Distance: Part 1

The beginning of Yang's professional mixed martial arts career had been one of great promise and frequent stumbles. She clearly had the potential to be a dominant fighter, but her lack of polish led to inconsistent performance and some embarrassing losses. To take her game to the next level, she had moved from Patch to Vale in order to train at a gym owned by one Weiss Schnee. The head trainer, Peter Port, was a retired legend of the sport, and with Weiss' financial backing he hoped to turn Vale Top Team into one of the world's premier mixed martial arts gyms.

Yang was a bit late to the party, but soon befriended the regulars. There was Lie Ren - an Olympic Judoka making the jump to MMA - and his girlfriend - and Olympic Weightlifter - Nora Valkyrie, who had only joined a month previously, Blake Belladonna - an inexperienced fighter - who had joined a few months before, and the team's first signing and greatest coup, rising star Pyrrha Nikos. Pyrrha had only been fighting for about as long as Yang, but an undefeated record and a series of dominant performances meant she was now training for her first title shot. Yang became particularly close with Nora and Blake, the former matching her energy and enthusiasm, the latter drawing her in with an air of indifference. Yang enjoyed the challenge, and befriending Blake was a rewarding one. Besides, she was beautiful, intelligent and single. Perhaps Yang could get a date.

One of Yang's breakthroughs had been Blake's interest in tattoos. She had an appreciation for art, and Yang had a lot on her skin, courtesy of her sister Ruby's ever growing skill in tattooing. It gave Yang an excuse to strip for Blake - just to show the full extent of her tattoos of course - and gush about her little sister and her awe inspiring artistic talents. Ruby had come along from Patch to Vale with Yang, setting up a tattoo parlor in the city with her sister's financial backing.

"Ruby did all this?" Blake asked. Yang and Blake were at the gym, Yang stripped to her underwear, only keeping them on at Blake's request. Blake held Yang's arm, tracing the slightly faded rose vines that snaked their way from her wrist to her shoulder.

"Yep, it started small." Yang nodded. "With this one right here actually." She pointed to a particular rose on her wrist. It looked ever so slightly rougher than the rest. "She was a little nervous, but practice made perfect. She went over it again after she got better. These represent the Rose side of our family...and this one represents the Xiao-Long side of the family." Yang indicated the golden dragon wrapped around her other arm.

"And this one?" Blake asked, running a finger along one of the wings of the raven that covered Yang's back.

Yang's smile faded just a little. "My birth mother, Raven." She replied. "Ruby kinda' got carried away with it. She'd learned to do feathers pretty well and it was good practice."

"They're so beautiful...wow…" Blake gasped. "I've always thought about getting a tattoo. Never really looked into it though."

"Ruby's been trying to make a business of it." Yang suggested. "If you're interested, I could bring her in. You could look at some of her works, talk it over, I could get you a little discount." Yang smirked, winking.

Blake rolled her eyes but looked thoughtful. "I've had a few ideas over the years." She declared. "Sure, why not."

Yang's smile grew. "Awesome!"

Yang had been excited to bring Ruby to the gym. Despite being bubbly and bright, Ruby was awfully shy, preferring the company of her artworks over that of other people. Yang knew the best way to coax her out of her shell was through said artworks, and despite some anxiety, Ruby had agreed to come. After asking several questions about Blake's ideas and interests, she set to work on a portfolio. The next day, Ruby was a bundle of nerves, her anxiety flaring as they pulled up to the gym on Yang's motorcycle.

"W-what if she doesn't like them?" Ruby asked.

"She'll love them Rubes, don't worry." Yang encouraged.

"Should I say hi, or shake her hand, or let her introduce herself, or…" Ruby rambled.

"Just walk up and give her a nice big hug." Yang suggested. "She loves 'em."

"Uh...okay, right, sure." Ruby psyched herself up. "Okay, I can do this."

Yang took Ruby to a table at the edge of one of the rooms, near the cage used for sparring, telling her to set up while she got Blake. Opening her portfolio, Ruby began pulling out various examples of her work, as well as references and sketches related to Blake herself. Before she knew it, Yang was calling out to her. "Rubes, meet Blake."

Ruby jumped, dropping one of her sketches as she spun around, coming face to face with Blake. Yang walked past to lean against the table, and Ruby stood frozen for a moment before hurrying forward to wrap Blake in a hug. "H-hi, I'm Ruby."

It was Blake's turn to stand frozen, stunned by the sudden invasion of her personal space. She saw Yang struggling not to laugh and glared at her before returning the embrace. It was not so bad really. "Hello Ruby, I'm Blake." She introduced herself. "It's a pleasure to meet you."

Blake let go and Ruby stepped backward, still a little shaky. She gestured toward the table. "I brought a bunch of stuff in to show you." Ruby declared. "Some of my work, aside from Yang that is, a-and Yang said you liked some uh...some book series and stuff. They've got nice illustrations and I made some sketches, just a few ideas that came to mind."

"Book series?" Blake asked, glowering at Yang. "I don't remember telling Yang about my reading habits." She moved to look at the artwork spread out on the table.

