35

Scars, Old and New

"I can't believe your sister is paying for all of us!" Ruby exclaimed, "I mean me and Yang were just gonna take Uncle Qrow's booze money but this is so much cooler!"

Smirking and tilting her head up Weiss replied smugly, "Yang and I. Well Winter is being rather generous. Though she practically ordered me to go clothes shopping with her card once she found out I only had one outfit."

The sleek monorail car they were in jostled slightly as it turned a bend, the glimmering Atlas skyline visible from the interior as buildings flew by. The hum of the carriage vibrated the deck as the rail took the transport up and around the city. Atlas, when it was founded, had learned many lessons from Mantle. One of which was planning for a metropolis, space was important and doubly so for a floating city, no expense had been spared on the public transportation system. They couldn't expand so massive highways were avoided and the monorail system was developed. Only the richest of Atlesian citizens owned personal vehicles. Even then most places were passages at best and couldn't fit the average automobile, the city was designed in hubs with walking to a destination being the best process. As such the city tended to seem claustrophobic to outsiders.

"I swear to any gods out there, Neo, that if you touch my hair I will end you." Yang growled, shooting a glare at the small woman next to her, though the girl in question merely raised an eyebrow in response to what was most likely an empty threat. Not that Yang wouldn't try, everyone just doubted on her ability to carry out said threat.

Neopolitan was an enigma, and thankfully one their other companions, Cole and Neon, didn't inquire about. Whether that was because of tact or that they just plain didn't care was up in the air, though Weiss would probably bet her money on Cole for the former and Neon for the latter. Either way she'd been delightfully surprised when Winter had come by with the pair and suggested the outing citing that it would be for the best for the teams to get acquainted with Atlas. Well, Winter had suggested they go out and that she get some replacements but it had been Yang who hijacked that into a shopping trip surprise for the swimming pool. After all none of them had brought swimwear and while all the men were easy to shop for, female swimsuits were far more complicated.

Thus had they set out on a destination with the help of Neon and Neopolitan just slipping into the group though by this point no one really batted an eye. Neo did what she wanted and thankfully had proven herself to be on relatively best behaviour, though she seemed to get her kicks out of antagonizing Yang. It was nice to see the blonde getting the brunt of the teasing for a change but Weiss was beginning to feel sorry for her teammate.

Through some miracle the tram slid to a gentle stop and the intercom dinged, listing their destination and the group had to file off into the plaza. She was thankful that the only man in the party was Flynnt by virtue of being their guide, she didn't know if she could trust Neon not to lead them on some grand adventure without someone to keep her on track, with Oscar and Ren staying behind to distract Jaune. This was, after all, supposed to be a surprise party for when he got his cast off in a couple days. Nora had been conflicted about coming along, reluctant to leave Ren's side until she was lured away with the promise of picking out the boys' trunks.

Weiss desperately hoped she knew what she was doing imagining all sorts of crimes against fashion that would have Coco fainting.

The shopping district was arranged in growing circles with the tram station in the center, raised up a good way into the air to allow foot traffic underneath. The circle grew and grew until it met the border of the industrial and housing districts. The department store they were going to was located at NE4-6, which meant the Northeast quadrant, fourth ring, sixth suite. Atlas was nothing if not efficient. The store, named HunterPro, was a combination of a few other, smaller, businesses catered towards Hunter gear. The massive building, seven stories, had a different purpose for every floor. There was the general goods and dust on the first floor, a third party vendor for SDC dust, after that it apparently started with general clothes for women and men for the next two floors. These clothes were tear and puncture resistant, made with expensive materials which made them only affordable by huntsmen or the elite. Ostentatious and usually bold there were dozens of brands stocked on those floors due to a Hunter's penchant for wanting to stand out. The floor after was a specialized Hunter tailor who could modify any clothes purchased below or make an outfit from scratch. This method was much more expensive than the brands the store sold but again, Hunters usually had flair.

The fifth floor, their destination, concentrated on athletic wear. The brands were popular enough and with it all being in the same building it sold well enough to get it's own floor. The top two floors held a weapon hall and forge. There you could order a tailor weapon, get if fixed, or get replacement and upkeep parts.

Better not let Ruby up there or they'd never see her again.

To Weiss' relief there wasn't a no faunus sign next to the door either. Her eyes slid her Bake's head, the familiar bow making a reappearance for the first time in a long time and while her teammate didn't catch her, someone else did.

Showing a surprising amount of social awareness, Neon sidled up to the heiress and whispered, "HunterPro gets a ton of business from Atlas Academy, if they discriminated against faunus the General would boycott the place. The headmaster isn't afraid to throw his weight around for his students, not that there's a lot of faunus at the academy."

