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Hi everyone!  Just a quick announcement here - I'm moving next weekend so there won't be a new chapter next week.  I'll do my best to start up again the week after, but it's just been really stressful trying to coordinate everything plus proofreading (and writing in general).

Thank you for understanding!

***

If Yang didn’t already have a problem paying attention during class, Blake would have created one, big time.  After being back at school for a few days now, the only important things Yang had learned all had to do with Blake.  Were they teaching anything else in class, or was the entire school as obsessed with Blake as she was?

Obsessed was a strong word.  Completely captivated? Utterly preoccupied?  Whichever one sounded least creepy, use that.

By the time the end of the day rolled around, Yang practically skipped to the locker room to get ready for practice. She usually wasn’t in such a rush, but practice meant they’d be in the gym. And being in the gym meant she’d see Blake again.  Maybe Blake would stay long enough that they could catch up after practice ended...

Shoving her way into the locker room, Yang tossed her bag onto the bench beside Pyrrha.

“How do you always make it here before me?” Yang asked while pulling off her shoes and throwing them into the nearest open locker.

“I told you...my last class is right down the hall,” Pyrrha answered, calmly straightening her ponytail and flashing a bright smile.  “Plus, I don’t dawdle in the hall.”

“I didn’t even dawdle today!” Yang protested.  Earning a disbelieving “uh huh…” in return, she shook her head and nearly pulled her shirt over her head when she realized there was an unread message flashing on her phone.  Curious, she picked it up and read the text.

“No way!” she exclaimed, reading the message a second time.  “Coach Ironwood is sick??”

“A robot can get sick?” Pyrrha asked, her eyes sparkling playfully.

“Apparently!”  

Staring at her phone, Yang was at a loss for words.  This was the first time in...basically forever...that their coach canceled practice due to illness.  Everyone was just starting to believe that he was an actual robot (a rumor Nora started years ago) and now he went and caught the flu?

“Well, what are you going to do now?”  Softly shutting one of the locker doors, Pyrrha turned towards Yang with an expectant expression.

“He said to cancel,” Yang explained while holding out her phone so Pyrrha could see.  Briefly squinting her eyes, Pyrrha nodded and ran her hand through her ponytail one more time.

“Guess you’re free for the afternoon.”

“Guess so…”

The change in events was unexpected but not unwelcome.  They could always run workouts without Coach here, but his instructions said to cancel and rest up for tomorrow - which was a gift and a half, especially for the new girls.  

Ordinarily, Yang would still workout by herself, but with their first bout on Thursday...she’d gladly take the extra rest.  The week as a whole would probably be lighter than usual, but they’d more than make up for it on Thursday.

“I’ll probably watch you guys,” Yang told Pyrrha, who was already ready for her practice.

“I’ll see you out there then.”  With a wave and another smile, Pyrrha walked out of the locker room - and was quickly joined by another teammate who ran to catch up with her.

Shaking her head at Pyrrha’s endless popularity, Yang pulled her shoes out of the locker and quickly put them back on.  Grabbing her bag, she headed into the hallway and caught Nora’s arm before she blazed through the door.

“Hey!” Yang called out.  “Coach is sick, so no practice today.”

For a second, Nora didn’t seem to understand what Yang said.  Then came the whines.

“No practiceeee??” Nora wailed, dropping her bag in the middle of the hall.  “But what am I supposed to doooo??”

“It’s ok, Nora,” Yang whispered, patting Nora’s arm and trying to prevent her from making more of a scene.  When a group of volleyball players walked out of the locker room and shot them curious looks, Yang rolled her eyes and waved them off. 

“It’s not ok!” Nora shouted, adding a foot stomp for good measure.  “I wanna practice!”

“But...why don’t you hang out with Ren instead?” Yang suggested, nodding towards the boy about to walk out of school and silently apologizing for sending Nora after him.  Because of course Nora’s eyes instantly lit up.

“That’s a great idea!” she exclaimed, any hint of fake tears gone as she grabbed her bag and raced after him with a loud “Rennn!!”

After watching Nora plow into Ren at a sprint that nearly knocked him off his feet, Yang chuckled and leaned against the doorframe of the locker room.  

Since Coach probably only messaged her, she needed to spread the word to the rest of her teammates. Once everyone was informed, she could watch track practice. Technically, she could go home too, but she and Ruby always walked home together.  Plus, she didn’t mind waiting - it wasn’t like she had anything better to do anyway.  Besides homework...but she didn’t plan on doing that until the last possible second.

