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“Hey, uh, y’know, not for nothin’, but are you really sure your sis is gonna be okay wi’ this?”
Even when she was uneasy, Labrys’ voice was loud and vibrant. But no matter how boisterous her voice was, it was still obvious that she was nervous.
“Hey, don’t worry about it!” Yang said, grinning and slinging an arm over Labrys’ shoulders. “What’s not to be okay with? She knows I play for both teams. And it’s not like she’d have any reason to object to me dating a girl as great as you, right?”
“Aww jeez, Yang-chan,” Labrys said, gently punching Yang in the side. “You’re such a flatterer. But really, though, ain’t she gonna be concerned about me bein’ a robot?”
“Have you seen how she was with Aigis?” Yang said, rolling her eyes. “She’ll probably get mad at me for hogging you all to myself and start asking me for ‘technical specifications’ or something.”
“If you say so,” Labrys said, frowning. “Guess you’d know best, she’s your sister after all.”
“Of course I do,” Yang said. Not that Labrys looked too convinced.
Yang couldn’t really blame her. Meeting the family was always a bit awkward, even if Labrys had met Ruby before. Fighting alongside someone in a weird mixed up in-between world was a lot different than telling them that you loved their sister.
As the two of them paused by the door to put on their coats, Labrys continued to fret.
“Do you think I should bring my axe?” she asked. “Ruby liked that, right? Maybe it’d make a good ice breaker.”
“We’re going to a cafe, Labrys,” Yang said, pulling on her duster. “I don’t think they’ll be too pleased if you drag that thing in there.”
“I could wear it on my back! I don’t gotta unfold it or anything,” Labrys protested.
“It’s still gonna be a little out of place, babe,” Yang said. “Leave it at home, okay?”
“You’re bringing Ember Cecila, ain’tcha?” Labrys accused. “That’s a double standard right there.”
Yang raised her eyebrows. “Labrys, Ember Cecila just looks like bracelets when it’s not active. Even folded up, your axe is giant.”
“Guess it would kinda draw some attention,” Labrys admitted grudgingly, as she gave up and took the coat that Yang handed her.
“Well, you can’t avoid that,” Yang said, grinning. “A cute girl like you is always going to turn some heads.”
“Jeez louise, Yang-chan,” Labrys said. “Why you gotta make me blush like that? Let’s go already.”
The cafe they’d agreed to meet in was a little place not far from Beacon. The nearby town had a lot of that sort of small, friendly business, half of them only profitable because they’d become hangouts for students on the weekends and after class. If Beacon ever moved campuses, Yang was sure this cafe would be gone within a year, but with a constant flow of students looking for somewhere with couches and coffee to do homework, chat with friends, and meet up with potential partners, it was bustling throughout the school year.
Right now though that, that just made it harder to find what table Ruby and her girlfriend were at.
“Hey, there they are,” Labrys said, tugging on Yang’s arm and pointing to a booth with Ruby’s hood visible through a gap in the crowd.
As they made their way over, true to Yang’s prediction, Labrys attracted a few glances. None of them turned into stares, though. A robot might be something worth gawking at, but in Remnant Labrys’ robotic nature wasn’t as obvious as it must have been at Yasogami. Sure, her arms and legs were obviously robotic, but Beacon was a combat school. No one here was surprised by prosthetic limbs, and Atlas wasn’t shy about advertising their high tech robotic replacements. With her clothes concealing her torso and neck, all the other patrons of the cafe saw was a human looking head, a normal looking clothed body, and robotic limbs. If they assumed anything, it would be that Labrys was an experienced huntress who’d been fighting Grimm long enough to have survived more than a few bad hunts.
“Yang!” Ruby said, perking up when she saw the two of them weaving their way through the throng of people and waving at them frantically. “Over here!”
“Heya sis,” Yang said, raising a hand casually as she slid into the booth across from her.
“Greetings, Yang,” Penny said, her usual cheerful but slightly odd smile on her face. “It is a pleasure to see you again.”
“Nice to see you too, Penny.” Yang didn’t really know a whole lot about Penny. They’d only met for a couple of minutes, and Yang had mostly just thought she was a little weird. But while Yang had been busy figuring out how to use System to move to Labrys’ universe, Ruby had been spending an increasing amount of time with Penny, and by the time Yang had gotten back from her universe hopping, the two of them had started going out.
As an older sister, of course, Yang had to do her traditional inspection of her little sister’s partner. It just so happened that it also was a good excuse to introduce her own girlfriend. Why not kill two bird with one stone?
“Labrys!” Ruby said. “It’s good to see you too! I can’t believe you came back with Yang!”
“Yeah, well, she made some pretty convincin’ arguments,” Labrys said, rubbing the back of her neck sheepishly. “And it ain’t like we can’t go visit my friends if we really wanna, right?”
“Yep,” Yang said. “System’ll complain about it, but she can do it. She just needs to recharge for a few months between journeys.”
“Woow, I can’t believe that you’re really here!” Ruby said, leaning forward excitedly. “I thought for sure I’d never see you again!”
“Yeah, well, I kinda thought the same,” Labrys said. “But, uh, Yang-chan didn’t really take no for an answer. Even when it was the laws a’ physics sayin’ it.”
“Of course not,” Yang said, grinning. “It was love at first sight, after all.”
There was a pause for a second, and then Ruby gasped, holding her fists up to her chin. “Omigod omigod you’re dating?! That’s so awesome!”
“See? Told you she wouldn’t have any issue with it,” Yang said, grinning at Labrys.
“You really… don’t have any problem with it?” Labrys said, surprised. “You ain’t gonna say it’s weird or nothin’?”
“What’s weird about it?” Ruby asked, cocking her head in confusion.
“Well, cause,” Labrys lowered her voice and leaned in. “Y’know, cause I’m a robot.”
“Are you also an automaton?” Penny asked, curiously.
“Uh, wait, what?” Yang said. “Also?”
“Yes. I do not think i have fully introduced myself.” Penny straightened up and extended an awkwardly stiff hand to Yang. “Greetings. I am Penny Polendina. I am an Atlas M374 combat android system.”
“You never told me your world had androids, Yang-chan,” Labrys said.
“Uh, I never knew it did,” Yang said. “I thought Atlas just made those tin soldiers.”
“Penny’s an experimental technology!” Ruby said, hugging Penny proudly.
“It is technically a secret. Please do not tell,” Penny said.
“So, wait,” Yang said, raising an eyebrow. “Are you telling me we’re both dating robots?”
“I guess so,” Ruby said.
“And they’re the only two androids in the world.”
“Yep.”
Yang shook her head. “This is gonna be really weird to explain to dad.”