"You keep your locker open Blakey." Yang smirked. "And your gym bag, and your car."

"Yaaang!" Ruby admonished. "That's rude!"

"Pfft, whatever." Yang laughed. "You liked looking them up."

"Shut up." Ruby ordered.

"These are beautifully done." Blake observed, holding up a sketched vine of nightshade.

"Oh, thanks!" Ruby cheered. "I just looked up your name, and well, flowers have always been easy for me to draw, so I did a quick one for fun."

"This is Princess Elvira correct?" Blake asked, picking up another work. "From Volume 3?" The sketch depicted a maiden in a glowing dress, one hand stroking her hair, the other clasping the hilt of a rapier. When Blake got no response she turned to find Ruby staring off into the distance. Following her gaze, she saw a sparring match had begun. Lie Ren and Pyrrha Nikos squared off against one another, Pyrrha's long crimson hair flowing as she threw a kick at her opponent.

"That's Pyrrha, she's nice." Yang chuckled. "You'll probably like her."

"Huh?" Ruby snapped back to reality. "Oh yeah. What'd you say Blake?"

"This is Elvira, right?" Blake repeated her question.

"Yeah." Ruby confirmed. "There was a lot of fanart of her, but most of it was...well...yeah…"

"I love it." Blake praised. "Do you think you could do something with both of these?"

"Totally!" Ruby exclaimed. "It would make a great sleeve. She could be laying on your arm surrounded by flowers!"

"A sleeve...hmm…" Blake hesitated.

"It's not as painful as people say." Yang declared. "Unless you're a pansy about it."

"I can handle pain Xiao-Long." Blake scoffed. "It's just a big commitment. Tell me about these other designs."

For the next half hour, Blake went through the rest of Ruby's original works - characterizations of people she knew, fanart of her favorite franchises, and ideas that happened to strike Ruby. Blake praised them all in their own way. It gave Ruby a confidence boost, one she did not feel when people praised her work online. It felt more real coming from someone she could see and touch. Of course all that newfound confidence slipped away in an instant when she heard a new voice behind her.

"Good morning everyone." Pyrrha greeted. Ruby spun, finding herself directly facing Pyrrha. A towel was wrapped around her neck, hair wet from her recent shower draped over her shoulders. Ruby found the sight gorgeous, and absolutely terrifying.

"Mornin' Pyr." Yang responded. "Remember how I told you about Ruby?"

"Ah, hello Ruby." Pyrrha smiled. "It's a pleasure to meet you."

Pyrrha extended her hand to shake, and Ruby stared at it for a moment too long before taking it, shaking it more by nervous accident than on purpose. "H-hi." She squeaked. "You looked great while fighting."

"Thank you, I train very hard." Pyrrha bowed. Letting go, she gestured toward the table. "What's all this?"

"Blake's getting a tattoo." Yang replied.

"Maybe." Blake corrected.

"Pfft, as if you can say no to Ruby." Yang scoffed.

"I don't care for what you're implying." Blake warned.

"You did all this?" Pyrrha asked.

"Yeah!" Ruby cheered. "I did Yang's and my own tattoos, and I've been doing other art commissions for people online for years!" Ruby rolled up the sleeve of her cardigan to reveal the rose on her shoulder.

"They're very well done." Pyrrha praised. "I've never really given tattoos a thought before."

"I could do one for you if you like." Ruby offered. "Free of charge!"

"Uh, thank you Ruby, but that's a bit of a big thing." Pyrrha demurred. "And aside from that, were I to have such quality work done I would insist on paying."

"W-well everyone's first is free." Ruby stammered. "People are always scared the first time, and if more of my work is out there, it'll get around more and I'll get more customers! Not to mention repeat customers. It's simple business really!"

"Well, thank you for the offer Ruby." Pyrrha smiled. "Should I ever decide to have one done, you will be the first person I talk to. I should really get going now. I promised to talk to Weiss this morning. It was a pleasure meeting you."

"It was nice to meet you too!" Ruby exclaimed.

With a smile and a wave Pyrrha left. "See Blakey, told ya' I'd get you a discount." Yang chuckled.

"Are you okay Ruby?" Blake asked.

"I think I scared her off." Ruby sighed.

"Don't worry about her." Yang encouraged. "She's a bit of a celebrity back in Mistral, so she gets uncomfortable with fangirls. She'll get over it eventually."

"Oh…" Ruby groaned.

"What she means is Pyrrha is still adjusting to normal, excitable people." Blake explained. "Nora nearly gave her a heart attack."

"The crazy weightlifter?" Ruby asked.

"Yang...is that how you described her?" Blake pressed.

"That's how she describes herself!" Yang declared.

"Just...she's not crazy Ruby." Blake corrected. "Nora's just excitable."

Suddenly Nora burst through a nearby door and was immediately upon the group. Ruby screamed in terror. "Oh, I'm crazy, clinically crazy!" Nora exclaimed. "The pills keep me from killing again!"