"Then why hide?" Weiss asked, nodding towards Neon who herself had hidden her tail around her waist, under her jacket.

"It's easier." she shrugged, "You're with Atlas students so you'd be unlikely to get harassed, nor would I, but this way we don't have to deal with it at all."

"You shouldn't have to do it at all!" The heiress harrumphed.

"That's not important right now!" Neon looped her arm with Weiss', "It's time for swimsuits!" She led the charge into the store, dragging a sputtering and indignant girl behind her.

-SY-

All in all Yang felt pretty great, even if Neo was pestering her in the beginning the woman had disappeared into the racks when they'd gotten to the fifth floor. Even Vale didn't have a store as big as HunterPro but Atlas seemed to be more compact than Vale. A flying island would do that for you.

The athletic wear was top notch even if the price tags made her eyes bug out a little. Though the section for more leisurely outfits was more on the affordable side. The girls had split up among the racks looking for specific things. Out of the corner of her eye she spotted a cute little one piece in black and red that would be perfect for Ruby and snagged it. Doubtless the girl would pick just about anything, but Yang wanted her sister to look good, not like someone who didn't put in effort.

It wasn't like she wanted to dress up Rubes, not at all.

Before she could move on something blue was shoved in her face and when she brought it away she discovered it was a bikini. And her size. With an accusing look she glared at Nora, the guilty party not batting an eyelash at her expression and a huge grin on her face. Having known the excitable girl as long as she had, it sent shivers down her spine.

"I found something for you!" Nora declared in a singsong voice, "I was picking out something for Jaune and thought you guys should match! So I grabbed this!"

Nora held out a pair of lilac men's trunks, the same shade as her eyes, and that was when she noticed that the bikini in her hands was the same shade as Jaune's eyes. Her cheeks flushed at the implications. Sure they were dating but this? It was like getting couple bracelets or something. It was embarrassing though a small part of her said Jaune would look good in her colors. Yang tried to squash it but it seemed to be winning, winning enough for her to admit defeat and promise to try it one, though looking at the tag she had to wonder how Nora had managed to get her size exactly right.

Making her way to the changing rooms, snagging a lilac bikini on the way, she ran into Weiss. To no one's surprise she held an ice blue one piece swimsuit with frills at the waist and chest.

"I think that's a little small for you." Weiss said, nodding at the suit Yang had picked for her sister, red with black polka dots and a matching skirt.

"It's for Rubes. These are for me." Yang held up the other two suits she had.

As one they checked in with the employee at the changing rooms and went into their respective stalls. The area itself was roomy, square with stalls lining the sides and a sitting bench in the middle and mirrors in the stalls. It didn't take long for Yang to change into the blue suit and true to the tag it fit snugly. The color itself wasn't a uniform shade but rather a vivid blue that faded to blake near the bottom of both pieces. It looked good and she found herself impressed with Nora's fashion sense. The gradient made it not look too simple whilst still not overly fancy. Blue matched well with her golden hair and also would complicate Jaune's eyes, just as Nora had said.

There was one problem, however, and it ran ugly across her chest. A still vivid scar from sternum to hip. Though it had faded some, the scar itself was an angry red line and stood out against her skin.

"Hey Weiss?" She called out across the stalls, getting a noncommittal hum in reply, "Think I should go with a one piece too?" Absently she traced a finger along it. She never gave it too much thought, even when it itched, but it was always hidden under her clothes. This would be the first time she showed Jaune and she didn't know why but she was apprehensive towards doing it.

"With your, ugh, curves?" Weiss' tone told her what she thought about the idea. Yang could pull off almost any swimsuit, she knew she looked good, but not maximizing on her own style? Even the heiress would call bullshit, "That suit would hardly look hideous on you. Let me see it."

She couldn't hide in the stall could she? No that was stupid. Weiss knew about scars, after all she had one on her own face and it wasn't like her team hadn't seen hers already. With a quick, fortifying, breath she exited the stall to find her teammate standing there, hands on hips, in the swimsuit she'd chosen. It had been a good choice, Yang approved of it. But she was getting distracted and the girl's narrowed eyes said as much.

"What's wrong with it? It's fine. Better than fine, actually." Weiss grudgingly admitted.

"It's not the suit." Yang forced out, "It's the, uh, the scar." It was embarrassing to admit, she had her credibility as the team badass to uphold but if anyone would understand it was Weiss. Though the more she thought of it the more she came to realize her entire team could sympathize. Ruby was missing her arm and although prosthetics weren't entirely rare with their profession it still drew a lot of attention. It had taken months for her sister to grow accustomed to the gazes of others and not let it affect her. Blake, although her situation was vastly different, could relate with her faunus ears. She got stares for entirely different reasons but she could still relate, in a way.