“Hey guys, no practice today,” she told a group of her teammates when they walked towards the locker room.  Their reactions were a mixture of relief and disappointment, but mostly relief. Having a day off was pretty awesome - especially for the new girls, who were just getting used to the rigors of training hard every day.

“Sweet,” they finally decided in unison, smiling as they turned away from the locker room and headed towards the front doors instead.  “See you tomorrow!” one of them called back to Yang.  

With a quick wave, Yang waited for the rest of the team to show up.  In the meantime, she held onto the straps of her backpack and let her mind wander. And where else would her mind wander but to Blake?

The conversations they had today were still stuck in her mind.  Blake saying that Yang could be her hero, reading one of Blake’s favorite quotes while in the library, and then there was that trivial matter of where Blake would ‘sneak away to’ in order to...well, just where she’d sneak away to.

Talking to Blake wasn’t like talking to anyone else Yang knew.  For one thing, she was incredibly witty and always had a clever remark hidden up her sleeve.  But she was also very sharp - kind of like how Weiss was intellectually sharp, but in a less...attacking way.

Did Yang really just compare Weiss and Blake?

The comparison probably wasn’t so crazy considering that both were top of the class, super smart, and studious.  But the similarities stopped there...at least as far as Yang was concerned. For one thing, Blake actually seemed to enjoy her company, while Weiss certainly did not.

“Hey Yang.  What’re you doing out here?”

Blinking at the question, Yang found her other teammates walking up to her.

“Oh, hey Hannah,” she replied to the girl who’d addressed her.  “We don’t have practice today. I’m just letting everyone know.”

“Thank god,” Hannah sighed, sharing a relieved smile with the other girls.  “I can hardly lift my arms after last week.”

Laughing, Yang held her hand up for a high five, but put it exactly where Hannah would have to raise her arm to reach it.  When she reluctantly did so, Yang grinned and patted her on the shoulder.

“You’re gonna be just fine, but an extra day off can’t hurt.  Make sure you’re stretching though - a lot.”

Nodding at the advice, Hannah smiled before walking off with the rest of the newcomers in tow.  Checking names off the list in her head, it was only when Yang was positive she’d let everyone know that she headed for the gym.

The best part about not having practice was that she could watch Ruby’s practice instead - and it was always fun to watch Ruby’s practice.  Unfortunately, she didn’t get to do it as much as she’d like to, but today she could watch the entire thing from start to finish. She’d get to see that little brunette bullet leave everyone else in the dust.  

Not that Yang was overly competitive or anything, but she really enjoyed watching her sister demolish everyone else on the team.  There was something so satisfying about seeing that happen over and over and over again...

As soon as Yang walked into the gym, her eyes drifted to the top of the bleachers - where Blake was already settled into her usual spot with a book in hand.  Pausing for a second, one hand still clutching the strap of her bag, Yang couldn’t decide what she wanted to do next. Unlike the You-Crew, Blake didn’t stay after school to watch boxing, so Yang didn’t have to let her know that practice was canceled.

But Blake could read or do homework by the track too...so maybe Yang should let her know.

Altering her path, Yang crossed the gym floor and climbed the bleacher steps, ignoring the pairs of eyes that locked onto her.  When she was near the top, she walked over and stood on the level just below Blake - low enough that their eyes met when Blake looked up from her notebook.

“Hey,” Yang said, noticing that her lack of workout attire made Blake curious.  

“Hey?” Blake asked.  While she didn’t ask the question out loud, it was clear she was wondering why Yang wasn’t dressed for practice.  Shifting her bag on her shoulder, Yang tried to ignore nerves budding in her chest.

“Our coach is sick, so we don’t have practice today,” she explained, watching Blake’s eyes fill with understanding.

“Oh...that’s too bad.  I hope he feels better soon.”

“Yeah, I’m sure he’ll be fine by tomorrow,” Yang replied, shifting her bag again and glancing around to see who might be paying attention.  Even though she and Blake were relatively separated from the rest of the students, she felt other sets of eyes watching their interaction intently.  

Leaning closer, she lowered her voice so no one overheard what she said next.  

“I’m gonna watch Ruby’s practice.  Wanna come with me?” she asked before quickly adding, “There’s plenty of space outside to work too.”

She didn’t want to say she held her breath waiting for an answer, but she let out a sigh of relief when Blake smiled and nodded.  After shutting her notebook and sliding it into her bag, she stood and gestured down the bleacher steps.

“Lead the way.” 

