other employee asked. Yang was the first to speak. 

     "I'll take a Strawberry Sunrise, no ice. Oh! And make sure to add one of those little umbrellas." She eyed the shelves of bottles excitedly. The bartender looked at the pilot, who hadn't decided as of yet. "You should try what I'm getting. And don't worry if you can't hold your alcohol. The Sunrise is pretty low content." Yang said this with a slight bit less snark, (Y/N)'s reaction to Mercury partially reminding Yang why she was here with him in the first place. 

     "Well, you like it, so I know I definitely won't. Besides, I don't really trust your judgment when it comes to bars. Especially if you only go for the low content stuff." (Y/N) pointed to the name of a drink on a holo-board and the bartender nodded.

      "I'd take that as a challenge. But I'm not trying to get too buzzed before a fight." Yang looked amused as the bartender visibly tensed. 

     "You have a fight soon? Why the hell are you here?" (Y/N) asked, dumbfounded. 

     "It's always nice to take the edge off every once in a while."

     "After a fight, maybe, but before? Am I gonna have to carry you back to Beacon?"

     "Nope! I'll be fine." Yang struggled to chirp. 

     "Good." (Y/N) settled back into his seat. "Because if I did, I'd be driving your motorcycle."

     "No, you won't." Yang instantly responded. "She is mine and mine alone."

     "Come on, Yang. Didn't you say you wanted to 'clear the air'? You could always do that by letting me go for a ride." (Y/N)'s words were mostly jokes, him not having much real desire. Still, it might've been fun. 

     "Clearing the air does not mean doing whatever you ask me to do?" Yang's smirk widened slightly as she found herself enjoying this, though not exactly more than she thought she would, given that she didn't think she'd enjoy it at all.

     "No, but it could. It is sorta your fault there's air to be cleared in the first place . . ." (Y/N) momentarily trailed off in mock nervousness. "I mean-" he wrapped his arms around himself, pretending to be horrified- "I was innocent! I was standing there minding my own business and you put a gun to my head! What did I ever do to you?" Yang, however, was getting particularly fed up with that 'misunderstanding' being continuously brought up.

     "Oh my god! I'm sorry, okay?! I'm sorry I 'threatened' you, and put my fist to the back of your head and started a fight! I'm sorry for being such a 'horrible' person." Yang's hands were braced against the table as she scowled at him. "Is that good enough for you?" As she finished, the bartender came by, dropping the drinks off. (Y/N) let out a satisfied laugh before picking up his drink, which was revealed to be a second Strawberry Sunrise. 

     "Yeah." The pilot thumbed the button on his helmet, opening the bottom half and revealing his own smile before clinking his glass with Yang's. "It's a start."

                                                                                                                                         * * *

     "Where is she?!" Weiss nearly shrieked from her seat. The current tournament match was now over and Yang was nowhere to be seen, which, considering she was to take part in a fight in just a few minutes, was quite distressing.

     "Don't worry, Weiss. I'm sure she'll be here soon." Ruby placed a reassuring hand on her partner's shoulder when she suddenly saw Penny and her partner leaving the stadium and jumped to catch up with them. 

     "Where did she even go?" The heiress complained. 

      "You didn't hear?" Blake looked up from her scroll. "Apparently she went to talk to (Y/N). Something about 'clearing the air'."

      "Clearing the-" Weiss paused, trying to wrap her brain around two things. The first was Yang trying to use her words to work out problems and the second was Yang trying to work out problems with (Y/N), who Weiss did not have a particularly good image of. "(Y/N)?" She finally, incredulously asked. "I don't know why she's wasting her time with someone so vulgar." Blake had no answer to give her, opting to simply return to whatever she was doing on her scroll. Unknown to them, the two in question were walking into the colosseum as they spoke.

     (Y/N) and Yang strolled into one of the many entrances to the stands and seats overlooking the everchanging battlefield of the tournament. One of the first things they saw was Ruby on the ground, slowly being suffocated in a crushing hug by Penny of all people. Before either could ask what was going on, another voice shouted above the white noise of the spectators. 

     "There you are!" Weiss came running from behind a nearby wall up to Yang with a somewhat angry scowl. "Where have you been this whole time? We're in the next match." She threw an emphasizing arm behind her to the rest of the stadium. 

     "Relax, Weiss." Yang shook her head. "Our next match isn't for, like, fifteen minutes."

     "Well, at least you remembered that much." Weiss leaned to the side, crossing her arms. "But we still have to go get ready!" She grabbed the blonde's arm and began dragging her away. 

     "Hang on, Ice Queen." Yang protested before tearing herself from Weiss's grip. She turned to the pilot behind them. "Are you gonna stay and watch the fight?" Her expression was almost difficult to read, on the border somewhere between nervousness and uncertainty on what she was hoping he'd say. (Y/N) took a moment to think about it. 

     "Are you going to look down at the ice?" She could hear the shit-eating grin through his words and frowned with an expression that screamed 'seriously?' (Y/N) laughed, finally answering with "No. I appreciate the offer, but I've done enough socializing for today. I'll tell you what, though. If it makes you feel any better, I'll get a front-row seat for your finals match." He turned and began walking away.

     "How do you even know if we'll be in the finals?" Weiss interjected. 

     (Y/N) looked over his shoulder at them. "I don't, so you better get winning!"

     "Oh, you'll be here." Yang clenched her fist at him. "That's a promise."

     The pilot smirked. "Looking forward to it."  

Some of you will notice some inconsistencies with how dialogue is structured between this chapter and the last few. Worry not, I'm well aware of them. After a lot of time, I've finally figured out which structure is correct and when. I just figured I'd let you all know to avoid confusion. 

Part of me feels like I should've added a bar fight but at the same time, there's no way Junior's character would've gone for that . . .