"I thought you didn't care?" Weiss asked, one eyebrow going up. Though her expression was incredulous it held a tinge of sympathy, as though she already understood what Yang was about to say.

"I didn't. I wouldn't but… well… Jaune." She finished in an uncharacteristically meek fashion.

"You realize that idiot will probably be so busy trying not to look at you that he won't notice? Or even if he does he won't care?" Weiss was unimpressed but her expression soon softened, "After all he did fancy me at first, and I did have this." She put her hand up to her left eye, the faded scar from her fight with an Arma Gigas and a permanent reminder.

"I know that but still, I feel nervous about it."

Weiss rolled her eyes before sighing, her expression changed slightly like she was looking into the distance, "My father, once I defeated that Gigas, told me 'Maybe it's better off you're going to Beacon, I doubt you'll find many suitors like this.'"

Yang's eyes widened and she swore, blood instantly boiling and she could feel her eyes starting to change. How dare he! No one talked that way about her team. Weiss could see the shift and swiftly went over, laying a hand on her arm.

"It's fine, Yang. It was ages ago and I've long since stopped caring about what he says." Weiss smiled at her and it had her nodding along.

Before she could say that if he ever said something like that in front of her, she'd show him where he could stick his pompous opinions, a figure stuck her head into the changing area. They'd been stood there for a while, it was a wonder they hadn't been interrupted yet.

"Am I interrupting anything?" Blake asked, a small, cheeky smile on her face.

"Only if you aren't joining in." Yang grinned back.

"Yang!" Weiss gasped and rushed to explain, "This brute was just worrying about what her boyfriend would think about her scar. I think it was about to overwork her last brain cell."

"Scar?" A shadow passed over the faunus' face, "The one Adam gave you?"

It was clear that it still bothered her from the way her eyes cast downward and her ears flattened atop her head.

"H-hey relax. It's all in the past now." Yang tried to head off the heavy atmosphere but it looked like she was too late. They had never really appropriately talked about the subject. Her nearly dying at the hands of Blake's ex. But it was nothing. She didn't blame the girl for it happening but it looked like Blake still did.

"No. I never said it and I should have when we met up again." Blake looked her dead in the eyes, "I'm sorry Yang. I'm sorry I brought my past into this and I'm sorry for running. You needed me and so did Ruby."

Yang pulled her partner into a hug, the tears in Blake's eyes just too much for her to handle, "It'll be fine Blake. You're here now. That's all that matters."

Yang tried to push the awkwardness of hugging someone while half naked aside as she closed her eyes. It wasn't fine but it would have to be. Blake had betrayed her in spite of knowing the issues she had with Raven. She should have known better, what it would do to her and their relationship as partners.

But she could set all of that aside in favor of getting her partner back. This sudden and short apology had been both what she'd been looking for and what she had dreaded from the moment Blake had come back. There was a reason they'd never had it in the first place.

Put in short, Yang had been avoiding it. Back in Mistral she'd shouted and said some hurtful things, though it had all been glossed over the next morning by what happened between her and Jaune. They'd forgotten about it for the most part but Blake had tried to bring it back several times and Yang didn't want to deal with it.

This time she'd been ambushed and it had come so quickly she'd been blindsided. Eventually she knew she'd have to end this one sided grudge with Blake. Though it didn't mean she'd trust the girl right away. That would take time. Time and proof that Blake was there to stay.

Yang was telling the truth about one thing, however. The most important thing was that she was there now, and hopefully not going anywhere.

A/N: Not a whole lot happened this chapter but it was a necessary scene. Some world building and the start of Yang and Blake fixing their partnership. With Yang's issues she never really quite forgave Blake for running but it was just overshadowed by other things.

Maybe the last line sounds a little forboding and I do promise that there's a lot more to unfold in Atlas. After all this is the final arc of my story. How many chapters are left? I dunno, however many are needed but what's important is that the end is in sight. I'd love to just put all my other projects aside and focus on finishing this but I think my readers of the other projects would get mad.

If you're interested in how far the arc is progressed we are still in the very beginning of the Atlas arc. After all Cinder, Adam, and Watts are out plotting their plots to who know what' nefarious ends, but none of their plans have been enacted quite yet.

I hope you all are as excited as I am for this. I've been waiting to start this arc for a very long time. Since I planned the ending for this story in fact.