Beaming with happiness that her offer was accepted, Yang headed to the stairs before waiting for Blake to fall into step beside her.  The two of them descended the steps together before heading towards the doors leading out to the track. Shoving one of the double doors open, Yang held it for Blake before they walked through the cement tunnel leading to the track and field.

“We can head up here,” Yang said, pointing towards a set of stairs leading up to the middle section of outdoor bleachers.  

Climbing into the stands, with Blake trailing close behind, Yang was pleasantly surprised to find that it was a lot emptier out here than indoors.  With hardly anyone else around, they could pick the seats with the best view of the field and still have some privacy.  Not that they needed privacy for anything, but if Blake wanted to read she might want it to be quieter...

“It’s nice out!” Yang commented while tossing her bag onto the aluminum bench in front of where they were going to sit.  

The weather was sunny and warm, but not too warm - one of those perfect fall days when wearing a jacket or not wearing one would be equally comfortable.  Which was good, because Yang didn’t have a jacket with her today.

“It is nice,” Blake agreed, setting her bag beside Yang’s before sitting down.  “I’ve actually never been out here.”

“You should see it when there’s a track meet.  The stands are filled with people.”

“Really?”

“Definitely!  We’re really proud of our track team, so everyone shows up to support them.”

“I’ve heard they’re unbeatable.”

“You bet.  Pretty sure they haven’t lost a meet in like...ten years or something,” Yang replied with a soft laugh.  When another topic didn’t immediately spring up, the conversation lapsed into a comfortable silence.

If Blake wanted to read, Yang wanted to give her the opportunity to do so without chattering nonstop - even though that’s what Yang wanted to do.  Just sitting out here together was nice though...even though Yang’s left side tingled from Blake’s proximity.

Had they ever sat this close before?  Side-by-side like this? Only a centimeter of space separated their shoulders - such little space that Yang could lean into Blake and pass it off as an accident.

While the silence expanded, Blake made no move to open her bag.  Instead, she watched the members of the track team walk around the field in preparation for practice.  After a few more minutes of inaction on Blake’s part, Yang decided it was safe for her to talk again.

“I always forget how big the team is,” she commented, watching the team members in their various groups going through a range of stretches.  “So many different specialties too.”

“I don’t know much about track and field, so I’m hoping you can explain it to me.”

Yang grinned at Blake’s admission.

“I can try!  But I’m definitely not a genius at it either.”  Scanning the field, Yang easily picked out Pyrrha flitting from group-to-group giving instructions or answering questions.  

“Pyrrha…” Yang chuckled to herself.  “Always helping someone.”

“It seems like everyone looks up to her.”

“They do.  She’s the most talented one out there, after all.”  On cue, Ruby blazed across the straightaway in front of them.  “Besides Ruby, of course,” Yang added with a grin. “But Ruby’s still young.  She hasn’t mastered a lot of the little details yet.”

“Wow, she’s fast though,” Blake replied, watching Ruby race away from them.

“You bet she is!”  

Wrapping her hands around one of her knees, Yang watched proudly while Ruby made the other runners look like they were stuck in molasses.  And it didn’t even look like Ruby was trying. Her form was far from perfect, and she was laughing too much to be fully concentrating. Even though it was just a warm-up, she easily outpaced her teammates.

After Ruby made a full lap around the track, Yang caught sight of someone else.

“You see that guy right there?  The blonde one?” she asked, pointing out Jaune by the benches.  When Blake leaned closer to see who Yang was pointing to, her breath caught in her throat.

“Yes.”

It was hard to remember what her point had been when her mind was too busy rejoicing in how close they were right now.  It was only when Blake turned and gave her a curious look that she started talking again.

“Pyrrha has a huge crush on him,” she blurted out.  “Has ever since freshman year.”

“Really?”

“Oh, but don’t tell anyone!” she added as an afterthought, even though she wasn’t concerned that Blake would do something like that.  And Blake’s smile told her that she had nothing to worry about.  

“Although it’s not really a secret if the entire world knows except him,” Yang joked.

“Don’t worry, her ‘secret’ is safe with me.”

Chuckling at the reply, Yang was even more ecstatic when Blake didn’t move away and opted to sit so close that they were almost pressed into each other.  If Yang focused on her side, she felt a little bit of heat coming from Blake’s presence beside her...and that made her skin tingle with nerves and excitement. 

“Keep an eye on him though,” she added when practice started.  “He’ll probably trip over his feet at least twice before it’s time to go home.”  

When Blake laughed, Yang leaned forward, set her elbows on her thighs, and watched the team congregate at the center of the field to listen to one of the coaches.  