The next couple of weeks were eventful for Ruby. She became familiar with the rest of the gym regulars, particularly Nora and Blake, and even met the elusive Weiss a few times. Though Weiss was often busy and had little patience for entertaining the newcomer, she made an effort to be polite, complementing the tattoo concepts Ruby had drawn for Blake.

"You actually look a lot like her." Ruby observed.

"You think so?" Weiss asked. "I suppose there is a resemblance."

"It's uncanny." Blake answered.

"Who is she?" Weiss asked.

"Princess Elvira." Ruby replied.

"From Ninjas of Love." Blake added.

"That book you're always reading?" Weiss inquired.

"It's my favorite." Blake nodded. "Would you like a copy?"

"Uh...sure." Weiss hesitantly agreed.

Nora, once calmed down from the initial excitement of meeting someone new and interesting, had gotten the idea of a tribal style tattoo from a famous Vacuoan wrestler. Said tattoo would cover the majority of her right arm, continuing over her shoulder, part of her back, and even her right breast. Ruby was more than a little overwhelmed by the idea, especially the part about tattooing a breast, nipple and all. Luckily she had Blake's tattooing to focus on first. It only took them a week to finalize the design, and two days later Blake visited the apartment Yang and Ruby shared for the actual tattooing. Blake sat in Ruby's makeshift studio, a cramped but cozy space.

"You two have fun in here." Yang smirked. "I'll make some dinner."

"Are you sure about this?" Ruby asked.

"Without a doubt." Blake confirmed.

"Alright, okay, a-and if I make any mistakes I promise I can fix them." Ruby struggled. "Okay?"

"You won't make any mistakes Ruby." Blake said. "I trust you."

"I wish I trusted me." Ruby sighed.

"Come on, you'll do fine." Blake encouraged. "Look at you and Yang. Everything you do is beautiful, and this will be no different. Have some faith in yourself."

"I've always sucked at that part Blake." Ruby shook her head.

Blake suddenly took Ruby's hand in her own, meeting her gaze and smiling reassuringly. "Ruby Rose, you can do anything you put your mind to, anything." Blake declared. "Don't ever let anyone, not even yourself, tell you otherwise."

Ruby gave a wobbly smile and leaned forward. Blake wrapped her in a hug, easily reciprocated. "Okay, let's get this done."

Blakes tattoos turned out even better than Ruby had hoped. For the sake of Ruby's nerves, she only did the lineart in their first session. The next week Ruby did the shading. The finished work was the same Princess Elvira, but ever so slightly posed differently, to look as if she were reclining along Blake's arm, surrounded by several vines of nightshade, their lilac shading the only source of color in the work. Blake was overjoyed, a strange look for a normally placid woman. For someone who a month ago had not even seriously considered getting a tattoo, she was awfully happy to have a full sleeve. She was so happy in fact that she physically lifted Ruby up to hug her. Blake insisted on paying Ruby somehow, and it was decided that she would lend some of those books she loved so much.

With that out of the way, Ruby was able to focus on something far more stressful. "Good morning Pyrrha!" Ruby greeted.

"Good morning Ruby." Pyrrha responded. "How are we today?"

"Great!" Ruby cheered. "Blake's tattoo is all finished and I've been working on some sketches for Nora."

"That's wonderful." Pyrrha smiled. "I'll have to take a look when I see her next."

Despite Ruby's stammering first impression, Pyrrha was willing to speak with her again. At first it was simply to be polite, little inquiries about each other's well-being, casual greetings and farewells. Slowly this transitioned into conversation. Pyrrha warmed to her, and Ruby could barely contain her excitement. Everything about Pyrrha was beautiful to her. Tall, muscled, with long, flowing, richly auburn hair, emerald eyes that almost glowed and sparkled in the light, and a smile that could start a war.

"Ruby, you're staring again." Blake warned. Ruby snapped out of her trance. She had started watching Pyrrha do pull-ups, her tank top showing off the straining muscles of her back. Ruby turned to Blake, blushing. "Just ask her out Ruby. Take her to lunch or something."

"I-I don't think she swings my way." Ruby stammered.

"You'll never know until you try." Blake noted.

Ruby whined. "Mmng."

Ruby found Pyrrha's endless supply of enthusiasm comforting, her voice soothing, and her laugh left butterflies in her stomach, to say nothing of warmth in her chest...among other places. Speaking with her was a torturous as it was euphoric, and only reassurances from Blake kept her from losing her cool, crawling into a ball and hiding away from the feelings burning a hole in her heart. Instead she would hide away with Blake.

"You okay?" Blake asked.

"No." Ruby admitted.

"Why is your face red?" Blake enquired.

"Pyrrha was in the shower." Ruby replied.

"And…" Blake pressed.

"I was just going to the bathroom, a-and she must have forgotten the soap or something, but she came out of the stall and she had...nothing...nothing on." Ruby curled into herself, hiding her face in her arms.

Blake pulled Ruby close. "You're hopeless." She sighed.

Ruby whined. "Mmng."