The two of them hadn’t been out here for very long, but she was already thoroughly enjoying Blake’s company - so much so that she kind of wished she never had boxing practice to go to.  If she didn’t, what were the chances that Blake would hang out with her every day after school?  

“So he’s the one you were referring to at lunch,” Blake remarked.

“Oh yeah.  I love giving her a hard time about it.  Maybe if I keep bringing it up, she’ll ask him out one of these days.”

“Why doesn’t he do the asking?”

“Jaune?” Yang asked with a huff of amusement.  “When you meet him, you’ll understand. He probably has no idea how she feels about him.”

“That’s unfortunate…” Blake mused, mostly to herself while turning her gaze back to the field.  When practice officially started, the team split into two groups and headed towards separate corners to receive instruction from a myriad of position coaches.

“Ah, I see.  Track and field.”  While she said the names, Blake gestured towards the separate groups.

“See, you totally don’t need me here,” Yang joked.

“But then I wouldn’t be enjoying myself nearly as much.”

The small smile accompanying Blake’s statement instantly put a quiver of arrows through Yang’s heart.

“I…” she began before suffering a crippling blush that temporarily shut off her brain.  “Uh, yeah, me neither,” she managed to say before turning towards the track and hoping her cheeks would cool off soon.

Blake was having a good time?  Did that mean she enjoyed Yang’s company?  

The realization made Yang so happy, it felt like she could sprout wings and fly herself to the moon.

“Hey,” Blake suddenly whispered, gently tapping Yang’s shoulder and motioning off to their right.  “Isn’t that -”

“Weiss?” Yang asked in surprise when she found none other than Weiss Schnee standing at the end of the tunnel they’d walked through moments earlier.  The sight made Yang’s brow crease in confusion.  

“What’s she doing here?”

“I’ll give you one guess.”  With those words, Blake nodded towards the track, where Ruby was talking animatedly with a group of fellow sprinters.

Looking from Weiss to Ruby and back again, Yang felt her disbelief growing by the second.

“No…” was her instinctual reply.  But...it did look like Weiss was watching Ruby.  And what other reason could bring Weiss to the track, of all places?  This was where all the athletes were - i.e., the group of students she openly disdained.  Except for Ruby.

The pieces started falling into place, but Yang vigorously shook her head in an attempt to dislodge them.  

“There’s no way…” she said, her words trailing off again.

There was no way, right?  That wasn’t...a thing, right?

Blake arched one eyebrow at Yang’s stunned incredulity.  

“You really can’t see it?”

“Well, I...I mean, everyone should love Ruby.  She’s amazing and funny and sweet!  But Weiss?” Again, Yang shook her head at the idea.  “Weiss doesn’t like people.  She tolerates them.  She would never...”  

Losing that train of thought, Yang turned back to Weiss - who stood just outside the school doors and looked like she didn’t want to be spotted actively watching practice.

“And Ruby…”

The next second, Ruby spotted her silent supporter - and her face lit up with happiness.  Breaking away from her teammates, she ran all the way across the field before crashing into Weiss for a hug - lifting her right off her feet and twirling her in a few circles before setting her back down.  

Yang’s astonishment only grew when Ruby’s hands lingered around Weiss’ waist for a little longer than a friendly gesture - and Weiss allowed Ruby’s hands to linger.  

And when Ruby fidgeted, she fidgeted closer to Weiss, not away.  Which Weiss also allowed to happen.

“Oh my god.” 

Mouth hanging open, Yang watched Ruby give Weiss a quick wave before racing back to practice.  Feeling a hand squeeze her shoulder in consolation, Yang looked at Blake and found understanding, if not slightly amused, eyes.

But holy - hell!  What the hell?? When had this happened?

“I gotta go say something,” Yang said, quickly standing up and heading towards the stairs.  Blake chuckled but didn’t move to follow as Yang practically ran towards the tunnel.

“Hey Weiss!” she called out while jogging down the steps and meeting Weiss by the doors - drawing a brief flicker of surprise by her sudden appearance.   “Whatcha doin’ out here? Did you come to watch Ruby?”

As soon as the questions were asked, Yang could practically see the wheels of denial spinning in Weiss’ mind - even though her cheeks were already growing red at having been caught.  Clearly, she hadn’t expected Yang to be out here. Surprise!

“Actually, I was in the library studying and thought I’d step outside for some fresh air,” Weiss answered haughtily, flipping her hair to one side in exasperation.  “I’m guessing you’re out here shirking responsibilities?”

“You know me!” Yang replied with a grin, not even remotely bothered by the attempted insult.  Turning back towards the track, she saw Ruby across the field preparing for a warm-up sprint.  

“Watching Ruby is great though, isn’t it?” she added while her little sister placed one set of fingertips on the ground and held her other arm out behind her.  “Running is just so effortless for her.”

When her words trailed off, she glanced at Weiss out of the corner of her eye only to find that Weiss was watching Ruby again - very intently.

“She is effortless,” Weiss agreed in a soft tone, her eyes never leaving Ruby.  “It makes you wonder how great she’ll become…”

Shocked by the comment, Yang turned fully towards Weiss.

For one thing, that was probably the first time Weiss had ever agreed with anything Yang said.  And for another, that last statement almost sounded...wistful. And Weiss was anything but wistful.

Glancing over and catching Yang’s dumbfounded expression, Weiss immediately bristled.

“Also makes you wonder how the two of you are related,” she snapped before spinning on one heel to head back inside.  Immediately breaking out of her daze, Yang shook her head and called after the girl.

“Wait - Weiss!”  

Pausing her hasty exit, Weiss turned back with a great deal of annoyance.

There were so many things Yang wanted to say right now, but she wanted to tease Weiss more than anything else.  Make fun of her just a little bit.  Maybe a Ruby-related pun?  

Instead of doing any of those things, Yang smiled.

“I’ll let Ruby know you had to get back to studying,” she said, barely catching the sliver of unexpected gratitude that flashed through Weiss’ eyes.

“I would appreciate that,” Weiss replied, almost begrudgingly, before ducking her head in what must be a gesture of thanks and stalking back into the building.  Even after Weiss disappeared inside, Yang stood there and stared at the door she’d just passed through.  

That was the real Weiss Schnee, right?  The one stomping away in a huff of money-backed haughtiness - not the wistful, contemplative girl with a severe soft spot for track stars?

Unable to figure out the answer, Yang shook her head and jogged back up the bleachers.

With Blake watching intently, Yang sat down and tapped her hands on her knees while a slew of emotions fired through her veins - most of them on the ‘complete disbelief’ side of the emotional spectrum.  After opening and closing her mouth several times, she finally took a deep breath and smiled.

“Well, this was a lot more eventful than I thought it’d be!” she joked.

“What did she say?” Blake asked in return.

“She said…”  Thinking back on the brief conversation, Yang shook her head.  “She was typical Weiss, but I guess she didn’t really need to say anything.”

Actions spoke louder than words, and Weiss’ actions had just shouted something Yang never saw coming.  Staring down at the field, her eyes trained on Ruby - watching Ruby laugh with her teammates before jogging to the starting line for another warm-up sprint. 

Her little sister was growing up right in front of her.  It felt like only yesterday that the two of them walked to school on Ruby’s very first day - Ruby’s hand was clammy with nerves, but Yang assured her that she was going to have a blast.  Now look at her - growing taller, getting faster, and capturing hearts in the process - frozen hearts too, not just regular hearts. 

Weiss freaking Schnee - the queen of ice herself. 

Ruby sure didn’t back away from a challenge...

“Do you think that will work out?” Yang asked, turning back to Blake and receiving a reassuring smile that eased the small thread of worry she was latching on to.

“Weiss adores her, you know.  Besides schoolwork, that’s about the only thing we have in common to talk about.  Well, Ruby and you. But our opinions on you are...very different.”

“Oh god,” Yang said with a laugh.  “I can only imagine the things she says about me behind my back.”

Blake chuckled but also shook her head.

“It’s actually not as bad as you think.  She has a certain amount of respect for you.”

“Does she really?”

“Yes, although she won’t admit it’s there.”

“She’ll be so upset that you told me that,” Yang joked before they lapsed into another thoughtful silence.  Blake sent several glances Yang’s way, but also gave her time to process what she just learned.

Weiss and Ruby.  Ruby and Weiss. Now that Yang had seen it, she couldn’t unsee it.  The biggest question now was...how had she missed it??

They were together all the time.  Weiss was a different person with Ruby than with anyone else.  Ruby went out of her way to spend time with Weiss. And apparently Yang was damn clueless about the entire thing unfolding right under her nose.

But Weiss adores Ruby.  Adores - that’s the word Blake used.  It was impossible to imagine Weiss Schnee adoring anyone, but if someone were to get close...it would be Ruby.

“Alright, I’ll dwell on that later,” Yang announced with a shake of her head.  “It looks like the sprinters are about to race.”

“Who’s the best sprinter on the team?” Blake asked, willingly turning back to practice for a change in subject.

“Ruby, of course,” Yang answered while Ruby lined up with several of the other sprinters - all of them listening to some last-second instructions from their coach before he stepped off to the side.  

“Ok,” she began while watching the sprinters step on their blocks.  “So they try to simulate race conditions as close as possible. They’ll even use the gun to start them off.  It’s muscle memory like that.”

With each of the sprinters in place, they froze in their starting stance and waited for the signal to go.  Their coach walked by and tweaked a few postures before standing at the edge of the field and holding the small starting gun up in the air.  A loud pop rang out as the sprinters shot off their blocks and raced forward in near unison, but it wasn’t more than a second before Ruby developed a lead that kept growing.  And growing...and growing...until she raced across the finish line and came to a stop, turning around to wait for her teammates to catch up.

Weiss was right.  When Ruby focused and tried her best, there didn’t seem to be a limit to what she could accomplish.  Dad wouldn’t be paying for her college, that was for sure!

“Wow…” Blake said, her eyes still watching the sprinters as they regrouped to discuss the results.  “If Vale High has the best track team in area, then these are the best sprinters in the area…”

“Yup -” Yang said, already seeing where Blake was headed with this line of reasoning.

“And Ruby just beat them handily.”  

When Blake looked at her in amazement, Yang nodded.

“That’s Ruby,” she replied proudly.

“That’s incredible.”  

The single sentence summed Ruby up pretty perfectly.

“She got all the talent, that’s for sure,” Yang joked.  “I’m gonna have to talk to Dad about that…”

“Oh please.  Like you’re not talented?”

“Compared to Ruby?” she asked before shaking her head.  “Nope. I’m like one of those other sprinters, just trying to catch up.”

The sprinters ran through another set, slightly longer this time, but with the same results.  If Yang had to guess, by this point the rest of the group only competed for second place. Ruby was just on a different level than the rest of them right now.

“You two are really close.”

The comment drew Yang’s gaze back to Blake.

“She’s my best friend,” Yang answered before shrugging.  “It’s always been this way. Ever since we were little.”

Blake nodded, briefly turning towards the track before her gaze found its way back to Yang.  

“She even followed you into trouble, didn’t she?” Blake asked, her eyes sparkling with humor when Yang laughed and nodded enthusiastically.

“She did.  She sure did.  Little rascal has no fear.”

“Well…” Turning back to the track, Blake watched a group of long-distance runners sail by.  “She grew up well.”

“I think so.  But what about you?” Yang asked, not bothering to watch the track as she watched Blake instead.  “Any siblings?”

“Nope.  Just me.”

“Probably a good thing - I don’t know if the world could handle two of you.”

When Blake laughed at the line, Yang beamed with success.  Sure, she might normally stumble over her words when Blake was around, but she could still deliver a good line or two.

“So…what do you like most about reading?” she asked, turning fully towards Blake while waiting for an answer.

“Using my imagination, traveling to far-off places, meeting people and experiencing events I wouldn’t otherwise.”  

“All of those sound great,” Yang agreed with a nod.  “I should read more…”

“It’s never too late to start,” Blake immediately said, tilting her knees towards Yang’s so they bumped lightly together.  “And you might just know someone willing to give you a list of suggestions.”

“Oh really?” Yang asked, playfully pretending not to understand that Blake was making the offer herself.  “You mean Weiss? Because I’m pretty sure she’ll tell me to read some self-help books or something.”

Laughing at the joke, Blake shook her head.

“You could ask Weiss, but I think I’ll have better suggestions.”

“That sounds like a competition.” 

“I’m sure I’d win.”

The response made Yang burst into joyful laughter, which mostly came at Weiss’ expense.

“Careful, Blake.  I don’t think you want to declare war on Weiss’ book-suggesting skills.”

“I haven’t devoted so much time to reading and not developed some confidence in that ability,” Blake answered with a startlingly-attractive smirk of self-assurance.

“But Weiss has known me longer,” Yang pointed out.

“Has she?” Blake repeated, giving Yang a sly smile before shrugging.  “I still think I can choose a better set of books for you. There’s a lot about your personality that she seems to be missing.”

Unexpectedly on board with the idea of the two smartest girls in the school picking out a list of books for her, Yang grinned while feeling something akin to success trickle through her veins.  Sure, it was a little strange to think that Weiss and Blake had analyzed her personality, but Blake’s confidence made her a lot happier than it should have. That probably meant she was easy to read - like a book.

“I don’t think we need to make it a competition,” she finally said.  “But if you have some free time and come up with a few, I’ll check them out.”

“I’d love to.”

When Blake smiled, Yang couldn’t help but smile back.  She’d just volunteered to read in her free time, yet she was surprisingly excited about it.  Who cared if that wasn’t what she usually did? It would give the two of them more reasons to spend time together and more things to talk about.

Not that they seemed to have an issue coming up with topics on their own.  It was easy to forget that they came out here to watch track practice when it was so much fun to simply talk with one another.  And, unsurprisingly, the more Yang learned about Blake, the more her rather-large crush grew.  

Was this how Pyrrha felt all the time?  No wonder she bent over backward to spend time with Jaune!  At this point, Yang would do just about anything for a few more minutes with Blake - even if she had to skip lunch or wake up early to do so.

Did this mean she was the same as Pyrrha now?  With an unrequited crush that would rule her thoughts and actions for the next year?

Speaking of Pyrrha...

“What’re they doing now?” Yang asked herself, finally tearing her attention away from Blake when she noticed Ruby running across the field to find Pyrrha.  The two spoke for several seconds before Pyrrha laughed and gestured for Ruby to follow her. After leading Ruby to the other end of the field, Pyrrha picked up a javelin.

“Oh no,” Yang groaned as soon as she understood what was about to happen.  “She’s going to throw the javelin.”

“Is that a bad thing?” Blake asked, scooting closer so the two of them could watch the scene play out.

“Not necessarily,” Yang said, watching Pyrrha demonstrate the proper hand positioning before going through a throw in slow motion.  “But it took years for Ruby to get her feet moving in the same direction. I don’t think her arms are cooperating yet!”

Blake chuckled softly as they watched Pyrrha draw her arm back and let one fly - the javelin shooting through the air and landing near the other end of the field.

“Wow.”

“She didn’t even try with that one,” Yang replied with a proud laugh.  “Now let’s see what Ruby can do…”

Crossing her fingers that Ruby didn’t somehow figure out a way to impale herself, Yang watched her hold the spear in one hand like Pyrrha just showed her.  Even from this distance, Yang could tell that Ruby felt super awkward - which she made all the more obvious when she laughed and said something to Pyrrha. After receiving a few last minute instructions, Ruby nodded once, took a running start, and let the sucker fly.

It actually flew too!  And not straight into the ground.

“Hey!  That was pretty good!” Yang exclaimed in pleasant surprise.  “I thought for sure she’d trip and hurt herself or something…”

“It sounds like you might need more confidence in her ability to take care of herself.”  

Turning towards Blake, Yang found an expression that said the words were intended to bring them back to their prior conversation.

“I guess so,” she agreed before turning back to Ruby - watching her sister race across the field to retrieve the javelin before running back to try again.  When Ruby promptly tripped over nothing and sprawled onto the turf, both of them burst out laughing.

“And yet some things never change,” Yang mused while watching Ruby pick herself up and jog back to Pyrrha as if nothing happened.

But that was just it, wasn’t it?  Ruby still fell down - all the time, actually - but she was capable of picking herself up now.  She didn’t need Yang around to offer a hand, and that was...a really weird feeling.

“You doing ok?”

The caring question drew Yang out of her thoughts, were Blake was giving her a concerned look.  Smiling, Yang leaned back on the moderately-uncomfortable bench and nodded.

“All part of growing up, I guess.”

When several whistles sounded in near unison, Yang found the coaches signaling the end of practice.  Dropping the javelin on the ground, Ruby raced over to the big crowd gathering in the center of the field.

While practice wrapped up, Yang stood and stretched her arms over her head before looking down at Blake.

“Ok, so what we learned today,” she said, holding up one hand to count off the multiple important topics they’d discussed.  “Ruby could be a javelin thrower if she wanted. You’re an expert at recommending books. And there was another one, but I can’t seem to remember it…”

Briefly tapping one finger to her chin while narrowing her eyes, Yang waited for Blake to laugh before saying, “Oh right!  And Weiss Schnee has the hots for my little sister. Totally forgot about that.”

“If you didn’t see that, I’m wondering what else you might have missed,” Blake mused, grabbing her bag and standing to join Yang.  “Have you ever thought about who might like you, and you just haven’t noticed?”

For a few seconds, Yang just stared at Blake - who looked back just as intently.

“Well I am now!” Yang whined, making Blake laugh as the two of them headed back through the tunnel that led into the gymnasium. 

Maybe she’d missed the obviousness of Weiss liking Ruby, but she wasn’t that dense when it came to people liking her - was she?  Sure, there was the You-Crew - her perennial fan club - and Neptune, but other than that…

Well, whenever someone confessed having feelings for her, she was always caught off guard.  That might imply that she wasn’t very aware of other people’s feelings for her.  Which meant that out there, somewhere, could be god-knows how many people harboring feelings for her.  That was actually a little alarming to think about!

Although she wouldn’t mind if one specific person belonged to that group...

“Yang!”

Turning towards the sound of her name, she just barely caught the rocket plowing into her side, letting out a soft ‘ummph!’ in surprise.

“Did you see me??  Pyrrha let me throw the javelin!” Ruby said, bouncing between her feet as if she hadn’t just run fifteen miles.

“I sure did!” Yang replied, giving Ruby’s hair a little rustle.  “You can probably be the backup if you wanted to!”

The reply made Ruby giggle before turning that unassuming grin on Blake.

“Hey Blake!  Glad you were able to watch too!” Ruby quipped before looking at Yang.  “I’ll change so we can go home!”

Without another word, Ruby raced towards the locker room at a fast jog while Yang looked after her with a smile.  

Ruby would always be her little sister...even if she’d grown up and didn’t need Yang as much anymore.

“I can see why Weiss couldn’t resist,” Blake commented, making Yang playfully groan.

“Not you too!”

“Oh no,” Blake replied with a shake of her head and teasing smile.  “But I can understand Weiss’ position. Sometimes, someone comes along who you’d never expect…”

When Blake’s words trailed off, Yang hung onto them and hoped for more explanation than that.  Like who? Was Blake referring to someone in particular? Or just speaking hypothetically?

But Blake stared towards the door Ruby had just raced through before coming out of her thoughts and meeting Yang’s eyes.  Reaching out, she gave Yang’s arm a quick squeeze before letting go.

“Thank you for the lovely afternoon,” she said with a smile before heading towards the doors on the opposite end of the gym - taking Yang’s heart with her in the process.

Sometimes, someone comes along who you’d never expect...that’s exactly what just happened to Yang.  In no way had she expected to run into someone as amazing as Blake on the first day of school. If she’d known, then she would have spent the entire summer preparing for them to meet. 

“I saw someone had company today -”

Turning towards the teasing voice, Yang swatted in Pyrrha’s direction while the redhead walked past with a way-too-amused grin set in place.

“Where’s Jaune, huh?” she called back, earning a pair of wide eyes from Pyrrha as another presence paused by Yang’s side.

“I’m right here - were you looking for me?” Jaune asked while Yang turned towards him with a bright, not-at-all-mortified smile.

“Hey!  There you are!” she said in an upbeat tone that would hopefully dispel his suspicion.  “I just wanted to say thanks for helping out the track team - Ruby’s always saying how good of a job you do!”

When Yang softly knocked his shoulder in congratulations, Jaune gave a sheepish grin.

“Well, you know, I try my best to help,” he muttered towards his shoes.

“Keep it up!” Yang said before hastening away the instant she spotted Ruby coming out of the locker room.  “See you later!”

Making an abrupt exit and leaving Pyrrha to clean up the aftermath, Yang grabbed Ruby’s arm to lead them both out of the gym.

“Come on, kiddo - let’s go home,” she said, shooting one glance over her shoulder to find Pyrrha and Jaune still standing where she’d left them.

“Think we can have mac n’ cheese tonight?” Ruby asked while they headed out the front doors.  The request made Yang shake her head as they raced down the steps and reached the sidewalk that would take them home.

“You’re such a kid sometimes,” she teased, elbowing her sister lightly in the side.

“Hey!  Mac n’ cheese is for kids and adults!”

“And which one of those groups do you fall into?”

Glancing to her side, Yang watched Ruby carefully weigh her options.

“Kids,” she finally admitted.  “But I’m not a baby anymore!”

Chuckling at the response, Yang wrapped her arm around Ruby’s shoulders and gave her sister a sideways hug.

“No you’re not, Ruby,” she agreed before letting go.  “You’re really not.”

Comments

yodaka

to think Yang is that oblivious xD

Spartwow

Good luck moving. I’ll be hopefully focusing on the NFL next weekend if I get all this schoolwork out of the way, lol.

Kevin Shea

Man, Miko.... Your stories are always fantastic!! WDU and Fire Within ruined me though, I keep expecting something TERRIBLE to happen ughhhh🤣🤣🤣 Good luck with the move!!

Whyarewehere

Gosh! I really enjoy reading this. I hope the move goes well for you! Cheers!!!

🌸Mina🌸

I loved this chapter Yang is oblivious to everything ha! I loved it! WR development yes!